A lot of wedding photographers do consultations with their potential clients before their clients decide to book them or not. This is what I was doing when I first started. I honestly didn’t think there was any other way. Although I absolutely ADORED meeting the sweetest couples for coffee, I knew it wasn’t the best use of my time.
A consultation could easily take up 3 full hours. Thirty minutes spent organizing yourself and prepping for the meeting. Fifteen to thirty minutes driving to a coffee shop to meet. Arriving early because you know you’re likely going to have to wait for a table. 15 minutes later, you finally get a table with enough seats. Now you’re anxiously waiting for the couple to arrive. Once they get there, the meeting would last anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour. You drive fifteen to thirty minutes to get home and contemplate everything you said. “Could I have said that better?” “Oh shoot, I forgot to mention ____.” “Do you think they liked me?” You cross your fingers that you have another wedding being added to your calendar because if you don’t, then what was all that time spent for?
I knew there was a way I could do things better. A way I could not only save myself time, but a way I could save my clients time as well. They have busy lives too and so I thought If I could simplify this process while giving them just as much if not MORE information than I would at a consultation then, why wouldn’t I?
Efficiency and managing my time well is super important to me. I realized I was repeating the same information over and over at every single meeting. I finally decided there has to be a more efficient way of doing this. There was no way this was the only way to get clients. So I implemented 3 key things into my business to make a huge change.
Of course if there is a couple that still want to meet, I absolutely will, usually we just set up a zoom chat if that’s the case! But, 95% of my couples book through email now ! Which is amazing! I now use the time saved towards building a better overall experience for my current couples!
Let me know in the comments if you do in person consultations and if you will continue to or try to make the change!
If you want to see what other advice I have for photographers that are starting their own wedding photography business, check out my other posts HERE.