by: Michael Colucci
That’s right. Who could say that there’s no chance that your hobby could also be the foundation of your first business venture? There are a lot of people out there who are in need of a good photographer to capture images of their son’s wedding, their daughter’s graduation or their very own wedding. Why couldn’t you be the one to supply your photography services to their needs?
For the transition of photography from hobby to your very own business, there are several tasks that you have to accomplish first.
Market Your Photography Skills – Sell yourself, in other words! Let people know about what you can do in the field of photography, why they need your skills and why they should hire you. Make sure, however, that you charge them reasonable rates since you’re still more or less an amateur in the field of photography.
To effectively market your photography skills, don’t be afraid of spending a little money on posting ads in the classified sections. Don’t stop there but post about your photography business in as many places as you can.
Join Interest Groups – This could be the local photography club in your community or the association of young photographers in your school. It could also be a Yahoo Group that you could easily join.
Usually, these groups are able to hold regular or annual exhibits of their works and it wouldn’t hurt to expose to the world the beauty of your works in photography.
Join Photo Competitions – Two things that you could enjoy when joining photography competitions: fame and fortune. Both are equally important. Fame would do wonders to your career in photography because it would let the world know about your skills and winning a photography competition may also offer the prize of having an apprenticeship under a world famous photographer. And when it comes to wealth – well, when did extra money ever hurt?
Offer Your Skills For Free to Government Projects – The government is always on the lookout for professionals who are willing to work for free and you should take advantage of this. Offer your photography skills for free because this would give you the opportunity to show them what you got.
Offer Samples of Your Work to Newspapers and Magazines – This is just like joining a photography competition. When you offer samples of your work to newspapers and magazines, you’re improving the chances that you’ll get noticed by the people who matters.
Although we can’t say that the road to victory is easy, never give up, never stop taking pictures and you’re sure to go far!
Photography: From Hobby To Your Very Own Business
Grooms Are People Too!
by: Andy Heller
Having photographed many weddings over the past 17 years I've come to the conclusion that the wedding day seems to be all about the bride. Not exactly shocking news you might think, but considering the groom is 50% of the union he's certainly an underrepresented minority.
As a wedding photographer my day starts at the bride's home where all the bridesmaids and flower girls have assembled. There's a madhouse of activity with telephones ringing, flowers and bouquets being delivered and the heavy scent of hairspray lingering in the air. There's absolutely no denying it. I'm at WEDDING HEADQUARTERS! I'm working at a rapid pace, photographing all the details of the wedding preparation. There are classic photographs that must be taken. Some of which include the bride with her bridesmaids, along with photos with her mom and dad and then.....the sleek limousine pulls into the driveway. Finally I'll photograph the bride leaving her parents home for the last time as their unmarried daughter, getting into the limousine and heading off for the ceremony.
I'm already breaking out in a sweat and I haven't even seen the groom yet. He's that poor, forgotten figure who mysteriously appears at the front of the church, awaiting his beautiful bride. Anyone will acknowledge that there's not going to be a wedding without him, but somehow he gets lost in the pre-wedding hysteria. Somehow that trip to the tuxedo rental shop doesn't hold the same mystique for him that the bride experiences while hunting down the perfect dress. Obviously there are going to be exceptions to these observations, but most of the excitement, fun, and yes, the WORK of wedding planning is handled by the bride. Maybe it's just traditional that the bride and her family plan for the wedding, and this may be particularly true when the two families live far from each other.
That being said, it's my job as a wedding photographer to treat everyone equally during the wedding day. I'm always sure to photograph the groom and his family along with any special family request from either side. Some of the most emotional moments from any wedding celebration occur during the mother/son dance. My camera has captured many a teary eye during these dances. (tears of joy of course!) Not long ago I was working on a wedding album with one of my bridal customers. She's a very nice young lady who was extremely low-key about the whole process. She had no unusual demands and never even approached a "bridezilla" moment. There was ONE thing she asked me to do when assembling her album. She told me that she didn't care if the photos were placed in perfect chronology coinciding with the wedding day. She INSISTED that the first page of the album be a photograph of she AND her husband. "The wedding was about both of us", she said. We then proceeded to select the perfect photograph to start the album.
