How to Become a Professional Photographer 2

The Wedding Order Form

Your customer will likely have shown interest in your service from seeing your leaflets or newspaper adverts. When a client calls and you have explained your service and costings,  you will then set up an appointment for consultation. Explain to the client that it will be necessary for you to visit the bride at her home, so the bride’s mum can be there as well. Explain that you will bring your portfolio to show them your work.

Of course you should look smart when you visit your client-to-be. Don’t wear jeans! Brush your shoes! Be Casual Smart! A suit always looks good.

We are now only days away before you launch yourself onto the unsuspecting public and you now need to worry about organising your legal contracts of service. I say legal  because if anything goes wrong, they will sue you for breach of contract. So it’s important you get the contract right.

This is a document listing exactly what services you will supply, on what date and at what cost.

The Wedding Contract will actually begin with the date of the wedding, the church and address, the reception venue and address plus the names of the bride and groom and their parents, plus the bridesmaids,  best man and ushers. When you arrive at a wedding it is important that you know the names of all the principle players.

It should also contain the telephone (mobile and landline) numbers of: (a) the bridegroom, (b) best man, and (c) the bride’s mum or dad. If anything goes wrong you need to be able to get in touch with someone who might know what’s going on. This contract also contains a list of all the photographs you will take and all the extra photographs the bride and groom or their mums want you to take. This list is your bible for the day. You make sure you take every picture that is required.

Finally the Wedding Contract should clearly state the costings of your service, individual prices for different size prints, folders, albums or frames. The total cost is then worked out and the deposit and later payments finalised and dated.

The delivery section merely states that you are delivering X number of proofs and that these shall all be returned to you with the orders, don’t leave the proofs with the bride, insist on having them back with the orders otherwise there is a small chance that the bride will walk away with the proofs and stick them in the album she purchased at a local store.

I would suggest you have a small rubber stamp made with your name and telephone number on it plus the word – PROOF. Stamp this on the front of each proof photo, not on the bride’s face but up in one corner, in the sky or down against the grass. Either way no one would want to use them.

There should be dates for delivery of final prints and albums and any prints in frames. The contracts printed in part 3 are for you to use in any way required.