A Great Article! Enjoy!

Before I post the photos from my most recent portrait session with one of my favourite couples, I just wanted to post this article by Scott Bourne.

It's from about two months ago, and it goes into not only why photographers (that is, true professionals as opposed to hobbyists) should NEVER under sell themselves and the services provided; as well as explaining why consumers should not buy into the "I will shoot your wedding for only $200!!! You can't beat that!! I will always do that!" aesthetic!

Now, before posting, I will say that I was once a photographer that was unfamiliar with wedding photography and wanted to begin my journey into the field. As a novice, I offered my services at well below market price (foolish, I know...but I didn't think anyone would ever book me if I was appropriately priced in the market with little to no true experience. I had shot one and a half weddings when I decided to go at it alone.) (I know that a lot of aspiring wedding photographers have the same mindset I had, and I urge them to read this article as well! You should never undersell due to your experience or lack thereof. Price yourself appropriately! And experienced photographers that book weddings by low-balling other experienced photographers, well they really should know better! Everyone should really value themselves and the work they do appropriately, and I feel that potential clients should also look at the value of the work and the packages when looking at the prices - not just what is immediately behind the dollar sign).

I know that we are all trying to save money anywhere we can...but do you really want to look back on your wedding photos and say something like "Man...I really wish we had gone with _______________ Photography. We would have gotten so much more for our money."

I know I wouldn't want that!

So, without any further wait, here is the article!

'And You Call Yourself a Professional' by Scott Bourne

"When you undercut the market so severely you accomplish several things.

a. You cheat the client. This is the worst point. That’s right, the client who’s once-in-a-lifetime special day has just been handed to the cheapo wedding photographer is not going to be well-served. A true professional photographer has skills that Uncle Harry doesn’t. The better the skills the more longevity in the business and the better the chance the client is going to get images they want to come back for.

[...]

[...]remember this – photography is an incredible career field if done right – if you get the reputation for being cheap you won’t last long – because you’ve got nothing to fall back on. Develop your skill set first, then your marketing, then launch with a product that has the value it should and more importantly value that will last – cheap candles burn fast and they’re gone."

Melissa + Justin - 13 June 2009

Melissa and Justin contacted me through CraigsList. They were my fourth wedding that I booked, and were SO sweet and fun!

Their wedding was an outdoor wedding (literally one day before the record 100 degrees and up streak here in Texas) at The Ranch House at Tera Vista in Round Rock, TX. It was beautiful! The interior was just lovely and the land surrounding the Ranch House was great - it's a golf course!

This is the first post in the "flash back" posts.

Thank you to Melissa and Justin for allowing me to take part and capture your beautiful wedding!

With love

Meeting Goals

This is a photo from one of my very first weddings. I was a second shooter, and it was the first wedding I would be shooting all the way through, and not as a favour to a friend.

When I first started working in photography, I sincerely never thought I'd want to be a wedding photographer. It was so much work; so much pressure - I mean, it is a once in a lifetime event; and what about bride-zillas?! How would I be able to handle all of that? I never thought I'd be able to handle it all."No, I'll never do wedding photography" I told myself.

I tell all of my prospective clients this story, because I always follow it with the fact that I've completely grown to love it. The details; the people; the challenge; the results! Capturing love like that is insanely beautiful to me, and I know that on my wedding day photography is one of the bigger priorities. I learned that I genuinely want to be able to give people those loving moments that they will have for as long as they are together. It is a once in a lifetime event, and that's one of the bits that I love so much about the whole wedding photography process!

Having grown to love wedding photography, last year I started looking into how I could possibly get my foot in the door. Fate stepped into The Gap one day where a former photography classmate of mine walked in and after I told her I was trying to get into the market, she let me know that she was a wedding photographer and always needed second photographers. I was so excited and nervous! The wedding I would be second shooting was in December of 2008. Luckily, I had a family friend that was getting married in November and heard I was nervous about photographing one in December. My friend (Cristi) had hired a photographer, but her photographer was not going to be capturing Cristi getting ready for the wedding. I was asked if I'd like to do that. I gladly took the opportunity to practice and took photos while Cristi was getting ready and during the reception. Turns out I was a natural, because Cristi and Joe (her husband) loved the photos and actually used two of my photos on their Christmas cards last year!

The wedding in December also went extremely well! It was then that I knew I loved wedding photography and wanted to pursue it on my own. 

On New Years Eve 2008, I placed an ad on Craigslist telling people I was a photographer trying to get into wedding photography. I waited...and waited...and waited...all the while being optimistic. On the 3rd of January, I was contacted by my first couple basically saying they already wanted to hire me. I got a lot of emails from couples, and you know...didn't book some right away, but did manage to book two just in January alone! 

The whole time I was thinking "Holy crow! It's just the beginning of the year, and I'm getting inquiries and booking weddings!" I said to myself "If I could book just six weddings this year, that'd be great!"

Well, as of the 20th of May, I've met my first goal! I've booked six weddings, and it's not even the middle of the year yet! I'm still getting inquiries and want to further my goals! From six weddings to eight; from eight to ten; from ten to twelve; ultimately, I'd love to book at least one wedding per month! 

I worked out details two days ago. If I book one wedding a month with my new prices, and three non-wedding bookings, I can make over $1000 a month. If I do that every month, I'll have over $6000 for the year, and if I can do it all year next year I'll have made over $12000 for that year alone. If I can do that every year up until James and I get married, we could pay for most of our wedding ourselves! I think I can do that! I honestly do!

I should start filing taxes for this, though...

Everything is just getting started for me, and I can't wait to see what The Universe has in store for me next! I'm so blessed, and every day I have no problem remembering that fact!

I'm so in love with life!

I want to thank absolutely everyone that has helped to further my business. Whether it's vocal support; support by booking a session; anything - I want to thank everyone so much! As award show as this will sound - without you all and all of your support, I would not be where I am today!

This photo is from my latest wedding. I have a wedding coming up very soon - next month!

With love.