rich_dutchman1

I understand what you are doing, but there are too many options. A bride will be overwhelmed. She won't know why one product is beneficial over another product, even if you have links to product descriptions. This is why brides like to meet with you -- they need your help in selecting options to create a package.

 

If you are going to do this, you might want to narrow everything to two choices (i.e., two album styles, two proofing options). I would also suggest eliminating the print option at the bottom. No one knows how many individual prints they want to order before the wedding.

 

I beleive it's most beneficial to post a starter package followed by a couple of add-on album options. The rest of the products may be showed at the consultation, and then you provide the custom package quote. Although you are trying to be consumer friendly with your form, you may be setting yourself up for price shoppers.

There are various linen papers that can be used with an inkjet -- run a search of this forum, as many brands have been mentioned in the past. I've experimented with various fine art papers, but I won't use them in an album. You can't beat the colors or tone and archival properties of real photo paper.

I used one for a few months between the D1X/D2X. The D2H works fine, and the 4MP size is ideal for weddings/events (12MP is such overkill). I had one significant problem with mine. Black tuxes in sunlight or shade would turn dark purple. This was easily fixed in RAW, but it was still annoying to see it on the JPEG previews. It can also be solved with a near-IR filter. Not everyone had this problem, but some people did so I'd recommend testing it first if you're a JPEG only shooter.

I've done it two ways, but the easiest way to start is working your photos into "real wedding" spreads.

 

Call the magaizine's editorial office (not the ad people) and ask if they take submissions for "real wedding" spreads. Regional wedding publications do this, as well as a few of the national ones. They will send you the forms. You'll need to work with the couple who's photos you are submitting because it's less about you and more about their wedding. I've never had a couple say no.

 

The easiest way to start is by visiting The Knot. You simply download the forms from their site and submit them with the photos. The Knot used publishes several "real weddings" quarterly, but I think they're on a monthly cycle now.

My experience: Graphi's customer service was great the first 18 months I used them. In 2004, I noticed a huge increase in their advertising and promotions. From that point, the service went far downhill. I had many problems, both on the US side and with the designers in Italy. Service and product quality went bust. And some of the people who had been very nice and accomodating suddenly turned quite rude. My thoughts are that they had a big jump in business without increasing staff and everyone there is overwhelmed. Or, the opposite could be true and they are facing competition from many other places.

1. Yes, many do. It's normal where I'm at.

 

2. No. It's their image, taken by them.

 

3. Doesn't matter who arranged it (i.e., The caterer doesn't own the copyright on the photos you take of their table settings.)

 

4. Still doesn't matter.

 

Shoot the wedding. Let the videographer do his job as well. It's another story if he's obtrusive and pushes you out the way. Then you need to have a polite conversation with the guy.

Maxima's Florentina albums from Albums Inc. There are no "best prices" in the album world. Good albums cost money.

Marc --

 

To answer your questions, Albums Inc. has 4x6x2 black archival boxes. Each one accomodates 125 proofs. They have deeper sizes as well to accomodate more.

 

The boxed option works best for me. I think it's more elegant than some of the proof books. My brides tell me they like to spread out the proofs on a table when selecting album prints. I used to use a proof magazine, and the album and print orders have not declined since switching back to 4x6s.

Go and introduce yourself. Take an album to show your work. Drop off the 5x7s and cards as proposed. There doesn't have to be an incentive. Just get yourself known as someone who does great work.

 

Also...

 

There is nothing wrong with being a salesman. You'll find that at least 50% of your time as a photographer will be spent on sales/marketing activities. If you can't sell, you won't be shooting too many weddings.

20mm 1/60, f/4, 800 - flash bounced off ceiling & flash comp based on ceiling height. Stand at a 45 degree to the group with a focus point on the bride.

 

This is where a good DJ comes in. He'll tell the bride to do a "fake throw" first -- just to be entertaining. It's a corny move on the DJ's part, but you will get the bouquet at the top of the throw. The second one is real, so shoot with both eyes open. When you see the girls reaching out, it means the bouquet is in front of them, so press the button.

 

You're left with two great shots.

WHCC.com. You may enter your own custom size on the order form.

I work alone. It's no problem covering everything myself and still produce 500+ proofs.

 

My experience is that second shooters and assistants cause more problems than they're worth. That said, I offer them only if a client has been conditioned by wedding magazines to believe that second shooters are necessary.

Mary -- Alwyngton & Whitehall. The latter even requires vendors to add them to their insurance policy -- something I've refused to do.

 

The best place to shoot is the Four Seasons in Georgetown. They have a private vendor dining room with its own buffet & staff, plus phones, tv, etc.

Yes. In Virginia, there are two old white confederate houses - the kind with the big pillars and wrap-around verandas. They are owned by different people, and both owners are insane. The vendors are treated horribly. They treat the couples poorly too, and it's very well known among brides -- even before they sign the contract. I've asked clients why they chose the place, and the answer it that the location is so beautiful they're willing to deal with it. Go figure. At least the owner's actions have given me a lot of stories to share with DJs at dinner.

Local wedding assistant needed starting at 2 p.m., Friday, Sept 15. E-mail me

directly if you're available (please don't post here): Rich@RichDutchman.com.

This is for assisting only (no second shooting or portfolio building).

 

Thank you.

There's a calculator for editorial work at the Editorial Photographer's web site. It might help out, but I've never checked for book covers.

 

There's also the fotoquote software, which is an industry standard for this type of thing.

 

The statement "it might get picked up by a top book seller" makes it sound to me like she is self-publishing and would be put off by the several thousand dollar figure that this resources would likely recommend you charge.

I convert them to sRGB for the couple. All minilabs and consumer level editing software defaults to sRGB. They'll just end up printing yellow prints if you give them Adobe 1998.

The National Park Service just started this crap too. Considering practically every piece of park land in DC is NPS owned, it has implications for me. Honestly, for 20+ shoots I've done on park land this spring, I didn't apply for a single piece of paperwork. I tell everyone to protest it.

 

Here's the thing -- Wedding photographs/Engagement Portraits are NOT a commercial shoot. The couple is a resident of the country who shares in the ownership of public land. They are sharing the land with every other tourist who take photographs of themselves.

 

Additionally, they make less of a footprint than tourists. I have never seen a couple show up in a line of oversized tour buses that dump off hundreds of people a day at the Tidal Basin who then proceed to trample the cherry blossom roots and suffocate the trees (several hundred trees have died from this).

 

Why do they need the money? To build roads of course. The NPS and National Forest Service are the largest employers of road engingeers. Instead of protecting a national asset, they go in a pave right through it. Go figure.

The D2H does everything very fast - focusing, writing, etc. And it's built to survive a war. Image noise is a huge problem -- It's really bad above 400. I used to get a lot of weird colors. Nikon recommended using near IR filter -- somthing that hadn't been needed since the earliest digital SLRs. Needless to say, I got rid of mine after 90 days of headaches.

 

I've been using the D2X and recently added the D200. So far so good. The images are *slightly* cleaner than the D2X and far, far superior to the D2H. The D200 focuses very fast, espeically with AF-S lenses. Sure, it's slightly slower than the D2s, but I was surprised how fast it actually works. Body is solid -- much better than the D100.

 

So, my recommendation is the D200 over the D2H.

Just send them the highest level JPEG your camera creates, or the highest level TIF from RAW with no interpolation.

 

Don't worry about color corrections. Graphi will destroy any good work you do. If this is your first album, and they are designing your book, then get ready for am unpleasant surprise when you open your first PDF -- their designers simply have no taste.

That should be $30-$40K.

It seems accurate for DC-NYC-Boston, where I do most of my work. Most of our couples are spending $60-100K. It did seem high for my hometown in the midwest ($51K), where most weddings top out at $30-$40.

http://costofwedding.com/

 

Type in a zip code to get the average spent on a wedding in that area. It also

breaks down the average spent on each item. Doesn't include every zip, so you

might have to use neighboring codes.

 

It seems pretty accurate for the areas I work. How about for you?

Dan --

 

I only use the umbrellas for indoor formals -- mostly when forced to do altar shots. Pretty straightforward setup: Generally two SB800s on stands with umbrellas on either side of the groups at the standard 45 degree angle. I used to trigger one with an SC-17 cord (actually, two clipped together for extra length). Using PWs now.

 

I have additional 800s for more complex setups, but I would recommend starting with the above if you choose that route. A pair of 800s also come in hand for creative fill outdoors.

You can't go wrong with Alien Bees. Great product and great price, whether buying new or used. The company's service and support is outstanding.

 

That said, I don't use monolights anymore. A couple SB800s (or the Canon equivalent) and small are powerful enough to bounce out of umbrellas and light up the group, and I already carry them anyways. Something to consuider.