So after years of wedding photography and absolutely no marketing whatsoever, I made the decision this year that my visibility and brand identity wasn’t going to build itself.  I have attended bridal shows in my earlier years as a photographer with another studio for whom I worked.  I know how to do them, I know what to expect from them, and I know I’m supposed to dislike them.  Afterall, photographers aren’t nice people.  I mean, right?

Well some of them are.  Actually, the truth is, a lot of them are.  Probably higher than the percentage of nice vs not-nice people in really any profession in truth.  But I was raised in photography to hate thy neighbor for they will steal your cattle and burn your lands.  I’m not sure why this was the business model with which I was raised when it comes to photography and weddings.  The more time I spend in the wedding business, the more I realize that other wedding professionals, with obvious exceptions, want to know you and help you.  And I know about myself (and have for some time) that I love to help people.  So why the attitude?

First: I’m a snob.  I’ve admitted this about virtually every aspect of my life.  I like to think of it as a more honest assessment of what some diluted people might call “having a good sense of style” or “knowing what I like”.  While I do think I have good taste and sense of style, the zeal with which I have such views might be more accurately characterized as snobbery.  So like any good twelve-step program, I’ll stand and introduce myself.  My name is Chris Zarconi and I’m a snob.

Second: More people should be snobs.  I’m ok being alone – sometimes I rather like it.  I’ll be critical of things alone, in groups, on stage.  I’m pretty ok with that.  I don’t take being critical of things into the realm of gossip, everyone has to draw the line somewhere right?  But the degree to which people are snobs is an effective measure, I think, of the degree to which they pay attention to detail.  Detail of what?  Detail of everything.  Because the details are what matter.

So I do this bridal show twice a year at the DC Convention Center, The Washington Bridal Showcase.  It’s a show, in every sense of the word, like every bridal show.  Sometimes I feel that I’m paying for a booth to get prime people-watching real estate.  And if that were my only goal, it’d be so worth it.  Classic!  The required raffles at every booth are designed to draw people into each and every booth in the show to encourage dialogue with vendors.  Well, at least that’s how it’s designed.  Mostly it just makes sure people walk around the whole show first and enter all the raffles.  Whoa.

So you’re a bride – why should you go to a bridal show?  Or should you?  Sure, if you want to.  Here is some advice: figure out what you want to learn from the show and go with that as your focus.  A lot of brides show up and get swallowed up by the chaos of the shows and come back with enough bridal show swag to sink a cruise ship.  Then when they get home, there is way too much information to process.  Don’t get sucked in.  Stay the course.

So let’s imagine, since this field I know, that you’re looking for a photographer for your wedding.  You go to the show and there are 10-15 photographers.  Where do you start?  Talk to them!  The booth at the bridal show is exactly what the name suggests – it’s a show.  I’m hoping that every photographer there can come up with 10 or 15 images that will capture your attention, make you stop walking, trigger an emotion, or otherwise make you want to stop and talk to them.  This is good.  Cross off the list right away anyone who does not meet this basic criteria.  (brief math aside – say as a studio you shoot 30 weddings a year.  your average number of images from each wedding is 1500 images.  that’s 45,000 images per year.  you had damn well better be able to produce 15 images out of 45,000 that are pretty special images.  if not, you should be registering for classes at the community college in either photography to get your act together or in some other industry to get out before you’re totally out of business.)  So since there are always a few that don’t meet that basic criteria, say we’re down to 8-12 photographers now.  Go talk to those photographers.  What are you trying to figure out when talking to them?  You’re trying to figure out A) who they are and B) do they make you feel comfortable.  Your wedding day is not a day when you’ll be feeling remarkably normal or like yourself.  Having someone around who makes you feel comfortable will make a huge difference on your wedding day.  So now you’ve spoken to them and you’re down to 5-8 photographers who meet those two basic criteria.  Now what?

Take their materials and go look at their websites.  Anyone should be able to produce 15 images of value and a conversation of 5-10 minutes in length without making you feel awkward.  Not everyone has enough images to fill up a website and make you feel like those 15 images were not a fluke.  My guess is that you’ll be down to 2-3 photographers from this process (at the most).  Some of you might be ready to sign a contract at that point and some of you will schedule meetings to chat more personally and more indepth with those final photographers.  Either way is fine, but that’s my tip.  Don’t get sucked in, stay focused, and do your homework.

Here are some iphone photos of the bridal show so that you can pretend you were there.  Not, obviously, my standard level of images.  But lucky for you, I’ll be shooting your wedding with a camera, not an iphone.

And me!  Well if you didn’t go to the bridal show, now you can say you at least visited briefly.  If you did go, I’d love to hear your comments about the show.

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