Offer to shoot wedding - never done this; need advice

98olds

Hi,

Just recently I sent out flyers for Holiday Family portraits, I got one response, but It was asking If I ever considered photographing weddings...

I have not ever photographed a wedding, I have however photographed a wedding reception.

My questions are... What do I charge for shooting a wedding, and What do I have to do to get this to work?

How to i present the bride and groom with photos?
Album, CD, I generally do slideshows.

Thank you for any help any of you can provide me with.

l.k.madison

98olds wrote:

Hi,

Just recently I sent out flyers for Holiday Family portraits, I got one response, but It was asking If I ever considered photographing weddings...

I have not ever photographed a wedding, I have however photographed a wedding reception.

My questions are... What do I charge for shooting a wedding, and What do I have to do to get this to work?

How to i present the bride and groom with photos?
Album, CD, I generally do slideshows.

Thank you for any help any of you can provide me with.

By asking those questions, you've asked a lot more without even realizing it. Do you charge a flat wedding fee? Do you charge by the hour? Do you charge if a second has to come with you?

As far as what to charge, that one's up in the air. Search for local photographers in your area, scope them out and see what they're offering as far as prices, packages are concerned. If you have to, find a friend (or sibling) to call around and pretend to be a bride/groom so they can get info. If you have a friend that's recently gotten married, then ask them who they contacted and what their prices were.

Every photographer offers a different package, some have images on a cd, some have a book of 4x6 prints, some have online galleries, it all depends on how you want to do it. One photographer in my area literally has a photography registry so anybody can buy them "print credits" towards their wedding, and he offers something to the effect of $300 print credit for $200, so they *think* they're getting $100 off. I know where he gets his prints done so I know what his "at cost" price is and while the buyer thinks they're saving $100, photog is still making a bunch of money on his prints. It's a clever marketing idea and he says it works wonders.

Depending on how hard the economy hit in your area depends on how much you can offer. Don't charge $3k when the guy down the street only charges $1200.

But at the same time, how much is too much to spend on this once-in-a-lifetime event?

98olds

Thanks for the response, but this didnt really answer any of my questions.

I am just starting portrait work, and someone thinks my work is good enough to shoot a wedding.

I'm still in High School, so basically this is just a side job.

Weisel

98olds wrote:

Thanks for the response, but this didnt really answer any of my questions.
quote]

One of your questions was how much to charge for a wedding. He replied with some guidelines for that. Not everybody can reply to every question. But his reply with some guidelines was not something worth getting snipey over. If you want an exact number, fine. Charge $25. They will love the deep discount.

jeffreaux2

There are several recources "stickied" at the top of the "Weddings" forum. Id advise you to check those out.

...and...at least in my opinion you have very nearly answered your own question by saying that you are "just getting started with portraits".

Shooting a wedding is nearly always very fast paced and is nothing nearly like being able to take the time to set up a portrait shot. In portraits, you have the luxury of being able to choose your own lighting, location, etc. Most weddings tend to border on poor lighting and the venue itself can have a huge impact (for better or worse) on the photographic opportunities.

You didn't say whether you have flash equipment (which will likely be needed...certainly for the reception)....and many churches dont allow flash photography during ceremonies....so you will need a lense selection with at least a F2.8 Max aperture. Do you own this type of gear? Do you have spares in case of failure?

More will be expected of you with regards to your results if you charge higher rates...but entering a contract will also hold you to a minimum requirement to succeed at this event. Only you can know if you are ready to accept that type of responsibility.

If it were me.....I might say...."Hey I dont really have the gear for an event like this....Im not a wedding photographer....Ill need to rent some gear.....If you cover the cost of the rentals, Ill shoot the wedding for free and provide you with full resolution files."

Now.....you arent making any $$$, but you are wetting your toes, building a portfolio, providing a service with minimal expectations, and will be able to determine afterwards if it is something you would want to try again.

Again, check out the tips for beginners in the "Weddings" forum recources.

bmoreshooter

My recomendation at this point is don't do it. You do not have any experience and shooting a wedding is a lot more than just being able to shoot a few decent photos. No matter what is said now you will need a very solid contract if you screw it up. I also doubt that you have adequate equipment to do the job. It takes a lot more than just a camera and a couple lenses. I suggest finding someone who would take you along as an assistant and work a deal with them if you can book the job. As far as how much to charge, that is usually comensurate with experience, 0=0. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but i'm in the middle of retouching and repairing a wedding that was screwed up by a photographer who didn't have a clue when it came to shooting digital vs. film. By the way his bill so far is almost $1000.00 and his fee for the wedding was $800.00. A great deal for the bride but not so great for the photographer.

tenoverthenose

Your price should be close to your value as a photographer. If you can't take good photographs and are not sure of yourself, don't charge a lot. If you know what you are doing and can produce good photographs regardless of what kind of wedding-craziness gets thrown your way, charge what you are worth.

If you carry that line of reasoning out, you will quickly see how hard it is to shoot weddings for a low price. If you can't make money, you can't pay bills (legal fees, insurance, backup equipment, high quality equipment, etc.).

In my local market, there are photographers who will cover a wedding for far less than what I charge, but I am still booking weddings because my clients value my service and experience. The economy has had a lot less impact on my business than I would have expected.

If I were to do it all over again, I would start by interning or second shooting with someone else for a while (at least 20 weddings) so that you can figure out how to shoot weddings in your own style and learn the business side of things. There is a lot less responsibility and a lot more room for error. However, I did not do it that way. I started by biting off a lot more that I could chew and forced myself to deliver. In my case it worked, but it was not the easy way to do things.

98olds

Weisel wrote:

98olds wrote:

Thanks for the response, but this didnt really answer any of my questions.
quote]

One of your questions was how much to charge for a wedding. He replied with some guidelines for that. Not everybody can reply to every question. But his reply with some guidelines was not something worth getting snipey over. If you want an exact number, fine. Charge $25. They will love the deep discount.

I'm sorry if i came across as snipey. Thats not what I intended, although you just sounded snipey.

I'm sorry if its the way it came across. I'm new to this.

98olds

I am used to fast paced photography, I Never Do Portraits, I'm usually moving around and fast paced, so i figure i could probably do it I wanted to.

I guess I'm asking more about the business end of things

jeffreaux2

98olds wrote:

I am used to fast paced photography, I Never Do Portraits,

Didn't you say "I was handing out flyers for holiday family portraits"....and "I am just starting out in portraits and someone thinks I am good enough to do a wedding".....or.....did I dream this up?

A D40 isn't what Id call "wedding gear"....but that isn't to say it can't be done if mated with the right lens and if needed a flash..... though knowledge in when and how to use these tools is more valuble than any of the tools themselves.

Ive already given my advice for pricing....Ill just leave it at that.

Sam

First it would be helpful if you posted a link to your web site. Second although you ain't gona like it..................don't rush out and charge someone for a wedding when you have never done one! At any price!

While you may be able to pull it off you have never done it, have no proof or examples of it, and the odds are very long of you doing it well.

That said it is possible you could become the greatest wedding photographer ever, but that will be much later after much training and practice.

Second shoot a couple of wedding first, then see how your doing.

There isn't any do overs for a wedding. It's a lot more than the money.

Sam

divamum

~tentatively raises lurking hand from back row~

You mentioned you're in high school - are you over 18? And if not, does that affect contracts/legal issues? Just something to throw out there as a question you probably should get answered by somebody who knows the laws in your state ....

~back to lurking~

wadesworld

divamum wrote:

~tentatively raises lurking hand from back row~

You mentioned you're in high school - are you over 18? And if not, does that affect contracts/legal issues? Just something to throw out there as a question you probably should get answered by somebody who knows the laws in your state ....

~back to lurking~

Agreed.

To do a wedding you NEED a contract. You're not able to legally sign one. There may be a way, but I certainly would consult a lawyer.

You need to understand that people don't tell the truth about their wedding. They say, "Oh, whatever you get is fine with us. We don't care."

They DO care. It's one of, if not the most important moments in their lives. They're paying you good money (no matter how little) and they want great pictures. The last thing you need is a bride that's angry because you "completely ruined her wedding."

I think you'd be smart to take the advice of the experienced wedding photographers here and not do it. But sit down and have a talk with your parents about it - you're certainly going to need their backing for anything you do, since they will be legally and financially responsible in many ways.

Surfdog

I strongly recommend you listen to the crowd on this one. Those of us who do wedding photography did alot of free event shoots and practice shoots before we ever took our first paid gig. There is just too much at stake. My suggestion is to shoot alot of practice event settings first, then make sure you have backup equipment (at least 2 of everything) because equipment failures do happen. Always use a contract - PPA has a good sample. If you're not a PPA member, join and get insured. It only takes one disaster to damage your reputation and possibly even get you sued. Weddings are very emotional events that only happen once. Screw one up and you will see just how emotional people can be.