Immortalizing loving couples’ most eagerly awaited day in exotic destinations around the world sounds like a dream job on paper. Yet, much goes into building and maintaining a successful destination wedding photography career. Are you an aspiring freelance destination wedding photographer? Then take in our tips to get a running start.
Marketing Yourself
Hopeful destination wedding photographers first have to overcome a massive catch-22. You need to showcase previous destination work to attract clients, but no one is going to entrust you with such work without a solid portfolio and references.
You can approach the conundrum from different angles. Start travelling to nearby domestic locations and do both casual and wedding shoots that focus on local landmarks. Join destination wedding photographer groups on social media and network until you get a referral. Or, become the protégé of an established photographer to learn the ropes.
This should eventually give you enough material to create a strong portfolio site. That’s where you get to present not just your work but your personality as well. You’ll help create some of the most intimate moments in a couple’s life, and they’re far more likely to choose you over someone else if you project friendliness, professionalism, and flexibility.
Maintaining a blog helps, too. On the one hand, it’s the perfect place to demonstrate your familiarity with the destinations you’ve worked at and help sell the dream of having a wedding there with you behind the camera. On the other hand, a blog is excellent for SEO since it lets you organically include all the keywords needed to get noticed by search engines and people alike.
Maintaining a spotless reputation is essential for building trust with prospective clients. Part of that means maintaining the safety of your personal data, which no one should be able to use to compromise your clients’ privacy. Retaining a data removal service like Incogni will ensure data brokers don’t collect and sell information on you that might jeopardize your reputation.
Mastering Travel
Being a traveling photographer is A LOT of work and differs considerably from shooting locally and conventional travel for business or pleasure. Doing your research, learning how to handle booking, and packing accordingly are crucial for coming off as a professional and minimizing stress.
First, familiarize yourself with the destination’s visa and permit requirements. For example, you’ll need a drone permit practically everywhere, while countries like Italy require permits if you shoot at historical and cultural sites. Familiarizing yourself with local customs and picking up the rudiments of the language will also go a long way towards smooth sailing.
Account for travel expenses in your pricing packages, but book your own transportation and accommodations. Be modest and transparent with your needs while retaining autonomy. This will help you save time and deal with unexpected delays without having to bother the couple with details.
Always pack your camera gear in a weatherproof carry-on. Make sure to bring plenty of backups, from speedlights and memory cards to rugged SSDs and international power adapters. It’s also a good idea to set up the coolest eSIM data plan you can find for your destination and activate it as soon as you land.
An eSIM saves you from having to switch out physical SIM cards while offering plenty of affordable data you can use to make online backups from anywhere.
Pricing & Client Communication
Your first few gigs may not be as lucrative since you’re still balancing the logistics and profit margins. However, once you determine how much money it takes to make the business work, you can start packaging your services. Don’t make the mistake of undervaluing your work. After all, you’ll be in the field and at your clients’ disposal for days.
Make pricing as simple as possible for clients. Rather than break down items like lodging, per diem costs, etc. – which you should still be prepared to display if a client insists – offer all-inclusive packages people can pay for and not worry about. That said, there’s nothing stopping you from selling extras like next-day or boudoir shots.
Always be upfront and communicative with clients. Set realistic expectations, from travel costs through the services you offer to editing and turnaround times. Be reachable throughout every stage of the wedding photography process and reap the benefits that happy couples’ word-of-mouth recommendations will bring.