What do you do in a situation where you get really sick or something happens that you can't shoot a wedding?

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>I am just curious to know what other photographers say to the question asked by clients "What happens if you get sick or something happens that you can't photograph our wedding?"</p>

<p> </p>

<p>This should be part of your contract, and worded very carefully. Best done by a lawyer.</p>

<p>Ours falls under an "Act of God" clause and states immediate refund of all monies paid to date, and an effort to secure a suitable replacement will be made. While most individual wedding photographers have relationships with other pros as a pool to draw upon in case of an emergency, there is no 100% guarantee they will be available at a moments notice, and promising that in writing can be legally problematic.</p>

<p>Again, seek legal council.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I try to have with me at just about every wedding a well experienced 2nd shooter, that god forbid something happens to me, that they could at least decently handle the wedding on their own. Because of this, I have the 2nd shooter travel in a different car than me, just in case there was an accident on the way as well. Next would be checking with network of photographers. And absolute worst case scenario, I have trained my husband to be a basic second shooter. If he was the primary shooter on the wedding, I would end up refunding some of their money. Also our contract also has an act of god clause.</p>

<p>Also, unless I am so ill that I cannot stand, I will be there. I've shot with a migraine before. I always bring with me my emergency migraine meds and a ton of advil (for both me and if the bride and groom might need some). If I've got a cold, while I normally would go without dayquil or the like, if it is the day of a shoot, I take them at regular intervals. Also, I have cut out riskier activities so I am less likely to injure myself, i.e. skiing, sledding, etc.</p>

<p>The basic premise from the above comments is to plan ahead both contractually and logistically. You should always have a backup plan for a shooter, a bad weather location and vehicle problems.<br>

My own business practice (although not the standard today) is to have a staff of shooters and always have a minimum of one shooter who is not booked. I have always been able to answer the quesion with "...if your scheduled photographer is not able to photograph your wedding, your substitute will be one of US, so your images will be of the same style and quality that you see in our samples and displays".</p>

<p>This happened to a co-worker of mine. Her photographer canceled sick at the last minute. Her mother was supposed to take pictures, but SHE missed her own daughter's wedding because she was sick too. She must have been REALLY sick. Bottom line... Very few photos were taken, and none are great. She should have called me.<br>

I think every professional event photographer should know someone who can take their place if needed. The second shooter is ideal, because that way they already have their schedule open and have planned to be at the event.<br>

I have heard that limo driver's cancel a lot. Sometimes they just don't show up! If your bride is late for the show, it could mess up your photo plans. It might be a good idea to know some good limo services in your area just in case this happens.<br>

Anyway, when your client asks this very important question, you need to be able to give a good answer. This will make your service much more valuable than the guys who have no plan. You might even tell them your plan before they ask. It's a good sales point.</p>

<p>The only time I wouldn't show up at a wedding is when I'm dead. Ha! And maybe smiles for some!</p>

<p>So far I've been at every wedding I've been hired to make pics.</p>

<p>I do belong to our local PPA affiliate and if I got run over and was in intensive care there are quite a number of people my wife could contact and get the job done. A lot of my friends are members of the TCPPA and I'm currently serving on the board which gives me opportunity to meet a lot of folks.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I actually never missed any weddings of my own over the years, but when I stopped shooting full-time, and even before that I covered a fair number for people with illness, emergencies, family deaths etc. You have to have colleagues that can help you out some, and a plan of action. One of the problems now I see with some "young" shooters is they are very "alone" in the business. No photog friends, very standoffish to talk to as if they're the greatest. Hey, you know what, anything can happen, they need to make a few friends, even with semi-mostly-done shooters like me who could help them out. We had a little group, we would go for coffee, beer, have portrait night where we would get a few wanna-be models and practice posing, lighting, critique and so on. Sorry if I sound like sour grapes ranting on and on but this whole subject winds me up some. </p>

<p>Happend to me last summer.<br>

Woke up on a Friday with light chest pain and went to the ER. 6 hours later in the cath lab having 3 stents put in. Had a weddning booked for Sunday afternoon, and you KNOW the doc said no way!. My wofe called our son who got her the contact info and my wife called the bride from my bedside. THe bride was more worried about me than not having a photographer, and not having access to a computer, we really couldn't her he find someone. (My wife is my second and she wanted to stay with me) My contract covers the act of god clause, and we refunded them their full fee, AND a bottle of wione for being so understanding. They DID find a family friend that had some experience and got the pictures they wanted.</p>

 

<p>Martine,<br>

Startup a network in your area to protect yourselves. Work together with your colleagues and make your clients feel comfortable and give yourselves peace of mind. And when you have the oppotunity to help someone out, don't refuse. Remember that someday you could be the one in need.</p>

<p>I agree with Dave, and I was for the last several years one of those unfortunate photographers that didn't have a great network of friends. I've just recently started networking with other wedding photographers in the area, and it's been a great time. For the most part, any wedding shooter worth their salt is very friendly and open with other photographers. The ones you need to worry about, as Dave mentioned are the folks who are convinced their 'stuff' don't stink and don't bother to make friends with other photographers.<br>

A short story: in my area, there is a low-budget photographer who had a big long rant on his website about how $3500 or $4,000 was 'an unnecessary amount to pay for a photographer' and went on to talk about how he doesn't drive around in a fancy car and can afford to offer lower prices. He then shows up at a photographer meetup full of $4,000+ shooters. Awkwardness ensues.<br>

So, back to my backup story. I have a bunch of photographer friends, all their contact info is saved on my phone and all three computers, and my assistant has their info as well. If all else fails, my assistant is also a pretty competent shooter, and I would of course either refund their money and/or send them a very nice gift, depending on the situation.</p>

<p>I have a handful of people that I could call on if necessary, fortunately I haven't yet had to do that. I try to be careful the day before about what I eat just to be safe!</p>