How to grow a wedding photography business.

The guide that I chose is "How To Grow A Wedding Photography Business." Weddings are something I would like to photography in addition to newborns, families, senior portraits, etc.. After going through the guide some of the most important things that stood out to me are defining your brand, marketing your services, how to charge for your services, and figuring out who your target market is.
When defining your brand it is important to start with defining your philosophy as a photographer, your brand will dictate your company name, web design, portfolio, advertising plan, budget, and even your website domain. Some questions to ask yourself when doing this are; "What is unique about your personality?" "How do you act in a professional environment?" "What do you love most about taking photos?" These questions are important because they will help you figure out what it is that sets you apart from the other wedding photographers.
Marketing your services can be very expensive and time consuming, but it doesn't need to be to have an impact. Some good ways to market yourself is through word of mouth, if you create a strong presence on social media it can really help with word of mouth. Another way to market is through your website, if a client is looking to hire you odds are they're going to go to your website. You want your website to clearly define who you are as a photographer, you want it to load quickly and have very easy navigation.
When figuring out how to charge for your services it is a good idea to start out with your business plan, figure out where you want to be in five years and go from there.
When you're determining your prices for the first time, map out your larger goals first. After you do that figure out what your cost of doing business is, take every little thing into consideration when doing so. Finally, you need to consider the market for wedding photographers, you should spend time researching the overall market and what your competitors are charging. It is important to remember that you are not charging for what you think your services are worth, you want to charge according to how your target market values the product.
After reading this guide I think a lot of the information could be useful in just about any type of photography you want to go into.

The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Photography Business

The case study that I found the most interesting was "How to turn a Passion Project into a business: Jade Beall." Jade turned taking pictures of mothers to help with their self- esteem into a money making business in itself. I found this really inspiring because I always find myself taking photos of the things I'm most passionate about in life which for me is my family. I don't really see turning taking photos of my family and close friends into a business, but I do think I can have a very successful business photographing other people's families, and their special moments. The one thing from Jade's case study that I really couldn't see myself doing is publishing a book, and creating a crowdfunding campaign; If there was a main project I was working on, and spent a lot of time and effort on this might be something I would consider doing, but for me personally I'm not necessarily creating the photos for everyone to see and be happy with, I'm creating them specifically for each individual client.

A project I could see myself possibly publishing would be if I went to detroit (like I plan on doing) and documented all of the foreclosed homes that have been boarded up and left without second thought, and the families who used to live in these homes. I would love hearing all of the different stories and circumstances these people have gone through, and I think it might be something other people would also be interested in. I always find myself wanting to know more about the history of an abandoned home and the family who used to live there when I see the homes and its like they just all of a sudden had to up and leave. I've seen photos of abandoned homes before where there is still an open book on a side table, a jacket hanging on the back of the chair, dirty dishes in the sink, etc.. and it makes me wonder what could have possibly happened that caused these people to just up and leave without even grabbing their jacket or packing up their personal belongings.  

Photoshelter's Photo Business Boot Camp, Week 2 (Avoiding Business mistakes all photog's make.)

The video I found most interesting was "Avoiding business mistakes all photographers make. This video was interesting to me for many reasons; the first and most important thing I got from the video was that many photographers who are just starting out price themselves way too low. This is something I feel I am unfortunately guilty of doing. I have been charging what I thought was a good deal, and would help me book more clients; to my surprise a lot of people still thought $50 for an hour to two hour session with 15-20 edited images on a disc (with a print release) was still too much to pay! This amazes me because close to if not every day I see other photographers posting mini session fees that are sometimes double what I've been charging, and they're booking like crazy. I guess it just all depends on the clientele that are actually seeing your posts. Thankfully I've been doing a lot more research, and figuring out what I should actually be charging for my work. The other main thing I learned from this video was how important is really is to be insured yourself, and having your business and gear insured. Thinking about all of the things that could go wrong during a photo shoot gives me nightmares, I've realized that I really need to look into getting myself insured even if I'm only doing a few shoots here and there.

Photo Boot Camp Week 1

The article I found the most interesting and influential to me at this time was “11 things photographers wish they learned in school” The things I found most interesting was that many people wish they had learned more about the ins and outs of running a photography business. I think the main focus when you are majoring in photography is to learn the correct ways to take photos, and then figuring out what your style is and creating. This article has opened my eyes a little bit to the fact that we really don’t learn everything we need to know about running our own business, and that the ideas that we have about the business may not be the reality of things. One thing I would really like to learn more about is how to grow my client base, and what to do when “you’re stuck in a rut” and having a hard time feeling inspired to take photos, I think this is something that happens often to photographers, and would like to know what they do to get out of a funk. 

SBA&GFI Tests

After taking the two tests I've realized that there is still a lot that I need to work on and learn before I start my own business. I don’t have really any experience with managing a business, and aside from budgeting for bills and other everyday things I don’t have much experience book keeping. I've taken a personal selling class which taught me more about how to put myself out there and how to present project ideas, and myself in general. I've also taken an intro to business class, and am currently taking into to small business. I think both of these classes will help me have a better understanding of how business run, and what is needed to make it successful. I scored very well in the wisdom and Judgment category; I am very understanding when it comes to people, sometimes too understanding though. I also understand that my business is another extension of who I am.  I am very passionate about what I want to do, and am very committed to making it happen. 

Kevin Kubota's Time Management Video

In Kevin Kubota's video he talks about different tips to help with time management. Some of the high points include what he calls the golden hour; which is the few hours span in which you feel most creative. During your golden hour time he says you should focus your time and energy on brainstorming, shooting, and over all just being creative. Some other tips he talks about include creating a bubble; your quiet space to work, and to "Batch Process" which is working in 2-3 hour batches.

The tips from the video that I feel will make me more successful are his W.I.N method which stands for write it now; Kevin suggests writing down everything you need to remember. I do well writing down and keeping track of my assignments and important appointments, but he suggests to take it a step further and write down absolutely everything you need to remember, such as someone suggesting a movie that you should see, or a reminder that you're supposed to call a good friend to catch up. The other tip that stood out to me was that it is important to reward yourself. I am guilty of not doing thing very often, and not giving myself something to look forward to when I've completed an important task. I will definitely be working on both of these things, I feel as if they will minimize some of the stress and overwhelming feelings I tend to have.

Behind the Lens

My name is Jessica Engelhardt. I'm 22 years old and majoring in commercial photography. I have a two year old son named Gavin who has changed my life in so many ways. He motivates me every day to try my very best, which is why I decided to start attending  college back in 2012. I have been interested in photography for as long as I can remember. I got my very first camera when I was about 10 years old. I took that little point and shoot camera with me everywhere I went; since then, I've always had a camera. I have always been the one in my family to take all the pictures from birthday celebrations and Christmas to our everyday moments to remember.  For me, photography is more than just taking pictures. It’s being able to capture what may seem like a tiny moment in someone’s life and turning it into something they can cherish for a lifetime.