5 Things Your Photographer Must Know About Your Wedding

Last week we looked at what brides should be asking their photographers, so this week we're turning the tables. While at their heart, most weddings are the same, each couple has their own spin on the traditions that come together and make their celebration so special. With that in mind, your photographer needs to know a few things headed into your wedding in order to provide the best coverage of this important milestone.

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Book Excerpt: Basic Wedding Photography Sales

The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming e-book - Basic Wedding Photography Sales: Simple Lessons for Selling Better. The book will focus on getting photographers over their fear of sales and building more sustainable photography businesses.

Sell.

For most photographers it’s the dirtiest of the four-letter words, but it doesn’t have to be. For the photographer hoping to build a business it must not be.

Photography is a romantic profession. Our understanding of the photographer is as an artist perfecting a craft to create these beautiful moments stolen out of time. Pursuing art is supposed to be a lifestyle, not a job. Wedding photography is by its nature then, doubly romantic. The belief that art should speak for itself - that art should sell itself - pervades.

Art history is laden with counter-examples. Vincent van Gogh died penniless and Thomas Kinkade - painter of bland nostalgia pieces - has made millions from prints and licensing. It has never been enough to simply make art, successful artists have always been schmoozers and salesmen often with as much ability to find the right client as they have to produce the right work.

Just like you couldn’t become an artist overnight, building sales skills takes time and starts with a few basic building blocks.

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Blog Posts You Won't See in 2012

2012 is sure to be exciting here at Ryan Richardson Photography, as we roll out a few new products and get ready for the coming wedding season. While we have a lot planned for the blog between weddings, there area  few things you won't find here in the coming year.

Photographer Loses Shirt on Mayan Apocalypse:

If the History Channel is to be believed, the world will suffer some horrible fate next December as the Mayan calender changes over. Someone with fewer scruples might be tempted to overbook for 2013 to get a lot of cash before the end of the world, but not me. So on December 21 I won't have to apologize to all the couples I scammed while betting the world was going to be devoured by the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl.

If I'm wrong, I won't live to regret it.

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Caitlin and Ryan: A Charlestown Love Story

Caitlin and Ryan met and first fell in love in Charlestown, and they returned there for their engagement session amongst the gas lamps, cobblestone streets and unique architecture in the shadow of Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts. In spite of the humidty, the two were game to explore the nooks and crannies of the neighborhood for photographic opportunities, and even indulge in a few dramatic displays of affection.

Beyond the couple's history, the streets of Charlestown offered a number of interesting sets for an engagement session full of parks, alleyways and gardens that offers the best of the city with an old-world charm. We started at Cirty Square Park, with photos around the fountain and wound up at the coffee shop where they used to have lunch, sneaking away from work to spend time together.

Caitlin and Ryan will be married next year at the Rockland Art Association in Rockland, MA.

Our Photobooths

Just in time for the fall and the end of our wedding season, we're unveiling our event photobooth packages. Designed to compliment our wedding coverages, the booth offered by Ryan Richardson Photography is more of a miniature studio than a boardwalk booth (though the convention seems to stick in the wedding world). This product will allow your guets to capture their memories and experiences without the need for awkward table shots. It's a great supplement for the formal portraits and for more casual affairs, it's a great way for guests to have some fun.

We are beginning our coverage with three packages. Each starts with our backdrop and lighting kit, so it will require at least a 10x10 area (with power) at your event.

The first offers basic coverage of our phootbooth, with our studio setup and dedicated staff member. After teh event you will recieve a DVD of your images and we'll be sure to get them up to Facebook so your friends and family can tag themselves in your album. ($1,000)

Our second package includes onsite printing, where your guetsts will recieve a copy of their image in a print folio. ($1,500)

The third pacakge is great for couples that want to leave their guests with something above and beyond. Each guest will recieve a gift bag with a keepsake print folio (printed with a special message from you), and a custom USB jump drive with a digital copy of their image. ($35/guest, minimum 100)

While our photobooth experience stands on its own, we offer a 10 percent discount for couples that choose to book both the booth and regular wedding coverage through Ryan Richardson Photography. In addition to being great for weddings, the booth is great for charity events (Please inquire about rates), conventions, family reunions and a variety of special events. This year we're looking forward to creating a very special prom experience that goes beyond just teh photobooth and gives young adults the star treatment on their special night.