Sunday, January 10, 2010

Becoming Professional With Your Bridal

By Rubert Wong

You are creating something that people will keep for years to come. You are capturing a very special moment in people's lives. Guaranteeing quality and highly skilled photography is something every bride and groom wants. If you are a photographer you might want to consider photographing weddings because there is a lot of money to be made by doing them. With the money comes the risk which you must manage well.

If this is going to be your first wedding shoot you will want to make sure your contract is written up properly and a disclaimer included in it. A disclaimer is something that can prevent you from being sued later on. For example, you should include that you are not responsible for pictures that might get lost after you send the film away to get developed, or pictures that do not come out clear due to equipment failure. You do not want to be sued for breaching your contract.

Now with that said you should also include how many pictures are to be taken and how long you will be photographing for and what hourly rate will be. Something else you should include would be the fees for developing and the fee of the album. Your client's requirements are important so make sure you talk it over with them. There could be a particular family member that they want photographed separately, or a certain group of people they do not get to see very often.

Make a list of all the pictures that your client's requested. Here are a few common ones, pre-ceremony, wedding ceremony, post-ceremony and reception. Discuss with the clients about which shots they want and who's going to be in the pictures. Not every client will be the same so pay attention to what they are saying.

A deposit should be made after you book your clients in. Fifty percent is reasonable to ask for an up front booking fee. This will make sure you are covered in the event of a cancellation. So you don't end up bothering the bride and groom during the reception, arrangements should be made for when the remainder will be paid. They would think you were unprofessional and wish they had hired someone else.

If you are developing your client's pictures yourself, Photoshop is an excellent photo editing program. Flaw removal, montage, and changing the color are a few of the enhancements you can use with Photoshop.

Look for ways to add extra value that you have not told them about. This will always generate good feelings. A special surprise will keep everyone talking and generating more business for you in the future. Think different. Imagine for example if you uploaded all their pictures onto a password protected part of your website so that they and their friends can login and view.

In the end doing wedding photography can be lucrative and fun as long as you build on your people skills.

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