Wedding Question; Memory Card

Soul Rebel

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I discussed a price with the couple that wants me to photograph their wedding and they asked me an odd question. They wanted to know what size memory card I would need to take 500-1000 photos. I told them that I had some memory card. What they want is for me to take the photos and then hand them the memory card. Is this normal? I had picked up a nice high speed 1GB card to use and if this is the case I wont get to use it.

Should I pick up a couple of memory cards and give those to them at the end? Should I burn the photos to CD's? Also....how many photos should I be taking? 1000 seems a bit high. I was hoping for 300-400 but with the 2 1GB cards I have I could get close to 600. Shouldnt that be enough?
 
Personally I wouldn't give them the card, you will never see the shots again, and they will get the good, the bad and the ugly.

I would explain that there is some processing that needs to be done, and they will receive a CD - that way you are protecting yourself as if they decided to have a dispute with you, they could start posting some of the bad shots claiming that they were all like that, by you giving them a CD you can dump the bad ones as if they never happened.
 
Never hand over a memory card. Its the equivalent of giving them the negs. They would essentially then own the copyright to all the images if I am correct.
Unless you have it negotiated in the price, IMHO I would charge quite a pretty penny if I were to do that. Otherwise let them choose what shots they want in whatever the agreement is and then charge for reprints etc. You might also want to go over to the business/know how forum and see what some wedding photogs have to say.
 
Thank you. I was not sure what to tell him when he asked and said I would look at prices. I think I might give him a call and tell him this is how things will work. You guys bring up very good points.
 
I just want to reiterate what has already been said. DO NOT give them your memory cards and on top of that there should be a section in your contract (you do have a contract???) that says you can use their wedding photos on your website, portfolio, advertising, etc....... And if you gave away your memory cards you would not have access to these images to use.
 
Ummm, What file type are you thinking of using? 1000 RAW images is most likely more than 1 card ;).

Also, since I wasn't there, were they adamant about getting the card or files? Because unless you are getting $2k or more out of this it doesn't sound worth the trouble.

mike
 
With the amount of money I was going to get I was going to shoot in jpeg at the highest quality.

They sounded like they had no clue what they were doing and they went into talking about the card. I have a feeling that when I call to discuss this with them they will change their minds.
 
I have no idea what your skill level is, much less your experience so please do not take this as an insult but I get the sense that you haven't done this much. Research how much time it takes after shooting a wedding to do the Post Production, just how much you can get sued for should things go badly, how much you might loose should cousin Bobo the Meth addict slip off with your equipment (happens too often, just ask) and the fact that you are contracting to provide physical evidence of a family's history that children and grand children and great-grand children will depend on to see some of their relatives due to death or divorce. And many other things that Wedding Photos provide that nothing else including a video can. Anyway, I don't mean to preach but to shoot a wedding properly takes a lot, including planning.

good luck

mike
 
I agree. It would be best to edit the photos yourself and give them files afterward.

Never hand over a memory card. Its the equivalent of giving them the negs. They would essentially then own the copyright to all the images if I am correct.
That is not correct (not in the US anyway). The artist (photographer) has the immediate rights to the image when it's created and copyright is not transferred unless an agreement is reached. Although, that probably wouldn't stop them from making prints if you did hand over a card.
 
You are correct. I have not done this often. Maybe I have taken on more than I can handle. What I do know is that I got a call from my ex's sister who had told these people I was decent at photography. They could not afford to hire a professional photography so they are turning to me. I talked to the guy and was honest, telling him that I was not experienced, had done one previous wedding, but I would do the best I could. He was ok with that.

Does anybody know a decent place that outlines what a contract should include? Ill google later (busy at the moment) to see what I can find.
 
Never hand over a memory card. Its the equivalent of giving them the negs. They would essentially then own the copyright to all the images if I am correct.

Unless they bought the copyright, then they would never own it. The photographer will always own it, unless it is sold. However you are right in that it would essentially allow them to print as many and whatever images they pleased.

To sell the originals the price has to be really high.

And handing over a card allows them to print poor images and give you a poor image (deliberate pun intended) and without post processing the images would be poorer than they otherwise would have been.

As others have said, no card, but a CD of selected, processed images. And no copyright sales.
Even without selling it, i'd only pass a CD of the originals on if
a) they were family/friends
b) they had ordered a certain amount of prints
c) it was agreed before hand and since there would be no additional money from prints, the price for the originals would be higher.
 
S R, get this book [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Best-Business-Practices-Photographers-Harrington/dp/1598633155[/ame]

It will save you more grief than is imaginable. :)

mike
 
I have no idea what your skill level is, much less your experience so please do not take this as an insult but I get the sense that you haven't done this much. Research how much time it takes after shooting a wedding to do the Post Production, just how much you can get sued for should things go badly, how much you might loose should cousin Bobo the Meth addict slip off with your equipment (happens too often, just ask) and the fact that you are contracting to provide physical evidence of a family's history that children and grand children and great-grand children will depend on to see some of their relatives due to death or divorce. And many other things that Wedding Photos provide that nothing else including a video can. Anyway, I don't mean to preach but to shoot a wedding properly takes a lot, including planning.

good luck

mike

I shot weddings for years. Listen to what Mike is saying... this is GREAT advice...

When two people get married, it is a once-in-a-lifetime event... and there are whole industries that do nothing but pump up the expectations of the bride and her family about that "perfect day..." and letting somebody see the many bad shots, safety shots or duplicates you take is just such a bad idea.
 
Are you even serious? Why would you even consider giving the client your memory card?
 

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