Do you also get these emails?

Do you also get these emails?

"With the rising costs of weddings today, it is becoming more and more difficult for brides and grooms to afford the wedding of their dreams. I AM ONE OF THOSE BRIDES!
As a result, I am looking to secure sponsors in order to help offset the cost of planning my wedding. With your sponsorship you will receive branding opportunities such as logo or name placement on wedding invitation inserts and a spot on our wedding web page. I can also place your business card in everyone's welcome bag. You are free to use any images from our wedding to promote your business.
If you can provide complimentary photography for our destination wedding in Negril, Jamaica on Saturday, August 13, 2011, I will gladly exchange the above branding recognition opportunities for you and your company.
I am looking for the following services:
-All Day wedding coverage (from getting ready/hair and makeup- end of reception)
-High resolution DV!
D of edited files (with printing release)
-An Online, password protected gallery for 60 days
-A Day After Session while we are there, and a DVD of the best 30-60 edited files."

Do you get many of them? I guess some people have to try.

I suppose any potential customer shouldn't be turned away blindly, but how to do it politely whilst explaining to them that the offer they propose doesn't really make financial sense to you is the tricky bit, especially if you still want them as a customer. I came up with about 100 reasons why this offer doesn't make sense but it comes down to a very simple thing. You would be loosing money and the marketing potential doesn't offset this adequately.

There are a couple of ways to analyze a response to this from the business viewpoint.

First, an established photographer who can effectively fill the requirements of this type probably doesn't need the advertising or experience offered as 'the payment'. Besides the images and work that you create are yours unless contractually sold or done as a work-for-hire arrangement. Thus branding and use of those images are at your discretion initially and you don't need any special arrangement and so that isn't a plus.

Secondly,
Shooting outside the country always entails added potential difficulty for insurance/risk/camera loss etc. The editing, digital delivery (that's exclusively 60+% of the wedding business I do now) and web services have become a major portion and requirement of this work so this is almost standard. There is nothing unique about this offer at least on paper to make it even semi-interesting. Now if you got a tie in to some celeb of the moment and can exploit that (doubtful planned a year in advance) it could warrant a reduction in cost.

This individual may not realize they are asking for $10K plus donation to their wedding! Figure travel and associated costs, an assistant, arrangements in Jamaica for professional services (i.e. backup gear in case of theft, loss, damage, etc.) and backup in case you have a death or illness in your family! And if you reserve the dates, are you going to be compensated if there is a change in plans?

Generally when my partner and I are approached about a lower cost wedding photographer (family and close friends aside) we often a journalism/snapshot type approach with one 'hired' photographer. This photog is a college/art student who knows what they are doing and or they are an assistant we are not using on that particular date. The fee for 3 hours of wedding and reception coverage starts locally (5-10 miles at most travel) at nearly $2000 dollars. One photog, gear, and a delivery package of choice. There is a range of all digital, print package, or a mix. There is an advanced deposit required.

I've shot weddings for different fee structures, and there have been ones that I underestimated and didn't really break even. Then I've had wonderful experiences and also lousy ones that still made a good profit. The final point I am trying to express is that 'opportunities' of this type will rarely return what they cost, let alone anywhere near their worth. It's bad business.