For Wedding PHOTOGRAPHERS - Wedding picture ratio?

[MohaimenK]

Thanks guys! I love all your suggessions!

So far I've done 3 weddings. First wedding was alone on my own. These are all budget weddings and are under $500. My first wedding was for $300 and they were told to be given 100 printed copies. I have taken 1600 pics and uploaded them all and told them if they pick more than 100 they would be charged $3/copies and I will pp them and give them. It's been almost 2 months and I finally get a call from them yesterday because they wanted the password for the church photos. But so far they've already picked over 200 because there are just so many, they don't know what to buy and what to ignore

Had I charged $1200 I would have given them between 250-300 pix free but for $300 I couldn't offer that.

My 2nd wedding I just did a few weeks ago, I was the 2nd shooter. He liked me because after seeing my first wedding work. Which IMO I thought weren't all that but I guess he was happy with it. I am PP them right now. I offered free but they gave me $200 tip

My 3rd wedding, again only photographer and offered free wedding and they may also tip me some. But I am more happy w/ the 3rd wedding as the location was much nicer and setting just worked so well IMO. For them I'll give them probably 300-500 pix in digital form and they can print them.

Wioth all these between 1500-1600 shots. Studio7. One thing though. I usually shoot in continuous mode so basically I go through them to see what came out better than the other. There might be 3 similar shots and one of them have closed eyes and the other might be where one their expression looks better. You know what I mean? So from that alone, I'd trash 1/3

 

[gsgary]

Well lets put it this way, the weddings I've done so far, they've been about 1500-1600 images but do I give them all of it?
I usually pick about 200 good ones and give them that.

Only 200 good ones out of 1500 i hope your joking

 

[Overread35]

I still think 1600odd shots was a big mistake to show your clients - even cutting things down into the 100s can be a tricky choice to make for clients.

I think the key to remember is that its better to deliver fewer shots and present an overall higher standard of finish than to present masses of shots of varying quality; because as soon as you do that you're going to end up with them judging you based on the whole and those fewer outstanding shots will get lost in the "meh its ok" lot.

 

[MohaimenK]

Well lets put it this way, the weddings I've done so far, they've been about 1500-1600 images but do I give them all of it?
I usually pick about 200 good ones and give them that.

Only 200 good ones out of 1500 i hope your joking

Yeah true, its not that low. I'm thinking too far ahead here. I'm thinking more of package type of thing. Like $1200 - 200 albumed plus 1 8x10 framed $1600 for 300 and so on.

But yeah, I definitely have way more than 200 good images from 1500 but lets say I'll get rid of a good 400-500 just because I don't like expression or something else. The picutre itself may come out good but the exrepression in it may not you know?

 

[MohaimenK]

I still think 1600odd shots was a big mistake to show your clients - even cutting things down into the 100s can be a tricky choice to make for clients.

I think the key to remember is that its better to deliver fewer shots and present an overall higher standard of finish than to present masses of shots of varying quality; because as soon as you do that you're going to end up with them judging you based on the whole and those fewer outstanding shots will get lost in the "meh its ok" lot.

You're right Overred. The contract said I'd give them 100 best pix printed but then they wanted to see all the pix so I said ok, this might be a good thing for me. Either way I was going to show them more pic down the road to buy more from me. Which is what they're ending up doing :mrgreen:

 

[tirediron]

Well lets put it this way, the weddings I've done so far, they've been about 1500-1600 images but do I give them all of it?
I usually pick about 200 good ones and give them that.

Only 200 good ones out of 1500 i hope your joking

Let's assume that he meant the 200 best ones!

These days 1000 - 2000 images of a full wedding day is not uncommon at all. Turn back the clock 25 years when a high-end wedding photographer might shoot 5-7 rolls of 220 for a wedding and produce 20 - 25 prints, it's all about the ease and expense.

As far as a ratio, I go into a wedding with absolutely no plan other than any instructions from the client with respect to 'must have' shots. I have an outline of the day's events and shoot what I see.

I typically shoot 5-700 images of a wedding and reception and ~1000 of a full-day. Out of that, the clients will typically get a proof gallery of around 1/4 to 1/3 of the total images shots.

 

[MohaimenK]

Let's assume that he meant the 200 best ones!

Hahaha :thumbup: That's what I meant.

I keep forgetting to mention or maybe I have (too much reading going on) but What I wanted to get at was, in general do indoor church ceremony tend to take the least amout out of the whole bunch? Maybe not?

 

[tirediron]

Yes, I would say that typically for an indoor, church event, the actual ceremony is where I will take the fewest images of the day.