pavl_kay

<p>I delete all images that didn't get delivered one year after taking them. My contract specifies that I'm not responsible for the storage and archiving of clients' photos after the images have been received by them. I store all delivered images indefinitely; I deliver 175 to 250 images per wedding, so the burden of maintaining such an archive is minuscule. </p>

I'm seeking advice based on your experiences, not legal advice. I'm not sure about where you live, buy lawyers aren't cheap here, and it's a horrible waste of my resources to refer to a lawyer regarding one wedding.

<p>My goal is to figure out where I'm supposed to be and at what time in order to fulfil my end of the deal <em>if</em> the couple doesn't contact me with details or a written release before their wedding date. </p>

<p>Hello friends:<br> I'm contracted to photograph a wedding on July 31, 2016, for clients that retained my services in December 2015. In early June, the bride-to-be contacted me stating that the wedding, as initially planned, is no longer happening. According to her, they decided to elope in Las Vegas in the autumn. Despite this, she advised me that they'd be throwing a large party at their home to celebrate the occasion and would like me to photograph it. The party was scheduled for the original wedding date, so nothing changed on my end. <br> Last week, the bride sent an email stating that the wedding has been "called off" and they'd like their deposit returned. I was curious to know if they'd called it off entirely and they wouldn't be eloping in Vegas or whether this was an attempt to save their substantial retainer while still going forth with the plan she outlined in her June email. However, I decided not to ask for clarification because what mattered was clear: they didn't want me there and wanted their money back. </p> <p>My contract regarding the nature of my retainers is crystal clear and stated firmly; they're absolutely non-refundable. (But this isn't the issue at hand.) I replied to her message stating that their retainer is non-refundable because I have turned down several other inqueries for this date, and advised her that she must formally release me from our agreement by completing my wedding cancellation/rescheduling form, which I attached. One week and two messages later, and I haven't heard a peep from either her or the groom.<br> Without receipt of the cancellation form that releases me from our initial agreement, I'm bound to assume that my services are still required. (I'll give them a call tomorrow to confirm what's going on, but the call doesn't change that I need a written release.)<br> I'm seeking advice for the worst-case scenario: what should I do if they remain quiet and unreachable all the way up to their wedding day? The contract states that the location of the wedding is at a small hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, but doesn't state the time. If everything was cancelled, as per her June email, then the party is at their home in Toronto (close to my neighbourhood, actually). Which would have precedence? Which should I be prepared to drive to, and at what time, if I'm to fulfill my end of the agreement by making a good faith attempt to photograph an event that I'm no longer certain is happening?<br> Thanks in advance.</p>

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your contributions.

Hector, thanks for your comment. Please note that per the original agreement, the couple was charged at their original rates. My 2016 price increase has had no effect on our January agreement, which is set to my 2014 rates. I'll treat this experience as a teachable moment and adjust all copy on my website and terms in my agreement to ensure that there is no further uncertainty about how to treat this in the future. For now, I'll offer them a compromise that maintains the current financial obligations. If I sense any resistance, I'll make an exception and discount the time. Thanks for the help! :-)

<p>David,<br> I have a difficult time understanding this preoccupation with the "up to" x hours phrasing. Is it not a moot point considering that the established agreement has a defined period? All things considered, I'm prepared to act in a way that is of greatest benefit to my business, regardless of whether I miss out on the $640, which in the grand scheme of things is nothing.<br> As for their "reasonable" agreement to my retainer: is $800 unusually high? I've raised it since then to 30% of the total or $1000, whichever is greater. Whenever I see photographers mention $200-300 retainers, I cringe because those numbers have absolutely no teeth. Clients have to have skin in the game to play; otherwise, they could find someone who will shoot their wedding for more than a couple hundred dollars less, cancel with you, and still have net savings. Perhaps this can be chalked up to differences in regional conventions? I'm located in Toronto and this seems typical.<br> Thanks,</p>

<p>William,<br> Thanks for taking the time to reply.<br> My website currently lists my base fee as "up to 6 hours" of service (and listed this since January 1), which works out to the aforementioned minimum commission of $2,500. Because this particular couple cancelled their first agreement and signed the second one, and because my pricing structure had changed in the year between signing the first and second contract, I simply laid everything out as one charge (the original subtotal) and assigned it the number of hours they had initially ordered. They agreed to this and signed the contract.<br> This is a screen cap of the service and fee portion of the agreement: <img src="http://blog.pavelkounine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Screen-Shot-2016-03-08-at-5.27.41-PM.png" alt="" /><br> To be honest, I believe that the contract would agree with me if I were to push back. My real concern and the reason I took to this forum is to figure out a fair (and tactful) way of handling this request.</p> <p>Should I comply with their request? If so, should I do this for every such request I may receive in the future, whether it crosses below my minimum threshold for service or not? What is the point of agreeing to order X amount of hours if it can be changed at a whim, anyway?<br> Should I push back and advise them that I cannot honour their request?<br> Should I attempt to reach a compromise, either via application of the equivalent fees towards product or service credits?</p>

<p>During my first year in the business, I spent almost $2,000 on Adwords and earned no clients. It was a tremendous waste of money, and I recommend you stop ASAP. Despite that, Google is pretty much my primary source of business, since I appear on the first or second page of the results for my targeted keywords. Organic search results are free, longer lasting, and carry greater trust in the eyes of clients. Most of the paid search results in my region are for affordable photographers anyway, and I don't want to be another drop in the bucket of photographers being shopped around for the lowest price.</p>

<p>Hello,</p> <p>I've been in the business for four years now and have had a few odd requests and situations here and there. However, today I was blind-sided by a deceptively simple request, and I'm divided on how to handle it.</p> <p>A couple had initially hired me for 8 hours of service in 2014 for their 2015 wedding. In 2015, the couple requested that I cancel the arrangement because a death in the family caused them to cancel their wedding plans. The initial agreement was nullified, and their retainer was kept as credit for future service. In January, they re-hired me for 8 hours of service for their June 2016 wedding. Today, I receive a request to reduce their coverage by two hours to a total of 6 hours of service because they decided to have a shorter wedding.</p> <p>To be perfectly honest, I don't want to honour this request because it would mean a loss of $640. Furthermore, it puts me below the minimum commission I have now established for weekend weddings, which is $2,500 for the 2016 season. My contract does not contain a protocol for reducing an agreed-upon level of service.</p> <p>How would you handle such a request? Options I've considered:</p> <ol> <li>Say no. I'll honour their request to be there for six hours, but still expect payment for the eight hours in the agreement.</li> <li>Say no, but offer them the equivalent of two hours—$640—as print or album credits.</li> <li>Say yes, forget that we had an <strong>agreement</strong>, and reduce their outstanding balance by $640. It's good customer service, right...?</li> </ol> <p>How have you dealt with such requests in the past? If you're partial to recommending option three, or something similar, what would you do if, theoretically, every client started demanding a reduction in service? Such requests would create a significant gap between expected versus real income.</p> <p>I look forward to your responses. Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>I don't have the iron will of an emergency responder or someone whose job oversees the safety of others all while being prepared to sacrifice my own.<br> It's just a job, and I'm not willing to put that ahead of my close personal relationships. If I have to leave, I have to leave (assuming I can even get wherever it is I'm needed in time). Missing one wedding because of a personal tragedy won't ruin my career. If prospective clients think it should, then they're not the clients I want. <br> We're wedding photographers, not presidents or army generals. </p>

<p>I'm slightly confused by what you're asking.<br> The prevailing quality of cloudy weather is that it results in flat light. This isn't something that can be remedied by overexposing, nor will overexposing help sculpt faces in a way that directional light can.<br> So are you asking about solutions for brightness or for the lack of dynamic multi-hued directional light?</p>

<p>There are two methods to pay my retaining fees, as quoted from my <a href="http://blog.pavelkounine.com/wedding-photography-fees/">wedding photography pricing</a> page:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>Option 1:</em> a retainer payable for 30% of the fees or 1000 dollars, whichever is greater. The balance is due 14 days prior to your wedding date. Both the retainer and balance are calculated before tax, so HST is payable on both figures.<br> <em>Option 2:</em> a retainer payable for 100% of the total fees. If you choose this option you’ll receive 10% off the listed price. <em>This option is only available for couples whose weddings are two or more months from the time of booking</em>.</p> </blockquote> <p>In both cases, the fees paid at the time of reservation are not refundable. The main reason is straightforward, upon reserving a date with clients, I refuse to entertain all subsequent inquiries for that particular day (or days, if it's a multi-day event or requires long distance travel – which further stresses the need no refunds). If no retainers were required, a couple could cancel a wedding for any reason, which would result in me losing not only their commission, but all of the potential clients I had turned away in the process. <br> Of course, there are certain circumstances that merit leniency, such as when one partner has suffered a tragic event or has died. In that case, I'm prepared to return all fees paid and suffer the loss. I have a heart, after all. </p> <p> </p>

<p>The shots you're referring to can be achieved using two methods. When the direction of the wind is from ahead of the bride, it's done with the use of a gadget known as a Pocket Hurricane. I believe B&H carries them. Alternatively, if the bride doesn't appreciate a face full of hot air, you can get a similar result from the back by using a battery powered Dyson - they don't lose suction.<br> However I choose to do it, I typically get the groom to hold the devices, since if Dyson captures the veil, I'm not liable. <br> Alternatively, you can also avoid these types of shots altogether, they're some of the most derivative images in wedding photography, right up there with the Mary Poppins. ;)<br> But if you insist, and to be completely serious, as the poster above me said, it's done with the assistance of a swift-handed assistant.</p>

<p>My clients hire me to photograph their weddings as I bear witness to them. In fact, my contract states that they are hiring me for <em>my</em> photographic interpretation of their event. While I make small concessions here and there, now and then, I do not aim to capture what I think the client will like; my goal is to always capture the wedding in the way I feel is most appropriate. I'm quite open about this with clients and it's stated without any uncertainty throughout my website. If prospects don't appreciate this (and the majority of website visitors don't) then that's too bad -- they can hire one of the other thousand photographers in the area and end up with photos that are interchangeable for everyone else's. Personally, I'd rather eat glass than shoot what typically passes for wedding photography these days.<br> <br /> A great benefit of taking such a stubbornly artistic position with regards to my business is that I've never had a client I didn't enjoy working with. No bride- or groomzillas with princess and prince complexes.<br> (Edit: I would like to point out that wedding photographers are not vendors and need to stop referring to themselves as such; we do not vend or peddle small goods. Every time I see a photographer referring to themselves as a vendor, I feel that they're inherently cheapening the perception of their services.)</p>