Starting out...

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Hi All,

Firstly:

Can anyone let me know, in the beginning stages of breaking into the business of wedding photography what you did?

eg
If you were a 2nd photographer, how did u get the gig? (i know no other photographers....)did u cold call?

Did u advertise straight up and did jobs cheaply and increased them as u got more experienced?

i hear alot about doing jobs for friends & family cheaply or free even...what would be reasonable in the $$$$$ mark?

Secondly:
Itd be great if someone could let me know how they did their "starting out" packages???


thanks
Jess:)

[jessika]

hey .. cool we got the same name :) i started out as a 2nd photographer doing just work experience .. then when my images got good enough i started to earna little cash as a paid 2nd shooter.

i have started my own business now, but i still 2nd shoot for free sometimes as i think it is good to keep learning.

starting packages .. this is a hard one .. i would recommend just start out doing CDs and prints.

wedding photography is a tough business to get into i find, as there are som many other wedding photographers in the business. i was told that it usuallu takes about 5 years to establish a good income from it.

i used to do things for family but now try to steer clear as they like to have everything for free, or more than what you give them, i find they are the hardest clients to have.

hope this helps :)

jessika :)

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thanks! :) how did u start as a 2nd photographer? with the work experience. did u just cold call a few photographers you liked?

[jessika]

yea i picked a few and sent them emails and a few got back to me

[littlealbert]

Maybe you could do a couple of weddings for free or cost price to get started, to get your name out there and build your portfolio.
You could charge them, say $200 and include 200 prints for that.
Then extras they wanted would add on to that.

Perhaps google a couple of wedding forums and see if anyone is interested?

[Smorter]

Like Jessika has said, it's hard to get in. I found once I did a few, a lot of momentum comes about and now instead of seeking 2nd opportunities, I'm also able to offer them to others - though I'm still relatively newb, and haven't done much weddings so far, so looking to tag along to other more successful photographers too, but for my smaller weddings that I cover I've been advertising for 2nds/assistants too, which 3 months ago I would have laughed at the idea of.

[brontux]

hi i started out by accident. went to a friends wedding and just snapped pics here and there. they turned out better than the official photographers so the bride gave my number to a friend of hers that was getting married and off it went. i don't do too many but the ones i have done i have had a real feel for the people and have done some interesting shots that make them individual to that particular couple which has got me more jobs. the pics below are from one of my first attempts.bron