Original subtitles

Hi, the next topic to cover is branding,

target group, destination weddings and so on.

But we start with branding because that in

turn influences all the other topics.

At the beginning let's address the question what

does branding actually mean?

Branding means turning your company into a brand

which brings us to the next question.

What is actually a brand or how do

you become a brand?

We are now trying to describe the way

towards a brand from our point of view.

When you look at the big brands every

big brand conveys a certain feeling or lifestyle

to the viewer.

The buyer can identify with a brand.

The brand gives the product its identity.

For example if I buy Nike then I

know the shoe is comfortable, looks great and

does what it's promised.

When you buy a brand you just know

what you get.

Brands always stand for quality.

Exactly, with brand products it's in people's mind

that the product has a certain quality and

that is why you trust the product.

In addition brands always have a great reputation.

Brand products are always a bit more expensive

than no-name products.

Yes, so the brand justifies the higher price.

For a brand product people are automatically willing

to pay a higher price.

Therefore as a service provider like we as

photographers you should try to become a brand.

You can build a brand by for example

embodying a certain lifestyle or a certain attitude

towards life.

After all every major brand always reaches people

via a feeling or lifestyle.

If you look at Red Bull for example

people always associate action sports and adrenaline with

it.

Yes, we as photographers can also embody a

lifestyle in order to appeal to a certain

target group.

Yes, we had to learn that first because

it is most important to give a face

to photography and what you do there.

On the one hand that is our self,

it's us, but it is also the attitude

towards life that we convey.

With our appearance we automatically address a certain

group of people and in turn do not

appeal to other groups of people.

Yes, and that's so important.

You should have a clear brand statement and

therefore address only a specific target group.

Yes, you can do that extremely well on

Instagram for example using Insta stories.

Yes, all right.

And under no circumstances should you pretend to

be what you are not.

We will explain in more detail later why

this is most important.

You have the possibility to make your own

lifestyle marketing like via Insta stories, homepage, your

text, like it's just about everything you write

and show about you.

Yes, and now we will go on with

our start in the wedding industry.

To understand what we think is important let's

take a quick look at how we started

in the wedding industry.

Yes, we already briefly told you how it

came about that we started with wedding photography.

Our first wedding season was in 2014.

Back in January of that year we were

at a wedding fair and that was our

only way to get to customers.

Yes, because back then we didn't have a

single Facebook follower.

Besides we didn't even have a homepage.

We finished that only one day before the

wedding fair.

Yes, and we were showing you our original

logo.

It was very classic and the name was

Classic 2.

We did not realize that at the time.

At the time we did not want to

reach a specific target group but simply address

as many people as possible.

Just to get as many bookings as possible.

Yes, and to earn as much money as

possible.

And rather we then considered what the general

public likes and presented ourselves accordingly.

For example we always address people in a

formal manner.

Yes, now we say that we used to

be chameleons back then.

Yes, because we always adapted for the customer.

For example before a meeting we bought smart

gloves just to please the customer.

Yes, we did not consider what we like

and did not think that it is important

to be authentic.

Yes, of course it is also quite normal

that everyone has a certain finding fast pace

at the beginning.

This is also important so you realize in

which direction you want to go to build

your own brand accordingly.

So we don't really think it is an

issue that it used to be like that.

But we are very grateful that we quickly

found out who we are and which style

we like.

Yes, and then in the second year in

2015 we were back at the wedding fair

and we then had 31 weddings booked including

a few referral customers.

After those two years we realized that the

job was not fulfilling.

We were happy and grateful that we could

make make a living with photography but we

were still not completely happy and the work

was often not fun because we were not

always on the same wavelength as the couples.

The reason was that we had not reached

a clear target group and we had some

traditional weddings but also very expansive ones.

Like the one in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

We knew that if we wanted to enjoy

our work in long term we had to

change something.

Because it is very important that as a

photographer you have fun with what you do

and that you love what you do.

Because you very often hear that photographers are

not happy anymore after a few years.

For example because they often have trouble with

customers.

In our opinion that's because you don't have

the right customer.

If you reach the right audience and have

customers with whom you are on the same

wavelength then you usually have no trouble.

This is not a guarantee and problems can

occur always but if you have the customer

that suits perfectly you can really enjoy your

job and you will have a lot of

fun.

In addition you can be fully behind your

work and pure even more heart and soul

into it.

The point at which we realized this was

when we did a photo shooting in Amsterdam.

We photographed a couple there and we really

had a lot of fun with that.

From the beginning we had the feeling that

we had known the two for a long

time.

The whole shoot did not feel like work

for us but more like hanging out with

friends.

We just realized that these are the kind

of people we like to spend time with

and thought if we could photograph weddings with

people like these two that would be ideal.

At that time we could not yet imagine

that there are actually many cool people who

marry and would book us.

But then we just thought about it and

found out in retrospect we were actually the

reason why we reached the wrong target group.

We were not authentic and portrayed the wrong

image to the outside world.

Because our whole appearance, our logo, our name

and the way we dressed were not real.

We didn't reach the right customers.

Therefore the most important thing is to find

yourself first and to ask who am I,

what do I want and how do I

envision my clients to be.

We did that and wrote down what our

perfect customers should look like.

That's something you should definitely do.

You can also write down how you imagine

your ideal wedding or what you would like

your own wedding to be like.

In summary you could actually say that your

ideal customer is similar to yourself.

Your customer should be just like you because

then you can best understand the taste of

the two and you have similarities about which

you can talk and love.

We did that and wrote it down.

Our perfect customer likes to travel, is adventurous,

likes to meet new people and cultures and

is unconventional, uninhibited in terms of traditions and

wedding rules and also has good fashion taste

and style.

That was roughly our definition of our customer.

It was not about where these couples marry

or what kind of wedding they plan.

We just wanted the couple to be cool

and as people to match with us.

So it's very clear that the focus is

on the customer type, no matter if it's

a destination wedding or a backyard wedding next

door.

The goal was simply to have more fun

at work.

That's why we decided to rebrand ourselves.

In January 2016, exactly two years after we

started photographing weddings, we rebranded ourselves.

We also changed our name and logo.

When we did that we were definitely scared

that we would not get any more bookings.

I would say we had real fear for

our existence.

Because after all we had already built something

up over the previous years and for example

we had built a circle of references in

addition.

Our website was well ranked on google.

Naturally we were afraid to lose everything again

and having to start over from scratch.

That's why it's a risk especially if you

change your name.

In retrospect however it was the best thing

we have ever done.

Because had we not decided to rebrand we

would not be where we are now.

We would have continued to not feel comfortable.

We also believe that a personalized name is

very important for building your brand.

For example something blue was extremely impersonal and

just about anybody could have photographed under that

name.

With Chris & Ruth we have a much

more personal brand appearance and we reach people

on a much more personal level.

In addition the couples also know immediately who

they are dealing with and who is photographing

the wedding.

The rebranding also meant that we had to

create a new website for ourselves.

By now it's already the third website and

now we are really satisfied.

Yeah because we can identify very well with

the design of the website.

We now have flow themes.

Yes we can see the link to flow

themes below and we also have a discount

code for you and maybe there are a

few people out there who are thinking about

creating a website for themselves.

Then you should definitely take a look at

this.

In the meantime we know a lot of

people in our circle of friends, people who

work in the creative field or photographers who

use flow themes.

The website is super customizable and is easy

to use.

It is also optimized for the smartphone and

we also love how the website presents our

photos.

You just noticed that the website design were

developed by photographers and creative people.

In addition we then started to do free

shootings in order to reach the right customer.

You have to show pictures that appeal to

this target group.

It was clear to us that we could

best produce these photos by organizing shootings ourselves.

It's also important to adjust your portfolio according

to the brand and what you want to

embody.

We then deleted everything from our portfolio which

did not appeal to the customer we had

just defined.

This means you have to delete all these

images from your portfolio, Instagram, Facebook and so

on.

Any image that goes in the wrong direction

will also appeal to the wrong customer.

You really have to be very strict with

yourself.

Yes, we also had to learn that the

more clearly and distinctly you communicate your style

and what you like, the easier it is

for the right people to find you and

feel attracted by you.

Moreover your portfolio is only ever as good

as your worst picture.

So it's better to show fewer than to

show photos of average quality.

Yeah, if you have pictures that do not

match the quality then it is better to

delete them.

These pictures only confuse the customer and he

doesn't know exactly what kind of quality he

will get.

Yeah, you really have to be very self

-critical.

If you're not sure then don't hesitate to

get the opinion of other photographers.

In January 2016 we also created our Instagram

account.

However, we did not start posting regularly on

Instagram until that summer.

Because we didn't have enough footage until then.

At the beginning we had not really concerned

ourselves with how Instagram works and had not

realized its importance.

In addition we were repeatedly told that we

had already missed the boat with Instagram.

And you still often hear that it's too

late to jump on the Instagram bandwagon.

However, we think that Instagram is still one

of the strongest marketing platforms and everyone should

take this opportunity.

Yeah, definitely.

For us it's one of the most important

tools and we are very grateful for all

the possibilities that Instagram opened up for us.

Yeah, through Instagram we have the chance to

reach people around the world with our pictures.

And thus to also be allowed to work

anywhere in the world.

Yeah.

It's fascinating to see how easy it is

to connect with people around the world.

Apart from the fact that with Instagram you

have the perfect platform to present your portfolio,

you can also very well show your personality

in the Insta stories and present yourself and

your brand.

So yeah, you have the opportunity to run

your personal lifestyle marketing.

For sure.

Therefore we continue to be huge fans of

Instagram.

Yeah, even if there is always criticism that

it does not really reach the people anymore.

Of course.

Yeah.

The reach has decreased a bit.

Yeah, but that's simply because more and more

people are using this platform.

We think that as long as there is

this free platform and you can easily and

selectively reach couples with it, you should definitely

use it.

We also think it's important to regularly post

on Instagram.

So to get some material and also to

attract the right customers we started doing style

shoots and inspiration shoots.

In the beginning style shoots were the best

way for us to realize ourselves.

And in addition we could practice a lot

and produce photos that show our dream customers.

Therefore we can only recommend to everyone to

try it out for themselves.

It is important that you implement your own

idea in a style shoot.

Yeah, it's not good if someone else plans

a shoot and you're just a photographer.

We are talking about creating your own concept.

You should think about what your dream wedding

should look like.

Yeah, accordingly you must choose a style of

clothing, decoration or hair styling, bridal bouquet to

implement your ideal setup.

Yeah, otherwise in our opinion it's just wasted

time.

Yeah, we once photographed a style shoot that

someone else had planned and in this case

service providers with different styles simply worked together

and everyone was allowed to contribute their ideas.

And that's not good because the whole shoot

has no clear concept.

Yeah, in the end no one can really

reach their customers with the shoot because there's

no clear focus in the shoot.

And that's what's what it's all about when

you organize a style shoot.

You have to speak a very clear language

during the style shoot and look for service

providers who have the exactly the same style

and sense of aesthetics as you.

Yeah, you can also use the style shoot

very well to establish contacts with service providers

and to establish contacts with service providers who

reach a similar target audience as you.

For example, we are very good friends with

a wedding planner, her name is Fabienne from

Clips Concepta, which is her business name.

Yeah, she's one of the best wedding planners

in Europe for alternative weddings.

And we've also done a style shoot with

her and accompanied several weddings together.

Yeah, whenever we work together we actually understand

each other blindly and that's because we have

exactly the same taste.

Then it does not happen to you that

one of the service providers is dissatisfied with

the pictures because he may prefer a completely

different target group.

Of course, apart from the style shoot, it

always makes sense to build a network with

other service providers in the wedding industry.

Service providers with the same taste as you.

For us, every style shoot is actually a

kind of advertising campaign.

Yeah, an advertising campaign that you can use

to target your bridal couples because you can

choose exactly what you want.

Yeah, for example, you can organize a dress

of your favorite brand.

You can even think carefully about what your

bridal couple should look like and then look

for models accordingly.

Yeah, of course, if you do not want

weddings in castles or you do not like

chair covers, then you should not show it

during your style shoot.

Yes, a style shoot is perfect to inspire

your future bridal couple.

And it not only shows them what it

can look like, it also gives them the

opportunity to find the right service providers.

Yeah.

We also find that you can always exaggerate

a bit in a style shoot.

In fact, we found that the customers are

inspired by it and usually implement a slightly

softer version of it at their own wedding.

We will now briefly show you an example

where you can see that very well.

On the left, you can see a style

shoot that we did about a year ago.

By the way, that was also the shooting

with Fabienne from Clips Detective.

One of our most favorite shoots ever.

As a short background story, the idea of

this shoot came about when we saw a

herd of camels on the roadside.

Yes, and we actually saw that there are

no camels in Germany.

Except in the summer.

And so we had the idea to do

a shoot with camels and carpets to implement

a nice Morocco style.

And the whole thing should also have a

certain desert look as far as the colors

were concerned.

In the evening, we took the pictures in

front of the barn with the fairy lights

to have this barn wedding look.

And these pictures inspired one of our bridal

couples so much and that they based their

own wedding very much upon it.

Now we overlay the picture again and on

the right hand side, you can see pictures

of the real wedding.

Yes, and when you compare the pictures, they

could be from the same movie.

The two were really inspired by the shoot

and that's just the ideal example of what

you can achieve with the style shoot.

So the bridal couple not only booked us

for the wedding, but actually the whole team

from the shoot.

They booked the wedding planner, the florist and

the deco rental company.

And the same applies if, for example, you

would like to photograph weddings at spectacular locations

in the nature.

Yeah, if you show these pictures, the couples

will also book you for them.

For example, we photographed a few elopements at

spectacular locations this year for exactly this reason.

Another benefit of these three shootings is that

you can also choose a time of day

and accordingly the best light for your shoot.

And this allows you to easily show which

results are possible in ideal lighting conditions.

And maybe this will allow you to persuade

your bridal couple to take a few pictures

at sunset on the wedding day.

By and large, we would say that these

shootings were the door opener to destination weddings

for us.

On this topic, we will first say a

few general words about destination weddings and of

course you are also interested in how to

get weddings abroad.

Yes, for this there is no recipe that

always works, but we have a few tips

and tricks that can help you to get

weddings abroad.

Weddings abroad are of course super nice and

above all we always like to travel to

warm countries.

However, what we have noticed is that weddings

abroad are only nice if you have the

right customers.

Yeah, at the beginning we really wanted to

take photos of weddings abroad.

We quickly realized that not every wedding abroad

is beautiful.

On the one hand, not every wedding abroad

is a block wedding and on the other

hand, weddings abroad can be very unblessing for

you as well.

Yeah, in our third year we had our

first wedding abroad in Mallorca, that's in Spain.

Yeah, we were totally overjoyed with this booking.

On the day itself, however, the disappointment was

all the greater because it was absolutely not

that kind of wedding we would have wished.

Yeah, also we were not treated well that

day and we are just the service providers.

Yeah, for example, we did not get any

food except a plate of sliced cheese.

There was also no place to sit down

for us.

The mistake was that we absolutely wanted this

wedding and didn't even notice that the wedding

did not suit our target group and style

at all.

After all, we don't have a single photo

of this wedding in our portfolio.

The whole wedding was very classic.

For example, the bride had a princess dress

with a veil.

Yeah, and a strict hairstyle.

On the whole, not our target group and

we had no fun with a bridal couple

at the shoot.

Yeah, if you have such bookings, then you

also build a recommendation circle that is not

good.

This means that not every wedding abroad is

a cool wedding.

Yeah, we always check requests for destination weddings

very thoroughly.

Because the associated effort to accompany a wedding

abroad is much higher than a wedding in

your own country.

If we accompany a wedding in other European

countries, then it is always at least three

days effort that this wedding requires.

Yeah, unless of course you jump from one

wedding to the next.

For example, we flew to Barcelona for a

Friday wedding and then flew to Mallorca for

a wedding on the following Saturday.

Yeah, personally we find destination weddings super nice

and see it as a big gift.

Especially if you can add another day or

two.

Yeah, we are currently in a lifetime situation

where we can travel very well and enjoy

it.

Of course, we also understand when photographers charge

higher prices for destination weddings.

Maybe that's because photographers have a family at

home, maybe kids, and then the lifetime and

time with family is just a lot more

valuable.

Yeah, traveling is really great for us and

we like to invest lifetime in it.

That's why our destination weddings in the basic

package cost as much in Munich as they

cost in Spain.

Yeah, the only thing that always worries of

course are the travel expenses.

We will explain in the next step how

we manage and calculate all that.

As we said before, we fully appreciate photographers

who make destination weddings more expensive.

Maybe we will eventually have a family and

then our destination weddings will also start at

higher prices.

Yeah, everyone has to find what works for

them and calculate the prices accordingly.

The most important thing is that the customer

is the right one for your destination wedding,

so that all this effort is worthwhile and

you have fun and enjoy the time.

Currently I think it's great that we have

this opportunity and we are very grateful for

that.

A tip that we can still give on

the way.

Do not make it cheaper just because it

is a destination wedding.

We often hear that photographers almost fall on

their knees when it comes to destination weddings

or even want to pay money so they

can photograph it.

Do not do that under any circumstances, because

no matter where the wedding takes place, if

the customer is not willing to pay your

prices and thus to respect your work, then

these are not your customers.

Because otherwise you are just the service providers

who have sold their work below value.

Unfortunately you will often be treated like this.

In addition it can happen to you that

the wedding will not be particularly photogenic.

Because if people do not want to spend

money on you, they will probably save on

all other aspects as well.

It is unlikely that in the end it

will be a beautiful wedding.

And you stand there with too little money

and a long journey you have taken up

on you.

We personally love about Europe that the travel

routes are so short.

For us it makes almost no difference whether

we fly to Mallorca or drive to Berlin.

Often it is even more pleasant to fly.

Of course the interesting question is what increases

the chance of getting a destination wedding?

These are actually a lot of logical things

like that you should communicate in English.

For example 75% of our customers are

Americans who marry in Europe.

Of course we would not reach these people

if we communicate in German.

That's why it's extremely important for us to

communicate in English.

Even though we speak English like little babies,

so far everyone has understood us.

So logically that increases your chance to work

internationally.

Another point to increase your chances of being

booked abroad is to fly to the countries

where you would like to work.

And if you travel to these countries then

it's always cool to organize a few shoots.

In addition you should show in your insta

stories that you have been there and know

about it.

As a result the bridal couple has a

confidence that you know how to get there

and must therefore not worry if you show

up on the wedding day.

Yeah that worked well with us.

For example in February of last year or

was it this year?

It was this year actually.

We photographed for a travel company in Morocco.

It was our wish to once ride camels

in the desert of Morocco and so we

contacted a travel company and asked for a

possibility to cooperate.

It worked out and so in February we

traveled with our friends Fabian and Dennis to

Morocco to document a three-day tour from

Marrakech to Merzouga.

Yeah we took a lot of beautiful couple

photos of Fabian and Dennis which we also

posted on Instagram.

This was definitely one of the coolest trips

we've ever been allowed to do and without

Instagram that would never have worked.

We did not think at the time that

this trip would also get us weddings in

Morocco because we thought there was no wedding

market in Morocco.

For one because the locals there have completely

different weddings namely over several days and second

because the people there have less money.

We didn't think either that it would be

a destination for destination weddings and about two

months later we already received an inquiry for

an allotment in Marrakech.

Yeah the couple Stefan Maurice from Australia wanted

to make an allotment in the desert of

Morocco and we couldn't believe it.

In the meantime we have received even more

inquiries for 2018 and 2019 from couples who

would like to marry in Morocco.

We really didn't think that this would work

so fast and we were really happy because

we love Morocco so much.

Yeah especially the landscapes.

Yeah and of course as a European you

will get first a little culture shock in

Marrakech but it's always exciting to get to

know different cultures.

Yeah the allotment of Stefan Maurice was done

in July.

This is probably the hottest time of the

year there and we had 41 degrees Celsius.

So if you have any plans to travel

to Morocco then you best go during the

winter.

Yeah nevertheless it was an unforgettable time and

we had a lot of fun together.

The couple rented a complete Riyadh for themselves

and invited us to live there.

The two were exactly our dream customers and

it was like we were traveling with friends.

So if you want to photograph weddings abroad

then you should definitely travel a lot.

Yeah if you can afford only one trip

a year then try to take as many

photos as possible.

At the beginning we did that in Mallorca

and at that time our greatest desire was

to photograph weddings in Mallorca.

Yeah another point is of course that you

have to be active on Instagram.

You should post a lot and also provide

the appropriate hashtags and location information.

In addition you can also be active with

others such as local wedding planners.

That is not that you should get on

their nerves but it helps if you may

write something nice every now and then.

Yeah of course the wedding planner should also

have the same style as you.

For example we have always found the work

of a Greek wedding planner very very beautiful

and have regularly exchanged with her more than

a year ago.

And the result is that next year in

May we will photograph an allotment on Santorini.

Yeah sometimes it goes fast and sometimes it

takes long but we are convinced that something

always comes back when you are active.

Yeah you could also ask service providers abroad

if they would like to do a joint

style shoot.

We also did that in Mallorca and Barcelona

and for example you could also introduce yourself

to these service providers personally.

Yeah this can definitely help to get weddings

abroad.

If you post a lot of pictures from

abroad you might also inspire couples from your

own country to get married abroad.

Yeah maybe then you can also give the

couple a few tips regarding service providers abroad

such as florists, makeup artists and so on.

This makes the planning abroad easier for the

couple and the hurdle in the head is

not so big anymore.

Yes and also you should have your weddings

and photo shoots featured in international wedding blogs.

This can also increase the chance that a

couple abroad will book you.

Yeah if your submission is rejected do not

be discouraged just send your submission to many

different international wedding blogs until it's eventually accepted

somewhere.

Yeah time and again our submissions are rejected

as well but we don't take this too

hard and don't doubt our talent.

Yeah one of the most important points is

still make it as easy as possible for

the couple to book you.

If we receive a request for a wedding

abroad we will send the couple our basic

offer and we also have a travel allowance

package for weddings abroad to make it as

easy as possible for the bride and groom.

This package includes all costs such as flight,

rental car and two nights.

For example this would be 500 euro for

France and Mallorca.

Yeah as a result the couple knows right

away which price exactly they can expect.

In addition the bride and couple is busy

enough already with a wedding planning and therefore

doesn't have to worry about your flights and

accommodation on top of that.

Yeah we make it easy for the couple

to book us as we completely cover our

travel arrangements.

Because the bride and couple also sees that

we travel quite a bit around the world

the couples trust us that everything will work

out well.

Yeah we had to learn that first because

in the beginning it was always the case

that the bride and groom had to take

care of us and yeah as a result

we sometimes had a poor accommodation.

This is of course because the bride and

couple does not bother to find accommodation to

our liking.

Yeah it is always very important to us

that we feel comfortable during the trip and

that we are independent.

Yeah in addition we sometimes book a connection

flight at the same time.

Then you can decide it all yourself and

you don't need to consult with the couple.

We hope we have answered all your questions

about destination weddings.

For us the most important thing is that

the couple is cool.

Yeah we love to travel and get to

know new people and cultures but the hottest

location will not bring you anything if you

don't have the right customer.

Therefore first look for your ideal customer and

it is the most important element that the

customer suits you.

That's it on this topic.

We will continue shortly then we will introduce

you to our equipment and explain how we

handle it.

See you!