In a time when competition is getting tougher, and anyone
who has a camera can call themselves a "wedding photographer", the
PWPN has been established to provide professional photographers
with a way to stand out from the crowd.
So, how does it work? Simple really, it's all about
networking automatically with other photographers!
Each PWPN member photographer has an Availability Checker
on their own studio website which is connected to the
PWPN database. A couple looking for a wedding photographer
visit the individual studios website and enter their
date, if the photographer is unavailable, the couple
are referred to the PWPN website where they can find
a photographer who is available.
Alternatively, when a couple check their date directly on the PWPN website, they are provided with a list of members who are available for their wedding date, with direct links to websites for their consideration.
When you consider that every photography studio markets their business in one way or another, some advertise, some do wedding fairs, some are well positioned on internet search engines, it is simple to see how the PWPN can work for you.
The PWPN currently has membership of no more than 15 professional photographers in each county within the United Kingdom. To become a member of the PWPN you will need to apply for membership even if you have been recommended. Membership will only be granted to those who comply with the PWPN Member Rules.
- Free Availability Checker and Enquiry Form for
your website.
- Access to 100’s of referrals directly
from other local PWPN photographers.
- Supplier discounts.
- Our own local wedding fairs and networking opportunities with other wedding vendors.
- Group advertising opportunities.
- Members forum to discuss matters relating to
wedding photography.
- Free advice for website design and SEO from our PWPN webmaster.
The PWPN currently offers 2 main levels of membership, Local or National. Our membership fees and an explanation are set out below
Local Coverage* - £150 pa - limited to 15 members per county
Additional Counties** - £25 per county pa
National Coverage*** - £500 pa
* Local Coverage - is for photographers who want to service a more local market.
** Additional Counties - is an "add on" service
for photographers who want to expand their local availability to
nearby surrounding counties. You may purchase
as many additional counties as you require. Some
members are quite happy to service their own county
and therefore do not need to purchase additional counties.
*** National Coverage - is where a photographer wants to be able to advertise his/her business in every designated county within the British Isles.
All PWPN members are allocated a primary county
and this is the county in which their business is
located. For members who choose additional counties
or national coverage, their primary county will also
be the county from which their business is run.
The PWPN Availability Checker displays the local or primary results first and
separates the additional counties and national coverage into a separate areas
below the main listings. This ensures that prospective customers are seeing
first, the local results they requested, followed by a list of other members
who are also available to service that area. All results are randomly rotated
to ensure fairness.
To be accepted as a Professional Wedding Photographers Network (PWPN) member you must be able to prove that you are able to meet the following list of rules:
- That you are a professional wedding photographer.
Your main source of income is derived from photography.
You will have been in business as a professional photographer for at least 12 months.
You should be forecasting to photograph at least 20 weddings in the next 12 months.
You should be able to show no less than 2 complete weddings in albums or other media to prospective clients. The work you show must be your own.
- You will only ever undertake one wedding per day.
- You will have full Public Liability & Professional Indemnity
Insurance which will be verified annually by the PWPN
- You will always carry working back- up equipment to a wedding.
- You will be expected to have a website to the standard of a professional
photographer:
You must have
an Availability Checker that refers brides to the PWPN when you
are booked or unable to photograph on any given date. This function will be provided by the PWPN free of charge and free guidance to install the script is available from our webmaster.
The availability must be updated as soon as a booking is confirmed.
Your website must display your starting price for a wedding at peak times
- Membership is for one photographer only. You cannot use the Availability Checker to aquire work for studios with multiple photographers, associate photographers or any other person. Only the registered photographer may use the availability checker, it may not under any circumstances be transferred to another photographer.
- You must never show a potential client work which is not your own.
If a client books you based on seeing your work, you must not
send a different photographer to photograph the wedding, unless
in exceptional circumstances and with the agreement of the client.
- A landline (or 0800/0845 telephone number) accompanied with a business postal address must be shown on photographer's website. The PWPN wants to assure potential customers even before they make an enquiry that this business is bona fides and does not hide behind PO Box addresses or non-static telephone numbers.
PWPN FORUM RULES
The PWPN FORUM is only open to our members.
You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, sexually-orientated or any other material that may violate any laws be it of your country, the country where “Professional Wedding Photographers Network (PWPN)” is hosted or International Law. Doing so may lead to you being immediately and permanently banned, with notification of your Internet Service Provider if deemed required by us. The IP address of all posts are recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. You agree that “Professional Wedding Photographers Network (PWPN)” have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic at any time should we see fit. As a user you agree to any information you have entered to being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent, neither “Professional Wedding Photographers Network (PWPN)” nor phpBB shall be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised.
All members of the PWPN are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and ethical way. Members are expected to deal fairly and honestly with their clients, and fellow members. Members shall ensure that any advertisements or public announcements with which their name, or the name under which they practice is associated, can in no way bring the PWPN into disrepute. PWPN members shall at all times and in all respects conduct their professional and business operations within the law.
Membership Fees
Membership fees are due on the anniversary of joining the PWPN. You will be sent a renewal notice 2 weeks and 1 week prior to your membership fee being due. If your membership fee has not been paid by the renewal date, you will be suspended from the ‘Availability Checker’ but still have access to other member benefits for a further 2 weeks. If after that period your membership fee has not been paid, and no satisfactory explanation has been given, your PWPN membership will be terminated and your 1/15 place will be available to a new member.
The PWPN reserves the right to review and revise the membership fee annually.
You can terminate your membership at any time during the 12 months period you have signed up for. However, you will not be entitled to a refund either in full or part thereof.
New membership fees are paid at the time of application. If for any reason your membership application denied by our panel, we will refund in full. We do not have to give any reason for denial.
Breaches of PWPN Terms & Conditions
Any member that is found to be in breach of the above rules could lose their
membership of the PWPN. Complaints about members breaching the rules will be
dealt with in a fair and orderly manner. An investigation process will look
at all sides of the complaint, and if the member is found to be in breach of
the PWPN rules then there are 2 courses of action that can be taken:
(i) the member can be given a final warning, or
(ii)the member can have his/her membership revoked.
If a member has their membership revoked, they will not be entitled to a refund of their membership fee either in full or part thereof.
Copyright Notice
All images/articles contained on this site are
subject to UK Copyright Law and remain the property
of the photographer/author at all times.
No images may be downloaded or used without express permission from the photographer/author for any purpose whatsoever.
The PWPN is in no way responsible for the content of any external websites.
Disclaimer
Your use of the PWPN website is at your own risk.
The PWPN does not represent that the content here
is accurate, error-free, truthful or reliable.
Users will take full responsibility for the content
of their posts. The PWPN does not make any representation
about the quality of any product, services, information
or other material purchased or obtained by you
via use of this website.
Privacy Policy
The personal information you provide is never sold
on, or given to vendors, or anyone outside the
PWPN.
- You must read and accept PWPN MEMBER RULES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS above.
- Provide us with links to 2 online wedding galleries which you have photographed as a main photographer. Assistant photographers images may stay in these collections.
- You must send us a copy of your insurance policy. You can scan a copy and send it to us on the next stage with your application or send a photocopy to our head office - PWPN, 51a Northernhay Street, Exeter, Devon EX4 3ER
- Your application will be considered by our panel and you will be notified within 48 hours providing we have above requirements.
Our current Membership Payment Methods are BACS, Cheque and PayPal. Please remember that you do not have to have a PayPal account to complete signing up with the PWPN. If you would like more information about PayPal please click on the logo below.
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