duanelokitis

<p>Wow! I forgot about this thread! I want to thank you ALL, each and every one of you for your support. I think I needed to vent as badly as I needed your support!<br /><br />In the days leading up to the event, I met with the Groom several times at work and even saw the bride again before the big day. I was showing the groom some photos I took during their engagement session that I cropped and was using as a custom business-card/party favor for their event. It was one of their images, nice and close, but in black and white. He literally did a double-take on the sample and couldn't stop smiling. He took the sample home and called me that night. The bride-to-be loved it.<br /><br /><br />Wedding Day...<br /><br />My wife and I have shot many events together. She knows my style and has also learned some great techniques along the way, while incorporating a bit of her own style in her photographs, so we make a great team. She took to the 16-35, so she had a great time taking photos all night with the ability to get up-close and personal, without presenting that in the images... because of the wide angle, there were full-body shots-a-plenty!<br /><br />I was a good boy and took all of the shots the Bride requested, but would follow up with a shot of my own throughout the day. I showed her a couple of "extreme" close-up shots that were just too good to pass up! She fell in LOVE with the way they looked and took my camera from me to show a few of them off to her girls that were getting ready. She came back in the room with a smile on her face and told me she trusted my judgement and basically let me do my job. At the end of the night, I stayed an extra 2 hours and even got myself a rather large tip!<br /><br />About a week later, when I uploaded the photos and let her see the proofs, she had MANY retouch requests... mostly for her mom. I think I removed so many wrinkles over the next few days that I could hardly tell the difference between a feature and a wrinkle any more! HA! In the end, the Bride was so pleased with the results that I earned yet another large tip when I delivered the photos the week after.<br /><br />The best way I can explain it? The Bride was just nervous in the weeks and days leading up to the wedding and had gone a little over-board on the "planning" of her event. Once the venue she selected provided her with a wedding planner, things started running smoothly. They spent a lot of money for their special day (wedding was in Malibu, up in the hills)... I think she was just feeling overwhelmed by the number of things she was trying to wrap her arms around and I was feeling the pressure too!<br /><br />Funny how some of the events we anticipate being the bad ones turn out being some of the very best!<br /><br />Thanks again for your support!<br /><br />(and sorry it took so long for the update)<br /><br /><br>

Duane</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your comments. If nothing else, they help validate the thoughts that were running through my mind and make me realize that I am not alone.</p>

<p>That being said... you are all correct.</p>

<p>The Bride is a co-workers fiance. He has seen my work in person, on the Internet and has heard about me from others who have talked about their experiences - all positive feedback, I might add.</p>

<p>We discussed their event at length and what my services would entail. I must admit, I gave them a great price based on my relationship with the Groom - and it seems to be coming back to bite me.</p>

<p>We came to an agreement, which was modified far beyond anything I have or should ever give to anyone. The package DID include an Engagement session, which was taken a few weeks ago. I went through the entire session and made my cuts, color corrections and even a few artistic renditions of some of the best photos. 1&1 was giving me some trouble uploading (at least with Dreamweaver), so I used Lightroom to upload straight to the FTP server. In doing this, ALL of the photos made it to the site - even the rejects!</p>

<p>As luck would have it, the Bride selected a photo from the "rejected" batch and asked for a Photoshop intervention. After completing the requested modifications and printing an enlargement for their sign-in board, the Bride had a few "requests" that I mentioned above. She indicated that, in the Engagement photos, there were some shots where body parts were cut-off, they didn't like pictures of their profiles, and they also do not like close-ups.</p>

<p>Had I uploaded only the content I wanted them to see (my mistake), she wouldn't have seen any of the shots I was using for white balance or in looking for better composition. The photo she chose was a good one, but was a hair out-of-focus. The previous shot and following shot did not capture the same emotion as the one she chose, so I did my best and it turned out just fine.</p>

<p>Daniel, you are very insightful. It was, however, the Engagement session that prompted her "requests". I firmly believe that, had she saw only the cream-of-the-crop, she would still feel the same way about their profiles, close-ups and chopped parts!</p>

<p>I am learning over the years that our love for photography is often our curse. As much as I want to say: "that's it, no more weddings for me!", I just can't pass up an opportunity to capture a great moment on "film".</p>

<p>I am shooting their wedding soon and will update this post with the results.</p>

<p>Thanks again for your feedback... I knew I could count on you all to help me through this! :)</p>

<p>...to be read: "restrictions". I've shot many events and have yet to be given "restrictions" by the bride... until now. I have been asked not to take any profile shots, not to cut off any body parts in the photos and not to zoom-in for photos. Now, I understand that some people may not like to see themselves in pictures, but I cannot understand why you would want to limit your photographer? My feeling is that you are trusting the photographer to make good artistic decisions when taking photos at your event, and limiting the artistic ability of the photographer might result in precious moments lost (due to these restrictions). What restrictions have you been given by Brides and how did you handle them? What was the result?</p>