Dan O'Day - Loving Photography
The charismatic Dan O'Day APP M.Photog. III reflects on what it takes
to be a successful wedding photographer today and the importance of
both awards and business acumen.It’s been a good 12 months for wedding
photographer Dan O’Day APP M.Photog. III.
After winning the AIPP Australian Professional
Wedding Photographer of the Year in 2018, he’s
recently followed it up as the overall winner in
the 2018 International Wedding Photographer
of the Year Awards, announced in February
2019.BECAUSE IT FEELS GOOD
Over the years, Dan has done very well in
competitions, making a name for himself as one
of the world’s leading wedding photographers.
He speaks around the globe at various
conventions and festivals and is also a respected
judge.
“I guess deep down I enter photo
competitions because it feels good to be
acknowledged. I want to do well, of course, but
I also believe that if I want to stay relevant, then
I need to remain active within the community
and entering photo comps is one way (of many)
to achieve this.
“I always enter most comps hoping to win,
of course. Except for APPA, because that’s notjust about winning, but about earning Silvers or
Golds and accumulating points for a Master’s
bar.
"Competitions also give me the impetus to
regularly search for and update my portfolio
and highlight reel, and then I can always use
the updated work for a blog post or content for
social media.
"And while winning is good for the prizes, so
is the PR you can receive.
"When I won the IWPOTY recently, I was
interviewed on a few radio stations, had
articles and images in several newspapers
and appeared on a number of American and
European blogs. The SEO that brought to my
website was awesome. Any press I can get helps
my business and I only have to book one extra
wedding to make it worth entering.”WHY BOTHER?
However, there can only be one overall winner
and a handful of category prizes, so how does
the average photographer stand a chance? Why
should they bother entering competitions?
“It all depends on the competition. IFEATURE