Shooting for free

I’m really happy that my offer to shoot weddings free of charge for most of 2010 is paying off. So far I have three confirmed bookings (two in Scotland, one in Croydon) and one tentative booking (in Rome). I have also had to turn down three wedding shoots because my wife is expecting our first baby on 22 May and to do the shoots would have meant either leaving her to give birth on her own or dragging her around Scotland, towing a mobile birthing suite behind the car…

All my bookings are for friends-of-friends and it is all being done by word of mouth. I am especially pleased to have been asked by an old schoolfriend, Nick Callaghan, to shoot his wedding reception, because Nick is a successful commercial photographer in his own right and I’m sure has a million contacts he could have called upon. Thanks Nick!

The bulk of my effort so far has been to declare that I want to work for nothing and to ensure that my web site is as up to date and in shape as possible. There is still some way to go on the last point, but I’m gradually getting there. If anyone has any feedback on my web site - good or bad - I’d love to hear it.

I’m really glad that people are “taking a punt” with an unknown photographer. The messages coming back from clients is that budgets are tight and it’s the photography package that would have been sacrified had I not popped up. This is a shame but I completely understand it as it is the photographers, also clinging to the underside of the downtrodden economy, who cannot afford to drop their prices to accommodate their clients’ financial struggles.

I still have a few months to work through the financial aspects of my Business Plan before I announce a package for the end of the year - when I “turn pro” - but I hope I can find a niche to meet my target market’s needs. I know it isn’t going to be easy but I’m more up for it than I have been for anything else.