freya_jensen Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>I am having a dilema. I have been asked through a friend of a friend to shoot their wedding as they don't have any much money and need to only spend about £500 tops.<br> I just don't know whether to say its my first shoot if they ask how many i have done? I feel confident, I think I can pull it off and I know I have as much contingency as I can think of. But still... does one lie? or just show the portfolio of other portraits etc - I have a good 25 shoots of families but no weddings as yet.<br> What do you think and what did you do?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty_lowrey Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>Don't lie.<br> When I shot my 1st wedding alone I told them upfront. I charged them a pauper's fee ($250) and they were well aware I had never done it alone before. The wedding turned out well, but I would never lie about your experience. They deserve to know up front what they're getting.<br> Everyone has their "first time"....once you get through it and move on it gets easier.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpjoell3 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>You have to be honest. The couple will appreciate the fact that you are willing to capture their event and save them a little cash. I did my first few wedding for free until I built a portfolio that represented my style and quality. I appreciate the clients who gave me that opportunity. Everyone must start somewhere. If you charge, then the expectations will be high and you will be pressured to produce. If you think that you can pull it off, then tell the couple that you are committed to providing them the best you can do and hope that they still trust you to capture probably the most important photos of their lives. Good luck!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>"don't lie" "You have to be honest.'<br> I absolutely agree. Clients find these things out. Once trust in a relationship is gone , mistrust slides into that vacancy and never can be rooted out.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebell Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>Did they decide to hire you for 500 quid based on not seeing any of your shots? No wedding shots? You're (potentially) in way too deep and you should be charging cost only, preferably zilch and doing it to gain experience if that is what you want to get into. Could you list the camera gear you plan to use? There are so many aspects of wedding photography you need to be competent at, as a minimum, before the creative side can even kick in. If you take £500 off a couple and produce garbage, you may end up in the garbage....</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve m smith Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>Do you tell your passengers it's you first day flying the plane or driving the bus? Or the house owner that it's your first time doing a house re-wire?</p> <p>I would say no.... But only if you are fully confident that you have the competence to do a good job.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weddings1 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>Tell the truth...Next time you can say you have shot 2 weddings and so on</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengt_rehn Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>Its about honesty and moral. You cant make up for misstakes afterwards. The couple have to know what they are paying for. They are taking a risk by hiring you and they deserves to know that.<br> I took very little charge at my first wedding and by time I charged more and more, but I did always tell about my experience and still do.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roseberry guitars Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>"Truth can never come back later to bite you in the butt". "Tell the truth, it's easier to keep the story straight"...Lessons my father taught me.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherijohnson Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>on something like this, I think it is good to not lie about it. now if they didn't ask you, you would be okay to not volunteer the information, but I would think they would ask you about your experience.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freya_jensen Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>You are all so right, I hated the advice I was given about telling little white lies.. so I shall absolutely tell them and keep costs to basic expenses and producing any prints..<br> The couple just thought thats what they had to pay and I haven't confirmed back yet as I wanted to write up a basic T & C contract with them based on it being my first wedding (and being good practice of course)<br> Thanks for your feedback... and yes, its too much hard work lying!<br> In my bag:<br> D700<br> 24-70mm<br> 50mm 1.4<br> 16-35mm<br> SB800 x2<br> D80 as back up (i know! but I need to earn some cash to get a better back up)<br> monopod<br> lots of flash cards!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprouty Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p><a href="http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00S1vI">http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00S1vI</a><br> Well worth the time...</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedding-photography-denver Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>I would tell them its your first, and also that you want them to know you may or may not produce the goods. CYA.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric merrill Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>I would absolutely tell them it's my first. If they haven't asked, I would volunteer that information. If they are no comfortable with your level of experience, wouldn't you rather know that now than later?</p> <p>Eric</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Taylor Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>Yes, they do.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_hardy1 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>Tell them, people get sued over here for bad wedding photos. Then it comes out that it's your first wedding and they didn't know?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hassy501 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 <p>"flying a plane or driving a bus ", LOL, that's priceless. Totally relevant.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipward Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 <p>Tell them the truth and charge accordingly.Before I shot my first wedding I assisted a well established wedding photographer for free and attended workshops.This I found invaluable.Even with this I found my first solo wedding stressful even though it turned out to be a success.Ask a local wedding photog.whose style you like if you can assist them for a few weddings.Most will be most happy to have someone to carry their gear.Some may even let you shoot over their shoulder.Your camera is fine but I would strongly advise you to have a backup flash mounted on the second body and ready to go.Relax and good luck.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorish Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 <p>I don't have any experience as a wedding photographer, but I *do* have experience with other first jobs as a freelancer. What I did was make a global estimation of my costs, and (since I trust the people hiring me) told them that that was my minumum fee, which wouldn't make me any money. The rest (in your case $500 -/- your costs) was to be mine if they were satisfied about the job I did. I think this is called 'no cure, no pay'?<br> I did it like this, because, when I'm hiring people, I like to pay them as well. Ok, I won't go as far as to say I *like* paying money, but I like to treat people the way I want to be treated.</p> <p>My advice: be honest, give them complete insight in your costs, and ask for your 'salary' as a satisfaction bonus. Oh, and an extra tip; if you know what you're going to charge once you're a true pro; put that on the bill, and put the difference between that and the $500 as a beginners discount or something. So if they show it to other prospective customers, they see what you *could* charge.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funtak Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 <p>You can first shoot others peoples wedding for free, see what you have got, analyse your faults or shortcomings. I have done the same; 2 pro's were shooting the ceremony, one with video-camera, the other with photo-camera, I was trying not to be on their way - but I took few shots. To be honest - those were not good, I have set the flash-light on wrong position/angle , I chose wrong ISO, forgot the AI focus and so on... Maybe I had to choose P or Auto option instead of M, but I thought RAW is better. Anyway, if you do so, it won't be you first wedding, but tell the people the truth, talk to them, find out what is important to them, what do they expect, do some recon to the place od action, make a plan, decide what lens to use, fast prime or zoom..</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_hitchen Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 <p>Tell them up front. You have mutual friends and that can always be an awkward situation.<br> You could charge nominal amount for the job to cover expenses plus a very smalll fee - the reason I say that is that it turns it from a favour into a paid job. If money changes hands and quality is not what they expect then arguments are more about a 'professional' service and less a personal one. I favour Joris's suggestion of a proper fee being based on satisfaction.</p> <p>Good luck.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndt_photo Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 <p>Honesty will protect you when a shot or two or twenty end up looking very amateurish.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve m smith Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 <blockquote> <p>"flying a plane or driving a bus ", LOL, that's priceless. Totally relevant.</p> </blockquote> <p>I assume that's a sarcastic 'Totally relevant'.</p> <p>Yes, they are extreme examples but my view is that whatever you do, if you are doing it professionally then you should be confident and competent. Therefore why would you need to tell anyone it's your first time?<br> Think of this in terms of any occupation, not just photography.</p> <p> </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 <p>Freya, everyone has their "first". Why would you lie about it? What would you do if they asked to see some wedding shots if you told them you had done a wedding before?</p> <p>If you feel relatively confident you can do a good job for them, then present any current non-wedding work with that sense confidence. </p> <p>Do NOT do it for Free! Some people seem to think that doing something for free absolves them from responsibility. Embrace the responsibility and charge them the full rate they are willing to pay ... trust me, you will earn it. </p> <p>Advice:</p> <p>• practice shooting moving people. Practice using the Live View on your D700. Practice using the enlargement feature to check focus when shooting the formals. </p> <p>• MOST of all, go to the rehearsal so you are familiar with the conditions you'll be shooting in AND you'll learn who the VIPs are. Take your camera/flash with you for some practice shots. See if you can attend the rehersal dinner if there is one, it's good practice for shooting a reception.</p> <p>• Get an itinerary from the Bride at least a week prior so you'll already know the flow of the wedding. Familiarity helps reduce surprizes and anxiety and allows you to concentrate on shooting.</p> <p>Your gear bag is well stocked ... but you may want to beg/borrow/rent a longer lens (and a tripod if the church is dark). Make sure you have spare batteries for both cameras and both SB800 flashes. Also, do you have a bounce card to diffuse the flash?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_james1 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 <p>HI Freya.<br> I agree with Mark,Preparation is absolutly vital,prepare a list of must do pictures request from the bride and groom any specials they require make a note of these and place them on your list,your assistant -normally your wife or partner-will quote the shots to do in the sequence as you have listed them,this method allows you to concentrate on all things camera.<br> There are some excellent books about regarding posing ,try the set ups with your partener ,standing .posture,get used to this type of rapport,<br> Some people are naturally at ease ,and confident on a wedding shoot,this normally stems from<br> good preparation prior to the event,so go out there and knock em dead,<br> All the very best for your first<br> Dave</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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