Comments on: Building Your Portfolio in the Wedding Industry

By: Brandi~ Glitz & Glamour Events

Brandi~ Glitz & Glamour Events — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:13:16 +0000

As a Planner, I used craigslist to coordinate my first non-friend/family wedding. Yes it was a lot to offer someone for free but they were also putting their trust in me with no guarantees either and it ended up being a win-win for both! I gave them my full effort and they in turn trusted that they were leaving their wedding in capable hands. While I’d already had images from events of those in my circle, this was a great way for me to diversify my portfolio with clients who incorporated cultural elements into their wedding that I hadn’t worked with before.

By: Be Brave » Sage Wedding Pros

Be Brave » Sage Wedding Pros — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:02:04 +0000

[...] Building Your Portfolio in the Wedding Industry [...]

By: Kathryn L

Kathryn L — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:41:51 +0000

I second Eric’s comment about doing a wedding for free off craigslist. I did one wedding this summer this way and was asked to run a photobooth at a second wedding. Both experiences have paid off already. Have since been hired (at fair market value) to shoot another wedding in a few weekends and the bride from the photobooth wedding loved my work so much she’s hired me to do a Trash the Dress shoot.

I also got started by announcing a year ago that I would do a free shoot a month for the next year in order to build my portfolio. People have been coming out of the woodwork to do these and also paid jobs. In fact one of my first free shoots has already lead to two other paying jobs.

My project for the second year of business building is to develop an incentive program for satisfied clients who recommend me. I see these free shoots as both advertising (thanks social media) and portfolio building. I can’t put a price point on what this sort of advertising would have cost if done in “traditional” methods.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:26:26 +0000

This is some great advice. It gets discussed a lot on boards and forums and any photographer will tell you they often get emails from those starting out. I know I often give similar advice to those querying me. I tell them how many photogs I emailed, and how few wrote back, and how none of them could help with work, only advice. It is a great idea to put this information out there for people new to the industry to read and absorb.

I tell them to shoot anything they can, and in particular anything to show they can shoot in low light. It doesn’t have to be a wedding, just low light and activity. Show off camera work. Again, no weddings, just good work. Show a variety of images that display how adept you are at composition. If you can show you do these things when not shooting a wedding, one could expect you would do these things when shooting a wedding.

Finally, I tell them that if all else fails and they are 100% sure of their abilities and gear (that means hands-on knowledge and backups for everything), then go out and do a wedding for free off of craigslist. I know how many will disagree and say it could ruin a couple’s wedding photos. It is a valid issue and I am not quite sure how to respond. In the end though, I will say that I did it to get started. Without doing it I doubt I would have been given a chance to work for another photog as quickly as I was, which then led to regular second shooting work, which then led to a good port and business that followed. I still use some of the images from the freebie wedding in my port. They were good shots because I was sure of my abilities and had the gear necessary to shoot a wedding.