I was asked to shoot a wedding.

[vintagesnaps]

They have a wedding planner, and made no arrangements for a photographer?? I'm mystified with this situation. If they could afford a planner then I don't know why they wouldn't have budgeted for a photographer well ahead of time.

The uncle's sister and niece seem to be running the show, doesn't seem clear where the bride and groom fit into the planning (whose backyard is this in? do they even want a photographer there?). I'd just be clear on terms and payment etc.

 

[IByte]

Cost of doing business?

Precisely my friend

 

[tevo]

They have a wedding planner, and made no arrangements for a photographer?? I'm mystified with this situation. If they could afford a planner then I don't know why they wouldn't have budgeted for a photographer well ahead of time.

The uncle's sister and niece seem to be running the show, doesn't seem clear where the bride and groom fit into the planning (whose backyard is this in? do they even want a photographer there?). I'd just be clear on terms and payment etc.

The planner is the groom's sister. I just say planner because she is organizing the event / doing all the booking / etc

Edit: The wedding is being held at the groom (uncle) 's house. He wanted a photographer, but he is leaving the planning of the wedding up to his sister.

 

[tevo]

Cost of doing business?

Precisely my friend

Elaborate please?

 

[leeroix]

So if you figure, for shooting the event only... -400 divided by (im assuming about 8 total hours - getting ready shots? ceremony itself? travel? formals? reception?) =50 per hour. (Cheap) and that does not include the HOURS and HOURS you will spend editing and organizing the photos after...

 

[vintagesnaps]

So this seems to be fairly informal then, and the women in the family have taken over... (I suppose they're the ones who want to have all this and the uncle/groom is leaving it up to them). I can't help but shake my head at this point; obviously there's no way to know the circumstances and plenty of people are on tight budgets, etc. etc., it just makes me think it seems to be getting thrown together last minute so I hope it all works out.

This seems like a lot of photos and a lot of work (including the time spent taking pictures of them getting ready, going from one location to another, etc.) for what seems like a small informal wedding and reception. If you don't know the family I'd be clear on what their expectations are.

 

[IByte]

Elaborate please?

Basically try to recoup of:

How much gas it takes you to/from wedding area.

Time and labor spent prepping your equipment.

Bandwidth unfortunately is not free .

Time

And IMHO business and good friends sometimes leads to disaster.

 

[IByte]

So if you figure, for shooting the event only... -400 divided by (im assuming about 8 total hours - getting ready shots? ceremony itself? travel? formals? reception?) =50 per hour. (Cheap) and that does not include the HOURS and HOURS you will spend editing and organizing the photos after...

^^This but again adjust COBD to YOUR specifications.

 

[tevo]

So this seems to be fairly informal then, and the women in the family have taken over... (I suppose they're the ones who want to have all this and the uncle/groom is leaving it up to them). I can't help but shake my head at this point; obviously there's no way to know the circumstances and plenty of people are on tight budgets, etc. etc., it just makes me think it seems to be getting thrown together last minute so I hope it all works out.

This seems like a lot of photos and a lot of work (including the time spent taking pictures of them getting ready, going from one location to another, etc.) for what seems like a small informal wedding and reception. If you don't know the family I'd be clear on what their expectations are.

I am meeting with the person planning the wedding tomorrow to clarify their expectations.

 

[tevo]

Elaborate please?

Basically try to recoup of:

How much gas it takes you to/from wedding area.

Time and labor spent prepping your equipment.

Bandwidth unfortunately is not free .

Time

And IMHO business and good friends sometimes leads to disaster.

Thankfully I am more an acquaintance with the girl who approached me, so this is strictly business. Thanks for the cost calculating tip!

 

[IByte]

Thankfully I am more an acquaintance with the girl who approached me, so this is strictly business. Thanks for the cost calculating tip!

Lol np but I think leeroix had a better formula.

 

[tevo]

So if you figure, for shooting the event only... -400 divided by (im assuming about 8 total hours - getting ready shots? ceremony itself? travel? formals? reception?) =50 per hour. (Cheap) and that does not include the HOURS and HOURS you will spend editing and organizing the photos after...

At this point, I'm testing the water with weddings and seeing what I can make of it.

 

[Derrel]

They have a wedding planner, and made no arrangements for a photographer?? I'm mystified with this situation. If they could afford a planner then I don't know why they wouldn't have budgeted for a photographer well ahead of time.

The uncle's sister and niece seem to be running the show, doesn't seem clear where the bride and groom fit into the planning (whose backyard is this in? do they even want a photographer there?). I'd just be clear on terms and payment etc.

The planner is the groom's sister. I just say planner because she is organizing the event / doing all the booking / etc

Edit: The wedding is being held at the groom (uncle) 's house. He wanted a photographer, but he is leaving the planning of the wedding up to his sister.

There's an old word for what this type of poorly-planned event can or might turn out to be on the day of the event, Tevo...and that word pre-dates your birth by at least 20 years...events with this type of scattershot, he-said-HE was-gonna! vs. she-said-SHE-was-gonna! planning often turn out to be what we older folks used to call, in common parlance, a cluster-**** (insert crude word for copulation).

 

[tevo]

They have a wedding planner, and made no arrangements for a photographer?? I'm mystified with this situation. If they could afford a planner then I don't know why they wouldn't have budgeted for a photographer well ahead of time.

The uncle's sister and niece seem to be running the show, doesn't seem clear where the bride and groom fit into the planning (whose backyard is this in? do they even want a photographer there?). I'd just be clear on terms and payment etc.

The planner is the groom's sister. I just say planner because she is organizing the event / doing all the booking / etc

Edit: The wedding is being held at the groom (uncle) 's house. He wanted a photographer, but he is leaving the planning of the wedding up to his sister.

There's an old word for what this type of poorly-planned event can or might turn out to be on the day of the event, Tevo...and that word pre-dates your birth by at least 20 years...events with this type of scattershot, he-said-HE was-gonna! vs. she-said-SHE-was-gonna! planning often turn out to be what we older folks used to call, in common parlance, a cluster-**** (insert crude word for copulation).

I don't think it's as poorly planned as it seems. Basically, the groom was supposed to call me yesterday, but he is a procrastinator. I pushed hard, and learned that his sister was planning the wedding and that I should talk to her. As soon as I learned that I was able to contact her right away and schedule a time tomorrow to meet and discuss the details / visit the location. From what I can tell it is truly a low key, family wedding and shouldn't be too hard to handle. A friend of mine wants to get into shooting weddings, so she is coming along with me to help out. She doesn't want any money from it, just the experience.

 

[jowensphoto]

Good luck. My first solo wedding was a backyard gig for a cousin-in-law. Good way to get your feet wet! Let us know how it goes