The busy wedding season is looming ahead on the horizon for photographers! Before you start your season, take a moment to refresh new techniques, equipment, and strategies.
1. Research new trends for the year.
Take a look at wedding blogs and even your competitors’ galleries – what were the common themes among the photos? Is there anything that’s popular now – such as the journalistic feel to wedding photos – that you’re not currently doing? Make sure you’re staying on top of what is current, so you can provide the best for your customers.
2. Reflect on last year.
Take note of your last year as a wedding photographer – what worked well? What didn’t? Maybe you learned that the shoes you wore all last season were actually really uncomfortable and left your feet throbbing at the end of the night. Test run a couple of new pairs now!
3. Review your workflow.
Time is money! So, before the busy wedding season kicks in, review your workflow and see if it’s as efficient as possible. Also, ensure all your safety measures to protect your images are in place. For example, maybe now you back up each wedding on two external hard drives. Going forward, you might want to add off-site backup in case of fire or theft.
4. Double check your equipment.
If your camera was sitting in its case not being used, time to dust it off and check to make sure everything you need — lenses, flashes, tripods, camera cards, et cetera — are working correctly.
Also, did you buy or receive any expensive new gear over the holidays? Make sure you add it to your insured equipment list before taking it out on a pro job.
5. Broaden your comfort zone.
Before the wedding season really kicks in, experiment with some new techniques! Maybe you’re primarily a natural light photographer, but you want to try incorporating off-camera flash. Now’s the time to practice any new technique before adding it into your wedding day repertoire.
Have any other prep tips for us? Let us know in the comments!