Phoenix, AZ Wedding 2nd shooter album questions

<p> Hello everyone, My name is John Holcombe of Familiar Photography and I am shooting a wedding in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday May. 26, 2013. I am looking for a second shooter/assistant with good experience in wedding photography, lighting, and technical details. The pay will be around $200-$300 but negotiable. Please send me a link to your website or port, or email me. Thank you. Also I have questions for those interested in answering please. The wedding will have a budget of around $1,000.00 but am trying to get it to about $1,500.00</p>

<p> What are some important criteria for choosing a second shooter/assistant, if you were to shoot a wedding with this kind of budget what would you pay said person, Any other advice for finding a second shooter? Also all of my weddings so far have been strictly by cd meaning that the means of the bride and groom receiving their photos was with a cd. What company or online merchant do you recommend using to get a wedding album made. These people are friends of mine so I want to give them the best price but also a quality album as well. We haven't locked in what kind of book they are interested in yet. I am researching what is out there. Any assistance with these questions would be great thank you.</p>

<p><strong>Moderator Note:</strong> Since it is against forum guidelines to post personal information, I've removed it. Anyone can e-mail you by clicking on your name and using the e-mail utility. There is also a personal messaging system in place.</p>

<p>That's a tight budget, but you're offering a reasonable amount for a decent second, so I think you're probably fine in that range. If you don't get a lot of responses here, try 1) other forums, 2) your local SMUG group, and/or 3) calling some established pros in your area and asking them to second with you. </p>

<p>You're asking for a second really early. If you get takers right now for May of next year, they're likely to be inexperienced and, thus, eager to leap on any opportunities. I usually post for a second about 4-8 weeks out, if I don't already know who I'm using. At that point, other established pros who are open on that date are less worried about keeping the date open for a full booking, and more willing to fill the time with second-shooting. So, if you post elsewhere or call pros directly, you might want to wait until March or thereabouts. Maybe post here, again, in March, as well.</p>

<p>Really, really hard to talk about albums with so little information. There are press-printers like Blurb, My Publisher, and some others, that do nice-but-basic press-printed books for less than $100. Adorama, BRI, ACI, and some others have some lower-mid-range books that are nicer than the press-printed books with thicker pages and nicer printing quality for maybe double that price. Then you've got entry-level albums, which you can get from collages.net, Adorama, BRI, and a number of others. And there are a few tiers of higher-quality album makers, such as Red Tree, Zook, WHCC, Vision Art, Queensbury, and so on. </p>

<p>If you have an idea what the budget for the album might be, it would be easier to help you narrow it down. (I assume you don't intend to do the album within the $1,000 budget, but if so, then I'd think you're looking at a press-printed option.)</p>

Well I don't give out a CD. So I always offer images for the parents for a buck a print. Then I can usually sell at least one on the parents plus a parent album.

 

Correction - I sell the CD/DVD's for $100 after a year.

 

If you want to add additional prices offer a lifetime DVD. Their images will be fine for 75 years. By then DVD's will be long gone, but don't tell them. You can also sell these DVD's to several other people, parents, friends, grandparents, offering the lifetime warranty. Well most of us will be dead, even if the DVD's are somehow around and die, well sell them 2 in case one goes bad. I think $25 per unit is fair. Yes, I'm joking here, but $25 is a fair price.

 

Here's being realistic.You hire someone $200. Your profits drop to $800. Then you edit. Are you giving them a DVD or prints, maybe both. With printing you are looking at 15 cents a print. Most of the newer photographers - photographers after the film days, will shoot a tad more.I've read where photographers shoot from 2000 to 8000 images. Well this will surely kill any ideas of giving out prints to the parents and the $800 profit of course isn't conceivable.

 

You could offer enlargements up to maybe 24X30". Charge extra for matting, the frame, texturing. You may reach that $1500 mark. With frames triple the price. For a 24X30, push for $90. Be sure to do all of the groups of families, regardless if you are a PJ style photographer. Again, offer worderful family enlargements. Selling 3 or 4 enlargement should get you that $1500 mark. Engagement shots. Thats a must sell. By the way, use that favorite word that every buyer wants to hear. "We have a SPECIAL this month on enlargements and engagements."

 

Be creative and write down all of the ideas you come up with and of course read past posts.

<p>I am in Gilbert- I can show you my work and previous weddings I have shot. Are you still looking for a 2nd shooter? </p>

<p>I am in Gilbert- I can show you my work and previous weddings I have shot. Are you still looking for a 2nd shooter? </p>