| Author | Thread |
|
|
08/29/2007 01:54:55 PM · #26 |
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
Maybe they will blame me or maybe they will see that I had no control over those things.
After all, I'm a photographer, not god. |
:-D
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:04:29 PM · #27 |
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
Maybe they will blame me or maybe they will see that I had no control over those things.
After all, I'm a photographer, not god. |
Yes But they Expect you to be god like in your ability to get what they want regardless of the circumstance! and heaven help you if you don't... you do not want an upset bride on your case (or for that mater her mother)
That said... Weddings are not that horrible... are they hard work? hell ya... are they terribly demanding? yup... but I also find them quite rewarding... just my .02 |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:07:25 PM · #28 |
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
Maybe they will blame me or maybe they will see that I had no control over those things.
After all, I'm a photographer, not god. |
Trust me, they WILL blame you.
Your job is not to just show up and take some snaps, it's to make the wedding they have look like the wedding they want to remember regardless of the difference between the two. |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:12:41 PM · #29 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Your job is not to just show up and take some snaps, it's to make the wedding they have look like the wedding they want to remember regardless of the difference between the two. |
That's really well put, and the main reason why I'm not doing weddings. |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:15:03 PM · #30 |
Damn, where are you guys getting these hellacious customers? I don't miss many shots, but I've never been blamed because Little Johnny ate too much cake and was being a little bastard or Uncle Joe got snockered and passed out.
Ofcourse, I would probably spot people like that to start and not take them as clients anyway.
Message edited by author 2007-08-29 14:15:47.
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:16:05 PM · #31 |
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
I guess camera/equipment malfunction is a possibility.
But really, what are the odds of it happening on that particular day? |
What other days do you shoot 1000+ frames in a day? It's probably more likely to happen during heavy usage. You're also more likely to drop the camera as you're running around trying to snag all those shots and switching lenses on and off.
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
Let’s just go for a nice round hypothetical $500.
That seems a very attractive figure for what, 12 hours of taking pictures and how long, another 12 sorting, editing, burning, emailing etc the files?
Sure, you’ll have a lot of stress and be on your feet the whole wedding day possibly getting all hot and sweaty and being uncomfortable in your clothes etc.
But, is your regular day job a bed of roses?
Do you earn $500 a day? |
In my case, yes, I would earn $800 in 12 hours at my day job, $1600 for the full 24 hours of work you hypothetically suggested (in my case, yes, I get paid for overtime). Yes, I did my first wedding cheap because I wanted the experience, and to get my foot in the door, and because I didn't "need" the money ... but I would not continue doing weddings for $500 because it really is a lot of work, and even if $500 seems like an attractive figure, after actually doing a full wedding plus post-processing you probably won't think that's so great. |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:18:56 PM · #32 |
BTW, you guys that are shooting 1000+ photos (at every wedding) need to slow the hell down. Or maybe you should have used film to "grow up" on. Quality, NOT quantity will get you the jobs you want to shoot.
You aren't going to give the couple that many proofs and if you are shooting that many your success rate is likely lower, so why shoot that many? Do you have to take that many to get exposure right? I damn sure hope not. Why are you shooting 1000+ images? Because you are shooting on "free" media? It's not free if you have to weed through them to cull the bad shots. Slow down ;-)
Message edited by author 2007-08-29 14:24:53.
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:27:38 PM · #33 |
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
Damn, where are you guys getting these hellacious customers? I don't miss many shots, but I've never been blamed because Little Johnny ate too much cake and was being a little bastard or Uncle Joe got snockered and passed out.
|
Just out of curiosity, how many weddings are you shooting in a given year? |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:30:41 PM · #34 |
Originally posted by mk:
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
Damn, where are you guys getting these hellacious customers? I don't miss many shots, but I've never been blamed because Little Johnny ate too much cake and was being a little bastard or Uncle Joe got snockered and passed out.
|
Just out of curiosity, how many weddings are you shooting in a given year? |
About 15 a year, no more than 20. I don't want more than that.
My ultimate goal is to shoot less weddings, but charge more. It's slowly working out for me.
Message edited by author 2007-08-29 14:32:21.
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:38:49 PM · #35 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
Maybe they will blame me or maybe they will see that I had no control over those things.
After all, I'm a photographer, not god. |
Trust me, they WILL blame you.
Your job is not to just show up and take some snaps, it's to make the wedding they have look like the wedding they want to remember regardless of the difference between the two. |
OK, so they will blame me.
So what?
It's still not my fault.
What are they going to do, beat me up?
As for making the wedding look like what they want it to be whether it was that or not, that's just ridiculous.
A rainy day in a muddy field will not look like a sunny day by the sea, no matter how prepared I am.
If I got the blame for that happening, I certainly wouldn't photograph that brides second wedding!!!!
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:43:57 PM · #36 |
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
If I got the blame for that happening, I certainly wouldn't photograph that brides second wedding!!!! |
LMAO, I like the way you think ;-)
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:48:51 PM · #37 |
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
If I got the blame for that happening, I certainly wouldn't photograph that brides second wedding!!!! |
LMAO, I like the way you think ;-) |
besides, I'm currently in 2nd spot for being online the longest, so I know what I am talking about!!!!
(apologies to Slippy for using one of his "lines") |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 02:55:17 PM · #38 |
[trheadjack]
What the Hell is Achoo doing, being on since 11:59 last night?!?
[/threadjack]
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 03:03:11 PM · #39 |
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
Why RAW? Well the room the bride is in at the church has florescent, the church has incandescent and a big blue stained glass window. You will be doing your formals in here, and there is no flash during the ceremony of course, so examine the lighting carefully. We have a few in-the limo shots...until you try it you won't understand the problems here. BTW, You have 2 minutes for the inside the limo shots, and no time to practice. |
LOL, you just described my first wedding to a T (tee?). What's more, the reception was in a fire hall with yellow concrete floors and a mix of incandescent, florescent, and blue evening light through the windows.
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
Of the 1000 you took, you should have 900+ good shots (properly exposed and in focus). 950 is more like it. If not, you're not ready to be a primary wedding photographer. It's not like DPC where you can take 4 hours and 400 shots to get 1 'keeper'. In weddings they ALL have to be keepers. |
OK, I'm not big-time yet, but I took 900 shots over 10 hours (not counting some obvious rejects which I deleted in camera), about half of which were usable, and I delivered the best 300 as proofs ... and the B&G were very happy with them but told me they were overwhelmed with the number of proofs they had to go through. Maybe that was just them, but I got the impression that about 200 proofs would have been ideal -- and they only ordered prints of the best 50-60 images in the proofs anyway. |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 03:08:27 PM · #40 |
Originally posted by Creature:
Maybe that was just them, but I got the impression that about 200 proofs would have been ideal -- and they only ordered prints of the best 50-60 images in the proofs anyway. |
Yeah, about 200-250 proofs is ideal, 300 max. Personally, about 450-500 total shots for an entire day is about all I'm going to shoot to start with. Back before I switched to digital about 10-12 rolls of film would do me for the day. I fail to see why people are shooting so damn many shots.
Message edited by author 2007-08-29 15:09:11.
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 03:12:29 PM · #41 |
hehe, i heard of a wedding photography contract the other day that included "bold and outrageous colors and/or patterns" in their list of stuff "not responsible for." It was right after the "acts of God" line.
Ever been in a church with flaming orange carpet and pew cushions? |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 03:23:45 PM · #42 |
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
besides, I'm currently in 2nd spot for being online the longest, so I know what I am talking about!!!! |
Hey, that's one of my lines! :-P
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 03:42:58 PM · #43 |
they certainly won't beat you up, but I live in VT so I am bound to get a bride that could... they will however tell everyone that will listen how much you suck as a photographer. I would almost prefer the beat down.
A side note about disposables. I was at a wedding with the disposables on tables, it was a friend's from college. My other friend decided it was a good idea to take photos of well anything that would come out when you jam the camera in your pants and shoot a roll. Everyone has a friend who will be that guy, everyone. My conclusion is that every wedding that uses disposables will result in pictures of some guys balls. I have actually told this story to a potential client, they were my age so it was acceptable to tell. My quote from that meeting, "nothing ties a wedding album together like a photo of your drunk asshole friend's balls." They laughed, Im shooting their wedding in October.
Just food for thought. |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 04:12:18 PM · #44 |
Originally posted by Creature:
and even if $500 seems like an attractive figure, after actually doing a full wedding plus post-processing you probably won't think that's so great. |
It's funny because I sit at my computer and edit photos for hours and hours and hours sometimes and no one pays me. I do it because I genuinely like to do it.
Someday I intend to shoot weddings, and I will probably charge $500 for the first one, unless it's a friend... maybe less in that case. Do I have amazing equipment? Not yet. Can I take 950 usable images out of 1000? Nope. But I do think that I dont' have to wait until I have a $4000 camera and $20000 worth of lenses and lighting equipment to venture into weddings. When the time comes, after I am confident in my abilities and my limitations, I'm sure I will be able to pair up with a couple who want good photography but don't have the budget. If I can charge more for the second wedding then I will. If no one's beating down my door, I may do more for $500. I apologize in advance if I am destabilizing the photography market.
For the record, I would like to say that this is the most volatile subject I've ever read about on the forums here. Such negativity. It actually started giving me anxiety and making me second guess my chosen path... but then I remembered that there are people who do like shooting weddings and I focused on that. Really, where is the spirit of encouragement? |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 04:14:54 PM · #45 |
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
OK, so they will blame me.
So what?
It's still not my fault.
What are they going to do, beat me up? |
Sue you for breach of contract ? Bad mouth you to every potential new client they can find ?
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 04:16:13 PM · #46 |
Originally posted by Jmnuggy:
My conclusion is that every wedding that uses disposables will result in pictures of some guys balls. I have actually told this story to a potential client, they were my age so it was acceptable to tell. My quote from that meeting, "nothing ties a wedding album together like a photo of your drunk asshole friend's balls." They laughed, Im shooting their wedding in October.
Just food for thought. |
It's worse at a wedding where kilts feature heavily. We had about 6 cameras, and maybe one worthwhile shot from them all.
As for the other type of exposure, I paid our wedding photographer for 4x36 shots. 1 of those was not usable. Maybe 5 weren't great.
Message edited by author 2007-08-29 16:17:47.
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 05:02:34 PM · #47 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
OK, so they will blame me.
So what?
It's still not my fault.
What are they going to do, beat me up? |
Sue you for breach of contract ? Bad mouth you to every potential new client they can find ? |
If your contract says that you will make their wedding look like it was shot in the Bahamas, then you deserve to be sued.
If the contract has clauses about the weather and such things beyond your control, then you should be safe.
It seems like it's pretty common sense really?
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 05:17:50 PM · #48 |
Nothing in my contract says my photos won't suck...lol
|
|
|
|
08/29/2007 05:46:28 PM · #49 |
Since few people ever post good wedding experiences, I'll jump in and say that I've been very happy with my experiences so far.
I shot my first wedding in the fall of '05, and sure, I was concerned about how I'd do with it. But I did a bunch of research, I had plenty of backup equipment with me (I had things backed up in three different places by dinnertime), and I made sure to attend the rehearsal and study each venue ahead of time.
In the end, the bride was VERY pleased with my work, and in fact nearly every wedding I've done since then has been the result of a referral from her, or a referral from one of the people she had originally referred (I've already done a couple generations of referrals from that one wedding!). I did three weddings in August alone that were the result of that first bride.
I have to say that every bride (and even mother, for that matter) has been super to deal with, and I've done enough of them now that I have no lingering anxiety over doing weddings. In fact I kinda look forward to them, even though they are a good deal of work.
So long as I pay attention to my ISO settings, things seem to go just fine. (It's fairly easy to set the ISO high for a non-flash indoor ceremony, and forget to reset it for the formals later -- thankfully I haven't done that... yet!)
Anyway... so long as you have redundant gear, reliable methods of doing backups and you've done your homework ahead of time, you'll be fine. And they get easier as time goes along.
Probably the greatest reward for me was a couple weeks ago when I was shooting the girls as they were getting their hair done. I had gone down the hall for a couple minutes, and as I was coming back I could hear the bride and her mom talking about me with the hair dresser (I had photographed the bride's sister's wedding a few weeks prior).
They were talking about how easy I was to get along with, and how attentive I was to them... and that they were impressed that I had gone to the rehearsal and really made an effort to get to know their family ahead of time. And they raved about the sister's wedding photos which I had just delivered to them the previous night. I must say that my unintentional eavesdropping put a smile on my face. The rewards of wedding photography shouldn't be solely in the paycheck. |
|
|
|
08/29/2007 05:54:17 PM · #50 |
Originally posted by UNCLEBRO:
Maybe they will blame me or maybe they will see that I had no control over those things.
After all, I'm a photographer, not god. |
That's not the complete picture.
Sure ... maybe they'll realize that you couldn't have done any better and won't blame you for it. But they're not likely to buy at 16x20" print of the picture you did get, so there go some lost sales on your end.
So not only are you working to please them ... you're working to pad your bottom line.
|
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 08/05/2025 09:19:15 AM EDT.
