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Do you make a living as a wedding photographer?



 
 
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  #191  
Old January 9th 06, 11:55 PM posted to rec.photo.digital.slr-systems,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Do you make a living as a wedding photographer?

Not currently in the wedding business, but standard practice in the USA is a
booking deposit--NON-refundable (they can reschedule but afterall they are
booking a prime weekend date in the middle of the wedding season and you
will not find a last minute wedding to fill in the loss of income.

The balance of the creation fee is due some time before the
service--afterall the florist, caterer, tux rentals, wedding gown, wedding
cake, etc. are all paid for in advance--too hard to collect after the
wedding!

There is a deposit on the proofs (if shot conventionally) or equivalent
before the work can be viewed by the couple.

All print orders are paid in advance.

This way you're using their money, not your own.
--
darkroommike
"Lionel" wrote in message
...
Kibo informs me that "ian lincoln" stated that:

I mentioned at the photoclub and complained that a job that i did in
september only just paid up. The response was
'oh that's not long'.


It isn't either. I earn my living with IT consulting (network admin,
system admin, strategic advice). 3-4 months between doing the work &
receiving the payment is fairly typical, & 6 months is not at all
uncommon.

Turns out this guy chases up bad payers at his photo agency. Apparently

THE
BUSINESS TO BE IN is the collection business. 30% of the debt. In

england
the local debt collectors are salaried. The county 'sherrif' has better
results. He delegated a debt in japan to a local firm who sub contracted
the triads. They paid up! The debtors rang up and complained about the
tactics being used. "so pay up and they won't do that any more duh!" was
his reply.


Heh. Nice bit of lateral thinking.
--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------



  #193  
Old January 14th 06, 04:13 AM posted to rec.photo.digital.slr-systems,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Do you make a living as a wedding photographer?

Kibo informs me that DD stated that:

In article ,
"Bandicoot" says...
If you don't like them, who cares? because if you were getting married you
would simply employ a photographer whose style you did like.


You've hit on an interesting aspect that I wonder if any wedding
photographers have ever thought of doing. Working on spec. In other
words, get a small retainer from the couple just to be there on the day,
then when the couple get back you present them with contact sheets of
the shots taken and you price each shot accordingly.


I've seriously considered doing exactly this. Only difference is that I
wouldn't give them straight contact sheets unless I'd slapped a 5%
opaque 'SAMPLE ONLY' banner across them, or would sit them down in front
of my big monitor.

Could get messy I suppose.


I think the trick would be to have a very carefully designed contract.
--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

  #195  
Old January 15th 06, 08:54 PM posted to rec.photo.digital.slr-systems,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Posts: n/a
Default Do you make a living as a wedding photographer?

I had a couple I shot on spec in the 70's, just enough up front to cover my
film and time. They got busted for drugs on the honeymoon, came to me and
told me they could not pay me for the proofs and all the stuff I had already
done. Twenty years later I was contacted to see if I still had the
negatives! I wasn't very polite. I don't shoot on spec. Caterers,
florists, organists, even pastors get paid before or the day of the wedding,
why should I wait for my money just because they went over budget (happens a
lot)?

--
darkroommike
"Lionel" wrote in message
...
Kibo informs me that DD stated that:

In article ,
"Bandicoot" says...
If you don't like them, who cares? because if you were getting married

you
would simply employ a photographer whose style you did like.


You've hit on an interesting aspect that I wonder if any wedding
photographers have ever thought of doing. Working on spec. In other
words, get a small retainer from the couple just to be there on the day,
then when the couple get back you present them with contact sheets of
the shots taken and you price each shot accordingly.


I've seriously considered doing exactly this. Only difference is that I
wouldn't give them straight contact sheets unless I'd slapped a 5%
opaque 'SAMPLE ONLY' banner across them, or would sit them down in front
of my big monitor.

Could get messy I suppose.


I think the trick would be to have a very carefully designed contract.
--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------



  #196  
Old January 15th 06, 08:56 PM posted to rec.photo.digital.slr-systems,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Do you make a living as a wedding photographer?

Professional has more to do about attitude than talent or ability. I have
worked for several photographers that weren't all that talented but they
always delivered and met the expectations of their clients--that's
PROFESSIONAL.

--
darkroommike

"Lionel" wrote in message
...
Kibo informs me that stated that:

Calling oneself a 'professional' implies ability to meet certain
minimum standards of quality.


No, it doesn't. It simply implies the ability to earn a living at it.
--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------



 




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