066: Get Your Wedding Photos Published with Liz Fogarty

Episodes The Bearded Tog

December 17, 2018

Getting Your Wedding Photos Published

A way to grow your photography business is to getting your wedding photos published. Because this method is free and can give you social proof, it makes a lot of sense to focus on getting published.

In this episode of the Bearded Tog Podcast, I chat with Liz Fogarty, a Washington DC Wedding Photographer who is an expert in getting published. Liz’s work is featured in many major outlets including Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot, Style Me Pretty, and on the front page of Washingtonian Magazine.

Liz gives her tips and tricks to submit your first wedding and get published!

Tips for Getting Your Wedding Photos Published

Because couples love social proof, try to get featured.
As a reminder, you can publish in either traditional magazines or in online publications. Magazines are nice to show a level of prestige for your brand. Also, if you aren’t being shared around the internet by online publications and people on social media, you won’t have traffic to your website or backlinks to help your SEO.
Because you need the highest chance possible to be published, submit every wedding. Put the submission process into your workflow. In addition, if you are particular about your brand images, make sure you are at least submitting all the weddings that align with it.
Keep in mind, you can’t just submit pretty details and portrait photos to a publication and call it a day. Publications need a story to tell their readers. Images correspond with that. You’ll need to have photos of the ceremony, but also the guests, and the reception as well.

What Do Editors Want to See When Getting Your Wedding Photos Published?

Because they’re busy, editors don’t want to see a thousand photos. You must make a curated gallery of 100-150 photos to submit. It should include all parts of the day that fit the story.
Give a write up to the editor. This is a note telling them about the wedding, and, most importantly, tell them why they should feature this wedding.
Pick 10 photos that best tell the story. Put these at the beginning of the gallery. This way, the editor can get an idea of how the photos will look in a layout.
At a wedding, I (Liz) follow what I calls the 90/10 rule. 90 percent of the day is for my clients, to capture all the memories that they have entrusted to me. The other 10 percent is where I takes the photos in an editorial style that will be good for my own marketing and for publications.
If other vendors or your clients ask about the wedding getting featured, don’t panic. Overall, you are not the editor of a publication. Don’t promise that it will get published, because you can’t.
In addition, a wedding has a higher chance of being published if there is something of interest. Forward trending for the readers is also great.
Because there needs to be a mix of photos for an editorial layout, be sure to photograph both close-ups and wide shots. Also, both vertical and horizontal.