Couple Weds Photo Passion with Business Sense (First Person)

Jason Hudson
Co-owner, Hudson Photography Inc.

Fayetteville

I always had a fascination with photographs and always liked to express myself artistically, but I didn’t do anything with it until after college. After I graduated, I worked at a Fayetteville radio station. My station manger took wedding photos on the weekends for extra money and I started helping him. Before long, I was doing it all the time.

The moment I knew it would be my career was the first time I booked a wedding for $800 and worked four hours. I was making about $7.50 per hour at the radio station.

That was in the late ’90s; the price point has gone up. We have packages at $4,000, $5,000 and $6,000. My wife Kori and I photograph “destination weddings” — where the couple flies someplace exotic to get married. We frequently go to Cabo San Lucas, Lake Tahoe and Napa Valley. People from all over the country hire us to record their special day.

Earlier this year I dropped one camera in the ocean and had to replace it when we got back to the States.

We spend about 30 to 40 hours on each wedding package, which typically includes engagement and bridal sessions. We always take between 1,500 and 2,000 photos at the event. I recently figured up that we took about 300,000 images in one year.

We did 85 weddings in 2006 and 75 in 2007, as well as projects we do for Celebrate magazine.

We turn down some business. A long time ago I decided to make weddings a niche and really focus on that. Instead of being mediocre at many things, I wanted to be the best I could be at one thing.

There’s not really a slow season for us anymore, there’s a busy season — it’s pretty much year around.

My success has been very slow because I’ve done it all on a cash basis. I never took a business loan or anything. We don’t do credit cards. I appreciate things more when I pay cash.