Donald Pope Photography

Bridal DVD Slideshows

Bridal DVD Slideshows have come a long way.  Many years ago, DVD Slideshows were a cheap attempt at making up for not being able to afford to hire a professional videographer.  As we fast forward to modern times, DVD Slideshows are a excellent compromise to video.

When a wedding photographer is deciding how to implement DVD Slideshows into his/her wedding packages, the first decision is to decide if you want to do it with your own software or to use a creation service.  Donald Pope Photography uses a creation service. Emotion Media provides custom DVD Slideshows in various formats, including High Definition.   The use of a service can be an expensive cost to the wedding photographer, but the quality is superior to other options. 

Recently, brides have started to request that the DVD be produced both as a physical DVD and a DVD to be hosted online.  This is an important selling tool.  For example, if a Virginia wedding photographer books a bride that lives in Maryland and the bride has friends in Delaware or Virginia, she can share the DVD show with all of them in one click.  Facebook has been a great social tool that the DVD can be implemented into.  If a bride embeds one of your DVD Slideshows into her Facebook page, it will be great exposure for your business as a professional wedding photographer.

Here is an example of on online DVD Slideshow from a wedding that Donald Pope Photography covered.  

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Meeting Your Bride For The First Time

Meeting your bride for the first time came be the most important part of the the relationship that you will build with the bride or the couple.  Some thought should go into the meeting.  Professionalism is the word to remember for all photographers.

Wedding Photographers are not just creative artists, but also salesmen.  With your salesman hat on, you must remember that the bride is purchasing a product and the product must have value.  She must feel good when she makes the purchase.  One of the first things that a photographer should try to do is create a meeting environment that makes the bride feel comfortable.  If you meet at your studio, then there is a built-in validation that comes with that.  Most wedding photographers use their homes as the studio, so your home should be comfortable and should send an impression of your style of wedding photography.  If you are meeting a local business or restaurant, it should be something middle of the road.  Don't over do it. 

Occasionally, the wedding photographer can not meet the bride in person.  It may be a referral or a Internet generated contact.  Consider the scenario of a Maryland wedding photographer booking with a Delaware bride for a Virginia wedding.  If the distance is too great, then the "meet" may be by phone.  In that case, wedding photographers should follow-up all phone contact with emails.  It shows the bride that you were listening and that her wedding is important.

When meeting in person, be sure to have examples of your prints and your products.  While most brides on a budget will initially say that they don't want albums and coffee books, wedding photographers must remember that brides probably have never seen high quality albums and books.  She may not be able to afford to buy high quality wedding albums now, but she may want to purchase them later.  Make sure she knows what you offer.

Lastly, make sure that the bride fully understands your style.  During the initial meet, the wedding photographer has the opportunity to express his/her style to the bride.  Donald Pope Photography takes the extra step of asking the bride what she expects.  If a wedding photographer meets the brides expectations, then referrals will come when the wedding is over. 

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Wedding Package Options

Now is the time that most wedding photographers have to start to set pricing for the 2010 wedding season.  The inquires will come at an increased pace over the next few months.

Most photographers make amendments to pricing, but few make amendments to the way that packages are presented.  For 2010, Donald Pope Photography will be using a alternate approach to pricing.  Rather than offer just packages of predetermined sizes and products, we will offer $200 - $600 in prints or products of the couples choice.   Smaller packages will include a $200 credit while larger packages will include a $600 credit.  The credit can be used to purchase any product offered.   

That means that if a bride does not want 8 x 10 prints, but instead, she changes her mind after the wedding and wants an extra coffee table book, she can simply go to our site, select the photographs that she wants in the book, and order the book or her choice with the credits.  Remaining monies from the credit can be applied anytime within a year of the wedding.  Later in the year, she may decide that she wants a few 5 x 7's and canvas print.  She can simply apply her remaining credits to that purchase too. 

By offering this type of pricing structure in addition to the standard packages, the bride can really maximize the value of the photographers offerings.  As an additional benefit, the bride does not have to commit to exactly what she wants in her package.  She can decide what she wants to purchase up to 1 year after the wedding.  All products will be provided by Pictage. 

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