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dave_thomas10

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Posts posted by dave_thomas10

    Should this be taken any farther? Is it worth it?

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    1. Who cares.

     

    2. Who cares.

     

    3. You are not sponsoring the event. You do not get to choose the music. You do not get to control who

    attends. You do not control the budget. You certainly do not control who takes photos at said event and

    where/when they post them.

     

    4. Your kindness doesn't promote weakness - the fact that you are so threatened by John/Jane Doe

    wannabe photographer does.

    Low Bidders Putting Pros Out of Business !

    in Business of Photography

    Posted

    <p>I guess "Professionals" are those that embrace EXCUSES - and not solutions. When in reality it couldn't be further from the truth. </p>

    <p>As Steve said: You refer to low-bidders as unprofessional - then you yourself accept the job at a discounted rate. </p>

    <p>Personally I can't wait to send out one of my video shooters the next time a photography gig arises! Preferably one with absolutely ZERO experience!</p>

    Low Bidders Putting Pros Out of Business !

    in Business of Photography

    Posted

    <p>I guess "Professionals" are those that embrace EXCUSES - and not solutions. When in reality it couldn't be further from the truth. </p>

    <p>As Steve said: You refer to low-bidders as unprofessional - then you yourself accept the job at a discounted rate. </p>

    <p>Personally I can't wait to send out one of my video shooters the next time a photography gig arises! Preferably one with absolutely ZERO experience!</p>

    Is it getting too impersonal?

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <p>Your soup analogy is a good one. A restaurant or bar looses money on soup. Its a loss-leader. Its sole purpose is to keep you in your seat longer - the longer your length of stay - the more $$$ you are likely to spend. To that business you would pretty much be the worst possible customer if you occupied a seat that is worth X-Amount to them and only purchased the bare minimum. Again the amount of time it takes to make even the cheapest can of soup pales in comparison to the revenue that business looses just by having you sit there. </p>

    <p>The fact that some of you are even going out of your way to attract these customers - some even spending thousands of dollars a year on advertising to reach them is beyond laughable. </p>

    <p> </p>

    Is it getting too impersonal?

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <p>Yes same price Wendy. I'm only able to do X number of jobs per year. Those dates have to be worth X-amount. <br>

    When I was in a position where I had to take every job on that came my way - I would still stay as long as I felt it required to accomplish my goal of producing the best possible results regardless of what the client was willing to pay. When your hungry and inexperienced this has to be your modus operandi. At the end of the day the actual amount of hours you log in during a typical wedding day shoot is so minuscule in comparison to the contributions you make on an annual basis to your business and craft that its barely worth factoring in. Give yourself the best opportunity to succeed every time you take your camera out. Every job is SO important to the long term viability of your business. To put a cap on your potential at any level promotes stagnation. You have to fight for every inch of ground you gain. No one is going to empower you except yourself. It begins and ends with the contributions you are willing to make on a daily basis. 99% of which you will never be compensated for - nor should you. </p>

    <p> </p>

    Is it getting too impersonal?

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <p>Well all art is a commodity David. </p>

    <p>Charging an hourly rate that actually punishes your business model has nothing to do with that. If you get twice as effective at doing your job - you'll need to book twice as much work to do make the same amount of money. </p>

    <p>Enjoy the race to the bottom!</p>

    Is it getting too impersonal?

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <p>Telling a client that they can pay less for less shooting hours. Is akin to a waiter telling you that if you don't finish all of your meal it will be discounted. How would you feel about the integrity of a restaurant that practises in this manner? </p>

    <p>Charging an hourly rate puts a ceiling on how much you can make. But most importantly it actually gives you the incentive to work LESS efficiently. Since your being paid not for the OUTCOME but rather for your time. Which in this industry is worthless. And I mean absolutely worthless. </p>

    <p>Ask yourself what the difference between a $500.00 Craigslister and a $15,000/day BOSS is - if you come up with anything other than the QUALITY of WORK they produce I suggest you start being proactive and dig a grave for your business, because its inevitable you are going to wither away and die like so many have before you. If you are unwilling to do whatever it takes to achieve the best possible results (and then some) you will never evolve into a better shooter. You will never increase your quality of life. You will DESPERATELY hold on to the status quo - until someone takes it upon themselves to squash you like a bug, or worse you become completely irrelevant. </p>

    <p> </p>

    Is it getting too impersonal?

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <blockquote>

    <p>Well, we can see who are the seasoned pros here and who are the inexperienced.</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>Michael you appear to want to embrace excuses - not solutions. Regardless of how much time you've spent at your craft or what industry you perform in - this is without a doubt the biggest indicator of so-called "professionalism". </p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>Wedding photography is not a salary business and that is why we need to charge for our time and make the money when we work.</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>Wedding Photography not a salaried industry? This is news to me. I draw a salary. I know 2 years out how much money I will make. If I ever felt threatened that I was going to enter into a season not knowing exactly how much I was going to clear - I'd be looking for something else to do. </p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>In todays saturated market we need to know the hours so we can put a competitive price together that meets the needs of the client.</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>More excuses. NYC is arguably the biggest and most affluent wedding market in the world. What really boggles my mind is why someone who's life depends on $400.00 would be willing to A) loose any potential referrals due to strong arming a client at the most inappropriate time because they were afraid to factor the additional cost into their original price. And B) is willing to sacrifice the quality of work they produce because it doesn't conveniently fit into their own personal schedule. Whats truly upsetting is that you appear to be not only happy with this complacency - but your willing to reinforce your beliefs on others. I wouldn't wish that existence on my worst enemy.</p>

    <p> </p>

    Is it getting too impersonal?

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <p>Contrary to popular belief your time is not worth money. Your body of work / service and experience is. "Covering" yourself at 10pm the day of a wedding because the couple has yet to have their first dance is so diminishing to a individual's value its not even funny. This ideology breeds mediocrity. Set your prices accordingly LONG before you find yourself in this situation. If a couple isn't willing/able to meet your financial requirements you walk. You don't provide them with cheaper options in a desperate attempt to accommodate. Then relying on forces outside of your control to recoup your investment. </p>

    <p>Sweat equity will never ceases to exist in your business. It only gets more valuable. </p>

     

    Is it getting too impersonal?

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <p>I'm with you on the coverage issue. There is nothing more disgusting then watching a Photographer extort another couple hundred dollars out of a couple because they're running behind schedule at end of night. It's in everyone's best interest to produce the best possible work on any given wedding day. Don't shortchange yourself or your clients because you want to sleep. Or because you booked too many to close to ether.</p>

    <p>Your greatest sales and marketing efforts will always revolve around the images you produce. You can determine when you begin and when you end given the constraints of that particular day's schedule - but you better make damn sure you've given yourself the greatest opportunity to succeed. Do this enough and you can easily raise your prices to accommodate.</p>

    <p> </p>

    Cancelling a wedding ... etiquette

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <p>In summation: The job has been cancelled. B+G were really understanding - they had a photog company on standby who were willing to take the job for less ... I returned their deposit in full this morning. </p>

    <p>The venue is designated a historic site, from the little info I was able to gather they had tried suing a DJ company for scuffing up their hard wood floors transporting equipment on dollies. The suit was 1,000,000+ and subsequently thrown out I'm told their were others ... details I don't have. </p>

    <p>The B+G are Indian - and hired me because I have shot 2 previous weddings of family members in Canada ... I booked them In January when it was looking like I wasn't going to have a banner year ... serious error in judgement on my part ... Lesson learned ... no more gigs south of the border for this guy. </p>

    Cancelling a wedding ... etiquette

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <p>John,</p>

    <p>I'll inform them of everything ... they have 2 choices really: 1 find a photog to work that one event, I'll shoot the additional 4 events for same price. and 2. Cancel with me all together and get a full refund. I thought about providing the first choice to them myself - but I'm really not comfortable sending anyone to that venue on my behalf. </p>

    Cancelling a wedding ... etiquette

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <p>Update: I contacted the venue to explain how my Insurance Co. would not provide coverage due to said venue making fraudulent claims. The manager knew all too well what I was talking about. His solution? "Dave not a problem I'll send a waiver for you to sign - just fax it when you get a chance"<br>

    So that settles things - I will not be stepping one foot on that property. </p>

    <p> </p>

    Cancelling a wedding ... etiquette

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    <p>After much soul searching - I've decided to go forward and purchase the Liability Coverage for one year @ 850.00+tax. I've exhausted every possible Ins Co and this is the only possibility I have available. Now because of the fact that the Venue is 'blacklisted' and will cost me an additional 350.00 to purchase a policy specifically tailored to avoid that said venue - should I charge the B+G the difference? Or is this just Bad Karma? </p>

    <p>If it were not for the Brides brothers wedding the following weekend I would for sure walk away from this one. </p>

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