Business of Wedding Photography Series

Learning to make excellent images is only half of the equation to being a professional photographer. Learning to build, promote and run a successful business is equally important if you want to make a career of photography. To help with this process, Managing Editor Hannah Thiem has gathered a group of Photo.net's most active and successful wedding photographers for a discussion on the business of wedding photography. Covering everything from promotion to legal issues, there will be 11 articles in all. The first 6 topics have been published:

1. Determining your personal style and breaking into the field
2. Self-promotion and public relations
3. Web sites for the professional wedding photographer
4. Portfolios and making the sale
5. Pricing structure
6. Contracts

"We use a selling technique, which we refer to as Wedding Photography 101. We spend a lot of time showing the clients why we took a particular photograph and explain the lighting and posing. We also look at B&W photos and sepia to get a feel for what the client really is looking for. In a sense, we are teaching the clients about the art of wedding photography." -Bob Bernardo

"Consistency and individuality is important with portfolio presentation. The best photographers can be recognized from their images. The average photographer tends to copy and never develop their own identity." -Jeff Ascough

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Image by David Wegwart