the $500 wedding photographer, some actual evidence

[shawn_brandow]

<p>Matthew, next time you're in town definitely look me up and we'll go on a shoot together :-) Sorry about the image of myself... just posted that so people knew it was the real me ;-)</p>

 

[john schroeder]

<p>"I did a formal wedding for two pieces of wedding cake and a dance with the bride. The husband was leaving for Iraq three days later."<br>

Bravo! A true "professional" if I have ever seen one.</p>

[les]

<p>Kind of off-topic - but it always interested me why people pay so much attention to having excellent pictures of a wedding ?<br /> Sure, a good picture is a good picture - and without any doubt I prefer to look at a good pic rather than a bad one - if I have a choice.</p>

<p>But, considering how many marriages end soon after the initial celebrations - maybe it is not such a good idea to invest $$$ to document an event, which, statistically, has about even chance of ending badly.<br /> I do not have any pictures of my wedding - in fact there wasn't any wedding at all, since we could not afford it, let alone pay a photographer. Still - we are together after 35 years and intend to continue. I am not saying that paying $5K for wedding photography is a big NO-NO, but maybe it is not such a good idea to start one's marriage with a rather large financial burden ?<br>

<br /> So, maybe $500 wedding photography is not such a bad idea after all...</p>

<p>The really important stuff happens much later and lasts longer (if you are lucky).</p>

[steve_hovland]

<p>There are also a lot of people who are charging $5,000 and thinking they are doing well. <br>

How many times have they shot $100,000 weddings where the bride should have been investing $10,000 in photography?<br>

I think photographers should throw away their package pricing and just quote 10% of budget a la carte.<br>

If the budget was $5,000 I'd shoot for $500 and just put the pictures on smugmug.</p>

[mcmanamey]

<p>Leszek: I'm sure it's part of the princess syndrome and possibly part of wanting to be celebrity. <br>

A "perfect" wedding demands "perfect" pictures in the mind of a bride who is determined there will be a perfect day.<br>

Then, there's the desire to look like a princess (or at least a bridal mag ad), and be able to see it forever.</p>

[rt_jones]

<p><strong><em>But, considering how many marriages end soon after the initial celebrations - maybe it is not such a good idea to invest $$$ to document an event, which, statistically, has about even chance of ending badly.</em></strong></p>

<p>Now here's a new one. Don't spend much on your wedding because statistically speaking, it won't last. :)</p>

[Mike Howard]

<p>Actually, that's not a new one. It's why I quit shooting weddings 15 years ago and am loath to get back in it today. My last 3 weddings all had whiny, spoiled little b***h brides. All three were divorced within 2 years. I had celebratory drinks with the groom of one...</p>

[ShowLowTJ]

<p><em>"I am laughing so hard at all this, it happens in all businesses, get over it. I am a cabinet maker by trade, you wanna know how many fireman are cabinet makers too? I bet there are fireman photographers too. That group seems to have all the time in the world to devalue others occupations."</em><br>

<em><br /> </em><br>

Most of the living room and bedroom furniture in our home I made myself. I can post some pictures of it, if you want to judge its "quality." It will be easy to do, because I'm a pretty good photographer too.</p>

<p>Before I retired I was a truck driver most of my life. Truck driver, photographer, furniture maker. Then, after earning a pension, I went to work in a pro color lab. That's right, I was a "pro" lab monkey. I saw weddings coming from "pros" that would bring your breakfast up. One guy shot 25 or 30 rolls of film on every wedding, with most poses done 4 or 5 times, just to be sure he got one good one. And he was <strong>not</strong> just starting out. Are these the guys we're supposed to be worshiping here?</p>

<p>Put your attitudes on hold, folks. We're all in this together.</p>

[ash_laidlaw]

<p>The arrogance is impressive. The <em>vast</em> majority of wedding photos I've seen are pretty average. Not bad, but stuff for which I wouldn't care to pay more than $500-$1,000.<em> </em>And from people charging $2,000 or more. It's quite stunning what marketing, equipment, and that "professional" attitude can get you, while the actual substance somehow falls aside.</p>

<p>That said, I have seen some absolutely <em>stunning</em> wedding photos, although I'm not sure what those photographers charged. Too many weddings photos are so mundane (a silhouette on a beach sunset! the shadow of a heart from the ring! the couple kissing under a cherry blossom! over-editing!).</p>

<p>Get over yourselves. If you can't compete with a $500 wedding photographer, perhaps you're only worth $250.</p>

<p>EDIT: I'm not entirely serious.</p>

[rauber]

<p>Since when does a bride who can't afford $5,000 to $10,000 for a photographer not be privleged to have her dreams come true on paper or in coffee table photo album?<br>

This is the snobbery of Wedding Photographers. You would NEVER lower yourself to photograph the dream of a bride who can't afford more than $500. You're Snobs, admit it. You contend, Only the filthy rich should have their dreams on paper and in a coffee table album, not the poor and downtrodden.</p>

[neilambrose]

<blockquote>

<p>This is the snobbery of Wedding Photographers...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>No. This is a reflection of a small and fairly unrepresentative group. If you read the post top to bottom you'll see that around 90% of respondents (most of whom are wedding photographers) have been very supportive of weddings with smaller budgets. One or two have even mentioned shooting them for wedding cake, for beer or for free, I notice.</p>

<p> </p>

[William Michael]

<p>It is interesting reading the comments re” "Arrogance", "Snobbery" and "Attitudes" from the last three or four contributions . . .</p>

<p>Like Neil, I have read this thread from top to bottom (and also previous commented on it)</p>

<p>I see very little "arrogance" "snobbery" or "attitudes which need to be put on hold" . . . but rather there is only a small pocket of comments here or there which is taking an extreme view and lambasting the client who wants only to pay a small amount for a Wedding Coverage, or equally castigating the Photographer who supplies that Service.</p>

<p>Fortunately is seems that (so far after 30 odd years doing this stuff) my customer base is a bit more relaxed and perhaps wider visioned than what it appears the authors of those last few contributions seem to be. . . maybe I am just lucky that I don’t deal with extremists who might cherry-pick one or two examples to inflame issues . . . I don't know.</p>

<p>I do know for a fact that, on this thread, having just scanned the names of the many Wedding Photographers who have made positive / supportive comments toward Shawn's endeavours . . . many are NOT $500 dollar Coverage folk.</p>

<p>Moreover, as another interesting fact many of those Professional Wedding Photographers, shoot some gigs Pro Bono, or give one on one support / training to new shooters . . . or both.</p>

<p>***</p>

<p>So IMO any comments about of: " Arrogance", "Attitudes" and "Snobbery" as a balnket comment of <em><strong>Professional</strong></em> Wedding Photographers - are just as extreme as the premise of the original posting of this thread - and all of that, is enough to bring my Breakfast up.<br /><br />WW</p>

[savagesax]

You have to wonder if fellow photographers are a bit angry and frustrated that couples are OK with hiring someone from craigslist. When a couple is suffering from hard times and they call me with a some amount of money set aside for their wedding I will book it. If I'm not busy I'll shoot the wedding. If I'm booked I will ask another photographer, a pro photographer to shoot it. I may not make any money, but the other photographer will.

 

Some of my favorite weddings have been the backyard low budget weddings, because the weddings have a more carefree, easy going feel. The food may be from a BBQ place down the road, or even food from a local sub shop. I've had so much fun at these I almost felt guilty charging them.

 

One of my biggest clients came from craigslist. It was a golfing event for the Southern California 7-11 store owners. Not only do I shoot their golf events every year, but I also photograph their holiday parties. I've had this client for 4 years now.

[steve_hovland]

<p>If they can ask our price, we can ask their budget.<br>

If they answer, suggest 10%, whatever it is. If it's a lot of money, add products.<br>

If they don't answer, consider quoting them somewhat high and don't worry if they go elsewhere.<br>

There's a commercial guy in Oakland who presented at PPGBA a couple of years ago. He said that his basic approach was to ask their budget and then tell them what he could do for that. One time the caller was Hewlett Packard and the budget was $100,000.</p>

[steven_crist]

<p>People come from all different economic levels and have differing values as well. I remember shooting a wedding maybe 25 years ago and the parents of the bride paid my fee. They ordered my minimum package, ordered zero options, but hired 3 bartenders and had a liquor bill of over $5000 (25 years ago)! They were a family of means but had a different outlook on life. Different strokes as the saying goes.</p>

[Dave Gardner]

<p>I only read two posts that interests me...Marc Williams and Jeff Spirer....good for you guys. It's nice to see there are still people with 'class/style'.... I tip my hat to you both for standing up and being counted....and standing for the feelings of others.</p>

<p>Dave.</p>

[ken_max__parks]

<p>The $500 wedding shoot is nothing more than a hook to introduce the better wedding sessions. For $500, the Bride and Groom get a photographer and a DVD of all the original digital images... nothing more. When they see the other sessions include albums and enhanced images, they don't want the cheap package, rather they select a better package which includes B&G and parent albums... and at a cost much more than the $500.</p>

<p>Some people who have commented in this forum are not real wedding photographers. They may have been an assistant to one or two weddings... nothing more. And they think they are know-it-alls. They even brag about their photographic abilities, inclusive of admitting that they are a members of Professional Photographers of America (PPA). It doesn't take too much to do a <strong>"Find a Photographer"</strong> search within the PPA website and determine that their membership was only delusions of grandeur.</p>

<p>For those who comment under these conditions, they have little to offer in advice; it's crapolla!</p>

[kris-bochenek]

<p>It's a personal preference as to how much money they want to spend on a photog. Person I know told me once that they would never spend more than $500 for a photographer because it's just pictures "click click and done" So it's all up to the couple, some care about photos some don't they even care less if the service was done for free like some on CL offer. "Nothing done for free is apprecited because it has no value to the recipent, it also shows a lack of respect for yourself"- Fellow Pnet memeber.</p>