Bridal Shows

[Stemmy]

Did a bridal show today. I only do two per year as the are both hosted by a local venue that recommend me to clients.

Im a bit silly that I dont keep a proper record of where my business comes from. I feel that I have to keep shouting "Here I am" because by the time you see the bookings tailing off its too late.

I do not have to pay to attend the shows so I would see it as a waste if I didnt go.

Most of the day was very very quiet. There was another bridal show locally, it was Rememberance Sunday, and the venue had done no advertising. Everybody there was having a right winge. As people packed their stands away I stood firm saying "If the show finishes at 4pm Im staying till 4pm".

10 minutes from the end two couples came in and both booked weddings for next year. A minimum spend by them of £2200. A god days hunting !!

[Renee Marquis]

Have done 3 Bridal shows and only have booked one wedding. And then I was gave a 10% discount if they booked that day. Good thing I didnt pay for my booth. I kind of shared with the limo people that I knew... I charge around $1200.00 for weddings back then, now charge $1700.00 - $3500.00
I am getting clients by word of mouth... cant fig. that one out. Did 9 weddings this last season, and 8 I assisted with. Not bad for word of mouth.

[tonymidd]

Have done 3 Bridal shows and only have booked one wedding. And then I was gave a 10% discount if they booked that day. Good thing I didnt pay for my booth. I kind of shared with the limo people that I knew... I charge around $1200.00 for weddings back then, now charge $1700.00 - $3500.00
I am getting clients by word of mouth... cant fig. that one out. Did 9 weddings this last season, and 8 I assisted with. Not bad for word of mouth.
Hi Renee,
If your Bridal shows are anything like ours most of the visitors have only come to get ideas. I did one many years ago and decided very quickly it was a waste of time and money.
Word of mouth is the best form of promotion and gives the new client confidence as you would not be recommended if the original client was not happy with what you did. One dodge I used, after adjusting my prices so I did not loose out, was to offer a cash incentive to the couple recommending you. They got a cheque after the recommended couple had paid up in full. The final offer, a couple of years ago was £30 about $50 I think. If you did not get a recommendation from a couple it was an extra bit of profit! I found this works better than giving an up front discount.
Second to word of mouth is the web, get an informative site. Don't fall for one with all the gimmicks, keep it simple, lots of pictures lots of information on planning the day and I always put my prices on the site, no point in being coy about what you charge. If your competitiors want your prices they will get them; I always got my competitiors quite easily.

[Renee Marquis]

Hey, thanks for the responding back, I do believe the bridal shows around here are where the bride goes to win things. I wont waste my time on those any more. I did how ever when I first started out go and just see what the other photographers where offering and look at all their pic. I found that I am doing just as good or if not better. Here is a link to my Blog
Http://reneephotos.blogspot.com/ I am currently working on getting better in photo shop, right now I have been doing some work with my images. But I do hire someone to do my editing. Currently working on trying to find some one to do a web site for me... I dont want to pay BIG bucks, want something simple.... Thanks again, Renee

[Stemmy]

I do agree that the lions share of people at the bridal shows are "Tyre Kickers" but I would say on average I get 4-8 weddingas per bridal shaow. Very rarely do they book on the day but I often hear when I get enquiries "Oh we picked up one of your DVDs at a bridal show"

I only really do the two I mentioned earlier as they are ran by the local venue who recommend me to all their customers so I feel obliged to do their show.

For the sake of £75 I think that 5 weddings (£7,000 spend) isnt a bad days work.

I toytally agree with what you have said that recomendation is the best route. If I get a phonecall and somebody says "Youve been recomended" or "You did my sister/friends wedding" you know they are in the bag.

Sometimes bridal shows are the only way if you are just starting out as there is no "Word of mouth" yet. I work from home so I feel bridal shows are my "Shop Window" and the time involved for the returns I get its worth it.

[tonymidd]

Sometimes bridal shows are the only way if you are just starting out as there is no "Word of mouth" yet. I work from home so I feel bridal shows are my "Shop Window" and the time involved for the returns I get its worth it.
The only way when starting out? I wonder Martin. Your porfolio must be quite impressive and you give a DVD away. Some one starting out would compare very unfavourably with you.
One essential marketing method for any wedding photographer is to get the local dress shops on your side, leave lots of cards, leaflets, dvd's whatever you've got for them to give out, great, an unpaid sales force. Make sure you let them have the occasional framed print of a Bride in one of their dresses. Don't leave the shop until it's on the wall, I used to take a hammer and the hanging hooks and offer to hang it for them, they always agreed. Same goes for reception venues and car people.
I'd still say the web is the most cost effective way of bringing in work with links to the wedding goodies sites like Confetti.
I was, am, lucky in that weddings were a weekend relief from the day to day commercial work where I was usually working to a tight brief from an art director. Weddings allowed me to do my thing but they were the cream on the bread, butter and jam, not the main stay of the business.
This gave me another good sales pitch, I did not need to do weddings; I did them because I enjoyed doing them. Worked every time. I was also able to be very picky as to which weddings I covered which gave me an exclusivity which Bride's talked about, back to recomendations.......

[Stemmy]

Tony

You mentioned the DVDs. They have transformed the way people book their weddings. EWhen I went "DIGI" three years ago I decided that it would be pointless shooting digital if I was then going to print proofs for the bride & groom to choose from. I spent a good 6 months blazing a trail on "How not to do DVDs". The wrong burner, the wrong DVDs, the wrong software etc etc etc. I thought it would never work. Finally everything came together where now I have a top quality DVD preview system. The B&Gs love it. I give them three copie - one for each set of parents and one for the B&G. My reprints come back faster and the reprint orders since turning digi have gone up by a half.

Two years ago I thought it would be a good idea rather than sending out a paper brochures with two or three pictures on it to send a DVD. Again I spent 6 months designing the DVD. Again the prospective B&Gs love it. For the blokes its a bit of "Tech" so they like it, for the women its all set to sloppy music so they like it. There are about two hundred images on the DVD.

I hand out 50 or so at a bridal show. Each DVD costs me 15p (Cheaper than the paper brochures!!!!). Im not bothered if they take it home and use it to stand their brew on it still has my name etc on the front. I find lots of people pass them on to their friends. People are less likley to throw a DVD away than a card brochure. Its my way of being a bit different which is important when you have another 6 wedding photographers within 3 miles of me. I probably convert 4 out of every 5 enquiries. Working in sales for 8 years before photography probably helps a little.

I now get approx 30% of my customers booking their weddings over the phone. When I used the paper brochures (with two pictures on) every B&G wanted to see more images before they made their choice. Now with the DVDs they have seen hundreds of pictures and are ready to book. This saves me hours of work. It doesnt meen I loose the personal touch with the B&G because we have two further meetings befor the wedding day.

Going back to the bridal shows - I think some of it is that I am a worrier. I do 60 weddings per year and have done for the past 5 years. Im always booked solid through summer, but comming to this time of year Im always staring at the ceiling at night wondering if Im going to get the bookings for next year. I dont think its a bad thing it keeps me on my toes but that is another reason why I do the shows I feel I have to keep saying "IM HERE".

If anybody wants a DVD, message me your address and I will happily send them one and talk through how I did it and all the things not to do.:D

[tonymidd]

Hi Martin,
I can see the thought process and am pleased it works for you; coverting 4 out of 5 is a fantastic rate; well over what any marketing man would expect. If I remember rightly we converted about 30% for weddings; commercial is a lot higher over 60%. But we only did one wedding a day and were very choosy, the couple and Margaret and I had to get on well. I'd never take a booking without meeting the couple first. I too spent nearly 25 years in S&M ending up as a Sale/Marketing director prior to that I was a designer.

Your investment obviously works but for someone starting out that investment may be too much.

[Stemmy]

First I should clarify. When I said enquiries I mean people who come and meet me in person. I do send out plenty of DVDs. The ones who ask for a DVD and then never get back to me I do not class as an enquiry. Half of them used to be other photographers wanting to see what I was doing sending out DVDs.

I think the reason for the highh "Hit Rate" is the DVDs. The customer has had a price list, they have seen two hundred pictures. When they come to see me I only have to sell myself.

Starting to worry now - whats wrong with the other 1 out of 4 :(

[willphoto]

This is my first time replying to a blog so I am not sure if I have done it right but I would like to see your dvdTony

You mentioned the DVDs. They have transformed the way people book their weddings. EWhen I went "DIGI" three years ago I decided that it would be pointless shooting digital if I was then going to print proofs for the bride & groom to choose from. I spent a good 6 months blazing a trail on "How not to do DVDs". The wrong burner, the wrong DVDs, the wrong software etc etc etc. I thought it would never work. Finally everything came together where now I have a top quality DVD preview system. The B&Gs love it. I give them three copie - one for each set of parents and one for the B&G. My reprints come back faster and the reprint orders since turning digi have gone up by a half.

Two years ago I thought it would be a good idea rather than sending out a paper brochures with two or three pictures on it to send a DVD. Again I spent 6 months designing the DVD. Again the prospective B&Gs love it. For the blokes its a bit of "Tech" so they like it, for the women its all set to sloppy music so they like it. There are about two hundred images on the DVD.

I hand out 50 or so at a bridal show. Each DVD costs me 15p (Cheaper than the paper brochures!!!!). Im not bothered if they take it home and use it to stand their brew on it still has my name etc on the front. I find lots of people pass them on to their friends. People are less likley to throw a DVD away than a card brochure. Its my way of being a bit different which is important when you have another 6 wedding photographers within 3 miles of me. I probably convert 4 out of every 5 enquiries. Working in sales for 8 years before photography probably helps a little.

I now get approx 30% of my customers booking their weddings over the phone. When I used the paper brochures (with two pictures on) every B&G wanted to see more images before they made their choice. Now with the DVDs they have seen hundreds of pictures and are ready to book. This saves me hours of work. It doesnt meen I loose the personal touch with the B&G because we have two further meetings befor the wedding day.

Going back to the bridal shows - I think some of it is that I am a worrier. I do 60 weddings per year and have done for the past 5 years. Im always booked solid through summer, but comming to this time of year Im always staring at the ceiling at night wondering if Im going to get the bookings for next year. I dont think its a bad thing it keeps me on my toes but that is another reason why I do the shows I feel I have to keep saying "IM HERE".

If anybody wants a DVD, message me your address and I will happily send them one and talk through how I did it and all the things not to do.:D

[Stemmy]

Email me your address and Ill happily sen you one in the post

[Alan Schofield]

Hi Martin

I also have a DVD brochure, Can we please exchange, as I would really like to see yours

I feel that mine is okay, but I am sure that it can be improved, This would also be a good way to look at the quality of work from each of us with regard to the thread about web-site links

Alan

[BarryM]

I have a big bridal show that ive been invited to by a florist to take shots of her bouquets, last year i did one for a wedding dress designer and ended up with 2 pages of images in the Sun Newspaper, both were free and really got my foot on the ladder, i really do enjoy them.

[Stemmy]

Yes I enjoy my bridal shows. just booked another for May.

I reckon I get at least 5 weddings from each Bridal Show so the £100 is well spent I think

[Stefan]

Hi there

Just registered and left a short message about myself in the 'who are you' section.

I read some of your comments about DVD, and it's pretty much top of my list to get some software and get some promotional slideshows up and running. I also want to use the DVD to view portrait and engagement sessions with clients, and also to act as the 'proof album' after weddings.

The two types of software I have heard of are Adobe Premier and ProShow Gold. The first seems very expensive and does a lot of extra things which I probably don't need.

ProShow looks good and is much cheaper but one thing I wasn't sure about in both cases was whether the slideshow can indicate the file name of the image being viewed, so clients can tell me what they want.

It would be great to know what all of you use and what works well and not so well.

Martin, I know you offered to send over a DVD. I wasn't sure how to email you direct though through this forum, with the request and my address and so on.

Thanks

Stefan

[Stemmy]

Stefan

I went down the road of testing all the software avaliable to do DVD proofs.

Each one fell down on something. One wouldnt number the pictures, one wouldnt let me design the slideshows screen and it went on and on.

For the promotional slideshow I would have another look at ProShow Gold but for proofs I use Ulead DVD pictureshow 2 (Ulead Pictureshow 3 wouldnt let you design the slideshows screen as much as 2) I can set a DVD proof in about 5 mins (all pictures already resized etc.) The computer then takes around 1hr (standard wedding) to render the DVD.

Send a mail with your add to martin@wedding-photography.org if you want a DVD to look at.

[Stefan]

First of all, thanks Martin for your promo DVD. Very impressive, and I really liked the menu screen with options to complete weddings which people often want to see, and to an info screen as well.

I've now bought ProShow and have done my first slideshow. It will probably take me quite a while to get them just right, but it was nice and quick to set up a basic show.

I do have a couple of comments/questions,

Has anyone experienced problems in DVDs working on client's DVD players. From what I can gather, there are two main types of DVDs, - and +. My PC writes to DVD+ only e.g. DVD+R, DVD+RW. I'm told these tend to work on most players, except possibly Panasonic and Pioneer. They accept only DVD- which my PC cannot create. You need a DVD- writer for that. Do any of you guys agree or disagree with this advice I've been given?

The other question relates to use of licensed music. I guess this is a massive issue, but my approach is that I am only going to send promo DVDs, proof DVDs, whether for sale or not, with royalty free music that I have bought the license for. I was considering putting more well known music on DVDs that I would retain and show to clients as promotional material. Any comments very welcome.

Thanks, Stefan

[Dotty.c]

yes your right about play back problems, if I do a slide show it will only play on 2 out of 3 of the dvd players in the house.

[Stemmy]

Funny you should mention the licenses for the music. I have never bought any licenses as I thought I was not infringing any copyright. In fact we are whether we use music on promo DVDs or proof DVDs.

Me and LTJ were talking about this yesterday as we met somebody at FOCUS who advised us to get a license. Lydia found the place and rang them - here is what we found out.

If you are not making more than 500 copies of the item IE. Promo DVD and the music is not longer than 30 mins then the cost for blanket coverage is £80 for the year. Not bad I think. That means you can use any music as long as the total duration is less than 30mins.

I worked out I send out around 250 disc's a year so the cost goes down to £62.00

Here is the link to the website


http://www.mcps.co.uk/ (http://www.mcps.co.uk/)

I will also post here the information they sent to us regarding booking etc. I think that for the £60 it gives you piece of mind.

I will start a new thread covering this subject as I now feel it is of importance to others.

To cover the DVD problems you are having the first thing to say is buy quality disc's. I use RITEK disc's and in the last 3 years Ive had one not play. I burn using DVD+ as I was told +R disc's were better at handling any errors. Here is a list of potential problems.

1. Choose quality disc's.
2. Do not stick CD labels to your disc's. If they are not central on your disc they create problems.
3. When burning your disc stop doing anything else on your PC.
4. Download the latest drivers for your DVD drive.
5. Write at the slowest speed you can cope with.
6. Use a quality authoring program Nero etc.

If you stick to these rules, the most important being quality disc's, you shouldn't go wrong.

[mcprobert]

Martin,

DVD are something that we are investigating at the moment and you seem to have spent a lot of time finding a system that works. Could you share with the software / workflow that you use to create these DVDs?

Many thanks,

Clwyd Probert
www.pixcellence.co.uk
Event & Wedding Photography for London and UK