Have you ever thought about what it really REALLY means to be in a wedding photographer?
Let me give you a hint… it’s about more than just being in the Wedding Photography Business…
It’s about being in the People Business.
Let me explain…
As a wedding photographer, you are challenged with capturing the most beautiful, intimate, fleeting moments of what some say is the most important day in a couple’s lives. There’s no room for mistakes, there are no do-overs.
So, while your focus will undoubtedly be on beautiful imagery, it should also be about creating intimate, personal, long-lasting relationships with these people who have invited you into their lives.
A few years into my business…I was doing well, but I knew that I could be doing better…
I really started to dive deep into what I could change that would have a dramatic, long-lasting, positive effect on my business, and while it took some time, once it clicked, it clicked!
A lightbulb went off!
When I realized that I was really in the People Business, things started to change.
I went from focusing just on how I could improve my business, to focusing on how I could improve my clients’ experiences right from their first interaction with my business, to their BIG DAY…through to their first wedding anniversary a whole year later.
This was key!
Not only did I revamp things to deliver a superior experience, I thought about other ways that I could really stand out…
Every night after I finished shooting a wedding, I headed to the nearest convenience store and purchased a local newspaper from that day. I set it aside in a tidy little pile and by the end of the year, I had quite the collection.
One year later, about a week before each couples wedding anniversary, I packaged up this newspaper with a little note wishing them the happiest one-year celebration, and that was that.
They had a sentimental little keepsake and I solidified myself as their favourite wedding vendor for thinking of them a while year after their wedding celebration.
You see, my work wasn’t done after I delivered their images. Sure, it could have been, but I wanted to take things one step further to let them know how much they meant to me.
When I really started being other driven, my business exploded.
I was often the first vendor clients were telling their friends and family about and that meant way more for my business than traditional advertising ever could.
Now it’s your turn. I challenge you to think about ways you can serve those around you. Ways that you can build meaningful, lasting relationships and ways that you can stand out.