Become a wedding photographer isn’t an easy thing but if you want to know how to start a wedding photography business from home than you can read my story today. My name is Bima and thank you for visiting my blog, I started my wedding photography business in 2008 just couple months after I graduate with an A result from architecture major in Yogyakarta Indonesia. I could say that it’s not a simple thing even more I totally confuse how to built my portfolio, how to pose a couple, and even how to set my price that will showin’ up under my photography packages. If you read my story today than I will tell you that improving photography from simply a hobby into business is full of fun.
Everybody know that photography is simply put your eyes on the view finder and push the shutter but all blessed day is just coming when someone starting to bring me to shoot in such wonderful wedding destinations like Bali, Maldives, and Hong Kong, serving and get rock and roll with overseas couple that I never meet before.
You know that thousand of photographers just start their business by renting an expensive office at the city centre or buy thousand dollar brand new photography gears and ended with feeling stuck and got no client to shoot at all. Even it’s not that wrong but since you are living in a digital era than it would be better if you could make some cool improvement about starting your business from home.
Why Wedding Photography Business?
I tried so many niches in photography such as modeling, news journalism, commercial, and documentary but no one that I love so deep except wedding photography. Here I’m not only talk with things but I interact with human being, family, and very nice people. Wedding photography teach me many things from how to shoot beautiful images that will means for the next decades till how to solving complain if they got bad album at the end of the day.
In fact I love wedding photography is because my mom and dad divorce when I was 4 years old so generally I never see beautiful family moment in my life and through this business I could see happiness from someone who falling in love each other, see them cryin’, give a love hug each other and it makes more falling in love in this business. I know I got the money from this business but personally I got beautiful moments in every session that I had, and that’s matter for me.
I start shooting for some ordinary wedding in my town that pay me $50 for 3 hours shooting and a poor album but at the end I got nice smile on my couple’s face and that also blow me away and make me love wedding photography beyond the business it self. Back in 2008 my good friend came to my house and ask me to see amazing DVD movie that called “Master of Wedding Photographer” where I saw 10-12 amazing photographer from this entire planet shoot in so much glamorous and come with tons of passion. I was impressed and wondering I could be as best as they are, serving high profile client, and take my arts into the next level.
Why and How to Start a Wedding Photography Business from Home?
It’s simple reason, the budget!
I don’t have much money to spend for built a nice studio and put some banner on the street or even join a wedding expo and all of them are cost about thousand of dollars. Rather than spending money for that, I choose to hire a model, rent the bridal gown, and ask my mom to buy me an entry level camera compliment with 18-55 mm lens such as Canon Rebel with cheap lenses for sure that you can buy in Amazon. First of all I’ve got my old PC in my home but in the future I finally have my 21 inch iMac that help me so much to work in. I learn to edit my photo in Photoshop and document all of my journey in my Photoshop online class than spending hours and hours on online photography course.
I don’t have much money to spend for built a nice studio and put some banner on the street or even join a wedding expo, all of them are cost thousand of dollars.
Back in 2010 I also join an internet marketing class by Fabian Lim in Jakarta and Singapore that cost me US$600 for just 2 days workshop, my money is gone but it totally worth it. Here in his workshop I learn about SEO or called Search Engine Optimization, it just some trick of marketing that you can use to put your website in the 1st to 3rd page in Google.
By the way if you just starting your wedding photography business than you may consider to own some reliable gears that I personally recommend you below, it’t not the best one but I sure that everything that I listed is way more enough to create stunning works.
Nikon D7200 DX-format DSLR w/ 18-140mm
Generally it’s a medium class of Nikon camera which is superb to capturing moment, those lens 18-140mm is great gear that you can use to cover almost all range of moment since it comes with wide and zoom range too.
Backpack Camera Bag
Sling shots bag is nice but having backpack for you own is better since it helps your shoulder to be fit when lifting heavy gears and this kind of bag is rely to bring on the plane, bus, or even when you drive your own car to wedding venue.
Camera Cleaning Kit
Maintain your photography gears are quite challenging, swap the lens and camera body after shooting is really important especially when you just finished an outdoor session like on the beach. So here I recommend you to own a cleaning kit on your bag.
What Marketing Book That I Read?
Stop buying some ridiculous photo gears now because the next step that you must know about how to start a wedding photography business from home is about marketing. No matter you have a great images and services but if you can not sell your expertise than you’re not running business. Having a mentor is great but I suggest you to follow up to two mentor in business because too many mentors will also take your mind down and you will just confusing for the rest of your day. Let me introduce you with great marketing and selling book called Ca$hvertising by Drew Eric Whitman (read my review on that link).
Through this book Eric will teach you how to promote your business by using an ads (paid) or simply making a good tagline title to rebranding your business (free). This book might cheaper than your Big Mac set menu but this guy is just like a marketing guru for internet marketer who teach me about the logic of selling anything to anyone.
His Life Force 8 Chapter is Really Important!
How to Built Your 1st Wedding Portfolio?
I just remember that during my first journey in wedding photography I’ve got a brother who want to get married, so what I do in that day is asking the primary photographer politely to join in a photo shoot. I don’t wanna disturb him so just taking a snapshot with my Rebel and got some moments. For the engagement session, just like I said before, I hire a model and rent a gown than put it on and find some beautiful landscape nearby my city. When I back home than I start to do post production just like what I see on my photoshop tutorials and start retouching my photos.
Once I’m done with this than I make a single post and uploading some photos in my official website, it already change into better looks right now.
First client used to be friends or brothers and it definitely worth it to do, so if you have some friends or family who want to get married just ask them to be their private photographer, the clue is don’t ever disturb the primary photographer and always ask them for permission.
Just to guide you with some step about making your first wedding portfolio than you can follow this part:
- Finding some friends or relatives that wanna get married and offering them your services in a cheaper package
- Make sure to print your photographs into album because this gonna be your marketing property
- Ask permission to primary photographer who in charge on your relative’s wedding politely to shoot together
What to Do When Your First Couple Coming?
I spent 6 years in my first photographer career to serve local couple from Indonesia, I went to Jakarta and Bandung for wedding photo shoot but my dream is becoming a destination wedding photographer. Big thanks to WPJA, it such great association that teach me many things and I got 2 overseas couple through this association and one of them are gorgeous Singaporean couple who ask me to shoot their wedding in Bali.
If you also just spending time for looking your first couple and finally you got one list on your hand than I really want to say congratulation for you and that’s a big deal that you must concern about. I know that you must feels so happy and you definitely allow to gratitude about it but let me share some useful guidance when this glorious moment come to you:
- Arrange for some meeting with your couple and make sure you pay all the food and beverage’s bill
- Offering them with album because this thing is matter to them
- Send them a nice invoice that you can made with MS Word and convert to PDF or using a nice platform that I love like Waveapps
- Last, deliver beyond expectation
Let Me Share to You About My Maldives Photo Shoot
Both me and my wife are beach freak, so back couple years ago I knew some wedding destination places except Bali that serving thousand of wedding per year and the word Maldives is come. We search so deep about this nice country and hoping someday we able to come there and shooting for wedding. Here I spend over than 2 years to promote my services to Maldives, I spend so many hours in front of my computer to create a promotional offer to shoot in Maldives. I remember that I submitted almost 1000 cooperation proposal for wedding planner who spread in this entire globe but only less than 10% that send me a feedback, and still get ZERO sales from them.
I receiving 200 inquiry to go to Maldives and couple always asking a discount and it totally hurt my heart. Rather give a discount I better to give them a privilege of book upgrading or give my couple a nice wedding car such as BMW and Jaguar for their wedding day.
In one day, that was in July during Ramadhan fasting month I receiving an email that blown me away, there is a couple from Hong Kong who booked me and my wife for pre wedding session in one of 5 star luxury resort called Lux South Ari Atoll Maldives. I remembered that I was jumping together with my wife that finally this dream come into reality and we’re going to some places that always becoming a wedding and honeymoon destination for high profile couple and celebrities.
I was so happy during 2 nights in Maldives, I bring all my photography gears such as Canon 5D Mark IV with 16-35 mm f2.8 lens and some other lenses, never forget my tiny camera EOS M. Till today I was twice in serving pre wedding in Maldives 1st was in Lux and 2nd one was in Angsana Velavaru both of them I serving an overseas couple coming from Hong Kong and Singapore.
Why Destination Wedding Photography?
It’s not only about I can travel a lot but destination wedding teach me TONS of knowledge. If I only serving local than I wouldn’t grow up, I believe in my self that good business is should be worldwide, just take a look the KFC and McDonald, they serving fried chicken and burgers to as many worldwide visitors with the same ingredients.
Traveling is a bonus, see the magnificent landscape is a gift but the most important thing about choosing destination wedding photography niche is being worldwide and meet as many as I can overseas couple.
If someday you got a same experience just like me than you will know that this not only about money but it’s about photography journey that you should have in your life. Serving worldwide couple is challenging cause we don’t know each other and we never go to that place before and here our integrity is the answer, as long as you good person and put a passion on it than business deal will come.
How Couple Pay My Services?
Once you want to learn how to start a wedding photography business than there is a way to do that. I have a Paypal account that I made in 2009 and got no balance for over than 4 years but today I regularly use it to receive a payment.
Paypal was great, it is the best platform so far that give a safety both for you as the photographer and for the couple. Remember, the biggest challenge in this niche is we never meet before with the couple and why couple can trust you is a big matters. For sure they charge a lot (5-6% from each transaction) but it doesn’t matter, their system is so good.
So when you don’t have a Paypal account than I suggest you to sign up now!
What I did If There is No Weddings?
Chance will always come to some who put the passion,
There is always wedding season and once the period is off than we still can do many things both for photo shoot and marketings. I used to taking a portrait for friends and family and back couple years ago I have some loyal client who always ask me to shoot for their holiday photo shoot. Back in February I was in Hong Kong for portrait shots, here I serve my socialite client who regularly having a holiday with her friends and today they went to Hong Kong for winter holiday and ask me to capturing their happy moments.
Having a portrait shots in really fun, here I’m having fun with these beautiful ladies for almost 10 hours in such busy district in Hong Kong. Before the photo shoot begin, I arrive in Four Season Hong Kong where my client stay in to give the itinerary, actually my wife did it better than me and this is why I always asking her to join my photo shoot.
We sightseeing around the city from traditional market till Causeway Bay. If you don’t do wedding shooting than you can try this niche too, it always fun and amazing to do, overall I still can meet good person during my photo shoot.
Is There Any Other Plan to Survive in Photography Business?
There is always a way if you want to move!
Here I talk about long term business so I uploading my travel photos in microstock company and I choose Shutterstock. I uploading my wedding photos as editorial and so many travel photos for commercial purposes, we are photographer so we always capturing moments, rather than keep it all the photos in my hard drive than I choose to monetize it even just a cents.
I wrote a story about my first 25 cents from Shutterstock, it was amazing experience cause I earn money while I’m not working. I was remember when my first travel photos sold which is it is only a simple street food photo, I was having lunch with my wife and taking care of our kids than some ‘clink’ notification is showin’ up.
I still uploading my photos till now no matter it is for wedding or travel so you can do it too and start to earn money from your food and travel photos.
as long as you work hard and put passion on it that you ‘boom’ momentum will come
Conclusion
Wedding photography business is still awesome job that you can do, as I said before it is not a 1 night short cut to be a rich photographer but as long as you work hard and put passion on it that you ‘boom’ momentum will come. This is the end of my story about how to start a wedding photography business from home, I really hope it able to help you figure out how to begin your career.
When you have some questions than simply drop me an email and I will try to reply as soon as I can, so keep working so hard on this business and we’ll see you soon in another post….cheers!