As a professional wedding photographer storyteller, I am trusted by my clients to capture and document one of the biggest days of their lives. Every wedding is different in so many ways, I should know by being so fortunate to have captured over 500 weddings in my 17 years, as a full-time wedding photographer. Every moment from that day as meaning and no moment is expected to be missed or not documented. Here (below) is how I have structured my brand, and have been so passionate to follow these golden rules, that have led me to have earned to be one of the most decorated and reviewed Charleston wedding photographers that showcases my accomplishment by getting glowing reviews on Google, Angie’s List, The Knot and by receiving the Wedding Wire Couples’ Choice award for 2015, 2016, 2017 and the best award I am so honored to have been given, The Wedding Wire Rated Black Badge for receiving over 105 glowing reviews from my amazing clients.
First on the list is great communications and the ability to answer your phone calls, return your wedding inquiries and reply emails promptly and most important listen to your clients. Yes, that can make such a huge difference. Your clients expect you to be professional, but does that give you a card Blanche to not listen. It is a craft I have learned and it has paid off grandly.
Next are what your client’s expectations are, and again you listen, and then you advise your clients on what can and what maybe cannot be done. You have to communicate more with your clients. Yes, not just during that initial consultation when you sign the contract and shake hands, more during the entire year up to the wedding day, so that your clients know you care and want the best for their wedding. Whether it is a phone conference between them both or just a lunch meeting, to start discussing the wedding day timeline. It is important that as a wedding photographer you implement the client’s ideas and the type of time all of this will play into the timeline. I have also heard that some wedding photographers do nothing and some just say let the planner coordinator plan that with the wedding client. While I love wedding coordinators, planners, they are not wedding photographers and they really have no idea of the type of time it takes for all different wedding photographers to capture the details pre-ready photos. Let’s face it some wedding photographers take a few minutes while master artiste like me, will look for that perfect light, or maybe add lights, set up various details, so that the image for each has that meaning and look for that perfect image, not quantity but art and quality. Most planners, coordinators will agree, they will be much happier working with a vendor that can plan this type of timeline with the clients and implement that into the master timeline.
Next, come the big day, and how you dress, how you prepare your gear and test it, and how early are you ready to show up to let your clients, your are not interested in how many hours your working but how can you exceed their expectation for their magical day.
Once the wedding is over, how far are you willing to push the envelope again to exceed those expectations, are you willing to post an amazing photo or photos with a very warm thank you the very next day on social media so that they can share it with family and friends? Then comes the most important part of every wedding client questions, when can I see all of the wedding pictures? You should provide your clients with what your contract says and in my case, always withing 30 to 40 days later, NO EXCEPTIONS, that is the golden rule. Again the client’s expectations are what is so important, they want to see their wedding as a story, well mastered edited in chronological order, presented in a beautiful gallery online. You should send a congratulation email and instructions for them on how they and their family and friends can view the photos on any platform whether it is on a phone, IPad, desktop, it should be seamless for everyone by sharing the images to any social media, or downloading the images for their personal use from that same website with just one click.
The wedding album. I made a very wise choice when I started King Street Photo Weddings, that every one of my collections would come with a wedding album, my 13 pages collection brochure describes every different album, the amount of images that are allowed for that said specific album, that every single one of them is designed personally by me. You see, your clients expect a superior, professional album and this type of service and to be able to showcase that amazing magical day in that album on their coffee table for the huge amount of investment they made for wedding photography.
These are just a few of the steps I have taken to improve and I will continue to learn and respect all of my wedding clients. I have been told by my mentors, that a client will be way more satisfied if you always give them not your 100% everyone does that, but more like 1000% that extra 0 has no extra cost. It has led me to receive amazing reviews and the joy I get when my clients are over satisfied, yes there is such a thing. Give them the wedding photography they well invested in. Smile and be everything they expected in a wedding photographer.