My 2nd Shooter won't give me her photos

<p>I shot a wedding Dec 10, edited my photos and got them to the bride in less than a month.<br>

My 2nd shooter (a college student, who was looking for experience) agreed to email me the photos. I have not received them as of yet. She was supposed to bring them by last night and had to stay late at work, and promised to bring them by at 8 AM today, but has yet to show up. She is not responding to my messages this morning either.<br>

The bride & groom paid me $180 for (10p-5:30p) 7.5 hours of photos, basically only the group photos, bride and groom photos, and ceremony photos. I gave her 125 edited, watermark free photos. <br>

I planned literally nothing and was not given any information until the day of. Her maid of honor (also a photographer) took all the getting ready photos, and reception photos. The bride & groom picked out all the locations they wanted their pictures at. Plus, while I was trying to compose the picture, the groomsmen were directing my 2nd shooter to just shoot the guys while I shot the girls. <br>

I should have been more assertive, I agree. But my other weddings were much more simple and straight forward. <br>

The bride keeps messaging me asking for more photos, and I have given her all the photos I had that were good to perfect. The bride started asking for the pictures not even a week after the wedding, and was so persistent all through the Christmas break. She did not even tell me that she had wanted to do a scrapbook as Christmas gifts until 2 days before Christmas... She is very happy with the photos that I took, and has referred me to other people. Yet she still wants more pictures, and I cannot get my 2nd shooter to get the pictures to me.<br>

<br />HELP! What do I do? How do I get the second shooter to get me the pictures?</p>

<p>Go to the second shooter's house or be there right when they get home.</p>

<p>Ditto what Patrick said. I wouldn't panic just yet as some college students can be very disorganized and flaky. But seeking her out instead of waiting for her to come to you seems to be the best way of resolving this issue. </p>

Did you pay your second shooter already?

 

And by the way how do you like shooting weddings for minimum wage or less? Is that working out for you?

<p>Your second shooter might be feeling insecure about the quality of the pictures or there might have been serious technical flaws rendering them unacceptable.</p>

<p>You might try reassuring this person that you'd like to have the photos regardless, even if they are unacceptable - it's all part of the learning process; hence second shooter looking for experience. </p>

<p>In the future, you might want to supply the memory cards and take them immediately after the shoot to avoid these sorts of problems. </p>

 

About my minimum wage remark

 

$180 /7.5 hours = $24.00 per hour, but that simple equation doesn't take into acount:

 

-time spent traveling back and forth

-transportation costs (fuel, etc.)

- time spent downloading, processing, editing and delivery.

-time spent dealing with the second shooter.

 

Or hardware costs like equipment (cameras, lenses, lighting, computer, wear and tear on car (assuming you didn't walk,

use public transportation, Uber, etc.) any insurance you might have, time spent learning your craft and business,

promotions and advertising, or opportunity cost equations like could the time have been better spent earning greater

income to pay rent, food, utilities, interest on credit cards or loans you have outstanding.

<p>in addition to supplying memory cards, if they use a different brand of camera or memory cards, bring a computer and card reader and down load before leaving. If that student accidentally erases the card, it is your liability. Hopefully, you checked to see that they were getting satisfactory images while they were shooting. </p>

<p>This may not be helpful, but I concur with everything above. She's hiding something, and you're going to need to be fairly direct, like approaching her in person. </p>

<p>I sure hope the original poster lets us know how things turned out. Unresolved threads drive me crazy ... sort of like a power outage 10 minutes before the movie ends.</p>

<p>Ellis, some people just want the experience. Maybe OP has another job - or her spouse/parents cover the expenses. It's not always about the money. </p>

Thus the reason why I almost always shot weddings alone. The more people you have the more problems happen. Try to

learn to shoot weddings by yourself. There are exceptions where you may need 2 main shooters, but not a second shooter

or an assistant. It usually just causes your nerves to go nuts.

<p>I agree that you need to pick up the phone and call her or better yet go see her in person. Aside from possibly being a flaky, irresponsible college student, it may well be that the pictures turned out poorly and she's ashamed to admit to you that she failed. If that's the case, you need to be supportive and let her know you want to see what she has and might be able to work with the shots to make them acceptable. And also able to show her what to do next time.<br /><br />As for shooting a wedding for $180, you're insulting yourself. My ballpark is that every hour spent shooting translates into a minimum of three hours actual work by the time you factor in getting the job, preparing for the job, travel to and from the job (even if it's just down the street), shooting the job, doing to post-production work, delivering the job, collecting your money, etc. That means your approximate 8 hours spent shooting works out to 24 hours of work, or right about minimum wage. And that's before taxes, equipment costs, etc. And however much, if anything, you paid the second shooter.</p>

<p><blockquote>Ellis, some people just want the experience. Maybe OP has another job - or her spouse/parents cover the expenses. It's not always about the money.</blockquote></p>

 

<p> I hear that all the time ... <em >"I'm working super cheap for the experience, it's not about the money"</em></p>

 

<p>So, in this case, that logic is flawed. If, as you suppose, the OP is working for less than slinging hamburgers to gain experience, and the second shooter is working for even less (or nothing) to gain experience ... who has the experience to gain from?</p>

 

<p>Shoot cheap, shoot profitably .... doesn't change that clients expect results, and as evidence of this client calling insisting on more photos, they do not adjust their expectations just because you charged a pittance.</p>

 

<p>Now the OP is charged with tracking down her second shooter to get more photos that may or may not exist or be useable.</p>

<p>Whenever someone posts a question you always get someone quote ( or similar )<br>

'$180 /7.5 hours = $24.00 per hour, but that simple equation doesn't take into acount:<br>

-time spent traveling back and forth -transportation costs (fuel, etc.) - time spent downloading, processing, editing and delivery. -time spent dealing with the second shooter.' etc etc.<br>

Some people don't count these things for lots of various reasons including the love of taking photos.<br>

So don't be so pedantic and just answer her question.</p>

 

<p>Ignoring what Joe says, why worry about it for $180.00? Get on with your life and learn from the mistakes you made.</p>

<p>You are best listening to the advice from only those who actually take wedding photos. Starting up and getting in the game is worth $180 for the experience.</p>

@ ellis

And by the way how do you like shooting weddings for minimum wage or less? Is that working out for you?

how helpful of you to impose your uninvited judgment regarding what the op charged for her services. kicking a person when they're down must be quite empowering to you.

 

MODERATOR WARNING:

Ellis asked the OP a specific question as to whether or not the second shooter had been paid. It is obvious the answer to that question would provide information apropos leverage that the OP might or might not have.<br>

Notably that question remains unanswered by the OP.

Ellis's comment about 'minimum wage' was a BTW comment - he was neither being pedantic nor was Ellis kicking someone when they were down - so we shall refrain from that type of critique of other members' comments - continue the discussion of pricing - but do not ere into the arena of personal comments.

Thank you.

William Michael

<p>You are best listening to the advice from only those who actually take wedding photos. Starting up and getting in the game is worth $180 for the experience.</p>

Not only that but some weddings are actually enjoyable experiences. Normally I consider what I would be doing with my time otherwise, which is usually sitting on the couch watching netflix. $180 is better than $0.

Reminds me of a wedding reception I was at a few years ago. They put disposable cameras out on all the tables, but they weren't getting much use.

 

After some time, I started to go around and use the cameras, hopefully getting good shots. But they had a professional photographer, too.

This may not be helpful, but I concur with everything above.

Sorry if this seems wise after the event, but on the one occasion I have used a second shooter (at the bride's insistence - and I made sure she paid extra !), they used my equipment, my SDHC card, and I took the equipment back immediately after the reception.

$180 is better than $0.

 

Not if the word gets around that this is what you will shoot a wedding for.

Edited September 13, 2017 by William Michael

"$180 is better than $0."

 

Not if the word gets around that this is what you will shoot a wedding for.

 

This is the problem with a 'one-time-deal-to-get-me-started' approach. It does not stop there. The referrals that you got from this bride undoubtedly included some mention of $180 for the job. I guess that would be okay if you're a hobbyist, but it is not sustainable as a pro.

Edited September 13, 2017 by William Michael

Original post is from January, this is not likely being actively watched anymore.

I am still watching like a hawk!