Bottom feeding wedding photographers should be flogged

[ksmattfish]

Heck, I'm happy that there are people willing to shoot weddings for $400. It makes me feel a lot less like a hack. I charge $1900, and I thought I was one of the bottom feeders!

 

[Alpha]

$1900? You very nearly are. I wouldn't touch a wedding for less than 3.

 

[joeymas]

lol, can you get me this photographer's contact information? I want to pretend to hire him just to see what he is going to say.

That camera is a toy. My 11 year old sports a Nikon (and can use it) lol

 

[joeymas]

Ok... before you guys go nutz. Hear me out.

Charging below 800.00 is not so crazy if your business model is set up properly.

I do not consider myself a wedding photographer by far but when I do get talked into them I go for that 800 number and offer an album and one 11x14. but but but... I do a great job with good equipement and post proofs for ordering directly on-line.

After shooting and uploading finished photos, I tend to make an additional 4 or 500.00 profit from prints. Then when all the ordering slows to a stop, I do a follow up call and sell the bride a CD for another 150.00.

The low price is the hook that gets you the job. Then your money is made from the prints

 

[table1349]

Just to clarify a point here, based on the title of this thread, isn't wedding photography its self pretty much an exercise in self flagellation anyway??? :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Ok, enough humor, now back to your regularly scheduled discussion.

 

[Joves]

$1900? You very nearly are. I wouldn't touch a wedding for less than 3.

I would touch one for under 50K. Which means I will never do weddings. Granted I could probably shoot a wedding but, since I dont want to the product would look like hell.
The lady with the Easyshare made all of her investment + back in one wedding too so, she isnt doing that bad.

 

[abraxas]

Hm. Never did understand why people bother at all. Like some kind of self-petting foolishness or something. 24 years in 3 weeks. Still got the little woman right here. See her just about everyday. If we ever got divorced I wouldn't want the photos of her anyway. Now the reception, got about 10 shots of us and everybody getting totally ****faced ****ed up. That was fun. No offense, but I don't see a point to wedding photography at all.

 

[mrodgers]

I feel the same way about wedding photos. We paid $600 and we now have $600 of scrap paper sitting somewhere in the closet that we may as well use for grocery shopping lists.

I don't think we've ever looked at them other than when we first got them.

I just found out last night from the wife after talking about wedding photos, we have all the negatives. The photog gave them to us saying she didn't want them. I have no idea if we have any sort of release stating that we can reprint or not.

 

[abraxas]

...she didn't want them. I have no idea if we have any sort of release stating that we can reprint or not.

If you have the negatives, who cares? If your box/drawer ain't full, print them up, send them out for Christmas cards or if you're a real estate broker, use them on your web site (sorry, I just never seen a broker's picture that was taken within the 20 years that they've published them- or they age faster than Presidents).

 

[JerryPH]

Just to clarify a point here, based on the title of this thread, isn't wedding photography its self pretty much an exercise in self flagellation anyway??? :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

No, I consider it more like group sex... because you are never alone.

Oh, I would shoot it for free... as the 2nd to a good pro photographer!

 

[dahlstrom]

Sounds like your friend opted for money over quality. What did she expect for something so cheap? Obviously the "photos" weren't worth $400, but that price is considerably lower than what a professional photographer would charge. Should've been a big warning flag.

 

[anubis404]

The thought of becoming a budget wedding photographer has crossed my mind on occasion, however I do not feel I am ready for various reasons.

-First and foremost, age. No matter how good I am, no one is going to hire a 16 year old wedding photographer. Maybe in another 2-3 years.

-Classes. I haven't as much as set foot in a photography class. I know my pics are good, but I still want to have some cred to advertise with.

-Equipment. A D70s kit, an Sb-600, and a 50mm F1.8 just won't do. I'm going to need a better body to handle the noise (D200-300), a better and longer primary portrait prime (85mm F1.8), and a longer lens (a 70-200ish thing).

-Another couple of years under my belt. I have only been into photography for about a year now, and even though I'm proficient in the basics and slightly more advanced stuff, I still need more experience (this goes with number 1 on the list).


Hopefully, all of the above would be resolved in a couple of years.