I just offered to do a wedding for free...

[NCAFLeo88]

Aaryia, see what you've done?

:lmao:

That's me, forum drama queen!!!

And we love you for it.

 

[mrmacedonian]

I think you'll do great and learn a lot. There's nothing wrong with doing this without any monetary compensation, as you're getting paid in a lot more meaningful ways.

Have fun with it and relax! Can't wait to see some results!

 

[pgriz]

Aairya, what is left to say? You're a talented photographer. You know what you are doing. Your pictures of your sister-in-law's birthing experience? Grand slam. Your recent senior shoot? Another grand slam. Sure, the prospective bride would be smart to like up a "pro", but as Bitter already noted, you'll probably just outshine him/her. So cover yourself (legally, so that if nothing works out, you're not the one holding the $hit bag), but beside that, go and do it and have some fun. IF the lady decides to hold the door open to you participating. But if you're invited to enter, then by all means, join the dance. You already know how.

 

[Aayria]

Aairya, what is left to say? You're a talented photographer. You know what you are doing. Your pictures of your sister-in-law's birthing experience? Grand slam. Your recent senior shoot? Another grand slam. Sure, the prospective bride would be smart to like up a "pro", but as Bitter already noted, you'll probably just outshine him/her. So cover yourself (legally, so that if nothing works out, you're not the one holding the $hit bag), but beside that, go and do it and have some fun. IF the lady decides to hold the door open to you participating. But if you're invited to enter, then by all means, join the dance. You already know how.

I can't hit the thanks button anymore so I'll say thanks here =) And also to everyone who's taken the time to reply.

I haven't heard back from her yet, so either she's mulling it over, or she thinks I'm crazy and is stepping as far away from the nutso photographer as possible =P

Either way, I feel much better about it, and might try offering this down the road if I hear of another wedding in a venue that might be as fun to shoot. I'm enjoying photography all over again now that I've decided to take the money and buisiness issues out of the equation. And you're right...the reward is much better than monetary. =)

Thanks all!

 

[pbelarge]

I agree that it's a risk, but not as much a risk as it appears from my lack of a wedding portfolio to show. The risk is because I've never taken my camera to shoot a wedding.. But I do at least have the experience of shooting video, which I always approach very similarly to how I would with photography. I just don't like shooting video, because I feel much more capable and proficient in photography than videography.

But to a new bride, what matters and puts her at ease is seeing an actual portfolio of images. Shooting this wedding at no charge, I think, would help that, no?

I was not commenting that the risk was your inability to shoot a wedding. I have no idea what your real skill level for wedding photography may be. My comment was relative to the fact that anyone who shoots a wedding is a risk, regardless of receiving payment or not. The risk level does not dimish due to the party not having to pay for the service.


Your last comment I cannot answer, as each and every person one deals with thinks differently. Sort of makes for interesting scenarios whenever we deal with people in general.

 

[Phil Holland]

Because I reallyyyy really want to try shooting one, and I don't want to make any new brides feel like they're investing in a "risky" photographer with lack of wedding experience. I couldn't resist because I met a woman who is having her wedding next spring in a realllyyyy beautful venue that I would absolutely love to shoot at. And because I want to take wedding pictures, darnit!!!

It would be very clear in the contract that this is completely pressure free for both of us.. Not set number of pictures guaranteed, and I would not be releasing digital negatives. I'd be taking this on strictly as a photo-project of sorts to try something I'm really interested in doing. Bonus- she gets a free wedding photographer who would normally ask at least 1200.00 if she was hired for such an event

Am I crazy? She hasn't replied to my email yet....

You are crazy.

 

[Chris Bauman Photos]

I did several free or low cost weddings in the beginning of my career. The payback was that I got some terrific photos and testimonials to put in my portfolio. The downside is that the clients never appreciated it really and never referred me to anyone. In one case they didn't even pay me the full $280 that they owed me! They offered to fix things around my house for the other $50 (they were 'broke' but had just purchased a new computer system!) I am glad I did it though because I got the experience I needed and felt the benign neglect was the dues I paid to get the exposure and experience. Needless to say I don't do weddings or any other photo shoot for free now.

Here are a few photos from a nearly free wedding:

http://picasaweb.google.com/chriscbauman/Wedding#

Because I reallyyyy really want to try shooting one, and I don't want to make any new brides feel like they're investing in a "risky" photographer with lack of wedding experience. I couldn't resist because I met a woman who is having her wedding next spring in a realllyyyy beautful venue that I would absolutely love to shoot at. And because I want to take wedding pictures, darnit!!!

It would be very clear in the contract that this is completely pressure free for both of us.. Not set number of pictures guaranteed, and I would not be releasing digital negatives. I'd be taking this on strictly as a photo-project of sorts to try something I'm really interested in doing. Bonus- she gets a free wedding photographer who would normally ask at least 1200.00 if she was hired for such an event

Am I crazy? She hasn't replied to my email yet....

 

[Stanza]

I know I know.. and that's why if somebody actually hired me to do one I wouldn't start under 1200.00. For portrait sessions I was making an average of 500 -700 for a couple hours of work..

But I've been trying to steer away from paid work and just shoot what I want to shoot for the fun of it. When I heard the venue for this woman's wedding and knew a bit of her personality, I thought it could be really fun.. mayyyyybe ???

That's all you will be able to do after shooting a wedding for free, you will be known as the free photographer

Totally AGREE

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Doubt I'd want a free surgeon or dentist.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

What a blast from the past.

 

[Shadowbox]

So.. now that the episode is over, don't leave us hanging- did she or didn't she?

 

[Aayria]

What a blast from the past.

Wow...no kidding! I had a notification in my e-mail today about a new "like" on TPF....and when this thread popped up, it was like looking at a kid version of myself that I wanted to just knock on her head repeatedly LOL

So.. now that the episode is over, don't leave us hanging- did she or didn't she?

Well..scrolling up, my last reply to the thread was pretty much how it ended:

"I can't hit the thanks button anymore so I'll say thanks here =) And also to everyone who's taken the time to reply.

I haven't heard back from her yet, so either she's mulling it over, or she thinks I'm crazy and is stepping as far away from the nutso photographer as possible =P

Either way, I feel much better about it, and might try offering this down the road if I hear of another wedding in a venue that might be as fun to shoot. I'm enjoying photography all over again now that I've decided to take the money and buisiness issues out of the equation. And you're right...the reward is much better than monetary. =)

I did in the mean time end up shooting a few weddings last year for friends and family, and just finished up a small one last week for another family member. So over all I have about 5 weddings under my belt. And what did I learn the most? I DO NOT WANT TO BE A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER GAHHHHHH :lmao: Don't get me wrong, I loooove shooting the sweet, romantic, once in a life time shots you can find in abundance at weddings. And I love being creative "on the spot." But in the end, no matter how much of your heart you put into it, and no matter how much the bride insisted she would be totally happy with the pictures.....they end up calling you months after the fact with "didn't you take a picture of "x, y, z".... " Or...could I have that one picture, I didn't see it in our album... Even though you clearly explained that not all the pictures you take that day make the final cut, and you had discussed together, what her list of "must have this" shots would be.

And on top of all that, I also didn't really like that weddings were such a long day affair, on top of a good month of solid editing time. As a stay at home mom of four children under age 7, getting ready for a possible 5th in the near future.... it just isn't something I can keep committing that much time to until my children are older. Hats off to all the time and hard work that full time wedding photogs put into their craft! You guys are amazing!

Am I happy that I shot the weddings I've done so far? Absolutely! They were great experiences and I really love some of the shots I was able to give the couple of their special day. But ultimately, I think it was providence that this particular venue from the original post didn't go through. The weddings I've done were all for friends/family.....all of whom generously tipped me despite offering to shoot for free. They were about as "low pressure" as I could have asked for, and even then there was still stress involved, lol. This complete stranger with a huge elaborate wedding in her gorgeous venue who was willing to pay a 1000+ photog. would have certainly been high blood pressure problems in the making LOL.

Anyway...thanks for the laugh whomever raised this thread from the dead! I had forgotten to check TPF in a while..time to catch up on the goings on here =)

 

[Big Mike]

Cool...thanks for the update.

 

[Aayria]

Oh! And while I'm thinking about it.... A word of caution to anyone else who might be in the same place I was last year, looking at shooting your first wedding...

One thing that has really stood out in my mind from the experiences I've had, is that sure....I was "able" to shoot some weddings for friends and family, and it felt great to offer that as a wedding gift for them. But even though I was able to do it with the equipment I had, there's NO WAY I would ever ever ever do a paid wedding or a wedding for a stranger without getting better equipment first. I've done all my work so far with my D5000 and 50m 1.4 lens....and it can perform really well, don't get me wrong. But it can NOT get all of the shots that you will want at an event like a wedding. I wished soooo many times that I had a speedlight, or a fast wide angle, or a fast long focal length zoom or prime to get shots that were excruciatingly difficult, if not impossible to get with my limited gear. In a photo shoot where I'm planning every shot and posing the people exactly how I want them, and setting things up just right..it works great. But in an event like a wedding where the shots are so varied, and you have to work with things as they unfold rather than planning them yourself....um not so much. I thought for sure I'd be alright at the receptions for example, without any flash..But they are just wayyyy too dark. So I end up always taking a buisiness card and bouncing my pop up flash off the ceiling to get more ambient light. It works, but it's haphazard, and sometimes hit or miss. Also, the pop up flash takes longer to recharge than a speedlight, and if the ceilings are too high, it's not powerful enough to bounce.

And on the subject of stress, like I was saying about weddings before.... I am STILL getting calls from extended family members for a wedding I shot last December, asking why they can't just have a photo CD of all the wedding pictures, lol. Even though, I have every single picture up on my website available to order from a professional lab at "wal mart" print cost prices ( I don't charge a profit, I just post them and the lab charges their own printing costs)...oye.

Those are just some thoughts I've had. I still don't EVER want to be a wedding photographer. I've learned more than anything that it's SOOOO important to nail down exactly what it is that you love to shoot and where you can shine the most. Personally, I've learned that I perform much better in the "fine art portraiture" category than in the event/wedding photography category, and I'm happy with that. Learn what you love, and push yourself to be the best you can in that direction, rather than trying desperately to extend yourself every which-way just because you can.

*steps off soap box*

 

[EchoingWhisper]

I think you should advise the bride to hire the lousy photographer you were talking about as the main photographer and your work will eclipse the lousy photographer's work and you'll be good.