- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
Word of mouth. I asked friends for recommendations and then checked out the website of each. If they didn't have a website, I didn't persue it. Out of the ones that did, I just chose the one whose style I liked best. Also, I knew 3 people who had hired her whose photos turned out amazing, so it was an easy pick.
I definitely think word-of-mouth is best...that's how I found mine too...I just don't know a lot of people in Arizona yet. Maybe once the word gets out it will be easier!
I also chose my photographer based on the pictures on his website. His work was amazina and within my price range (which is difficult, I feel like!!).
Also, in case anyone wanted to look at my website, it is here:
(link removed due to self promotion policy)
What do you guys think? I know I don't have tons of experience, but I am working toward that! Just need some clients! :)
The ones that I ended up making appointments with were based on this
Wedding wire
Bridal show (I didn't sign with her there but I ended up meeting with her at a later date and she is the one I have picked because I liked her personality and photos so much)
Have a good website. I hated the websites where you have to wait for the pictures to download. When I picked the photographers I wanted to meet with out of dozens the website really did come into play. I needed to have an emotional response to the photos I had seen of theirs online. Having to wait 10-30 seconds for a photo to load to then go onto the next was more of a headache then anything. I wanted to be able to scroll through photos easily to really get a feel of the style and look of the photos. And have a wide variety of photos from each wedding. It does not help when you only get to see 3 or 4 photos from each wedding and it kind of made me suspicious whenever I saw something like this. This of course is all IMO.
@JessicaAnn12: I first asked my friends for recommendations, and second, I looked at various wedding blogs/websites and when I see a wedding I like, I check who their vendors are.
@FiFiKib I totally agree with you about the slow sites...that is extremely annoying to me. If they don't load quickly, I'm out! Adding more pictures of each wedding is definitely something to think about.
Thanks for all the help, guys. It's so hard starting a business 2,000 miles aways from everything/everyone you know. I appreciate the support!
The photographer we're using is a former student of mine (I don't teach photography, but I'd seen his photos in teh campus paper and he did a project that used some of his photos). So I guess he didn't need to promote himself to me. However, the photographer we were thinking of using one of the girls who works at the salon I go to used for her wedding. She happened to have some pictures on her phone, adn they were great. I looked them up online and their website was very clean and easy to navigate, plus they seemed to go more w/ a photojournalistic style. I've only been to one wedding show, but there were a TON of photographers there - some that we like and would have considered had samples of their work and were friendly without being pushy (some stands had incredibly pushy or even rude workers).
@JessicaAnn12: Mostly word of mouth. My friend had her for her wedding and I loved her unique photos. But then I found out the photographer was on facebook (and has her own website). I love being able to look at her albums of other couples that she posts throughout the year. Let's me know the type of work she does. It helps me be to be confident that our wedding pictures will be just as beautiful! And I make sure to tell everyone I know who gets engaged about her and her facebook page so they can check out her work as well. Three of my friends have already hired her.
Good luck with your business :)
I found mine by having coffee at Barnes and Nobel with one of my bridesmaids while doing wedding planning. The photographer overheard us talking about the wedding and gave us his card, and after much shopping around, DH and I liked them best.
@alwayscurious: That's awesome. I hope that clients spread the word about me too. I know what you mean about looking at the photographer's blog at other sessions. I loveeee looking at my photog's blog and seeing how he has photographed other brides. I hope mine turn out the way his previous ones have!
@dolphi99 I think that is great! I need to step up my confidence in talking to people. I just ordered business cards today, so hopefully that will help my business as well!
My photographer messaged me on Weddingbee! Before that, I creeped searched for other weddings in my town on google, saw who the photographer was, and looked up their websites. Maybe search for weddings in Columbus, see what you like, and look up their reviews on Wedding Wire.
I looked on Yelp. It was really important for me to see reviews from clients in a neutral forum, not just what the photographer's site or a sponsor site chooses to post.
A friend of mine is a local wedding planner and puts out a quarterly magazine. I had seen my photog's photos in that, and began to stalk his website. My friend runs monthly contests on her website and one was a free engagement session with this photog. My friend knew how much I wanted him, so she gave it to me (there where very few entrants apparently, and she knew I would most likely book him for my wedding so it just made sense). He's the best I've ever seen and my engagement session turned out amazing and I can't wait to do the wedding!
I messaged someone on WB who was from my hometown and asked if she had any photographer recommendations since I had just had a bad experience with one. She mentioned the one she was using and I looked up their website and that was that!
Google. We're getting married about 10 hours from where we live, so I just googled and googled until I found some photographers I liked. The first photographer I met with was amazing, and I didn't need to look any further. She met with us on last minute notice and it was her daughter's birthday, and she also told us they were going to be raising prices in the next few months. She was really honest and I liked that. Can't wait to work with her next month!
After having no luck at all with the traditional ways of finding one, I found mine on Craigslist. I immediately eliminated anyone who did not have a link to their website, and then looked over the portfolios of the ones that had a link, did more research, met with them, etc.
I have a suggestion for your website - put more info on the pricing page and more options. I know people want all kinds of custom things and you can't really price them until they tell you, but I eliminated a lot of photographers because I had no idea if they were even remotely in budget for us. If you put three or four packages and list how many hours you will be shooting for that price, whether or not you get the images in DVD, if prints or albums are included, etc., then you give people a chance to figure out if you are a good enough of a match to spend the time to contact you.
Weddingbee!
A fellow bee messaged me her photographer's name when I posted something about being stressed out about a bunch of stuff and no photography was on the list. It turns out my photographer is amazing but just starting out in lifestyle photography, so I might never have found her otherwise.
Thanks for all the responses.
I actually just had the pricing info on my site for photography, but I was afraid maybe it was turning people off--I think I will put it back on, since it seems like people want to have some idea. Thank you for the tips guys!
@JessicaAnn12: I found my photographer after a long a Google search. When I saw her portfolio I immediately loved her work. However, I did not contact her because she had no pricing information about her wedding packages and I thought she was way out of my budget because of her work. However, I noticed she had a free engagement shoot contest and I decided to enter FI and I. She and I responded a bit and I liked her personality. I was encouraged by mom and FI to contact her to ask about her pricing and when she sent me her prices I couldn't believe that she was within our budget (jumped for joy!). Before we met her we were able to find her on the Weddingwire.com and she had awesome reviews so we were pretty confident that she would be our top choice and she was.
My suggestions for your site is to include your investment list and show what your packages come with. Also, since you are starting out then it would probably be a good idea to state on your investment page that packages can be modified to fit a couple's budget. The runner-up photographer we considered had this in her site and encouraged interested clients to tell her exactly what they want in a wedding package and she gives you a reasonable quote. Also, aside from you site include a blog that keeps track of your most recent work so that brides can see your development process (from your earlier work to now). Lastly, consider creating a FB page. I have found many unknown yet talented photographers on FB and follow their work because I've "liked" their page.
Good luck! :)
Made a Facebook page...and a Twitter. Hopefully, I will start getting some clients soon. And can I just say, thank you so much bees! :)
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Lyndzo | 33 |
| beargoose | 21 |
| his chippymunk | 20 |
| Ms. Salamander | 19 |
| rebwana | 18 |
| LammChop | 17 |
| fivemonthsnotice | 17 |
| kat2014 | 15 |
| mypinkshoes | 15 |
| s.renea9 | 15 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| mousegirl | 1 |
| MrsStrawberry24 | 1 |
 CassidyR |
1 |
| GeekChic | 1 |
| monique1218 | 1 |
| beargoose | 1 |
| redhead46 | 1 |
| vreelans | 1 |
| ColeandAmyT | 1 |
| mkim | 1 |
Hi Everyone!
I was just wondering, how did you find your photographer for your wedding? I am actually new to the Phoenix area and trying to figure out how to promote my photography business. I am also planning my own wedding in Columbus, OH for this September, and I know finding a wedding photographer is a really important part of the day!
Let me know if you have any ideas!
Thanks!