Want To Start Charging For Bridal Photography

By Jo Wong

A wedding is the kind of occasion that people want to display pictures of for years to come. Your clients will be looking for a quality track record because it is such a special moment they want capturing. If you are a photographer you might want to consider photographing weddings because there is a lot of money to be made by doing them. As well as the money though there is the risk that you must manage well.

A disclaimer should be included in a well written up first time contract. If you don't have a disclaimer you could be sued afterwards. There are a few reason you should not be held accountable for and they are failure of equipment, miss placed pictures after they were sent away, and photos that do not develop properly. You do not want to be sued for breaching your contract.

Now with that said you should also include how many pictures are to be taken and how long you will be photographing for and what hourly rate will be. Include how much the cost of development is and the cost of the album. Your client's requirements are important so make sure you talk it over with them. They might want a certain person or family they would like pictures of since they don't get to see them often, so that should be discussed as well if it is an issue.

Make a list of all the pictures that your client's requested. Generally your clients will want pictures of the pre-ceremony, wedding ceremony, post-ceremony and of course the reception. Who will be in certain photographs should be discussed with the client as well. Not every client will be the same so pay attention to what they are saying.

When you schedule your clients in make sure they pay you a deposit. Fifty percent is reasonable to ask for an up front booking fee. This will make sure you are covered in the event of a cancellation. So you don't end up bothering the bride and groom during the reception, arrangements should be made for when the remainder will be paid. It would look very unprofessional if you did.

Photoshop is a good program to use if you are going to be processing the pictures yourself. You can enhance the photos with all sorts of techniques such as flaw removal, montage, changing the color to black and which or sepia, as well as other unique features.

Look for ways to add extra value that you have not told them about. This will always generate good feelings. A special surprise will keep everyone talking and generating more business for you in the future. Think different. Imagine for example if you uploaded all their pictures onto a password protected part of your website so that they and their friends can login and view.

In the end doing bridal photography can be lucrative and fun as long as you build on your people skills. - 30299

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