When I’m deciding to run a photography business back in 2008 I always ask some friends, family, or even looking any kind of seminars about how to get clients in photography. If you are a dumb 20’s guy just like me during that moment than you must be feeling worry, nervous, and under confidence. I’m 24 years old when I graduate from architecture university but lately I realize that I’m not that good for being an architect but I can do better if I change my goals as being a wedding photographer.
24 years old without having any job and do this photography business just for freelance make me don’t have enough money to develop a studio. I love shooting an outdoor wedding and not just an indoor portrait of family and graduation students. Finally one day I pick up my scooter to meet my friend who work in big photography studio in my town and I was so shock by see his company’s gears that costs of thousand of dollars.
My friend told me that if I want to run the studio than I have to split the division and provide each of them with some pricy devices that cost around $9000++ exclude the studio rental fee such as:
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF, they gonna need:
- At least one desktop computer like HP All-in-One PC – 24“
- Set of desk and chair
- One fine printer like HP OfficeJet 5255 Wireless All-in-One
PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF, they gonna need:
- 1 full frame camera – 5D Mark III
- 1 back up camera – Canon EOS 6D
- Wide lens – Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L
- Standard Range Lens – Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II
- Camera bag – bag’s recommendations
- Studio lighting kit – Emart 600W
- Paper background – Julius Studio Photo Studio 10 ft. Wide Cross Bar 7 ft. Tall
I spend 2 hours of discussion with my friend and come back home without any good feeling cause what I got in my pocket is only $500 and Canon EOS Rebel. It was so hard for me begin my photographer career so I joined an internet marketing course and decide to start my photography business from home.
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How to Get Clients in Photography Without Owning a Studio with These 7 Marketing Essentials
I don’t have any much money back in 2008 so the only solution that I must choose is using internet to promote my photography services, and It got damn hard for sure!!! That is the bad news that I want to share to you today.
But is it possible?……Hell Yeah!!
Lately I know that using internet to promote my photography services is the best choice that I ever made in my whole life. Through this system I can stay at home, take my kids to the school even cook for my airbnb guest breakfast, what a brilliant way.
If we are in the same problem so today I wanna share to you everything that I know about how to get clients in photography without owning a studio or buy thousand dollar gears that are not related for your first year career.
1 – Create Your First Portfolio
If you just start your photographer career than the number 1 thing that you must have is your portfolio, see my works on here to get some inspirations.
Try to shoot your family’s member wedding but ask the politely and don;t push them if they prefer to have their own photographer. Another option that you can do is by asking your friends or any relatives that allow you to shoot for portraits, engagement or pre wedding and surely the wedding celebration.
Make sure you got a fine camera that can be afford great images, if you want some references than I could suggest you to buy used camera hat still reliable for working in wedding photography such as:
2 – Do the Best-Natural Work in Post Production
Once you’re done with your photoshoot than I ask you to continue your journey at post production or photo editing. Before you have an editor than I suggest you to do all the editing by your self where you can get your own style through it.
Today I use Photoshop for my top choice images, it could be challenging to use this software but they were amazing and if you want to learn more about using photoshop for photo editing than you could visit my Photoshop Tutorials
3 – Designing an Album and Print It!
There is no photograph till you PRINT IT!
When you get involve in wedding photography or any kind of photo niche than always print your works before you show to the world. The worse point of being photographer is just selling your photos on digitals files, it’s a different issue than if you working on microstock photography and want to sell your photographs on Shutterstock.
You are now in other part of photography business, the wedding, portraits or etc which is mean your end couple must touch the paper, feel the textured, and imagine with their soul about your work that printed in an album.
4 – Build Your Blog
If I say a blog than it’s must be a dynamic page that you will always updating over and over again. By the way I spend $350 for asking someone to design my static website exclude the domain and hosting fee and end up with ZERO sales in 12 months but I spend less than $90/year for making simple wordpress blog (the same blog that you see here) and sell thousand of dollar photo collection to worldwide couple who asking me to fly to Bali and Maldives.
Now which you gonna choose? Awesome website and NO SALES or regular blog with thousand dollar of sales?
Choose your own domain, it could be your photography brand or your own name than once you’re done than set your hosting packages.
When you want to start your own blog for less than $9/month than I recommend you to buy domain and hosting on Bluehost. I know that there are few of domain company like Godaddy, NameCheap, etc but by using the Bluehost than you can buy domain and set the hosting in one simple platform.
5 – Share Your Works to the World
I share all my works and album details here in this blog, I want all couple in this world know who I am so this how the business start from. I live in Indonesia now even I plan to move to New Zealand next year but I believe that become an online based wedding photographer is the right way that I choose to promote my services.
I know that I’m nothing but when I don’t promote my self to the world than there is no one knows me, yes there are a lot of things that I can do such as join an expo or making some brochure but if I doing that so I only promote my self in my regional area. What I want is serving destination wedding and travel around the world together with my wife, Nina, and sometimes I asked my whole kids to see I’m working.
6 – Keep Updating Your Blog
No matter I have a wedding job or not I still updating my blog without any excuse, I share everything here to my couple no matter they buy my collection or not. Here I share great information to my future couple who gonna held their destination wedding, one of article that I share is bride and groom tips before having marriage,
Right here, right now I blogging every day and I challenge my self to keep updating this blog for 365 days. I know it’s ain’t easy but as The Rock well said, “Be the Hardest Worker in the Room”
When you checking my blog page than see on the published date, there you gonna see that I post a new article every day. I know that I still earn a passive income from selling my travel photos but I DON’T CARE, and I still write a new blog post every day.
Updating your blog is like doing a future investment cause when you write with a friendly SEO keyword than within few days your article is indexed on Google and there are million of future client is browsing every day. When somebody find my blog and got great information in it, than finally they love my photography works and asking me an enquiry than they automatically become my prospect.
What I have to do next is taking care of them seriously!
7 – Do Your Promise Beyond Expectation
One somebody love your works and hire you for some photoshoot than always fulfil your promise, make sure they got everything that you listed on your collection, like how many photos, size of the albums, online proofing etc.
You definitely must do your best work and so do I!
My expertise in photography is about moment and glamorous so when I’m done with my photoshoot than I will asked my wife to back up the files into 3 (three) different devices:
- Keep it on my SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB for the first place, I bring at least 4 card on my bag
- Save all the photos on my WD 1TB Elements Portable, and last will be on…
- My Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch
Once the day is gone, than I fly back to my country and within 14 days I already finished some photo proof where my couple able to see it. All the photos come through my opinion cause here I’m the artist so what I did is simply make my couple happy by show them their glorious wedding photos.
I continue my work on post production and I’m freakin’ crazy on this part too. I used to spend 15 to 20 minutes to edit my stopping pictures using my own Photoshop Action and I spend like 1,5 hours to retouch all the documentary photos using the Lightroom, here I use the to boost my works.
I hope that you got an inspiration about how to get clients in photography no matter you are a professional or a newbie on this business. I love to share for what I had in my business and I hope this 7 simple tips will help you to boost your business for sure.
If you want to ask something that related to this topic than you could drop me a comment below and I will be more than happy to reply it as soon as possible.