Want to start booking higher paying weddings? Here I’ll cover 4 ways you can do that and start on it today!

Do you feel like you’ll always be stuck in the charging $2-4k price range for your wedding photography services? I remember my first few years of photography thinking to myself “WOW, I’m gonna have to book 30-40 weddings to make good money shooting weddings.” 

It didn’t dawn on me until a few years in that I was leaving money on the table and I could be charging more! But I also couldn’t just up and raise my prices because I felt like it and I told myself “I was worth it”… I had to actually make sure I was worth it.

That’s when I truly invested in myself and the experience I was providing for my clients. The last thing I wanted was for them to feel like I wasn’t worth the price they paid. EVER. 

So here I’m going to talk about 4 reasons why you’re not booking higher paying weddings and how we can change that. 

Your Branding + Messaging

Your branding is the message you unknowingly and subconsciously send to ANYONE who comes across your work. It’s the vibe you are putting out in the world, and therefore in return.. Attracting. It’s also the messaging and the way you communicate and set the tone for the way you communicate and what you attract as well. 

I see A LOT and I mean A LOT of photographers and creative entrepreneurs flocking to the same branding trends all the time. And what happens when you do that is you aren’t standing out in your industry because your brand, style, and vibe are the same as everything else’s, and you’re lying to yourself.

This can be a hard pill to swallow.. But you aren’t being true to yourself. When that happens, you’re not running your business the way you should be. Because the second you try to be like someone else, the second your business takes a step backwards. 

You can’t build a foundation off of someone else’s brand. It just doesn’t work. Maybe it would for a little bit, but you’re going to hit a roadblock where you know it’s just not working anymore and you won’t be able to truly scale. 

How Do I Figure Out My Branding?

Now listen, I get it. It takes time to figure out what your true style and branding really is. AND IT CAN CHANGE!! Heck, mine has changed many times over the years. But the difference is that I finally found my branding to fit both ME, my personality, AND my business so it all makes sense.

I’ve also had students who come to me and say “Rachel, why the heck am I not attracting my ideal weddings or couples? It’s so hard and I just keep getting the same type of inquiries for weddings I don’t want to photograph and I keep feeling like I just have to take them because that’s all that’s coming in.” My first response to that is: okay, let’s look at your branding and messaging. For example: I had a student who wanted to photograph more outdoorsy, laid back couples, but their branding directly spoke to elegant indoor weddings in my opinion. 

Not only that, but the portfolio on their website and the content they were posting also directly spoke to elegant indoor weddings. So we had to work around and reframe the branding + messaging that they were portraying to make sure they were attracting more of that outdoorsy laid back couple. 

BUT we also have to be very careful the way we position the words “laid back and outdoorsy” because that also tends to attract lower budget weddings as well. So there’s a fine line between that and how you are branding yourself and messaging around that.

Some ways you can do that is:

• The way you show your personality social media
• A portfolio you choose to use on your website 
• The branding you use 
• Experience you provide

You have to find the balance between your branding + messaging in work you want, while also making it clear that you are of higher value as well by doing those things I just mentioned above. 

Your Confidence 

YES YOUR CONFIDENCE. If you don’t have the confidence in yourself and your own business, no one else will. And, no you don’t have to be an extrovert to be confident. What i mean by this is ….

• Showing up on social media 
• Being consistent with your work 
• Being confident in your services and pricing
• The way you serve your clients
• The way you pose + direct your clients

Find out your client connector type

No matter what these things look like for you whether you’re an extrovert, introvert, or aspiring connecter (if you don’t know what yours is, go take my client connection quiz). You could be an extrovert, but the way you connect with your clients is an introvert connecter. Or you could be an introvert but the way you connect with your clients is an aspiring connecter. 

If you haven’t already, GO TAKE THE QUIZ to figure out which one you are and then share on social media your results so I can see! Knowing this will help give you a better understanding of how YOU connect with your clients and how to best serve them based off of that and also areas in which you can improve on as well. 

BUT, if you don’t have FULL confidence in yourself and your business, then how can you expect anyone else to? Meaning, if you are charging $10k for a wedding.. Do you have the confidence, knowledge, brand messaging, client experience, resources, and value to back it up? If your answer is no, then it’s time to work on these things! 

These are all things we go over in my signature Passion to Profit program to help you set a solid foundation so you can scale to that level in your business! 

If you’re wanting to book more high paying weddings to work less while making more, make sure to apply to my exclusive Passion to Profit program. I am currently looking for 2-3 people wanting to scale their photography business!

The Way You’re Running Your Business

Because, yes… it does matter how you’re running your business. How efficient you are with your time, and where you’re putting your energy towards is important. It’s very easy to get distracted in today’s world, or have what they call “shiny object syndrome” where all you see is what others are doing and see everyone else’s success that you forget to create time for your own. 

I personally think both a HUGE distraction but also a HUGE blessing in all of our lives is…. Social media. YES, I love and hate social media all in one. It’s been the biggest blessing in my business and has allowed me to connect with so many people. But also, it’s been the biggest culprit and thief of my time and sometimes joy.

Until I turned off my notifications, and ONLY go on Instagram when I have time to be intentional about posting or connecting with people. I don’t scroll anymore. Especially now that I’m a mom.. I just don’t have time. 

And I don’t mean that in a rude way that I don’t like engaging with people’s stuff. BECAUSE I DO! But I just don’t prioritize spending a ton of time on any social media anymore. I do what I need to do, and I log off.

Prioritizing as an Entrepreneur

Because if you’re here, you’re likely an entrepreneur and UNDERSTAND when I say there just isn’t enough time in the day to get done what we need to get done. We always have a never ending pile of workload and there’s always work to be done. 

The responsibility that comes along with being an entrepreneur is prioritizing your time and being intentional about where you spend it. You need to be running a profitable and sustainable business. And doing tedious tasks are not going to get you to the next level, OR allow you to scale. 

Look at your business day in and day out. What does it look like? Where are you spending your time? Where could you be giving more time? Is what you’re currently doing working for you? Do you need to make adjustments to make sure you’re being efficient? 

I believe your success comes down to the way you show up for yourself and the way you show up in your business. If you need to find more structure in your work days, then it’s time to create a solid morning routine, and block out batching blocks of when you are going to finish specific tasks, and then adding an end of day routine too.

Something I like to do is my big 3. Meaning at the beginning of the day, I write down the 3 biggest things I need to get done that day in order to feel like I had a productive day, and then I focus on getting those 3 things done. Then I have a running to-do list that I tap into after those big 3 things are done.

That way, no matter what, if I can at least get those 3 things done, I will end the day feeling more accomplished and that I made progress in my schedule. IT REALLY CHANGES THINGS. Because once you get that motivation, the momentum keeps building and going and you just want to continue being as productive as possible! 

The Experience and Connection You’re Providing

The way you are connecting with potential clients before they even fill out your contact form unknowingly says A LOT about the way their experience will be with you. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that if you’re not prioritizing your client experience and client connection with your inquiries and potential clients, they aren’t going to understand the value, so they’re not going to understand why they should invest that much in your services. 

This is why client experience is CRUCIAL in your business. Especially if you are providing an AWESOME experience for your current clients, they are going to have nothing but great things to say about you and refer you to their friends and family. Which in return, just creates more business referrals.

I always think of it this way. You could be the MOST TALENTED person at what you do. THE BEST in the biz. But if you have average client experience, it’s not going to match the value of what you’re providing, and in my opinion, it’s going to bring the value of your services wayyyy down. 

Why Connection Matters

People always remember how you make them feel. And I believe our services are tied to emotions, so if those emotions are just average.. That’s how they will view their experience with you. 

Y’all know how much I love client experience and client connection because of the impact it’s had on my own business… I hands down think it’s the biggest game changer over ANYTHING else just because client experience ties back to literally everything you do in your business. 

So when you’re trying to figure out how to price yourself, align it with the experience you’re providing your clients. That is a great indicator of what you can start to charge. When you elevate that, then you can raise your pricing with ease and confidence. 

Final Thoughts

And if you struggle with not knowing exactly how to do that, or are wanting an exact roadmap and framework on how to do this and scale your business and revenue… make sure to apply to my Passion to Profit program. 

There is no harm in applying and applying doesn’t guarantee you a spot in the program – so go apply today to see if it’s the right next step for you!

Be sure to check out more Gold Biz Podcasts here.