Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories

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Part I ✦ Understanding Digital Wedding Photography

Services and items offered

Traditional-style photographers typically offer a package that consists of a few hours of coverage that

includes all of the ceremony and the first hour or two of the reception. The initial payment for the pho-

tography is generally on the low side compared with other styles. This is partially because the photogra-

pher makes much of his or her income from the sale of prints and albums after the wedding is over. This

is the Aftermarket Sales business model. At some time after the wedding day, the newlyweds meet with

the photographer to view a set of proofs. At that time, they can place orders for wall portraits, prints for

the album, and prints to give as gifts. A professional salesperson on the photographer’s staff often con-

ducts the proof-viewing session. This person is well trained at guiding the presentation for the ultimate

emotional impact and then capitalizing on that emotion for high sales. The work of keeping track of these

sales, filling print orders, framing prints, and constructing albums practically demands that the tradi-

tional photographer have a staff of at least one other person. If the studio does much volume at all, these

jobs are far too demanding for a single photographer to keep up with and still hope to have any time left

for taking pictures.

The wedding day

On the wedding day, the photography ...