Have you ever wondered how to break into the wedding industry? How am I supposed to start booking weddings when I’ve never photographed a wedding before? Well today, I am going to explain how to become a wedding photographer and the 5 essential steps for success. With these steps, aspiring photographers like you can start your journey towards capturing beautiful wedding moments. Let’s dive in because this is going to take some work my friend.

Step 1 – Organize a Styled Shoot

Styled shoots are a great way to showcase your creativity, build your portfolio, and collaborate with other vendors. You may be thinking to yourself, how am I supposed to find people who want to collaborate with me? Well start by following other vendors in your area. Makeup artists, hair stylists, florists, and wedding planners. Don’t just cold email them and ask them to work with you, you first want to become known to them. Start by engaging with their social media posts. Don’t stock their posts, but like and comment when you genuinely enjoy their content. Then, when you do reach out to ask if they would be interested in collaborating with you, you will be top of mind because they have been seeing your name pop up in their notifications over the last month or two.

Step 2 – Curate Your Portfolio

Your portfolio is your visual resume, so it’s crucial to curate it with your best work. At this time, maybe you don’t have a website but if you want to be taken seriously, I would recommend creating one. Personally, I’ve used ShowIt since the beginning. It comes with some really great free templates that you can just drag and drop your content into. If you want to try it out for a month for free, feel free to use my referral code here.

After you gather images from your styled shoot, you can use those to create a cohesive look and editing style. Most people will book you for their wedding based on your editing style AND on you as a person.

Instagram is still the most popular social media platform for photographers. I highly recommend you create an account and start posting consistently. Which leads me to my next step.

Step 3 – Consistency

In today’s digital world, social media can be a game-changer for your photography business. First, you want to figure out what consistency means to you. If that means posting 3 times a week or 7 times a week, it doesn’t matter. What you decide, just stick with it. You will want to try to create a combination of Reels, Carousels, and static image posts. With each post, end the caption with a question to try to have your followers engage with you. The more someone engages with your content, the more your account will be shown to them. Roughly 3% of your following will see your content so that’s why it’s really important to be consistent and try to encourage engagement.

Posting to your stories on a daily basis will help your followers learn more about you. Stories can be less formal and take them behind the scenes with you so that they can get to know, like, and trust you. This is key to someone booking you for their wedding day.

If you want help with what to post, when to post it, and what to say, I highly recommend checking Social Curator out. I’ve been a member of this amazing membership since it launched back in 2017. It’s a complete social media game changer and you can try it free for 7 days!

Step 4 – Create a Giveaway

Engage with your audience and expand your reach by hosting a giveaway. When creating your giveaway, you will want to try to collaborate with others in your industry. For example: You are going to giveaway a couples session so it would make sense to reach out to a leading makeup artist in your area. You could try to find a florist for a bouquet to include in the shoot. Whatever you decide, try not to have more than 3-4 vendors included in the giveaway. If people have to follow a bunch of people, they are less likely to participate.

Step 5 – Find a Mentor

Having a mentor can be invaluable as you navigate the wedding photography industry. I am a firm believer that collaboration over competition wins every single time. There is MORE than enough work to go around in our industry.

The BEST thing that I ever did was find a mentor who had online education available, as well as, a group coaching aspect so that when things came up, I was able to ask my questions.

If you feel a bit lost and want more information on how to execute these steps or are in search of a mentor, you might have just stumbled upon something really great. I’m looking for Founding Members for my coaching program!! I want to be YOUR mentor that will take you from an aspiring wedding photographer to a lucrative photographer!

What does it mean to be a “Founding Member”?

1. Influence Course Content: As a founding member, your insights, feedback, and suggestions will play a pivotal role in shaping the content and structure of The Wedding Photographer Formula program. Your real-world experiences and questions will guide us in addressing the most pressing issues and challenges faced by budding wedding photographers.
2. Early Access to Material: Gain privileged access to course materials before the official launch. This will allow you to dive into the content, provide feedback, and apply what you learn to your photography work immediately.
3. Direct Interaction: Benefit from one-on-one discussions, live Q&A sessions, and personalized guidance to help you excel in wedding photography.
4. Exclusive Community: Join a community of like-minded individuals who share your passion for wedding photography. Connect with fellow beta participants, share your experiences, and network with potential collaborators and clients.
5. Discounted Rate: As a token of my appreciation for your invaluable contribution, founding members will receive a significant discount. This is my way of saying thank you for being part of this exciting journey.

If you want more information about this amazing opportunity, sign up here!!

Remember, consistency and persistence are key. Each step plays an essential role in building a strong foundation for your wedding photography career. Don’t get discouraged if things don’t happen overnight; success takes time and dedication.