The Year in Review - Wedding & Portrait in 2015

Wedding and portrait photographers have been enjoying a new dawn of exciting possibilities, and business is thriving. However, as for anyone venturing into the twilight, it is wise to watch the path ahead, for the shadows are dark and murky, as Armani Nimerawi reports.

Flip through the pages of recent past editions of The Annual, and ‘exciting’ is not how most photographers described the outlook for wedding and portrait photography. Indeed, at the height of the global financial crisis, and in the unsettled years that immediately followed, hope was invariably viewed with a jaundiced skepticism typical of the very war-weary.

Yet, “exciting” is exactly how portrait photographer Barb Uil has described the current state of the wedding and portrait industry. And her enthusiasm shouldn’t be dismissed as the blind faith of the pathologically optimistic; in fact, it’s a hopefulness that’s being echoed throughout the industry. “My business has definitely been growing at a steady pace,” says San Francisco-based wedding photographer, Nirav Patel. “I’m able to be selective about the work that I take, which I’m incredibly grateful for.”

Thankfulness is indeed being collectively felt by wedding and portrait shooters, many of whom have clawed their way out of the darkest of nights through sheer force of will alone, and are now enjoying the fruits of their labour, with exciting new opportunities abounding and a client base with an increasingly voracious appetite for the photographic. “With technologies such as Instagram and the iPhone, everyone is into photography – and I mean everyone,” says Uil. “This means that most people have an appreciation of visual mediums and it has really put photography back in the limelight.”

Ring the changes

This year, wedding and portrait shooters continued to flaunt their chameleon-like adaptability, refashioning their business practices in response to the industry’s, and their own, changing needs. “I would definitely say my business practices have changed,” says Patel, whose recent maxim has been one of quality over quantity. “I’m taking fewer jobs so I can craft images that I’m proud of,” he continues. “It’s also been very important for me to spend time with my family, so I’ve reduced the amount of work I’m taking on for that reason as well. Every client deserves the best work I can possibly create for them without me having to sacrifice my personal/family life. I’d say 2015 has been a year of balancing.”

Patel’s attempts to ballast his professional and private lives have been mirrored in the portrait sector. For Uil, 2015 was about re-entering the portrait market as a full-time photographer after working part time while on maternity leave. “I have in that way, had to relaunch my brand somewhat,” she explains. “My styled shoots have been booked solid, however my family portraits have had a slower start which has meant we have been doing a lot more marketing than previous years. We have started to really think about ways of reaching people through different avenues, and it’s been both challenging and exciting.”

Surviving the undercutters and cutthroats

The trend perhaps most lamented in Annuals past has been the continued increase in competition witnessed by both the wedding and portrait sectors, in Australia and abroad, and the malignant effects of undercutting. In 2015 however, wedding and portrait photographers have embraced the newcomers, as well as the challenges and threats they pose. “Competition is always a threat, but it can also be your driving force to get better, do better and keep on pushing forward,” says Canberra-based wedding photographer, Kelly Tunney. “Nobody, no matter how far ahead of the pack they are, can ever afford to be complacent or get too comfortable. New photographers pop up on any given Sunday, and many of them are good.”

Fellow wedding photographer, Danelle Bohane agrees. “I have noticed a surge of new wedding photographers appear in New Zealand, particularly in the last year,” she says. “I don’t see that as a threat, because it’s wonderful to have a bigger community to be a part of, but I know that more than ever, I need to put out consistent new work, keep crafting my style, give my couples a fantastic experience, and work smarter in my business and marketing.”

For North Carolina-based portrait photographer, Tamara Lackey, the menace of the industry’s new cutthroats hasn’t been the business they’ve taken, but rather their harmful effect on the industry’s client base as a whole. “Probably the biggest threat we've seen has been the threat to our time, fielding an increasing number of inquiries from people who are hearing that photography costs less than ever, simply because of the race to the bottom with new shooters pricing themselves as low as possible,” she says. “People call and have no idea what good photography can cost. We are sure to communicate all our pricing upfront, before we ever book a shoot, so we are as transparent as possible and everyone is on the same page before we do the shoot. But that also means communicating with a lot of individuals who don't know what to expect.”

For many, the temptation to match the price cuts in order to remain competitive won out. Lackey insists, however, that not entering the fray has been vital for long-term success. “One of the things our studio has done well over the course of more than 13 years of being in business is as boring-sounding as it has been highly profitable: We've stayed the course,” she explains. “We have never lowered our prices to compete with ‘shoot and burn’ photographers…By staying the course, we've continued to communicate to our clients that they can count on us. If, for instance, one of our clients walks in with a framed piece that got knocked off their wall and a corner got cracked, they know we will simply replace it. No additional charge, no pushback. We want them to always know they can count on the quality of our work and the integrity of our studio.”

Teaching them a lesson

For Lackey, one of the greatest tragedies of undercutting has been the loss of talented artists from amongst the rank of undercutters themselves. “I think it's a bit depressing to see an extremely talented shooter undercharging dramatically for their talent,” she says. “Usually, when that happens, those shooters end up flaming out altogether. And if they can't stay in business, none of us get to benefit from seeing their work, which can inspire us all. I've seen this happen more than a few times over the last couple years. It's a bummer, all the way around.”

To counteract this trend, Lackey, Bohane, and a host of other shooters in the wedding and portrait industry have taken it upon themselves to educate and mentor new arrivals. “I think that if I want my clients better educated, it helps to educate the photography market as well, so we are all communicating a cohesive message about valuing all the work, effort, time and talent that goes into portraits and commercial work,” says Lackey.

Selling points

Though the demographics of those clients willing to support quality photography have remained mostly the same in 2015, there have been some new, fresher faces in the wedding sector. “I actually noticed a younger demographic coming through,” says Bohane. “Generally my couples are under the age of 30, with the youngest couple I have photographed being 18.”

While photographers expecting a deluge of same-sex weddings, after its legalisation in an increasing number of countries, may have been disappointed - “I actually photographed more gay couples earlier in my photographic career!” laughs Tunney - it is definitely a growing market, and one to watch in the coming years. “I did photograph my first same-sex couple this year, and it was a wonderful experience,” says Patel. “I had a good mix of weddings from different cultures, and overall, it was a very well rounded year.”

In the portrait industry, Uil’s clients in 2015 have been similar to those in previous years, though their requirements are changing. “This year has been similar to previous years with regards to demographics, however I am getting more bookings with single children than I am with the sibling groups,” she says. “For example, parents are more likely to

book a full JinkyArt session for each of their children individually. I feel like people are after something a little unique.”

While the packages Uil sells - digital files, wall prints, and albums - haven’t changed in the last few years, she does state that digital files are now an expectation. This is also the norm in the wedding sector, which has suffered under a seemingly interminable digital dictatorship. “I really felt like there was a period of time in the wedding industry where photographers gave away very little, or too much, depending on how you look at it,” says Tunney. “‘Hey cool clients, here are my best images on a branded USB. Have a great married life! You’re on your own’. Maybe that’s too harsh,” she says, “but some photographers weren’t educated in the importance of providing a tangible product. Their clients may have skipped down the road to OfficeWorks for a $35 book and some 9c prints!”

However, this year Tunny, Patel and Lackey have noticed a return to books and fine art prints in both sectors. “We actually created an entire line of new books, our new Lush Albums, built specifically to offer an eco-friendly, high-end, fine art album to our portrait clients, based on what we kept seeing them want the most,” says Lackey. “In a very short time, we have found ourselves selling them rather steadily to our clientele, and we've seen other photographers have a great experience selling them as well.”

The desire for products that one can hold in one’s hands remains. “It seems like people are starting to realise how important it is to have something tangible and not just images on a hard drive that will eventually be forgotten and archived somewhere,” Patel says happily, knowing first-hand the resounding importance of the printed product. “I was actually inspired to start shooting after seeing my parents’ wedding album. It was amazing to be able to ‘attend’ one of the most important days of their lives without actually being there. I realised just how powerful photographs were from that moment.”

#friendorfoe

Like Patel, the industry’s clients are also rediscovering the power of photographs, mostly due to the rise and rise of Instagram. The social app’s gaining momentum has been a boon to photographers. “In terms of marketing, I have seen a lot of growth in my following on Instagram rather than Facebook,” says Bohane. “I have put a lot of time and effort into creating a consistent and strong Instagram feed, and have seen a wider international audience reach via this tool.”

But like all things with great power, the app also has a dark flipside, and many photographers have confessed to suffering from an artistic crisis of confidence, triggered by Instagram and other social media platforms of its ilk. “Like most artists,” Patel says, “I’m rarely satisfied with my work. This we all know is a blessing in disguise, right?! I’m constantly thinking about what’s next and what I can improve on without really standing back to see what I already may have accomplished,” explains Patel. “I’ve also fallen in the trap of social media and letting ‘likes’ and comments validate the importance of my work instead of focusing on creating work for the pure love of it. It’s been so important to admit this to myself. I feel vulnerability and transparency are so important for growth, both as an artist and human being.”

Indeed, while Uil states Instagram was “the place to be” in 2015, acknowledging its importance in reaching an international audience, she believes it’s important to maintain a grassroots approach, as clients are now attempting to balance both their online and offline worlds. “The internet is no longer quite as fascinating, so reaching out to the local community is now more important than ever,” she says. “With the ‘buy local’ campaigns and farmers’ markets, I feel like Australians especially are really enjoying being part of their community more and embracing that side of life.”

United we stand

The last year has seen success for many, but the benefits have not been felt by all. “I think that some photographers find success extremely fast, but very few are able to sustain that in the longer term,” Tunney says. All photographers interviewed for this year’s Annual were adamant that, if the journey into this new dawn of the industry is to signify true positive change, wedding and portrait shooters need to be united as one, and continue to build a community rather than compete. “I feel that rather than getting defensive, it’s so important to build strong and genuine relationships with the other members of the photography community so that we can work together to ensure the success of everyone trying to make a living doing something they’re passionate about,” says Patel.

And he’s not alone in his thinking. Photographers in both sectors have been standing together to rebuild an industry they can be proud of. “I’ve had a unique opportunity to help create and grow a new business model this year,” says Tunney, who in 2015 co-created wedding collective, ‘All Grown Up Photography Group’ with fellow wedding photographer, Dan O’Day. “We built an agency of seven photographers from all around Australia to shoot weddings under a new brand,” Tunney explains. “Dan and I wanted to work together and wanted to work with other like-minded creatives, so we decided to join forces and expand. We have an amazing team around us and feel very fortunate to mentor them.”

It’s the type of initiative that Lackey relishes in seeing and believes will be the future of the industry as a whole. “Basically, I believe there is more than enough to go around, in life and in this business - we just need to do a better job as a creative community ensuring that all those who love doing this work are being fair to the photography industry, and to themselves.” 

As photographers in the wedding and portrait industry continue to march resolutely into 2016 under this banner of community, united in fairness, it would seem that Uil’s excitement is indeed a premonition of greater things to come.

CONTACTS

Danelle Bohane
Tamara Lackey
Nirav Patel
Kelly Tunney 
Barb Uil