Look, I get it. When you decide “I am going to be a wedding photographer” you then set up your business like a professional, and you created your cool logo and brand but, now the question is:
WHERE ARE MY CLIENTS? HOW DO I BOOK THEM?
USE ANYTHING AND EVERYONE TO PRACTICE ON
When I was starting out in photography, I used every inanimate object to understand the basics of lighting and used family and friends to practice whenever necessary.
Practicing takes off the pressure and the need for things to be perfect. And luckily, most friends and family are super supportive and excited to see you try new things so that’s a free confidence boost.
QUICK TIP: Practice shooting in every kind of light situation: sunny, cloudy, backlit, and nighttime. See what magic you can create with little to no pressure. This helps prepare for real life portrait/wedding situations.
FIGURE OUT YOUR EDITING STYLE AND UNIQUE APPROACH
Once you have the RAW images to play around with, now you have to edit the images and make sure they are true to life. I use Lightroom to edit all of my images and Photomechanic to cull a large amount of images. But, let’s just start with Lightroom. Adobe suite is only $10 a month and includes quite a few programs to download on your laptop/computer.
Now you have to ask yourself:
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What type of images do I like creating?
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What color styles am I attracted to?
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What presets can I use to replicate those styles?
QUICK TIP: Try to stay true to your gut without always chasing the “trendy” styles or researching yourself into paralysis.
ROUND-UP YOUR FAVORITE IMAGES YOU CREATED + SHOWCASE YOUR PORTFOLIO
YAY! Now you have a portfolio! So let’s narrow down these images to the BEST OF THE BEST photos you have taken through this process.
Feel free to start sharing them on social media to start building your online presence. I feel that it is IMPERATIVE that you have a website and create a “gallery” of your best images to start showing people that you’re in business and ready to capture them!
QUICK TIP: Don’t be afraid to start calling out on social media that you’re in business and have available slots or bookings! This gets you on people’s radar and thinking of you.
