Saturn Photography

What do Couples Want With Wedding Photography?

I class myself as a part time photographer. I obtain jobs most often by word of mouth through friends and family, or people I know at work. Before I begin I must acknowledge that I don’t run my own business and I do not class myself as a full time photographer that does the job day in day out for a living.

Due to the above, some people might say that in a way I am in direct competition and affecting professionals amount of work (that full debate is for another day!); however the more weddings I shoot and more couples I meet I realise that the reason they might actually prefer to choose me is because of the service and the product I can offer; and it is not really related to the slight reduction in cost.

I went to see a couple yesterday about shooting a wedding in May. They were a lovely couple, really looking forward to their wedding, they had a photographer booked over six months in advance, but unfortunately he was no longer able to do it. I understand they looked around some other photographers, and they advised me of an experience when they entered a local photographers shop (nice; a lot of photographers dream about having their own shop), however from what I understand the photographer more or less just said as the first thing “What Coverage do you want”. Don’t get me wrong this is a sensible and obvious question, however as an introduction the couple explained that this felt a bit bullish because they didn’t really know exactly what they wanted, nor what service the photographer could offer!

I know there are amazing photographers who are fantastic with people and I don’t imagine they would approach a potential new client in this manner. Considering the type of money they are possibly going to spend with a full time photographer, and the kind of relationship they are going to have to have; a better start would be to ask; where they are getting married, what their names, of, where they live, what’s the wedding day. If you just shove a product list in front of a couple (who have not been married before) this might just feel a bit inpersonal to them.

Adie & Heather enjoy a walk down a confetti isle in the sunshine.

Every wedding is different! They might have similar structures, but you have to understand that the couple needs someone who is going to be interested in them and their day, and be reliable, honest and trustworthy with. Failing to make that first impression and recognise that this is the biggest event of their lives could be the start of a downward spiral.

After the first impression ‘the end product‘ is most likely going to be the next enquiry (i.e. what do you offer and at what price)! Obviously this includes a lot of things, from the time you are going to spend there on the day, and what roughly how many images they can expect to see. While a certain degree of specifics can be applied here I feel the answer should not be to restrictive (i.e. you’ll get this print and this amount of hours, and that’s all).

I still know and hear of a number of photographers that work of selling prints. They charge for their service to attend, then provide a proof book, or disc and ask the couple to pay for prints, or may charge for photobook with say 30-50 images.

I understand that this is where my lack of business knowledge might come in, I recognise that to make money you have to hang on to the valuable thing (the pictures of course) and use them to create a continued stream of income when people want prints or another book etc. However my gut feeling is telling me that this method is becoming very out dated. Couples can feel restricted and suffocated my this, and quite a few have told me so. Wedding photo’s are reviewed many times over the years after the wedding. Couples move houses, want different images for different things at different times, and not having the power to do what they want with the images can be and feel severely restrictive for them.

Zara. The bride's nice.

I once went to a friends wedding, it was amazing, the biggest wedding I have been to. I understood the photographer charged £500 just to attend. He then provided a large book full of a couple of hundred proof images (images just a few centimeters at their longest edge). It was then down to the couple to choose what they wanted for a book (which was £1500 btw!!), or individual prints. I understand they didn’t place any orders!!!!!

In contrast the wedding I shot for a friend I did as a gift and obviously gave them the digital files to do with as they wished. It took them a while to sift through and find the ones they liked (they have two kids), but eventually they made themselves two albums and a number of prints which are framed and on their shelves.

I believe the lesson to learn here is that most couples want (or maybe NEED) to have control of the images to make the most of them in their own way. It was their day, they put all the hard work into sourcing venue’s, having the dresses made, hiring suits, sending invites, hiring you. A photographer has to work quite hard as well of course – but they are capturing what the couple have created and photographers that hang on and severely restrict access to the images are in my view holding the couples day to ransom (in a non literal way!).

I must say that many pro photographers now offer the couple the option to buy a disc with the digital files on which is great. I am not saying photographers don’t understand these issues, but clearly there are still people out there who may be creating a bit of stigma for wedding photographers in general.

In the interests of fairness, I must put myself on the line and say what I offer:

• I attend from whenever the couples want me (at the brides house or at the church), they have me for the whole day;
• I provide a copy of the digital images on disc and also upload them to a photo printing web site so the link can be forwarded to family and friends for easy ordering of images from they day; and
• I provide a Photobook of around 25/30 images and usually a slideshow with music (if it is going to work) to show family and friends etc.
• I edit all of the top selection of images and then offer a flexible editing service to edit any image how the couples would like (for probably about a year afterwards they can come back to me for different edits, cropping or whatever on any file).

I appreciate this might seem like a lot to give away for a full time pro, however the look of relief on couples faces when they know they are going to have control of the images after your gone is clear! Also it breaks the ice, and a couple seems to gain more trust in you when they know they will actually own the memories from their own wedding.

One more thing I would add, is that visiting the venue’s and meeting couples at their homes is also a significant part of them being sure about you as a person. They can get an impression of your passion for the job, being sure that they want to shoot their wedding, and visiting the venue’s and reassuring the couple that their venue’s are going to great for pictures and they also know you know where they are! Any personalisation you can offer like this I believe helps build trust and commitment with each other, which can then hopefully lead to better pictures on the day.

I totally understand that full time pro’s have their own way of working, and have to earn a living. My service may be different, and can be different due to the way I live my life. However I feel that some pro photographers could easily open themselves up to providing a more personal service, and flexible products, and overal could actually gain a better reputation and earn more money; instead of thinking they have to be a little cagy and restrictive with their images in order to get the maximum value out of their service.

Weddings are a job where the personal touch matters and the money involved is often secondary.

Andy.