Open Air Business September/October 2016

FUNCTION VENUES
CECELINA PHOTOGRAPHY / ALWAYSANDRI.CO.UK
M BISHOP PHOTOGRAPHY / BO-CHIC.COM
4
THE SHOOT ITSELF
The day of your photo
shoot is an event in itself
and needs to be planned as such.
Think through how long each part
of the set-up will take (no point
having the florist arrive to dress a
table that isn’t in place!) as well
as how long the models will take
in hair and make-up (no point
having the photographer arrive
if there is nothing and no-one to
shoot!). Remember that many of
your suppliers are doing this at
low or no cost so make sure you
are not wasting anyone’s time. Be
prepared to get your hands dirty
to make sure everything is perfect.
Photographs show up any and all
imperfections so attention to detail
is key.
5
USING THE IMAGES FOR
PROMOTION
If your plan is just to use
your fabulous new images for your
own purposes, then by all means
splash them across your website,
printed materials and social media
as you please. When targeting the
media with your images there are
two golden rules to follow:
1. Pick your outlet well - If your
shoot was based around a
traditional English country garden
look, there isn’t a lot of point in
approaching the more avant-garde
publications and bloggers. The
media outlet you want to feature
in should be the one most read by
your target market and your shoot
style should reflect their desires.
2. Exclusivity - Any media outlet
will want exclusive use of any
images they pick. You therefore
need to separate out the images
you will use for your own website
from those you will be presenting
to the press. You will also need
to approach your outlets one by
one, letting each pick up or decline
the imagery before moving on to
the next. Most editors will let you
release images to a second outlet
a few months after they have
featured them.
With the media blasting out
amazing imagery of carefully
created events from all over the
world several times a day, how
their wedding looks is becoming
more and more important to
modern couples. They too will go
through the design process to make
the following decisions: What do I
want to achieve with my wedding?
How do I want it to look? Where do
I get all the bits and pieces I need to
create the look from? How will the
photos turn out?
Having experienced this process
first hand (possibly with an even
tighter budget than your couples
have!) you will be far better placed
to help them create a Pinterest
board that works for them within
your venue’s setting and source all
the suppliers, hirewares and props
that they will need to create the
look.
If you just aren’t the designer
type or can’t face the work involved
in styling a shoot (and believe me
there is more time involved than
you think), then as I have said
before, engage the services of a
professional to ensure that all your
aims are met. A fully established
designer or planner will charge in
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Isabel Smith has 10
years in the wedding
industry behind her
as one of the UK’s top
wedding planners and
business consultant
to venues and other
suppliers. Isabel’s
expertise spans
marketing, sales and
operations as she
helps new vendors
launch as well as
assisting established
businesses should
they find their
sales falling. www.
isabelsmithconsulting.
co.uk / www.
isabelsmithweddings.
co.uk
excess of £2,000 for their services
(depending on where you are in the
country), but if your budget doesn’t
stretch that far, start-up wedding
planning companies are often keen
to get a styled shoot or two under
their belts to help with their own
promotion so do shop around.
JULIA AND YOU / ALWAYSANDRI.CO.UK
CECELINA PHOTOGRAPHY / ALWAYSANDRI.CO.UK
30 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM