Eric Kelley is an internationally acclaimed wedding photographer, a Rangefinder 30 Rising Star in 2013 who was also named one of the best photographers in the U.S. by Harper’s Bazaar and Martha Stewart Weddings. He will be speaking about building social capital at Rise + Shine, Rangefinder’s annual one-day business summit for emerging wedding photographers at WPPI—alongside Caroline Tran, who will be covering how to build a recognizable brand. Read more about this amazing opportunity here, and book your spot!

In my upcoming class for Rangefinder’s Rise + Shine workshop, I will be speaking about the importance of professional relationships and how I build authentic relationships with other wedding vendors, how I maintain them and how to maximize wedding profits without taking advantage of those relationships.

But first, I’d like to share a few tips on how to start relationships here:

1. Know who you’re contacting.

Making the first move to connect with someone you don’t know can be daunting. In order to be able to start connecting immediately, you should observe them for a little bit.

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Check out what they post and try to find a connection point of some kind. Maybe you both have kids of a similar age, grew up in the same area or are fans of the same sport. Make note and find a way to bring up those through lines.

2. Meet in person.

Social media is incredibly powerful and is a great way to initiate contact with someone. But social media alone is not enough. You need to both be active on social media as well as have face-to-face interactions with a person to really get to know them. If they are someone local, invite them to get coffee; if they aren’t local, try to meet up with them at a networking event. 

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3. Have a third-party validator.

This could be a mutual friend or someone you’ve worked with previously. Having someone else to talk you up will set you ahead of the pack of other photographers trying to reach this person. Ask your existing contacts if any of them know the person you want to meet and can introduce you.

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