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gerald_donnelly

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Posts posted by gerald_donnelly

    On site Printing

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    I offer it as an option and I have had some clients request this. I look at it as part of a service. I use a HiTi subdye printer. I used a Canon inkjet one time & the drying time for prints was a real pain. I put each print in a folio & the prints have to be dry to do this. The whole process does take a couple of extra people. One to take the photos & 1 to run the laptop & printer. After doing this a few times I put a time limit on the photos. For instance maybe 2 hours of photos. This will give the person running the laptop & printer time to get the printing done. It does take of time. If I were going to do this alot I would get one of the real fast sub dye printers

    How far do you Travel for a Meeting?

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    I used to make house calls & don't anymore. If they're interested they will come to see me. I always explain that I have too much to carry around & I do. I've got several album styles and framed portraits. I've gotten burned by brides standing me up after I made a trip to see them, so I just don't do it anymore. Like others have said I get quite a few couples book me over the phone. Quite frankly I would like most or all to book over the phone or via email. I'm kind of tired of the "tire kickers" and the brides who want everything & don't want to pay for it. I had a couple in last week & she wanted 16 to 18 hours of coverage & wanted to pay a very low rate. Needless to say I don't actively pursue those kinds of clients.I get a little cranky every once in awhile so please forgive my rant.

    Bay Photo Flush Mount Albums

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    I just got 2, a Destiny and a Kingston. The Destiny seems to be pretty good, the Kingston came with the wrong photo on the cover-really wrong as in it wan't even one of my photos. They're having it done over again at no charge. Blair, in customer service told me that they send the Kingston out to Albums unlimited & I've heard that Albums unlimited does tend to make their share of mistakes. You might want to look at candid2000.com also for albums. They revamped their templates. In my experience candid2000 is faster than Bayphoto.

    Clients standing you up

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    I used to go and meet potential clients but don't anymore. I've had people stand me up after I drove to meet them-one time in a not so nice part of town. Now I ask them to meet me in my home office, that way if I get stood up I'm at home & can be doing something else. I had a potential client stand me up last night, but I was able to work on other stuff. I asked the last client that asked me to drive to her place "If you like what you see are you ready to hire me" She said she was still shopping & not ready to commit. Needless to say I didn't drive to her. It just seems that some people today can be real rude. If asked for a reason why I don't do house calls, I always say I have too much to carry & I do. I have several albums & framed photos that would be too much to carry around. That's just me & the way I do business. Whatever works for you-go for it.

    My first couple wants a contract.

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    Yes you really do need a contract & you also should spend some money & have a lawyer look it over to make sure that you are protected. Laws vary from state to state. A generic form that you can pull off of a wesite may not address your state's specific law(s). Paying a lawyer to make sure you've got a valid contract is very cheap insurance.

    selling prints at the reception

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    I do it occasionally. I take an assistant preferably 2 for this. We set up a background in a corner & ask the DJ to announce that we're offering photos. We will only do photos like this for a specific time period, otherwise it gets too confusing. Once the portraits have been take we print them up on a HITI printer & put them in folios, so the couple can pick them up. We always take the money up front prior to taking the photo & offer refunds if the people don't like the photo. We've very seldom had people request refunds. I would never do this without the consent of the bride & groom and I usually give them a percentage of what we take in. Some couples like this idea & some don't. They are either hot or cold on this. I have had brides request this service. With all the costs involved I really don't think it's a real money maker.

    Credit Card Payments

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    I use Card Service Intl & accept Visa, Mastercard & Discover. I used to do American Express but I dropped it because I only had 1 sale in 2 years. Alot of people are using debit cards & it works out well to be able to accept them.

    Printer for prints on night

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    I do it occassionally. I use a HITI printer. It takes a couple more people. 1 person to shoot & take money-if you sell on site & another to print photos. It can get kind of confusing passing cards back & forth. I've found the best way to do it is to set stict ground rules as to the time for shooting-say 2 hours. At the end of the time start printing. My printer will print faster when it's hooked up to a laptop. I've ound it's more of a novelty & gives me something to offer that other photogs may not.
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