I was just begged to shoot a wedding...

[Janie]

and I am the anti-wedding person of the year - I hate even going to weddings! lol So how the hell can I shoot a wedding! Apparently they love my fable-style photography and begging me to do this, so what the heck is the going rate for anti-wedding photographers? lol Maybe hourly or package? At least I can just upload the photos and they can purchase from there!

[berrywise]

I'm shooting my first wedding ever at the end of this month. It is a friend of mine and I'm charging them 500 dollars and told em that also includes my wedding gift to them . I'm shooting it all digital and handing over the CD to them. I'm hoping I can start doing a few more to earn a little extra income so hopefully I come away with some good images from their wedding that I can use to advertise for myself with.

My biggest trouble is getting all the posed shots since I have hardly any experience with that. I enjoy shooting PJ and capturing molments...not making them ;o)

[another view]

My biggest trouble is getting all the posed shots since I have hardly any experience with that. I enjoy shooting PJ and capturing molments...not making them ;o)

I'm with you on that! I've done a few and have two more this month - then it's at least going to be a break and I'm not sure if I want to do any more at all. Lot of work, and my lab just increased their prices a lot. If I book more in the future, I'll buy another DSLR (gotta have a backup) and do it that way. Tried it, ain't for me, turns the hobby into a job...

Janie, if they're friends you could figure out what your costs would be and base the package price on that and some money for your time. I keep it simple - negatives, CD, proofs in a book and that's it. I think you could/should figure out how long they want you to shoot and base that on your price, but you'll probably be there a little longer than you estimate.

[Speed]

and I am the anti-wedding person of the year - I hate even going to weddings! lol So how the hell can I shoot a wedding! Apparently they love my fable-style photography and begging me to do this, so what the heck is the going rate for anti-wedding photographers? lol Maybe hourly or package? At least I can just upload the photos and they can purchase from there!

Definitely do it as a package deal.

Personnally, I charge $500 for a wedding. That gets them a photographer (me) for four hours and approximately 100 (4X6) photo's (I've always had more than 100, but it lets them know what to expect for their money). If they want you longer than that, then have a set hourly rate for the extra time.

Shooting digital makes it easier for you, if you upload your photo's to a site and let them decide which ones they want to buy. You don't have to print or mail them, and they can give the site address to anyone else who is interested in photo's of the wedding.

Check what other photographers in the area charge for weddings and what they include in their packages. That will help you decide how much to charge. Then you can pad your price with some "I don't want to do this, so I'll make it worth my while" money. If they really HAVE to have you, then you could find this a very profitable undertaking.

My price is half to a third of what the pro's around here charge. But I do this part time and I don't have a studio to pay overhead on.

[Photo-John]

If you don't want to do it figure out the going rate and double it. That way it's worth the hassle. How about $2000? Would that make it worth your while?

[jar_e]

Definately check around, and don't be afriad to bump up the price if your not liking it.

Remember, it should also benefit you for your troubles.

[ken1953]

I'm shooting my first wedding ever at the end of this month. It is a friend of mine and I'm charging them 500 dollars and told em that also includes my wedding gift to them . I'm shooting it all digital and handing over the CD to them. I'm hoping I can start doing a few more to earn a little extra income so hopefully I come away with some good images from their wedding that I can use to advertise for myself with.

My biggest trouble is getting all the posed shots since I have hardly any experience with that. I enjoy shooting PJ and capturing molments...not making them ;o)

I recently went to a wedding and used my little point and shoot...and I stood behind and around the pro while she posed the wedding members...hehe..but to be honest...most of the shots I took in between her poses turned out better...but then again...I guess people like posed shots for occasions like this...I sent a disk of all my pics to my nephew...no reply back from the yet tho'...but I think they'll enjoy it...and on top of it all...didn't cost them a thing!!! haha...which admittedly...is not a good idea if I were to start doing this on a regular basis...
Anyway...Good luck everyone with your endeavors at shooting weddings.
Ken

[Speed]

If you don't want to do it figure out the going rate and double it. That way it's worth the hassle. How about $2000? Would that make it worth your while?

PRECISELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Make it worth your while!

;-)

[berrywise]

I recently went to a wedding and used my little point and shoot...and I stood behind and around the pro while she posed the wedding members...hehe..but to be honest...most of the shots I took in between her poses turned out better...but then again...I guess people like posed shots for occasions like this...I sent a disk of all my pics to my nephew...no reply back from the yet tho'...but I think they'll enjoy it...and on top of it all...didn't cost them a thing!!! haha...which admittedly...is not a good idea if I were to start doing this on a regular basis...
Anyway...Good luck everyone with your endeavors at shooting weddings.
Ken

This has been going on for years but do you feel you are taking business away from the wedding photographer if they were making the majority of their money off of reprints from the bride and groom and family?

I think the pro photographer has to deliver the best quality prints so that the bride and groom don't decide to jip him by using family member photos instead of theirs. That has become more and more difficult with the newer consumer level cameras being able to deliver good quality images.

I hope my style as a photojournalist and capturing the molment more than capturing posed shots will help me avoid situations like this because not just anyone can create a story of the wedding but almost anyone can hop in take a photo after someone else has posed a group of people.

but I'm getting off topic and it sounds like I'm an old school wedding photographer ranting or something.

[another view]

Berrywise, this is why you need to base your package prices on not getting any reprints. There will be a lot of people at a wedding with cameras, and you can't really tell them not to take pictures. You could ask them to wait until you're done, but probably not a whole lot else. I don't expect anyone to ask for reprints and really don't want to be in that business anyway. If I was a full time studio guy it would be a different story, but I'd just as soon charge what I need upfront and give somebody a CD rather than making a bunch of trips to the lab.

As a guest instead of being hired, I usually bring a camera to a wedding myself. I can shoot what I want to shoot, not what I have to shoot and if I don't come back with anything worthwhile it doesn't really matter - that's the difference between being hired to do a wedding and being a guest with a camera. There are some high-end wedding photographers that shoot in the PJ style but I think there's a limited market for purely PJ style. It usually involves a lot of traditional stuff too.

[adina]

On the other hand, if you really don't want to do it, and hate weddings, do you think you'd give it your best effort? If you suck it up and do it for the money, but hate the entire thing, will it show in the photos? You said they loved your fabled style photos, but did they see wedding photos? Or something else. Just because they love the way you shoot one thing, doesn't mean they'll love the way you'll shoot something else.

I'm not saying don't do it. I'm just saying money isn't the only consideration.

Just because we can do something, doesn't mean we should.

food for thought....

[berrywise]

Berrywise, this is why you need to base your package prices on not getting any reprints.

Oh I hear ya there. Not to mention I'm so lazy people would be complaining all day long that I hadn't gotten them their reprints yet ;o) I would much rather opt for giving them the photos and maybe pointing them in the direction a good and affordable printer.

[ken1953]

This has been going on for years but do you feel you are taking business away from the wedding photographer if they were making the majority of their money off of reprints from the bride and groom and family?

I think the pro photographer has to deliver the best quality prints so that the bride and groom don't decide to jip him by using family member photos instead of theirs. That has become more and more difficult with the newer consumer level cameras being able to deliver good quality images.

I hope my style as a photojournalist and capturing the molment more than capturing posed shots will help me avoid situations like this because not just anyone can create a story of the wedding but almost anyone can hop in take a photo after someone else has posed a group of people.

but I'm getting off topic and it sounds like I'm an old school wedding photographer ranting or something.

Actually, no I don't think I'm taking away from the pro, because, as a family member...I am only one of, in this case, about 7 or 8 of us taking pictures. The pro has a particular job to do...and most do it very well, and during the posings...at least in the weddings I've been involved with, the pro gets first shot...and in this case, her shots are "mostly" much better than mine since I was using a point and shot digital and she was using several thousands of dollars of equipment...her lighting was much better in most cases as I was limited by my onboard flash...plus...I was usually at an angle to what she was doing...even at a slight angle...I got a different shot than she got...as for reprints...people are going to order what they like...whether it be mine or hers...and in this case...i'm sure hers, for the most part, are better than mine...but...a pro should remember, that this is not a pro's wedding, but a family affair and we want our own shots...and regardless of the pro...are going to get our own shots...a prime example...one of the little flower girls was really tired and they were having a hard time posing her...well since I wasn't after "poses"...I was the only one who got the little flower girl with the "entire" bridal shot...because by the time the pro got back to her camera...the little girl was gone...
I'm sorry, I don't want this to sound like I'm spouting...was just trying to make a point that we, the family snapshooters, and the pros, both have their place in a wedding and most pros already know that and respect that...
I for one...respect what the pros do and strive very hard not to infringe on their job.
Ken

[Cowgirl]

Wow - what a post!

As a full time wedding photog there are a few things that I just have to comment on....

First of all, I get paid well, yes weddings are stressful, yes the photos that you take at a wedding will be very important to the B&G - you should always perform at your best level, know your equipment, know posing, most of all know lighting!

If you screw up one wedding, the word will get out!

If you do not enjoy weddings, then kindly decline the invitation to shoot it! Let the B&G find someone who will truely care about their memories, even if they want to pay you $2000.00!

As far as 'shadow shooters' - it happens all the time. Relatives of the family always grab a few posed photos, then they kindly give them to the B&G, and try to compare their work to the pro's. SO WHAT? A good pro will use bi-directional lighting with their formals, turning an average shot into a work of art. Its all about lighting! A point and shoot camera, or any on-camera flash will only produce flat, boring lighting, and shadows. Uncle Joe may think that he has 'stolen' a few good quality prints because he quickly photographed the pro's poses, but the lighting will be BORING, and the B&G will 'see' the difference in my work. No one is allowed to fire DURING my exposures, only between my exposures. I have an assistant who watches my back too! I hardly have any problems with that, Uncle Joe is happy, because he can 'steal' some poses between my exposures.

My lighting is fired by my camera, and my poses are lit with my lighting....Uncle Joe doesn't have a chance to 'steal' my completed & enhanced work.

Like I said before, I get paid well - up front. I enjoy the work, and I produce art! My B&G's are always happy!

Kathy

[Cowgirl]

One more thing - why cheat yourself out of money and only charge $XXX.XX because you don't have any overhead? I don't have much overhead either, but I still get paid well. And my sales are increasing, even though my prices have gone up, its getting busier.....

If your work is worth $3000.00, then charge $3000.00, if your work is worth $500.00, then charge $500.00

Kathy

[another view]

My lighting is fired by my camera, and my poses are lit with my lighting....Uncle Joe doesn't have a chance to 'steal' my completed & enhanced work.

Kathy, do you use Pocket Wizards, etc or cables for your strobes? I'm sure you know this and have run across it before, but if you're using optical slaves built into monolights, they will be fired by anybody's camera. When they see a flash go off, they fire (well, usually...!).

That lets anybody use your strobes, but you also might run into problems with recycling and missing your shot because Uncle Joe just got his!

[Mr.U]

Janie I would be so stoked if I were you....I run my own freelance thing here in Lincoln Nebraska....I have been able to saturate the market cause I offer kindof a sweet deal! When I do a wedding I charge $175.00 an hour and .40 a mile travel .....I offer them every single proof with no advertiseing on the photo in the formatt of glossy with borders. Then they really crap themselves when i hand them the negatives and tell them to enjoy this new chapter in their lives. Thats right I give them the copyright! This is something that is rarely offered in the world of photography and i catch alot of **** around town from other pros cause i do this. Alot of couples cause of this base hourly rate keep me around for the whole day. This of course is a good thing to me because I LOVE what I do. I am an artist and film is my only medium that i use to create my art and bring it to the forground for others to see. Just by word of mouth friend telling a friend or heard from another friend etc. I am booked up 9 weddings in the next 4 months...I dont have a bussiness card...I dont have a logo that i ruin my photos with. This way of shooting weddings had made my life alot easier....Youll know what i mean cause it is bound to happen....You will meet BRIDEZILLA! And she will want this one croped and this one enlarged and then come back three days later and want another enlarged etc on and on next thing you know I cant sleep for fear when BRIDEZILLA will appear again. They can handle their own frameing enlargements cause they posess the negatives or digital files in your case...I also work a full time job...I can be sitting at home had a long hard 8 hour day be home for maybe 20 minutes and get a call for someone to want a senior port taken or whatever im up and out the door....But to me I am still relaxing cause its what i would rather be doing anyway Besides if the area you live in is anything like mine It's prolly more of an obligation for you to do this wedding....We have a TON of photographers that live here in Lincoln NE but we dont have hardly any GOOD photographers in lincoln that posess the "eye" requiered to do the knd of work you and I are being requested to do. HTH -Mr.U

[Sebastian]

Kathy, do you use Pocket Wizards, etc or cables for your strobes? I'm sure you know this and have run across it before, but if you're using optical slaves built into monolights, they will be fired by anybody's camera. When they see a flash go off, they fire (well, usually...!).

That lets anybody use your strobes, but you also might run into problems with recycling and missing your shot because Uncle Joe just got his!

Not an issue, a P&S will not expose properly for the strobes, if anything their shots will be totally blown out.

[Mr.U]

Oh and by the way.....I drop the fim off at my lab tell them how I want it (wich they already know by now) my lab calls me i preview right their at the lab...call my customer and they come to the lab pick them up and THEY pay the processing important cause i am a film shooter and i shoot an average of 4 36exp. rolls per hour at weddings. They still come out ahead. They have more pictures than anyone could ever want they paid less and they own their own memories and they are HAPPY!

[another view]

Not an issue, a P&S will not expose properly for the strobes, if anything their shots will be totally blown out.

Most p&s 35mm's are kind of mid-aperture, around f8 or f11. That's usually what strobes end up being at, and with all the latitude of neg film (two stops over isn't a huge problem) they'll get a much better shot than just the built in flash. Never tried it (probably should just to see) but even if their shot is blown out - you need to worry about recycling time.

P&S digitals would be a different story though - mid aperture on those is f4 or f5.6 and that would give you a blown-out shot. 'Course there's ISO speeds to wonder about too.

Regardless, you'll have to be careful with strobe recycling...

[Mike Platts]

The biggest mistake that I made shooting my 1st wedding was not allowing for crops to different print sizes. Shoot a little wider than you normally would. You're a good enough photographer that the rest shouldn't be much of a problem.

Mike

[ken1953]

This has truly been an interesting discussion for me. I have learned so much about what to do and what to think about at the next wedding I'm going to on July 9th. I'll still be the "Uncle Joe" or in this case the "b-in-law Ken"..hehe..and I will still give the respect to the pro that I always have, but I will also have a much better understanding of why and how the pro is shooting. I will never become a "pro" wedding photographer...not my cup of tea...but a landscape photographer...that's another story...hehe...My last remark on this subject...You pros do a great job and really, except on rare occassions don't really have to worry about losing business to us Uncle Joes, because there is no way we point and shooters can duplicate your wonderful contribution to the "art" of Wedding Photography.
Uncle Joe..errrr...Ken...hahahahaha

[Cowgirl]

Kathy, do you use Pocket Wizards, etc or cables for your strobes? I'm sure you know this and have run across it before, but if you're using optical slaves built into monolights, they will be fired by anybody's camera. When they see a flash go off, they fire (well, usually...!).

That lets anybody use your strobes, but you also might run into problems with recycling and missing your shot because Uncle Joe just got his!

I use PW, I use cords, and I also use Canon's wireless ex flashes - it depends on the situation, and how I feel at the time.

No one else can fire my lights!

Kathy

[Cowgirl]

This has truly been an interesting discussion for me. I have learned so much about what to do and what to think about at the next wedding I'm going to on July 9th. I'll still be the "Uncle Joe" or in this case the "b-in-law Ken"..hehe..and I will still give the respect to the pro that I always have, but I will also have a much better understanding of why and how the pro is shooting. I will never become a "pro" wedding photographer...not my cup of tea...but a landscape photographer...that's another story...hehe...My last remark on this subject...You pros do a great job and really, except on rare occassions don't really have to worry about losing business to us Uncle Joes, because there is no way we point and shooters can duplicate your wonderful contribution to the "art" of Wedding Photography.
Uncle Joe..errrr...Ken...hahahahaha

Thanks Ken!

Like I said before, I don't care at all what the family members are doing, except during my actual exposures. I am too busy concentrating on the subject's features, the B&G emotions, lighting, ...my camera is always at my eye for those fun candid moments too!

Just be sure to leave the Pro some working space!

Watch out Ken - I photograph Landscapes too!

Kathy