stephen_f

I have a bride that hasn't paid me in full yet. You see, my contract states

that the balance is to be paid in full 14 days before the wedding. As with any

other bride I remind them as that deadline approaches. Well, this particular

bride booked winter wedding 3 weeks before her wedding, I told her Thursday her

balance was due this Saturday. No problem, she'll get it taken care of she

says. Then she calls me Saturday evening, (I'm still at a wedding) and says she

was busy today with her kids soccer game and parties and just not got a break

she'll get the balance taken care of tomorrow. Sunday, nothing. I call her

Monday. She says she is driving home from store and will pay it that evening.

Nothing. I call her this morning not heard back yet, but I leave a message

stating that I'm calling AGAIN and she said a contract that states balance is

due 14 days before the wedding and she needs to have it paid by this afternoon.

Any advice on what any other professionals would do in this situation? Would

you just return her deposit and tell her to find someone else since she has now

breached the contract? I'm really trying to keep this professional, but at this

rate, nothing is getting done and the hassling is not worth the money to me.

As far as I know, everyone charges a fee, otherwise how would they stay in business. Some companies like pictage are very pricey, and others like smugmug are little more cost effective, however look like crap compared to pictage. I used to use my labs online proofing site and switched to a big company like pictage and the monthly fees were very high, but now I'm making more money than I ever had in reorders.

Yes, I do have a contract. As far as online proofing goes in it, it just states it's included and the lengh of time. Never had something this weird come up. As far as my comment went, what I meant was, I dont care if I shoot 43 photographs of her parents and grandparents, and 12 or his. I'm their to focus on the bride and groom.

I too think the day is centerd on bride and groom and if i get 12 photos on one side of inlaws candidly, and 45 on the other side, that shouldn't matter. i do not know them, i just met them that day. the mother's reasoning was because the inlaws might raise an issue and start world war 3 because i didn't take as many shots of them. i was like "ok". i shoot over 50 weddings a year, and it seems like i might have one or two people a year that just will complain or find something wrong with something. anyone else out there have any crazy experiences?

i just photographed a wedding, with wonderful results. absolutly stunning

photos. the mother of bride was very anxious to see photos, so she came over

less than a week after the wedding and viewed all the photos. meanwhile, bride

and groom still on honeymoon. after looking at photos, she was very pleased,

said she loved the photos i got of the bride and groom, alot to choose from.

anyway, she calls me up other day, and wants to have photos removed from the

online gallery ( i do online proofing) because i took to many photos of one side

the inlaws and not enough of the other side, and didn't want complaints from

them. so i informed her it was going to be online, and she almost flipped out.

then i told her i'll take them offline until we get this settled, and asked her

what the big deal was, since the main shots are focused around the bride and

groom. she then asked why i didn't take more photos of the other side of the

family. keep in mind everyone has had their formal shots taken, so nothing is

missed, we're just talking about candids at reception. i simply told her, i

don't know everyone in her family. long story short, she is coming over again

to pick out shots she don't wont on website, and i also informed her that i'm

not just going to remove them without bride and grooms permission (mother of

bride paid for wedding) and we'll just leave the online proofing offline till

the get home from honeymoon. anyway, the reason i typed this is, has anyone had

any similar situations happen, or how would you handle the situation. i'm

certainly not obligated to take an even amount of photos of in laws, because the

day is centered around bride and groom.

When I photograph with my digital camera it creates a file on the memory card.

For example, if I shoot with D70 there is a D70 folder on it when I load it to

my PC. If I use that card in a D70's the following time, there is a D70s folder

on that card and so forth. My question is, is it ok to delete those folders

after I've retrieved the images off the card. I always format my cards, but it

seems like they are showing less available photos, but when I load them in the

PC, there is no pics in any of the folders.

I just bought a D200. I have always used D70's. When I put a 1GB card in my

D70s it says it will hold about 300 photos. When I put it in the D200 it says

it will hold like 166. Why so much less? Is it because of the higher megapixel??

 

Thanks

I was looking to sell the CD's for roughly what I would get in reorders. And it would be edited. Most photographers in my area are offering CD's right now. Everybody is asking for it today, so why not make a profit off of it. I have alot couples who buy my biggest packages, then spend, little to nothing in reorders. So, I figure, at least I'll get extra profit off the CD. But I'm not planning on selling it for next to nothing. Any photographers out there selling CDs, what are you selling them for, how did you come up with your pricing?

 

Thanks

I have been doing wedding photography for 2 years. I've doubled my

business from last year and most is word of mouth. I've never offered

a photo cd in the past but now I think I will. I'm curious how other

photographers have priced their cd. Also, to all photographers out

there that don't only do weddings but also family, HS Senior, kids,

etc, do you offer them cds too, and how did you price those.

Thanks.

I recently expanded my bussiness and now have the space and resources

to start offering family portraits. I currently do wedding

photograph, average about 45 weddings a year. Problem is, this is a

whole new ball game for me. Anyone have any advice on getting new

clients for the family and portrature business?

When I photograph weddings I use an SB-600 for flash. Problem is,

after putting in brand new batteries and shooting maybe couple

hundred shots it really starts to lose its full power, the ready

light takes longer to turn red, and after maybe 3 hours of shooting,

the batteries are pretty much useless. Does anyone know of any good

rechargable batteries. Anything I can do to make my recycle time go

faster, and get full power for longer.

I need help writing a business plan to open a studio. Are there any

websites to go to for this, or does any photographers have an

example they could post on how they wrote theres.

 

Thanks

Its not a money issue, and I certainly don't want ot make a bigger fuss than necessary. But, the fact remains, watermark or no watermark, the image is copyrighted once I take it. But for FYI, there was my buisness name and DO NOT Copy, on the back of all our photographs. Not to mention what is in the contract they signed. I just dont want it happening again, and I will do the report thing to the number specified.

 

Thanks

This past Saturday, one of my employees was photographing a wedding,

I was at another wedding. Usually, we photograph all the details,

at the reception, (tables, decorations, whats on the tables, etc).

Well, she brought me the memories cards when she was finished with

the weddings and I was uploading them on my PC to burn cds, and to

review the work. Well one image stuck out like a sore thumb. This

couple, used am image we took of their engagement photos, and made a

little photo card for every table that said Their name along with

their picture. We didn't make those for them, and you can tell by

looking at the photo, it was made in a photo machine you see at

almost all retail stores. It states on the contract they signed "it

is illigal to make copies of any image withough photographers

permission, etc, etc). Should I try to find out the store that made

the copy and contact them or confront the couple about it. I've

never had this happen, and I'm unsure on how to pursue it.

 

THanks.

Even though it is illegal to copy prints at Walgreens, or Walmart, Sam's Club, wherever, people still do it. They do it when a store cleark isn't around or they lie and say "My uncle shot the wedding, and he don't care if I copy it." Second, even after a couple looks through proofs and chooses their favorite, they can still copy the proofs they got later. I guess the only other option is to put a digital watermark on every shot. Does anyone know any good programs to do this with, price of program, etc.

This may be a dumb question, but I'll ask anyway. I shoot all

digital. Is there any type of invisible watermark that wouldn't

show up on a photo, but if a bride put the photo in a home scanner,

or one at Walgreens, a watermark would show up saying (example) DO

NOT COPY?

 

Thanks

Update on the story. Contacted the groom to be again, (he is the only who answers the phone, and its his work number) and tell him there is a late fee and I'm going to try and debit the money again but if the check comes will return the extra money minus the late fee. He doesn't say a whole lot of anything just plays dumb. So, my wife calls his fiance with another one of our phone numbers and what do you know, she answers on the first ring. So she tells her about the laet fee and shes like " I cant affore a late fee." and my wife (she handles accounting, money) says well it is 4 days before teh wedding and it was due 2 weeks in advance. So hopefully we'll get the check tomorrow. I've alreay tried to debit money again, (I use paypal) but it keeps telling me I can't use that card number. I do have another card number on file, the one they paid the deposit with, but they don't want to use it for some reason. I wish I could just use that and get it paid off, but I don't know if thats legal for me to do without their consent.

I have a couple that has been giving me the run around for the past

2 weeks. I did my final consultation with a couple and wrote down

their balance due on the contract, and the date it was to be paid

by. Well, she gives me her debit card number, and I write on the

contract it is to be paid with this number by this date. Well the

next day, I'm going to be be debiting that money, they call saying

could you wait an extra day so we can get the money in the account

first. So, to be nice I wait. Now their balance was supposed to be

paid off 3 days ago. (I make sure couples have their balances paid

in full 2 weeks before the wedding.) After waiting the extra day, I

run the card, and can only get $500 bucks out of it. I had this

happen to another couple. With most debit cards, their is a

security anti-theft thing, where you can only take out so much, that

way if the card was stolen, the thief can't drain your account.

Well, they owe me another $900 bucks. I call back and forth, with

no answers (they were no shows for other appointments, engagemtents

etc, and they didn't answer their phone then) and finally get ahold

of the soon to be groom at work. He says he'll talk to his fiancee

and have her call me right away. Well she doen't call, so I have to

call her cell and work and finally him again. Finally when she does

call, I tell her the situation, and told her it would be easier if

she just paid by check and mailed it me, because the card won't

work. So she says she will send it express that night. Keep in

mind, they only live 3 and half hours from me, so it would only take

one or two days at most to get to me. I call back yesterday because

I should have the check by now. The groom to be says, oh, "she

mailed it out already, you should of had it by now." I said when

did she mail it. He says "Friday". I said, "She said she would

mail it out of the 28th which was a Wednesday." To make a long

story short, It's now Tuesday Oct. 4th, I still haven't gotten the

check yet, and I'm really getting frustrated. Should I apply late

fees, if so how much. ( MY contract doesn't have any late fees in

them, but it does say the wedding balance is to be paid in full by

9/24/05.) How should I handle this. Should I threaten to not do

the wedding, or be nice about it and hope to get the money in the

next day or two. Whenever I call the guy, he doesn't barely talk or

try to get this figured out, and when I try to call her, she never

answers her phones or returns my calls. Thanks for listening.

 

FRUSTRATED PHOTOGRAPHER IN ILLINOIS!!

I do put the dates and times in, but usually we do it all with our final consultaion or when we meet for an engagement session because at that time they know for sure what church they are getting married in, if they've reserved a reception hall, the times that will work for them. Thats why I do that all a month before at the latest. I've been trying to make contact with no answer. I think I will send a certified letter. There is no penalty fee on my contract, but maybe I should add one. I have turned down multiple couples that wanted to book on this date, but I was assuming this couple paid a deposit because they wanted the date and I was under the impression that I would get an additional profit from this date, but now, it seems like I wont hear from them at all. If I do, I think I should charge them a late payment fee. Does anyone ever do that, if so, what would be a reasonable late payment fee for a wedding package.

I have been doing wedding photography for over a year now and I have

a couple thats getting married in 2 weeks this Saturday and they

haven't gotten in contact with me for their wedding details. Here

is what I do. When someone books with me and pays their deposit I

get their contact info and they sign a contract that states the day

is theirs. Then I setup a time to do their engagement pics. Well

they get a free session with any package they do decide to get. So

they setup a time to do one ( a sunset session ) and when the time

comes, they are a no show. I call my clients in advance to confirm

appointments and they didnt even answer that call. So, I wait

around, wasting my evening, and he doesn't even call. And I left 2

voicemails asking to please call. So about 3 weeks later, he calls,

apologizes and wants to reschuduel and appointment. So I do. Well,

I'm out on location and he calls 45 minutes before his appointment

and says they can't make it, again, and he'll call to setup another

appointment. Well, I'm just bending over backwards at this point,

because they only get one free session, and they have stiffed me

twice. Well, he never called back. So I called their contact

numbers on two different dates stating that their wedding is

approaching fast and we need to do a final consultation (I do that a

month before) to get all the times, dates, locations, etc in the

contract. They still haven't called back. This Saturday, it will

be two weeks before the wedding, now their balnace is due, and I

still don't have the details, where their getting married, times,

etc. I'm wondering what I can or should do, if anything, and if

they do get in contact, how should I handle the situation. They

live in Chicago, about 3 and half hours from where I'm located, they

don't answer their cell phones, or work phones when I call. I'm

also wondering, if they stiff me on the wedding can I get any other

fees out of them beside the non refundable deposit??

 

Thanks in advance, sorry this is so long.

 

Frustrated Photographer in Illinois

With todays soaring gas prices, and me having to travel sometimes up

to 100 miles round trip, I'm curious as to what other photographers

charge for mileage. When I go a distance, I generally charge .37

cents a mile, and with gas being about $2.50 a gallon, thats not

really cutting it. So, what do other/ you photographers charge per

mileage. How much is too much to charge. Am I skinning my own

hide.

 

Any comments appriciated.

Is it possible in either Photoshop CS or Photoshop Elements to check

a photo for its original exposure. I'm sure I've done it in the

past, but I can't remember how.

 

Thanks

Stacy,

Since I already offered it to them just to be nice, I'll draw the line if they decline. Cute kid pic btw. Hopefully we can get this resolved peacefully.

Why would I send them anything. We are talking about one formal couple shot at the alter. They have other couple shots. We did not specify this one shot in the contract, nor did we specify any shot in the contract. All we specified was the times and locations for the photography service and I covered that. I was just being nice at this point offering them 100 in re orders and I've yet to hear from him.

They did understand, as far as I knew. All my advertisements say what I'm about, and they seen my work. After this, I wouldn't want their referral anyway. Their just one sneaky couple, out of a ton of clients. I don't need them.