Wedding Photographers - Tell me if this has happened to you.

Your email dings – you open it – it’s a wedding photography lead for Aug 8 – and you’re WIDE open.  And the bride’s budget?  Off the hook!

You’re jazzed and can’t wait to “authorize” your studio’s portal to fire off the typical auto responders – including a link to your wedding photography pricing and a “… we’re open for Aug 8 and can’t wait to be part of your awesome day.“

And then it happens… the wait – and wait – and…

What Just Happened?

You just got played – and from what I can see, it’s the “normal protocol” for the old school wedding photographers.   And I don’t have to ask you all to lower your heads and close your eyes before I ask you to raise your hands on this question.  Have  you ever been the one typing the pricing email request to your competitor?  Sniff…

We’ve Never…

As a relative new comer to the wedding photography industry (I started full time with my wife Deb at the beginning of 2008), I’d have to say my entry was the perfect time to be baptized.

I’ve never shot anything other than digital.  Film was something I tried to get off my teeth in the morning – certainly not a medium I’ve ever used to put bread on the table.  But, many photogs had difficulty making that transition, and had to switch or die.

I’ve also never utilized any other medium other than the Internet and referrals to promote our wedding photography business.  Never a print ad, never a mass mailing, never a seminar (especially one we charge for), and certainly never a cold call.  And we’ve never paid anything other than $0 to garner our amazing couples – ever.

I’ve also never had an issue with being right up front with our offerings, coverage & print packages, or any of our prices to any bride (or for those of you still out there trolling – you) who simply fills out a form on our site.

This afternoon, I started a simple Facebook thread that went like this:

Grant Perry NOTICE: If you’re a photog and you’d like to know our studio pricing – JUST ASK. Really. The whole notion of signing up on our site as a prospective bride – choosing a date that happens to be some Saturday in the Fall and coming up with a dorky story just to trigger our automated incubator? #FAIL

The responses were interesting – but a couple really surprised me.

The Question

… and it’s simple one, When is the right time share pricing? I mean, if the dorky photog phishes for my prices by masking as a bride – and I take the professional time and effort we take with every bride and reveal it because they simply filled out the form, then what’s the difference between that and just publishing it right up front in the first place?

I’m convinced the old school of shrouding your prices, products and how you do stuff is gonna kill those who won’t adapt and loosen their grip on what they believe they can control.  The Internet has made our customers smarter, less patient, and way more demanding.  That freedom and instant gratification of information has made them demand instant gratification from us.  And why not – they get it every where else in their lives.  They live and shop online, they tweet and IM making even email old school, and you’re thinking they want to wait on YOU or even your power studio system to respond to them?  You think they really want to give you their number so you can call them back just to get the information any other commercial web site they’ve visited over the last week would give them instantly?

And then there’s a legitimate follow up question.  Why ARE you hiding your prices?  So [comptitor's name here] can’t discover them and sell that bride the same tit-for-tat items you’re attempting to sell?  Really?

I know for a FACT that every bride who’s ever booked GrantDeb Photographers has chosen and ultimately booked US and not our pricing or our product offerings.  They fell in love with US, from the very first time we got together and presented US to them.  Our focus, from the very first second we introduce ourselves  is always about relationship vs. coverage, about creativity vs. what prints come with a particular package, about them loving their final product so much that they’re gonna cry when they see their album… It’s never about just price alone.

Sure, price comes into the equation – and we proudly share all of our pricing to anyone who asks.  You may even ask “if you show prices – then what about the shoppers out there who compare?”  My response is simple; in everything you display or say – never make it about the price – always make it about the experience and why you are the only one who can offer that unique experience.  How much is that worth? How much does that cost?

I am convinced the next few years of our industry will be the next film vs. digital age.  It’ll define those who practice their business like it’s 2004 or those who choose to operate in the new era of transparency.  The rock stars of 2010 and beyond won’t be (just) those who can show beautiful technique and win multiple print competitions, or the ones who can fill a room with hungry photogs waiting for their “knowledge” of the business or lighting or … Instead, the rock stars will be those who can live and be totally transparent to their customers – on every level.

What’s Old School?

FEAR.  Fear of loss, fear of sharing your precious ideas, fear that some competitor will discover, copy and one-up you.  It’s fear.

Fear sucks.  It steals creativity.  It renders its victims paralyzed when they should be motivated.  And most of all, fear kills passion.  And passion is the VERY thing you have to portray.

The News Flash

It’s not about the money, or the prices, or what’s in your offerings! If this is how you’re operating now- then you probably need to change.  In fact, for things to get better, YOU’VE got to get better – for things to change, YOU’VE got to change.  You’ve got to sell YOU – not your “stuff.”  You’ve got to make it about what YOU are going to do for them – not what you’re going to sell to them.  They have to know you’re going to ROCK their wedding.  They’ve got to know you care about them before they will ever even give a flip about you or what you can sell them.  They’ve got to buy YOU!

And since you’re selling YOU and not your product or your coverage or your prints or… how is it possible that putting your prices on your site up front will damage any potential you have to garner that bride?  My total argument is – it will NOT.

Final Thought

So go ahead and hide your prices.  Make it difficult for them to discover YOU and what YOU are or offer (or at least go through lots of horrid, stealthy steps).  But be prepared to never know who it was that first came to your site and left dissatisfied only to seek out and find me (grin).

You are the product.  Anything less = same-old-2004-business-posture.  Anything less = you are an old school wedding photographer.

If you are interested in our core philosophies of attracting and securing our wedding couples – take a look at an article I wrote titled “How to be Certain Your Wedding Photographer is Best For YOU!” on our site.

Wedding Photographers - Tell me if this has happened to you.

Your email dings – you open it – it’s a wedding photography lead for Aug 8 – and you’re WIDE open.  And the bride’s budget?  Off the hook!

You’re jazzed and can’t wait to “authorize” your studio’s portal to fire off the typical auto responders – including a link to your wedding photography pricing and a “… we’re open for Aug 8 and can’t wait to be part of your awesome day.“

And then it happens… the wait – and wait – and…

What Just Happened?

You just got played – and from what I can see, it’s the “normal protocol” for the old school wedding photographers.   And I don’t have to ask you all to lower your heads and close your eyes before I ask you to raise your hands on this question.  Have  you ever been the one typing the pricing email request to your competitor?  Sniff…

We’ve Never…

As a relative new comer to the wedding photography industry (I started full time with my wife Deb at the beginning of 2008), I’d have to say my entry was the perfect time to be baptized.

I’ve never shot anything other than digital.  Film was something I tried to get off my teeth in the morning – certainly not a medium I’ve ever used to put bread on the table.  But, many photogs had difficulty making that transition, and had to switch or die.

I’ve also never utilized any other medium other than the Internet and referrals to promote our wedding photography business.  Never a print ad, never a mass mailing, never a seminar (especially one we charge for), and certainly never a cold call.  And we’ve never paid anything other than $0 to garner our amazing couples – ever.

I’ve also never had an issue with being right up front with our offerings, coverage & print packages, or any of our prices to any bride (or for those of you still out there trolling – you) who simply fills out a form on our site.

This afternoon, I started a simple Facebook thread that went like this:

Grant Perry NOTICE: If you’re a photog and you’d like to know our studio pricing – JUST ASK. Really. The whole notion of signing up on our site as a prospective bride – choosing a date that happens to be some Saturday in the Fall and coming up with a dorky story just to trigger our automated incubator? #FAIL

The responses were interesting – but a couple really surprised me.

The Question

… and it’s simple one, When is the right time share pricing? I mean, if the dorky photog phishes for my prices by masking as a bride – and I take the professional time and effort we take with every bride and reveal it because they simply filled out the form, then what’s the difference between that and just publishing it right up front in the first place?

I’m convinced the old school of shrouding your prices, products and how you do stuff is gonna kill those who won’t adapt and loosen their grip on what they believe they can control.  The Internet has made our customers smarter, less patient, and way more demanding.  That freedom and instant gratification of information has made them demand instant gratification from us.  And why not – they get it every where else in their lives.  They live and shop online, they tweet and IM making even email old school, and you’re thinking they want to wait on YOU or even your power studio system to respond to them?  You think they really want to give you their number so you can call them back just to get the information any other commercial web site they’ve visited over the last week would give them instantly?

And then there’s a legitimate follow up question.  Why ARE you hiding your prices?  So [comptitor's name here] can’t discover them and sell that bride the same tit-for-tat items you’re attempting to sell?  Really?

I know for a FACT that every bride who’s ever booked GrantDeb Photographers has chosen and ultimately booked US and not our pricing or our product offerings.  They fell in love with US, from the very first time we got together and presented US to them.  Our focus, from the very first second we introduce ourselves  is always about relationship vs. coverage, about creativity vs. what prints come with a particular package, about them loving their final product so much that they’re gonna cry when they see their album… It’s never about just price alone.

Sure, price comes into the equation – and we proudly share all of our pricing to anyone who asks.  You may even ask “if you show prices – then what about the shoppers out there who compare?”  My response is simple; in everything you display or say – never make it about the price – always make it about the experience and why you are the only one who can offer that unique experience.  How much is that worth? How much does that cost?

I am convinced the next few years of our industry will be the next film vs. digital age.  It’ll define those who practice their business like it’s 2004 or those who choose to operate in the new era of transparency.  The rock stars of 2010 and beyond won’t be (just) those who can show beautiful technique and win multiple print competitions, or the ones who can fill a room with hungry photogs waiting for their “knowledge” of the business or lighting or … Instead, the rock stars will be those who can live and be totally transparent to their customers – on every level.

What’s Old School?

FEAR.  Fear of loss, fear of sharing your precious ideas, fear that some competitor will discover, copy and one-up you.  It’s fear.

Fear sucks.  It steals creativity.  It renders its victims paralyzed when they should be motivated.  And most of all, fear kills passion.  And passion is the VERY thing you have to portray.

The News Flash

It’s not about the money, or the prices, or what’s in your offerings! If this is how you’re operating now- then you probably need to change.  In fact, for things to get better, YOU’VE got to get better – for things to change, YOU’VE got to change.  You’ve got to sell YOU – not your “stuff.”  You’ve got to make it about what YOU are going to do for them – not what you’re going to sell to them.  They have to know you’re going to ROCK their wedding.  They’ve got to know you care about them before they will ever even give a flip about you or what you can sell them.  They’ve got to buy YOU!

And since you’re selling YOU and not your product or your coverage or your prints or… how is it possible that putting your prices on your site up front will damage any potential you have to garner that bride?  My total argument is – it will NOT.

Final Thought

So go ahead and hide your prices.  Make it difficult for them to discover YOU and what YOU are or offer (or at least go through lots of horrid, stealthy steps).  But be prepared to never know who it was that first came to your site and left dissatisfied only to seek out and find me (grin).

You are the product.  Anything less = same-old-2004-business-posture.  Anything less = you are an old school wedding photographer.

If you are interested in our core philosophies of attracting and securing our wedding couples – take a look at an article I wrote titled “How to be Certain Your Wedding Photographer is Best For YOU!” on our site.

just blogged on this over at Squidoo, but wanted to include the post here on our blog as well.  We've had a bunch of Brides asking us lately "so how do we know who to choose as our wedding photographers?", and it's a valid question.  I think it comes down to five absolutes.  Here they are;


So you're meeting your prospective wedding photographer for the first time. You found them on a Google search, and their site seems nice enough. But how do you really know they are the best for you?

The easiest answer is also the most ridiculous; in 30 initial minutes you can't. BUT ... there are a few things you can look for to become more comfortable with your decision.

1. Relationship - Relationship - Relationship

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The absolute most important aspect to you reaping the results you desire from your final wedding photography is that you fall in LOVE with your wedding photographer(s). And by LOVE I don't mean you'd ebay your rings, cancel your date and marry them - but I do mean you feel so comfortable that you'd be able to brag about them to your closest friends or have them over for dinner at your house.

A wedding photographer worth hiring doesn't take pictures, and that sounds totally weird, I know. A great wedding photographer isn't really a photographer at all but an artist who uses a camera and lens to paint and CAPTURE MOMENTS in digital files filled with emotion and passion. Their images - each and every one - CAPTURE a narrative or story that with one glance creates an emotion from the viewer; namely you. ANYBODY can take a picture, especially with the advances in today's geeky low-priced digital cameras. But only true wedding photography ARTISTS can capture your story with passion and emotion.

Someone who is bestowed such a precious and significant task as being your ONLY wedding photographer must be someone you absolutely love and admire. In fact, a true wedding photography artist will almost always be easy to be comfortable with because they themselves are depending on building a strong relationship with you so they may better understand what is important to your final outcome.

2. Passion

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Ask your prospective wedding photographer if they take their cameras with them to family birthday parties or if they shoot pictures of their niece's soccer games. Only someone passionate about their craft integrates that passion into their lives - and a great wedding photography artist always integrates their passion into their lives.

When you're sitting across the table from them, how do they make you feel? Are you getting excited about your day as they talk about their involvement? When they talk about their product, do they exhibit a kind of giddiness or are they just selling? What adjective comes to your mind to describe them if you were asked 5 minutes after you've left the appointment?

Passion HAS to at least be a likely adjective you could choose. If not? Run - do not walk - to the next photographer.

You see - any great wedding photography artist is in the "game" for more than just the coin. They are always - and I mean always - looking to become your wedding photographer because they are passionate about painting your special story with the lenses of their camera that tell the story through fine art photography. In fact, a passionate wedding photography artist will always be a remarkable artist.

3. No new stress - please!

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The wedding photographer sitting across the table from you has no idea what your plans are for your upcoming fairy-tale day. In fact, just because they've taken pictures for hundreds of brides before you, there are no other weddings even close in style or substance as yours, period.

If your prospective wedding photographer isn't asking the right questions of you, questions pertaining to your day, how YOU plan it to unfold, how many bridesmaids, groomsmen, the venue, is there going to be dancing, will your dad walk you down the aisle, who your maid-of-honor is and who she is to you ...

If they are insisting on showing you their previous work, and how awesome they are, and who they've photographed before ever asking about how YOU envision your day? RUN - do not walk - to the next prospective photographer.

The most counter-productive and stressful situation is to have your wedding photographer not clearly understand your timeline. And the best scenario in this situation is to have a needy, whiney, and question ridden person running around taking pictures creating more stress. The worst scenario? They don't ask and subsequently don't GET the pictures you envisioned. In either scenario? Stress and disaster.

Actually, the very BEST scenario is a wedding photographer who sits across the table and interviews YOU. That's right, you've invited them to the table to choose them - but what you really want is someone who wants to work with you because you both click. Someone who asks you a bunch of questions, and diligently writes down YOUR answers about YOUR day as they interview YOU. Why? Because when they truly understand YOUR day, and how it will unfold, you have found someone who doesn't need to create stress on your day (or before), you've found someone capable of discovering and understanding what you want prior to your day. Someone who can click with you (and hopefully - FOR you - wink).


4. Show me your stuff

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More than likely, you've seen a lot of your prospective wedding photographer's work (and probably their best work) from their web site. And having a look at an album or prints or canvas or ... is a good thing too. But understand this, nothing they show you across the table is going to be what you get - ever. You are seeing a compilation of work from perhaps their best work, which is understandable. But even on a perfect day, no two weddings are the same, nor are any two wedding albums, or prints, or ... the same.

Obviously your wedding photographer needs to be able to nail their focus, and exposures, and all of those technical photography details in order to even be considered. But, going back to the number one "must" - other bride's relationships with your photographer have got to be great.

Ask your potential wedding photographer to give you a couple of brides you can contact. And when they provide those names, call those brides and ask one question; "What do you remember most about Photographer xx?" That's it! You'll get the whole story from that one question. And the best part? You'll also get your answer overall from that question.

5. It's gotta be fun

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Ask the wedding photographer this question; "So what do you do for fun?" Not that you need to care WHAT they do for fun - but you do care if they do anything that IS FUN.

Just because your wedding photographer will be working as a "vendor" on your awesome day does NOT mean they have to portray it as work. They have to have fun at it - and you've got to have fun at it - and that does NOT mean it's up to you to make it fun. THEY have to make it fun - the whole day. It may be 98 degrees in the shade or 2 below zero - but THEY have to be able to roll with the punches or change direction at any given time and still make it fun and stress-free for your entire party.

And there is really no way to know if that person you just met is that person other than to know they know how to have fun on their own, hence "So what do you do for fun?"

Fun = happy. Stress = ugly. Which do you choose?

My best friend Deb and I specialize in being a husband and wife Wedding Photography Artist team. You can view more of our work and our galleries at our Wedding Photography Artist Site at GrantDeb.com or you can stay up to date with us on our BLOG at blog.GrantDeb.com.