As an avid lover of wedding photography (thanks to my job at Two Bright Lights!) picking my perfect photographer for Charlie’s and my wedding was a huge priority. I knew that I needed a photographer who could do an engagement shoot in Colorado and who would travel to my home in Templeton, CA. But I did not know photographers in either area. We decided it made the most sense to find a photographer in Denver because as a bigger city there were more photographers to chose from. So while the selection process was still daunting, at least that narrowed it down a bit! But now the big question:
So how do brides (and grooms:) go about finding photographers?
(My confused groom-to-be Charlie)
To answer this, I want to walk you through my thought process of how I found my photographer. I want to give you some insight on how brides find photographers in hopes of giving you some food for thought on how to reach prospective clients.
Problem: I don’t know anyone my age in Denver to ask for referrals so how do I find a photographer?
Step 1: Find vetted lists of photographers.
How? I started by looking at one of Two Bright Light’s Colorado focused editorial partners, Colorado Wedding Style. I was looking for a preferred vendors list, which they did have. Though it was a small list and I recognized nowhere near comprehensive, it was a good place to start. At least I had a few names. I then Googled “Colorado Wedding Style Best Photographer” and came across a contest they ran asking readers which CO photographer was the “best.” They provided a long list of photographers, and readers shared their opinion. To decide which photographers I would add to my list, I looked for the photographers who had the most people’s vote, and those who received the most enthusiastic response. I also looked for photographers whose advocates said specific things about why they loved the photographer. Of all of the photographers in the contest I picked three or four who really stood out based on my criteria. At this point I had 8 potential photographers.
Step 2: Narrow down the list even further
How? I took the preferred vendor list and my list from the contest and I looked at all of their websites. I was not attempting to choose at this point, I just wanted to narrow it down to about 3-4 photographers I wanted to reach out to directly. I did not spend more than 3 minutes on the website. I was looking for four things:
- Layout: Did the structure of the website reflect an understanding of what a bride is looking for? (namely did they do weddings, engagement shoots, editorial shots, documentary shots? Did they capture a wide variety of emotions and moments? Did their photography reflect multiple styles – which was indicative that they had creative flexibility? —-More thoughts on what brides are looking for specifically in Part 2)
- Professionalism: Was the site professional – clean, clearly worded, well branded, well designed, and up to date?
- Clarity: Was it easy to find the info I was looking for e.g. contact, portfolio, blog, referrals, pricing, about, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
- Quality: Were the images highlighted artistic and realistic rather than too stylized through photoshop?
(NOTE: My next post is going to be on the specifics of the ins and outs of what worked for me in websites and blogs and what did not. Think of this list as a teaser!)
I trimmed the photographers who did not have all four of the qualities I was looking for and with the remaining three I sent them an email to set up a call!!
Insight for you:
- Pretend you are a bride and try to find your business online.
- Do your best to get on blogs preferred vendors list.
- Focus on web design and highlighting images that will appeal to a wide array of brides (styles, budgets, etc)
- Get your name onto as many websites and contests as you can.
- Pay attention to your Search Engine Optimization.
- Make sure client’s thoughts on your work are easy to find on your website.
- Set up a place where people can give perspective on your work, such as Yelp. A
- If there are venues for user feedback e.g. local and regional blogs and magazines, etc., try to get some of your favorite clients to advocate for you on them.
- Pretend you are a bride and figure out how they would find you online. Search google, search Yelp, search databases, etc.
- Be entrepreneurial and creative! Here a just a few ideas: be a guest blogger on local blogs, create lists of your favorite vendors to work with and refer them when asked, blog, tweet, Facebook, host promotions and give-a-ways, try to get interviewed in local publications and host workshops.
Image Courtesy of Jessica Claire Photography
hmmm… interesting, but keep in mind that the blog you referenced is actually owned and operated BY a photography company here in Denver – and pretty biased in its content. Perhaps not the most objective source..
I did not know that, BUT in this case I ended up using it as a source to point to photographers and mainly relied on the contest that had user feedback. I noticed that their preferred vendors was a very short list, and thus understood it was NO way comprehensive. I just did not know where to start, and this was a good step one. Do you have other sources for Denver photographers that would have been better?
Here is a great photographer…
http://www.paigeelizabeth.net/
The thing that always gets me about preferred vendor lists is why are they “preferred?” I don’t know about this list in particular, but I know some vendors charge photographers for being on such a list. Or a blog will favor a photographer who has paid them to advertise.
As for public comments from brides, I can’t tell you how many Facebook posts I’ve seen from photographers that say things like “vote for me!” for some contest. And prompting your brides to review you on Yelp is pretty much against their terms of service. And lots of other “databases” are nothing more than lists photographers have paid to be on.
I’m not trying to be snarky or cynical, but I guess what I’m saying is that you can’t take everything at face value. I don’t do these things and it does make me practically invisible, but at the same time I only want people to talk about me online if they really want to.
Erik, Its definitely true that you can’t talk everything at face value, but I was using this as a way to get names so that I could evaluate things for myself. I think even if a photog asked brides to comment, the brides who comment did have positive experiences (else they would not have commented) so were an insight no matter what. What I wanted to get out was that I needed a way to get a list of people to check out, and these sorts of things are a way to start. Do you have other suggestions for good resources?
The page you used was run from nominations, everyone nominated was put on the list. You had it right lots of great comments about the photographers nominated. The owners of the website were not even in the contest. How is that for bias. Glad you found http://www.ColoradoWeddingStyle.com a good resource. The whole purpose of the site is to help brides find great colorado vendors.
There’s a difference between a photographer asking her clients to promote them online and doing it organically. To me one has more value than the other. And since there’s no way to know the motivation for posting, I’m just saying take it at face value.
I don’t mean to pick on the Colorado blog, but how many brides are still reading bridal blogs AFTER their weddings? And of those, how many actually saw the contest? And of those, how many felt the need to post their comments? I suppose a bride could nominate her photographer BEFORE the wedding has even happened, but how do they know they’re great when they haven’t even seen their pictures? I’m sure everyone nominated was on the list, but I do wonder how many were prompted by the photographer.
My point is that there isn’t a lot of transparency in the process which is why it’s important to form your own opinion. A quick google query for Colorado photographer would turn up scores of options. Every photographer (almost) has a Facebook page. Follow them on Twitter to see what their personality is like. Check out Professional Photographers of America (PPA) for a list of photographers who have met their rigorous standards for certification. Spend some time going through each website and blog to really look at their work to see what you really like. It takes more than three minutes, but for the amount of money involved and the once in a lifetime chance to get it right, I think it’s worth it.
So who did you pick to be your wedding photographer? Have you picked yet?
http://www.vieraphotographics.com
Its a secret for now!!! But I am going to post about the rest of my decision making process first!!
Shalyn,
Personally I think you did a good job looking for a photographer. It is very, very daunting trying to narrow down that list.
One thing I noticed you didn’t mention was your budget. Almost every bride that approaches us brings up their budget almost immediately. It almost seems the budget, for a lot of brides at least, takes precedence over every other consideration.
As a searching bride how did you approach looking for a photographer from a financial standpoint. Was it helpful to have prices listed on their website? I guess my main question is from a bride’s point of view are you more likely to contact a photographer that lists their prices or less likely? We don’t right now, but have tossed around if we should. Your thoughts on this?
Thanks!
I really appreciated it when photogs listed their prices. It made me feel that the photog wanted to be up front and helpful. It made me feel they were more “honest.” I know there are multiple pricing packages for each photographer, so simply listing prices does not always makes sense. A well done flip book with the different pricing options was perfect for me. After checking in on quite a few websites, it seemed to me that photographer’s prices seemed to fall into three buckets. I wanted 8 hours of photography and I had a price point I did not want to go below and a price I did not want to go above. So when the price was listed it saved both the photog and I time. I was going to write a post on this more specifically so be on the lookout for that!
As a bride I actually felt almost obligated to hire someone after meeting with them or contacting them for their prices, so I was very hesitant to do so – and I passed up a LOT of fantastic photographers in the process by either just assuming they were too pricey, or being too hesitant to contact them about their prices simply because I *did* have a budget and didn’t want to get wrapped up in a sales pitch or fall in love with something and then be disappointed if they ended up being someone I couldn’t afford. (I knew if they were over budget, they were worth what they charged, I just couldn’t make $ 3,000 and 5,000+ packages work for me
)
I think that’s all good information. Couples need to start somewhere, and however you decided to start is certainly a valid way to approach it. As photographers, we know who are the good photographers in our area, and we know the criteria to use. But most couples have probably never looked for a photographer before, and each must develop their own approach and criteria. There are no “reliable” online referrals because even a high ranking on Google search is purchased rather than earned, and selective sites like photographik.org which is by invitation only also has to be paid for. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Christina
Sometimes (and often times) preferred vendors on a list are simply the ones that pay a monthly fee to be there.
This is so informative! Thank you for doing this. Also, I love in San Luis Obispo and just recently photographed a wedding at the Presbyterian Church and the Country House Inn in Templeton, Ca. I love that town, it’s so cute. If you wanted to see the wedding, here is the link to my blog post: http://shannonmoorephotography.blogspot.com/2011/06/sierra-and-johns-wedding-templeton-ca.html
I am looking forward to Part 2!
Great information Shalyn. It’s great to get the inside scoop on how folks search for a photographer.
I suggest folks begin by deciding if they are more interested in the candid photos or the posed photos. I know any bride and group want some of both, but most folks have a preferred style … photojournalistic or more fashion/portrait … and most photographers lean one way or the other, though a good photographer can always do both.
If a bride is looking for a photographer who is an outstanding wedding photojournalist, one of the best places to begin the search is at the Wedding Photojournalist Association website http://www.wpja.com. They accept about five percent of the photographers who apply for membership, so they’ve narrowed the pool considerably.
Folks hardly ever do this, but if you haven’t gotten a direct referral, I suggest asking the photographer for the names and contact information for three or four brides who are willing to talk about their experience with the photographer. You can find out a lot more from talking with someone than by reading a review. Another way of getting reviews without asking the photographer directly, is to call a venue where the photographer has worked and ask the coordinator about the photographer’s personality and work ethic. You’d be surprised how much a venue coordinator will know about photographers.
superb shalyn. so interresting to have this detailed a perspective from a bride. i’m especially curious to read the rest…
Eric, I get your point. But you have to keep in mind that the writer of the post is writing from her own experience and how she made it work. I betcha hundred times that most of the brides look for the items and points Shalyn listed and the rest of the brides go with referrals. After all, putting so many hours in perfecting your photography business should include couple of hours of perfecting your image on world wide web
In my opinion that’s one of the nuggets of success these days.
I assume you won’t be working with a Full Wedding Planner since that would kind of kill the blind vendor discovery process BUT it would be really interesting to hear how you would go about finding and hiring a planner if you were to do so. Great blog post!
Can’t wait for part 2 of this series!!