Five steps to wedding photography marketing success

When Canon Ambassador Sanjay Jogia gave up a career in architecture in 2007 to become a professional wedding photographer in London, there were relatively few competitors. Now, when you type 'wedding photographer' into a web search, more than 400 million results appear in an instant – reflecting how saturated the market has become, and how crucial it is to have a strategic wedding photography marketing plan.

Sanjay and his wife Roshni have distanced themselves from the competition by establishing a high-end photography business, Eye Jogia - with 30 SWPP and 31 WPPI awards to their name. The couple built their brand with a distinguishable repertoire of candid, colourful and emotional wedding images and notable marketing techniques.

Sanjay, a Canon Ambassador, regularly shares his expertise through lectures and workshops around the world, and here explains how to use marketing to grow your wedding photography business.

1. Tailor your wedding photography marketing by demographic

"You've got to decide which genre within weddings you're targeting. That way, you can focus your marketing more precisely with bridal magazines. If you go to one kind of bridal magazine, you're going to attract that type of bride or demographic. Are you going to do Jewish weddings? Indian weddings? Church weddings? You have to make that decision. If you try to target everyone in your marketing, you're going to fall flat on your face."

"Most of our weddings are high-end Indian weddings. Therefore, we advertise in Indian bridal magazines. There are a handful of these, but two or three that we've really come into the market with. In these magazines, we either do full-page or two-page spreads to dominate the real estate and have impact. This costs more but if you want to have presence, have presence. It's as simple as that.

"When it comes to advertising, you need to be unique. In order for our adverts to stand out, we are always redesigning them. The best way to do this is by drawing emphasis to particular types of images, mixing up the colour palette, and keeping the colour palette harmonious. The colours must grab people's attention but also be easy on the eye. I've seen ads that can be a bit jarring to look at because the images on the ad don't sit with one another. There's a psychological technique to this – the images must lead the eyes into the page. You want to make it as easy to look at your work as possible."

3. In tough times, think long-term with your wedding photography marketing

"When the coronavirus pandemic began, it was scary. We didn't know what was going to happen. We take on up to 20 weddings a year, and in 2020 we were only able to photograph two. I used the time to redesign, re-optimise and add up-to-date content to my website, which can get neglected when you're busy with work. I also focused on new opportunities. For a long time, I've had the educational side of my business, doing one-to-ones and group workshops at conventions. Many of these were cancelled or went virtual so I adapted by creating video tutorials. This is an income stream, and also a marketing tool.

"I also spent the time working on an idea I had over a decade ago to stream weddings. We'll use multiple Canon mirrorless cameras on tripods, mounted on clamps or gimbals, with a director switching between them to create something interactive and dynamic. I want to develop that into a platform, like a TV channel, with a presenter. In future, weddings and other events will be hybrids, with some people attending virtually, some in-person. I can also use this streaming technology for educational content at virtual conventions. You've got to think long-term."

4. Harness the power of print to increase your profile – and profit

"We print our images by hand on a Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 printer and have them on display where clients can see them in our showroom in London, England. We generally sell our collections with an album included. Many people haven't experienced having their images professionally printed. When couples come in for a consultation, I always say to them, 'you don't get excited about a USB stick, but imagine if I printed out one of your photos and threatened to tear it up, you'd be horrified'.

"All it takes is for someone to experience print themselves to realise its power. You hang a print on the wall, you see it every day, it has more value. There's a finality to printing an image. Once people become familiar with that, it's something they want more of. If they have an album, they want wall art, and so on."

5. Remember, the best wedding photography marketing is word of mouth

"Marketing isn't just about paying for space or using free social media space. It's about doing a really good job and getting people to recommend you. We have solidified relationships with people who feel confident to recommend us because they know we'll do a solid job, keep our word, deliver when we're supposed to, and [produce] what we promise in terms of imagery and quality.

"Ultimately when a bride and groom start to search for a wedding photographer, they're most likely going to look at social media to see whom their circle of friends and family are talking about. They're going to ask for recommendations. Weddings are huge. A lot can go wrong. If you can demonstrate that you can leap through the hurdles of a wedding day and leave a shining impression, that will only work in your favour."