Today’s guest is wedding photographer, Thea Dodds, an award-winning photographer with more than fifteen years of experience whose work has been featured in Newsweek, ABC News, CNN, The Huffington Post, and Rangefinder. She is founder of Authentic Eye and co-author of the book The New Art of Capturing Love: The Essential Guide to Lesbian and Gay Wedding Photography.
Thea shot her first same-sex wedding in 2005. While it was very different from any wedding that she had ever photographed before, her job, capturing the couple’s love in a way that authentically represented who they were, was exactly the same.
Communication is always an important part of our job. When working with gay and lesbian couples, as with straight couples, it’s also important to put aside any preconceived ideas that we might have as we get to know the couple. Find out how they feel about physical displays of affection, how do they imagine their pictures? What you’ll find is that same-sex couples are just as diverse as straight couples in their preferences for how they want to work with you.
Marketing to Same-Sex Couples
Same-sex couples are the fastest growing emerging market in the wedding industry. It’s a $1.5 billion dollar industry and professional photographers who know how to market to same-sex couples and serve them well are poised for growth.
Here are some tips that will help show that your photography brand is inclusive.
Change Your Language
The wedding industry as a whole is focused on the bride. According to Thea, it’s time to ditch the bride. Take a look at your website, contracts, questionnaires, etc … and make them gender neutral. Instead of bride, say couple. Instead of bridesmaids, call them attendants or the bridal party.
Diversify Your Portfolio
If you want to photograph same-sex weddings you have to show same-sex couples. If you’ve never done it before, think about hiring models or even putting a call out on Craigslist. This will give you experience and allow you to practice while giving you images that you can use for your photography marketing.
To hear more from Thea watch or listen to the interview.
About Thea
Wedding photographer, Thea Dodds, an award-winning photographer with more than fifteen years of experience, founded Authentic Eye in 2004. Thea co-wrote the book The New Art of Capturing Love: The Essential Guide to Lesbian and Gay Wedding Photography (Amphoto 2014).
Thea’s work has been featured in various publications, including Newsweek, ABC News, CNN, The Huffington Post, and Rangefinder. She has received recognition in international photographic competitions and has been featured in prominent online wedding publications such as GayWeddings.com and StyleMePretty.
Thea is also the proud parent of 2 young children, Kyra and Aubrie. She lives with her family in the small town of Rumney, NH on a ten acre farm, enjoying the stewardship of chickens, honeybees, and maple syrup.
