ryan_scoffield

<p>I would definitely recommend seeing Lake Powell while you are there. Take a tour boat trip up to Rainbow Bridge; you will be amazed, I guarantee it. I've been going there all my life and it never ceases to amaze me.</p>

<p>This is by no means a comprehensive answer, but here are a few things to consider:</p>

<ul>

<li>I've found you cannot be a wedding photographer and a wedding guest at the same wedding. In other words, it will be hard to spend time with all of your family that will be at the wedding, while being the sole, designated photographer. You can try to do both, but trust me, it's extremely difficult, and I doubt you'll be pleased with your results on both ends. You really can only be the photographer, or the guest--not both. </li>

<li>If things don't go too well--i.e. you do not meet your niece's and/or her family's expecations--it may put a strain on your relationship with your relatives. I've never really liked doing business with or big favors for family; differing expectations between parties can lead to large clashes and you may damage relationships, or go through an awful lot of work to save them. </li>

<li>I've learned that many of my wedding clients are not picky at all before you take the pictures, but after the pictures are taken, they become very picky. Your niece may think you'll do a great job, but her tastes may suddenly change after she sees your wedding photos. I'm not saying you won't do well, but my clients' tastes have been very fickle at times, and I've given them exactly what they said they wanted before the shoot, only to have them later say they wanted something different--after the shoot. This could lead to problems with meeting expecations as discussed above. </li>

</ul>

<p>If it were me, I would refer her to a professional photographer. I would ask her to find a photographer that would let you shoot as much as you want during the wedding (Many pros really don't mind at all). You could also offer to shoot their engagement and bridal portraits. You could even offer to shoot their formals on a different day so they can have both your pics and the professionals.</p>

<p>I'm a little pessimistic about this subject, mainly because I don't like doing business with family and friends. When you do that, you have to manage both the professional relationship and your personal relationship with them--that can be tricky and/or difficult at times.</p>

<p>However, you know the situation best, so you're much more capable than I am of making the right decision. If you do decide to do it, practice a lot, and if you can, I would try to do a couple of weddings for free, or at least try to find a professional who will let you shadow him/her for a few weddings--it can really help.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>I took a negotiations class in grad school and learned that the key to succeeding in negotations is to create value. In other words, find some way to make this a profitable agreement for both parties.</p>

<p>An application of this may be to offer some free prints in exchange for rights to use a certain amount of their photos for your advertising. Or you could offer a discount on a wedding album (if you offer one), or provide some other service for free or deeply discounted. I think you get the idea. If you offer them something out of it, they may find it worthwhile to give you rights to advertise with some of their pictures.</p>

<p>Also, I would ask them why they don't want the pictures used for advertising. It could just be a silly misunderstanding that a little communication would easily clear up. Then again, maybe not, but it's still worth asking.</p>

<p>It may be too late to apply this advice to this client, but it may come in handy in the future. I hope this helps.</p>

<p>I usually educate my clients about the fact that good images need good lighting and also time to spend working with them. I recommend doing the formals on a different day. I prefer to do them before the wedding--days or even weeks before. That's something that is becoming a little more commonplace in Utah. If people don't want to see each other in their wedding attire before they get married, I suggest doing formals sometime after the wedding. I simply tell them that they will get more phenomenal images if we have more time and good lighting, and that time and schedule constraints on wedding days usually don't allow for this. <br>

I of course give people the option of doing formals on their wedding day, and tell them that it will be no problem making it work and getting good images. I just inform them that if they want a variety and large quantity of great images, it's best to do it on a different day. <br>

Some people like the idea, others don't; I leave the decision up to them. I prefer to do the formals on a different day, and as a small encouragement to do this, I tell clients that I'll do the shoot on a different day at no extra charge--I just reduce the amount of time out of their wedding day package that will be used doing the formals. </p>

<p>I usually educate my clients about the fact that good images need good lighting and also time to spend working with them. I recommend doing the formals on a different day. I prefer to do them before the wedding--days or even weeks before. That's something that is becoming a little more commonplace in Utah. If people don't want to see each other in their wedding attire before they get married, I suggest doing formals sometime after the wedding. I simply tell them that they will get more phenomenal images if we have more time and good lighting, and that time and schedule constraints on wedding days usually don't allow for this. <br>

I of course give people the option of doing formals on their wedding day, and tell them that it will be no problem making it work and getting good images. I just inform them that if they want a variety and large quantity of great images, it's best to do it on a different day. <br>

Some people like the idea, others don't; I leave the decision up to them. I prefer to do the formals on a different day, and as a small encouragement to do this, I tell clients that I'll do the shoot on a different day at no extra charge--I just reduce the amount of time out of their wedding day package that will be used doing the formals. </p>

<p>Steve C. would you be willing to send me a copy of those pdf files as well? I am fairly new to photography, and would like to see your experienced perspective to this. Thanks.</p>

Thanks for the information.

Does anyone know of some good locations to take portraits, engagement, and bridal pictures in Utah? I would love to

know of places in Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah County (Ogden to Provo). If it's not too much trouble, could you

please give a quick description of the location as well? Thanks in advance.

You can adjust how the links are underlined very simply. Just go into page properties of an open page you're designing (in Dreamweaver CS3 it is at the bottom of the page where you adjust font properties, table properties, etc.), click on the links tab, and there is a drop down box that allows you to change how your links are underlined.