wedding question

[katerolla]

I just had a quick look at your website and your packages, wow you are cheap, how do you make money?

 

[imagemaker46]

I just had a quick look at your website and your packages, wow you are cheap, how do you make money?

I don't think the op is planning on making a living from photography, or is using this money as a sole source of income, but more of an amateur with a camera trying to make a few extra dollars, "few" being the big word. When these type of camera owners jump into playing business, they see a cheque at the end, but never factor in all the expenses that got them the cheque.

Cheque is for $75, but there are $100 in throw away and hidden expences, doesn't matter though, they are holding a cheque for $75.

 

[Designer]

2.5 years ago i got my cam. Instant pro!

Ah, the man with the real triplets!

I enjoyed reading about your decision to become a wedding photographer.

 

[ABJayce]

I haven't done a wedding before but have been asked a few times. I finally accepted to do one for a friend NEXT June as in 2014 lol. They are well aware that while I take good photographs that I've never done a wedding before. So this year I plan on shadowing/assisting a few wedding photographers around the DC area to see what goes down in this scene. Maybe you should think about going the same route? Hit up some local photographers if you have time before the wedding. You have the lense range covered but don't know about all the other equipment needed, do you know the venue, etc etc. I photographer that has done weddings could probably shoot one on very limited equipment and have it come out perfect. But someone that hasn't done one before would probably want to bring the armory.

 

[Ballistics]

I just had a quick look at your website and your packages, wow you are cheap, how do you make money?

I don't think the op is planning on making a living from photography, or is using this money as a sole source of income, but more of an amateur with a camera trying to make a few extra dollars, "few" being the big word. When these type of camera owners jump into playing business, they see a cheque at the end, but never factor in all the expenses that got them the cheque.

Cheque is for $75, but there are $100 in throw away and hidden expences, doesn't matter though, they are holding a cheque for $75.

Take out photography and camera and you can use this sentence for literally any hobby/trade. If you don't have any experience or training in business, you're not going to know that there are expenses to do a job. I've never shot professionally, but I know that there are expenses and fees to do jobs.

 

[Steve5D]

I just had a quick look at your website and your packages, wow you are cheap, how do you make money?

I don't think the op is planning on making a living from photography, or is using this money as a sole source of income, but more of an amateur with a camera trying to make a few extra dollars, "few" being the big word. When these type of camera owners jump into playing business, they see a cheque at the end, but never factor in all the expenses that got them the cheque.

Cheque is for $75, but there are $100 in throw away and hidden expences, doesn't matter though, they are holding a cheque for $75.

I've always found this intriguing. I think it all comes down to what she might spend her time doing if she wasn't shooting this wedding.

If I hadn't shot the wedding I did, I probably would've spent that time shooting something. I'd have driven myself to wherever I wanted to be, using my gas and wear and tear on my vehicle. I'd have spent my time shooting which would constitute wear and tear on my equipment. I would spend hours in front of the computer editing, which would constitute my time.

Either way, I'd have been shooting that afternoon. The only difference ended up being what I shot, and that it was actually putting money in my pocket...

 

[Steve5D]

Usagani Photography | Our own wedding photography nightmare

It's been said that my one very successful wedding shoot is nothing more than anecdotal and, for that reason, isn't really worthy of consideration.

How is the example linked above not also anecdotal?

Again, I think there are far more success stories than horror stories. The reason we hear more about the horror stories is that they're more fun to read about...

 

[kathyt]

Usagani Photography | Our own wedding photography nightmare

It's been said that my one very successful wedding shoot is nothing more than anecdotal and, for that reason, isn't really worthy of consideration.

How is the example linked above not also anecdotal?

Again, I think there are far more success stories than horror stories. The reason we hear more about the horror stories is that they're more fun to read about...

Steve, quit being so casual when it comes to weddings! If you were a girl you would understand. This is a once in a lifetime, (or 2, 3, 4, ....) opportunity for a young woman to put on that dress and have her moment. Give her the gosh darn moment and some amazing pictures! Weddings are not a Sunday brunch. Stop encouraging these shenanigans! (all in fun here, all in fun....)

 

[ronlane]

Dang it, the poor have a right to have their weddings recorded too. Not every wedding has a $5,000 budget, let alone that just for the photographer. (Wow, that sounds like a Democrat, lol).

That being said, who is going to shoot these weddings for nothing or close to it? Not everyone can afford Robin or Kathy or Steve to do a great job photographing their wedding. And I wouldn't dare ask them to shoot a wedding for free or a deep discount.

There is a market there that needs serviced. Who's going to or supposed to fill this need/demand?

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't do it at this time because I realize how important of an event it is to them and I don't want to be responsible for screwing it up. (I have a ton to learn before I could even think about that.)

 

[Double H]

Between this far-too-lengthy thread, the one about newbies killing the biz, and some other one recently, I'd say there seems to be a whole lot of folks on here who feel the need to validate their own level of photographic know-how, and competence therein.

 

[ronlane]

Between this far-too-lengthy thread, the one about newbies killing the biz, and some other one recently, I'd say there seems to be a whole lot of folks on here who feel the need to validate their own level of photographic know-how, and competence therein.

Interesting take on it.

 

[kathyt]

Dang it, the poor have a right to have their weddings recorded too. Not every wedding has a $5,000 budget, let alone that just for the photographer. (Wow, that sounds like a Democrat, lol).

That being said, who is going to shoot these weddings for nothing or close to it? Not everyone can afford Robin or Kathy or Steve to do a great job photographing their wedding. And I wouldn't dare ask them to shoot a wedding for free or a deep discount.

There is a market there that needs serviced. Who's going to or supposed to fill this need/demand?

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't do it at this time because I realize how important of an event it is to them and I don't want to be responsible for screwing it up. (I have a ton to learn before I could even think about that.)

STOP in the name of love! You can market yourself to whomever you wish and price yourself accordingly. That is my whole point. You can do extremely well doing so, BUT you have to have a plan in place prior to whipping out the, "Sure I can shoot your wedding card." There is a market for every budget. Just because a bride doesn't have a large budget doesn't mean she should get a completely unexperienced photographer. She just might not get the most sought after.

 

[Steve5D]

Dang it, the poor have a right to have their weddings recorded too. Not every wedding has a $5,000 budget, let alone that just for the photographer. (Wow, that sounds like a Democrat, lol).

That being said, who is going to shoot these weddings for nothing or close to it? Not everyone can afford Robin or Kathy or Steve to do a great job photographing their wedding. And I wouldn't dare ask them to shoot a wedding for free or a deep discount.

There is a market there that needs serviced. Who's going to or supposed to fill this need/demand?

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't do it at this time because I realize how important of an event it is to them and I don't want to be responsible for screwing it up. (I have a ton to learn before I could even think about that.)

Before I shot the one wedding I did, I was told by so-called "pros" that I should decline; that the couple should be "forced" to hire a "professional". After I shot it, I was lambasted because I "stole" a job from a local "pro". When I asked one self-proclaimed "pro" criticizing me if a "pro" would've shot the wedding for six hundred bucks, he said "Of course not!". When I told him the couple could only afford six hundred bucks, he was at a loss to then explain how I "stole" anything from anybody, but he still insisted I had. He was adamant that I shouldn't have shot it, and even went so far as to suggest that, if the couple couldn't afford a "pro", that they shouldn't have photos from their wedding.

He was critical not only of me shooting the wedding, but also of the photos I'd posted. When I asked to see examples of his work, he admitted that he hadn't actually shot any weddings yet. He had nothing. No experience. No portfolio. Nothing.

My experience, with the aforementioned clown and with others, is that those who are the most critical are the ones who couldn't get hired to take passport photos.

Look at it this way: If someone asks "Can a Ford Pinto win the Indy 500?", it doesn't matter if the person asking is my next door neighbor or Bobby Unser, because the reality is that a Ford Pinto can't win the Indy 500, regardless of who's behind the wheel.

Debating whether or not the OP should do it is meaningless, simply because she's already made that decision. So, now the only thing left is to be either helpful or unhelpful, and address the question that was actually asked...

 

[Steve5D]

Dang it, the poor have a right to have their weddings recorded too. Not every wedding has a $5,000 budget, let alone that just for the photographer. (Wow, that sounds like a Democrat, lol).

That being said, who is going to shoot these weddings for nothing or close to it? Not everyone can afford Robin or Kathy or Steve to do a great job photographing their wedding. And I wouldn't dare ask them to shoot a wedding for free or a deep discount.

There is a market there that needs serviced. Who's going to or supposed to fill this need/demand?

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't do it at this time because I realize how important of an event it is to them and I don't want to be responsible for screwing it up. (I have a ton to learn before I could even think about that.)

STOP in the name of love! You can market yourself to whomever you wish and price yourself accordingly. That is my whole point. You can do extremely well doing so, BUT you have to have a plan in place prior to whipping out the, "Sure I can shoot your wedding card." There is a market for every budget. Just because a bride doesn't have a large budget doesn't mean she should get a completely unexperienced photographer. She just might not get the most sought after.

The experience question is meaningless here. This is a question which pertains only to equipment. Can a successful wedding shoot be performed with the equipment listed?

Period.

Being critical of the person asking it is nothing more than an admission that you simply don't know the answer to the question...

 

[flashgangster]

I only shoot weddings for people who have been referred to me and when I can't avoid it. Weddings are tough. I will give you this advice:

Bring many small storage cards. Don't jump in there with a single 16 gig card. If it fails, you're screwed. Bring a bunch of 1 gigs. Shoot formals on one, set-ups on one, etc.

You have two bodies. That's a good thing. Check your ISO and the like several times throughout the event.

Have a good contact at the event. Someone who can round up all of the people you need, when you need them.

If they have a DJ, get to know him/her well before the event. You and the DJ run the show (unless they hired a wedding planner, but I'm betting they didn't). If they didn't hire a DJ, run. Run fast. Whatever you're making for this, it's not enough.