I know that become a photographer is ain’t an easy job at least for me who stumble upon in this niche for over than 10 years, but what I believe is the first day when you choose to become a photographer doesn’t related to money at all but because you love photography more than others.
I graduate from architecture university and become an architect for a year than work for my self as a junior architect and designing only 2 projects for my whole life. At the end of 2008 I join photography course and in 2009 I leave my architecture job and choose photography to become of my way of life. Some of my friends told me that I’m insane even my parents in law did it too but if you got the same situation just like me and what I wanna tell you is,
Go stick on your dream and working so hard in it!
Your life is yours and too much think about other people opinion will just let you down and would not give any great result at all for your entire life. By the way my name is Bima, just in case you wanna know my name especially for you who just visiting my blog at the first time. Thank you….thank you again for appreciating my works cause I share my wedding and portrait works on portfolio and also some stories behind my work on for photographer category. I know that you may better than me on photography but what I’m thinking here is simply sharing for what I know and what I got during running my photography business. I believe that there is always someone in this globe who stuck on their photography business or got no idea about how to promote their photo services so that’s why I still writing hundred to thousand of articles in this blog.
The Hardest Moment for Running Photography Business After the First 3 Years
When you just starting your photographer career than everything seems to be easy, a lot of photo projects, a lot of client that gonna spend dollars on your shutters skill but when you already running this business up to your first 3 years than you gonna got some more challenge. Now you gonna think to increase your fee, you also think how to sell your services into upper level couple. You may serve various couple nearby your town on your first 3 years but now you also thinking how to get a deal from someone who is not stay in your town, it could be on another cities or even someone who stay crossing the countries.
In some case you wanna get paid more but at the same time you also will feel worry about how if no one gonna be your client, and this is also what I feel back in 2012. Before I continue this story I want introduce someone who help me a lot, her name is Nina, my ex-girl friend who become my wife and mom for my four kids.
This extraordinary woman is become my personal assistant who accompany me for whole photo session that I had. I brought her to nearest city from my home town back 10 years ago even now I brought her to Singapore, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Macau, Hong Kong, and also Hallstatt, a great place that I’m gonna visit next year for my wedding photo session.
The best motivation that I had after 3 years running photography business is about how to ask Nina fly to other place and serving worldwide humble couple who able to give us more experiences of shooting (and surely more money to bring back home). Nina was born from really simple family who never ask her to fly with plane until she is 20 years old, her first flight experience is not coming through her parents but coming from my mom who ask her back home together for long holiday after working in Jakarta – Indonesia, so generally this lovely woman never see other countries before 24 y.o just like what our guest on Airbnb home did.
So what I did is changing my promotional strategy from joining a wedding expo that costs thousand of dollars into promoting my photography with a blog, lately in December 2012 I got my first enquiry for having a pre wedding in Maldives…BUT I got my first overseas photo deal on January 2014. I know that this just simple dream that every man had to take his angel into the sky but I love photography so much and I want my family get a better living through this way. I know I can easily quit and move to other business but that’s not my goal so stick on my blog, promoting my photo works, creating video on Youtube and share information with hundred of articles like this are some steps that I did personally to sell my services.
I live in Indonesia by the way and stay in cozy city named Yogyakarta, for people like me I know that it seems to be hard to sell my self as a wedding photographer cause I’m not living in a country that get famous of worldwide photography industry. Surely I know some names that got tons of photography achievement but become a great photographer who able to live well and sell good on business is extremely rare. But what I believe is art is a different thing, as long as we great on it than it belongs to borderless. No matter where you stay or no matter who you are but as long as you can deliver great experience, story, and surely the prestigious wedding images than you gonna start sparkling!
2014 was my first year or receiving various enquiries from overseas people, they come from Texas, Brisbane, Singapore, and also Hong Kong and these experience truly blown me away. It’s not that simple cause I have to learn so many things, from the business ethic, international album standard, till how I treat my couple as a best client ever. I thank you so much that I learn how to speak english fluently through my Airbnb guest cause almost everyday I talk to them, share our culture, and also give them suggestion about how to sightseeing around Yogyakarta for less than 3 days, generally it’s a free English course that I had before entering worldwide photography market.
Why Couple Still Need Great Photographers?
You know that in this disruptive era there are a lot of photography platform that allow couple to get the fastest solution of photo session, generally they want to make photography as a commodity as same as when we buy a burger and fries at the Burger King. That’s fine cause the world is moving and seems to be better economy for everyone but I know that some photographers also give up and move to other business and I also know that there are few photographer who still stick on their business, stumble upon in photo session, working on photoshop, and deliver the greatest album ever for their couple.
Related Post
The fact is, there are couple out there who still really need great photographer for their glorious wedding and they absolutely want to spend more and more to pay for great images. They know that they can pay in cheap through some platform but couple in this level are really concern about experience, services, hospitality, and surely great result.
Let me tell you that in this era, automotive company in this planet are working so hard to produce cheap car that come with small engine but I know that there are great company like BMW, Porsche, or even Ferrari still come with expensive and superb car so the point is not about reducing your photographer fee but make your branding stronger and deliver great services to your couple. I know it’s hard to do but if we call this era as a crisis than there are only few people who gonna still work on the same industry and will get their success future.
The main reason that why I still working in wedding photography is,
I love shooting wedding and see people smile and love each other
And what I believe is, your hard work will never lie cause every single day you working out and try more to sell your services than there will be a couple will come. You’re not going to lose your money but make sure you learn more and do some research in deep that related to your business. Richest people always lower than ordinary one, so there are only few of them who able to pay you more and you don’t need to be worry about it, it just about the time.
Great will meet the great so it means that the great couple only want to be served by the great photographer for their wedding. They were so rich and they able to spend more on their wedding no matter it’s a decoration, musician, food and beverages, wedding locations, and surely the photographer.
Related Post
So go back to your studio, retouch more photos with photoshop that you can post on your blog or Instagram, get into seminar and workshop even online or offline and go working day and night and feel the pain. Seriously it just a bout the time but your hard work will never lie!