weddings and post processing

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jols

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ok cat amongst the pigeons time.

wedding tog are expensive. FACT

the togs say its cause the hours they put in. FACT.

THERE IS A DAYS WORK AND ALL THE POST PROCESSING.

so if they took a great pic in the first place and did not need hours and hours of post processing would nt their job be easier and then they could lower their prices.;)


so the moral of this thread is take a decent pic straight off
 
I'll say this in their defense. A wedding is supposed to be a perfect day and let's just say not all people look perfect... But everybody deserves to feel like for at least that one day everything, and everyone was perfect.
 
The time that we put it, is only one way of justifying the cost.

It's not just about the time...it's about the style and expertise. Not everyone can put up with the pressure of a wedding and still be able to create beautiful photos. A wedding is (or is supposed to be) a once in a lifetime event...there is very little room for error.

Film photographers probably didn't put in as much time as digital photographers...but their prices were about the same.
 
i do weddings so i know about the time involved i just think some well overcharge and then blame it on pp, which i think should be minimal if you got it nearly right when taking the pic
 
I guess that depends if you (and the client) want images that look like they came right out of the camera.

I touch up things like blemishes etc. Some do a lot more....and that's what attracts their clients. Look at elsapet for example...
 
i see what you are saying and i ear i may be repeatiing myself but take the pic right in the first place.

and i know the mark up of prints so i stick by what i say.

most togs are well over priced.
 
i see what you are saying and i ear i may be repeatiing myself but take the pic right in the first place.

and i know the mark up of prints so i stick by what i say.

most togs are well over priced.

I disagree!!! I think way to many are not charging enough!

Oh yea and not to mention, it doesnt matter if you take a good exposure in the first place, I edit them all to get 'that look' that makes me different than all the people with the P&S. (Thats just me maybe )
 
Photography is less of a trade and more of an art...and art is worth what people are willing to pay for it.

If you are paying an electrician to wire your house...all you want is the job done right and to pay as low a price as possible. If one electrician charged more but still did the job right (the same level of service)...then they might be considered over priced.

Shooting a wedding isn't just about snapping photos and getting good exposures 'in-camera'. In other words...just doing 'the job right' isn't enough. Or at least it shouldn't be, for photographers who charge a good amount.

What the client is paying for, is to have artwork created...and that doens't come cheap...unless we are talking about gluing macaroni onto construction paper.
 
Question, how much time is involved in wedding photography?

Most folks here understand post processing. I'm trialling Lightroom myself at the moment. I'm reading lots on it as well. Seems that you can process one photo from a shoot, then apply that process to the majority of the photos of the same location (ie, outside shots, then ceremony shots, then the reception, thus 3 processings and applying).

So, I paid $650 for my wedding photographer. I recieved ~$40 worth of prints, if that. So, I would have to assume that either the photographer did 24 hours worth of processing on my photos, or she was very much overpaid. I'm going to guess that she was very much overpaid myself.

It's simple greed that makes people think that they are worth $100+ per hour. What a photographer makes in a few hours work, takes other folks 2 weeks to make and that is just greed.

It's not really the photographer's fault though. It is the consumer's fault for continuously paying that. Just like the price of cars. If we didn't constantly purchase cars at the ridiculous prices they are going for, they wouldn't cost that much any more.

And the markup on prints is nothing but robbery. It costs $3 for an 8x10 print, photographers are just greedy when they mark it up to $20
 
Question, how much time is involved in wedding photography?

Most folks here understand post processing. I'm trialling Lightroom myself at the moment. I'm reading lots on it as well. Seems that you can process one photo from a shoot, then apply that process to the majority of the photos of the same location (ie, outside shots, then ceremony shots, then the reception, thus 3 processings and applying).

So, I paid $650 for my wedding photographer. I recieved ~$40 worth of prints, if that. So, I would have to assume that either the photographer did 24 hours worth of processing on my photos, or she was very much overpaid. I'm going to guess that she was very much overpaid myself.

It's simple greed that makes people think that they are worth $100+ per hour. What a photographer makes in a few hours work, takes other folks 2 weeks to make and that is just greed.

It's not really the photographer's fault though. It is the consumer's fault for continuously paying that. Just like the price of cars. If we didn't constantly purchase cars at the ridiculous prices they are going for, they wouldn't cost that much any more.

And the markup on prints is nothing but robbery. It costs $3 for an 8x10 print, photographers are just greedy when they mark it up to $20

I have soooo many problems with your post, and your ignorance to shooting weddings really shows here.
One of the things you dont consider is all of the equipment that they use. Getting to the point where you can even shoot a wedding cost A LOT! ( Having all pro gear, and then a backup for every piece of equipment) NOT, to mention all of the batteries and other things like gas.

After you get out of all the things that it cost the photographer to actually DO the weddings, there is all the other things. Weddings are a lot more work than i think you realize, so before you go and call photographers who want more than $700 for doing a wedding, ROBBERS maybe you should get a clue...


Oh and another thing, batch processing, isnt really that good of an idea for wedding photography, because the shots differ SO much, applying one edit to all the photos or even 1/3 of the photos, would be stupid.
 
How much are the memories from your wedding worth? The photos/video are all you have left when your special day is over. I'm glad I had an artist for a photographer that captured our day perfectly.
 
ok cat amongst the pigeons time.

wedding tog are expensive. FACT

the togs say its cause the hours they put in. FACT.

THERE IS A DAYS WORK AND ALL THE POST PROCESSING.

so if they took a great pic in the first place and did not need hours and hours of post processing would nt their job be easier and then they could lower their prices.;)
so the moral of this thread is take a decent pic straight off

If you can take 600 photos in a 10 hour day and have every one of them perfect then you are worth WAY more than most every photog out there.
 
Question, how much time is involved in wedding photography?

Most folks here understand post processing. I'm trialling Lightroom myself at the moment. I'm reading lots on it as well. Seems that you can process one photo from a shoot, then apply that process to the majority of the photos of the same location (ie, outside shots, then ceremony shots, then the reception, thus 3 processings and applying).

So, I paid $650 for my wedding photographer. I recieved ~$40 worth of prints, if that. So, I would have to assume that either the photographer did 24 hours worth of processing on my photos, or she was very much overpaid. I'm going to guess that she was very much overpaid myself.

It's simple greed that makes people think that they are worth $100+ per hour. What a photographer makes in a few hours work, takes other folks 2 weeks to make and that is just greed.

It's not really the photographer's fault though. It is the consumer's fault for continuously paying that. Just like the price of cars. If we didn't constantly purchase cars at the ridiculous prices they are going for, they wouldn't cost that much any more.

And the markup on prints is nothing but robbery. It costs $3 for an 8x10 print, photographers are just greedy when they mark it up to $20

1: Understanding PP and being good at it are entirely separate things.

2: Are you saying that you didn't read the contract, or are you griping about the content?

3: The vast majority of the cost of a car is not in the materials but rather in the design, tooling, labor, facilities, and the Number One Thing that folks who start these threads (I realize that it wasn't you but still) forget is that it's not just how much it costs to Do Business but How Much It Costs To Stay In Business!!!

4: Once again you should read the contract and negotiate your deal. If it makes you happy to pay $610 and get your own prints done then find someone who will agree to that. If you would rather pay $650 and not have to worry about the prints, whats the beef?

And lastly, It doesn't matter how much time it takes the photog to do his/her thing so long as they get the job done in an acceptable manner- not even if it only takes 45 minutes. (It is unlikely that you would be paying any self respecting photog by the hour anyway) The money is due for an agreed upon job. If you want to treat a photographer like a domestic servant best of luck to you but you will get no sympathy from me when you get laughed at to your face.

If this offends you then I'm sorry you feel bad but all the self absorbed people in the world griping about the decisions they made and then wanting the rest of the world to make concisions for them at the cost of others wears a little thin.
 
Well I would be willing to sell people 250 4x6 sheets of photo paper for $90 (that is approximately doubling the original buying price from the printing store) - but they aren't really paying for the sheet of paper are they? They are paying for the 'art' that is on it :)

Let me dig up a photo that is technically perfect but I am certain the couple would have been sorely disappointed in. (Be back in a few)
 
OK, I gotta speak up. First a disclaimer, I am not now a wedding photographer. The last wedding I shot for pay was the early 1970's. That Said, here goes.

Who here that thinks wedding photogs are expensive and has ever worked a production type job? Flipping burgers don't count, and service jobs are out also for reasons that will become apparent.

Say you work in a machine shop. The shop owner bids a job. To do that they have to know how many hours it will take the machine operators to make the part. This includes machine setup, reading the blueprint, planning the process on your specific machine, finding or making the fixtures, getting the tooling, and making the cuts on say the lathe you operate. Breaking down the setup, cleaning up shavings and other debris and returning any tools or fixtures to the tool crib. Say on the machine you are hired to run, it takes 10 hours. You make $20.00 an hour. It has taken you 15 years to get up to that level of pay. Trainees in your shop are paid $10.00 to start. The shop owner needs to charge $110.00 an hour to make the minium profit to cover your wages for every hour you work. You work 40 hours a week. You earn $800.00 a week. The owner must charge $4400.00 for your labor.
Why? The building has a mortgage on it. That new brandX engine lathe you operate cost $65,000.00. The tooling you used was $600.00 and about 25% of that was expendable. That is, it is gone and can't be recovered. Add electric, water, licenses and fees, support labor (floor sweepers to maintenance personal) workman's compensation, and on and on. Take into consideration scrap and rework, the costs add up.

Now, take your overpriced wedding shooter. He wants to pay his home mortgage,car payment and other day to day expenses. In other words he wants to make a decent living. To do that he needs to make $20.00 take-home wages. For him to take home that $800 a week, he needs to charge 5.5X that rate.That pays the overhead, transportation, appropriate clothing, meeting with the client 2-3 times before the shoot, insurance, law suit and loss of image protection, monitors, editing tablets, cameras, lenses, computers and related equipment, backup storage, studio mortgage, maintenance, incorporation fees and taxes, other state and fed fees. Add expendables like proofs, prints, postage and shipping, packaging, albums, mats, frames, lost shoots due to cancellations, local rental equipment for special requests and other hidden expenses. 5.5 times the base wage is the minimum amount required to make a living wage. What about student loans, the 15-20 years experience to create the ART you want as a remembrance of your wedding?

Now, what part of the cost of doing business is so hard to understand?
 
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