[Closed] Wedding photographers - how much!??!?

I'll undercut Mr Nutt, a packet of Jaffa Cakes and you pay for the film processing?

shows how much you know about photograph

I see irony doesn't travel well on t'internet....

a bit more tasteful? like nice photographs of sunsets?

As in not the gadawful layout of [s]smee[/s] ti29er's first album he graced our eyes with. No sunsets involved...

'taste' is a funny thing you only have to look at the naive imagery in the photography thread to see this.

And also some of the images in your portfolio....

Hummm.
The thread has now run its course.
I have a business model, as do most every self employed person.
This is how I feed my family and pay the bills and buy things.
If not, I flounder.
Good luck with all the cheap kit and none of the know-how.

I've some layouts to start bringing up to a.n.others expectations, I shall of course change my business model and entire portfolio to accommodate the Skoda Brigade.
😉
Back to work me thinks.

Good luck with all the cheap kit and none of the know-how.

to accommodate the Skoda Brigade.

Thus illustrating my point perfectly. Enjoy the BMW X6 brigade - they deserve you as much as you deserve them...

Good luck with all the cheap kit and none of the know-how.

I shall. I enjoy my hobby, the kit I use suits me fine. Not that you know what that kit is, not that it matters either...

I'm fortunate enough to be in a job that lets me afford the kit I want, without having to be quite so obnoxious to justify it.

The irony will catch up with him eventualy, travels much slower than the speed of light you see......

And also some of the images in your portfolio....

only some? so there's a half decent one in there?

Ti29er, nobody is questioning your business model. Its great - mine is very similar - price what your market (or more specifically customer) will pay. But do you have to be such a d!ck about it?

i think a lot of the angst in this thread is jealousy. people see £1500 as a figure somebody earns in a day and compare that to their middle-management office/sales salary and think they are worth more than some tosser walking around with a camera as it's a piece of piss to take snaps.

if 1000 monkeys and 1000 typewriters can produce shakespere

they can't

If you can charge £2.5k+ for a few days of your services and are fully booked & people are happy with the result then fantastic - where do I signup?

My point as one of the soon to be 'punters' is quite simply that is an awful lot of money for your average Joe and I was trying to understand why the hell it costs so much.

Basically from reading the comments it boils down to 'it costs that much, because people pay it'

I'm sure if you had no bookings then you might have to review how much you charge, but whilst people are paying it you can sit in a happy tower of smugness. I reckon I'd be the same.

I'm quite surprised by the comments about it's the brides day get over it - yes she is organising most of it, but guess who has the budget spreadsheet & whose name is on the bills - yes mine. We have a budget and we are sticking to it.

Also being referred to as a 'skoda' couple (implying cheapskate) is a bit insulting.

mr smith: 'taste' is a funny thing you only have to look at the naive imagery in the photography thread to see this

The "naive imagery" is by amateurs. Are all photographers this pompous? Or is it just you and Ti29er?

it's just an opinion, no different from having an opinion about proffessional wedding photographers.
in fairness there are some great images there amongst the dross.

only some? so there's a half decent one in there?

Yes actually - I particularly like the cranes one. Only I'm worried about typing this or your ego may start rivalling Ti29er's. Most of the 'portfolio' ones look more like they originate in photoshop, not a camera...

i think a lot of the angst in this thread is [s]jealousy[/s] smugness.

Couldn't give a toss what you think is a fair charge, and good luck to you if the market pays. Very good luck to you if it suddenly stops...

people see £1500 as a figure somebody earns in a day and compare that to their middle-management office/sales salary and think they are worth more than some tosser walking around with a camera as it's a piece of piss to take snaps.

Not really, in reality after business costs and tax, quite a few of us on here probably take home more every month, with relative certainty it will come next month. Paranoid are we?

amongst the dross.

Ah, I see, you are as pompous as Ti29er...

my ego isn't stoked by randoms on the internet saying they like a picture.

thanks for the good luck wishes.

proffessional wedding photographers.

Nothing proFESsional about not being able to spell.

they can't

yes, but I bet 8 amature photogaphers handed 8 mid range cameras can produce sufficient photoghaphs to fill an album.

My cousin got married in the summer, wedding must have cost a fortune (I'm thinking £100k rather than £10k, the bar bill for 250+ people in a very posh northumberland hotel/castle would probably dwarfed the average wedding!). Out of the albumn some of the pics were nice, others were badly composed (20 people in a line, leaves a lot of grass and sky and no detail of their faces when printed on A4!), and the candid one of me and my brother drinking looked like it had been taken on a £2.99 disposable (out of focus and lots of camera shake). He won't have been cheep, but even I could pick faults in his work.

my ego isn't stoked by randoms on the internet saying they like a picture.

Neither is mine. The majority of my photos on Flickr are there as a backup policy. If people choose to comment on them then that's their prerogative. The few I post on here are because maybe I'm pleased with one or two, and someone wants to look at them, and they're on line anyway.

as ever, the forumites have covered well both ends of the discussion so I shall take my leave - but not before I've left you with this........ 😉

Marsdenman on here is the fella to go for. Quite literally made our wedding, and the quality of the photography was amazing. Definitely worth every penny...

And quite frankly, anyone who can make my hatchet-faced family look presentable could probably sort out world peace as well...

Ayup Chris! Hope you and the missus are grand!

Cheers Pete :D- trust all is well with you and Meg - did you pick the parcel up from the post office yet?

Nothing proFESsional about not being able to spell.

tru dat. i guess it's vitally important if you edit a niche mountainbike magazine or work in an office.
thanks for the advise tho.

It comes in quite handy for looking professional too, you know, like being a professional photographer....

"looking professional"
i have a beige waistcoat with numerous pockets for assorted photography gadgets. it gets me the respect i deserve.

it gets me the respect i deserve.

Great irony indeed...

A good friend of mine has her own wedding photography business. I dont know where people get 2.5k from?

For particularly big weddings she will hire in additional professional self-employed Wedding photographers who she has an agreement with. This is so she can ensure that the atmosphere is caught- everything is captured. She'll often spend 12hours+ on her feet, not stopping once and concentrating very hard. She'll reel off thousands of shots then work on them for weeks before presenting them and consultation. Ontop of this - high quality kit for taking, production/post-production costs alot of money and she often upgrades EVERY year.

People complain about the cost of weddings (I AGREE) however the better (and more diligent) the photographer the better the lifelong result you'll have.

She doesnt charge anywhere near 2.5k though. Less than half that.

She also cares about her work, capturing the right moments (she actually DOES care).

Like I said- I would recommend her. You can see her passion. 😀

You can see her passion. 😀

Does that cost extra?

yes, but I bet 8 amature photogaphers handed 8 mid range cameras can produce sufficient photoghaphs to fill an album.

IMO of course.

Our friend took some pictures (a CD disc full!) of Bingo when he was younger.

There is absolutely no way I could get near the quality of the images and the expressions etc that she managed to capture. Not a chance.

Like these for example - they are okay and some would be happy with them. I know that a 'proper' photographer would have got them much better though.
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]

I know that a 'proper' photographer would have got them much better though.

I would guess they would have got all of the first guy's head in, and made sure there wasn't someone else's head in the second one 😉

Well yes exactly my point - I am a keen amateur not a professional and it illustrates my argument perfectly - a professional would normally do a better job than most keen amateurs.

given the guy a haircut / comb before the shot was taken?

That is my business partner and he is known for his 'surfer' hair - I don't think it would have been appropriate to cut it even though it was his own wedding 🙂

and made sure there wasn't someone else's head in the second one

Given that one of the 'professionals' on this thread has a large table number right in the centre of one of his shots I reckon the minor indiscretion of a head in the corner probably means you could happily get away with charging about £3.5K per wedding, plus £45 if they don't feed you (but make sure it's written in your contract) 😉

One of my sisters is a DI in Sussex Police.

She had a SOCO do the photos at her wedding (a lot of them moonlight as wedding photographers). Was quite a reasonable price and very professional.

He did a good job but inisted on drawing chalk outlines around everyone first 😉

Ultimately you as the groom have very little influence in the decision to book most everything at the wedding - get over it!

unless you decide not to bother with all that claptrap 🙂 You're only helpless if you decide to be.

*long winded rant removed*

I hadn't realised one needed to be so arrogant and condescending to be a professional photographer.

I better sort my act out.

(Ken Rockwell link) Likewise, other artists may only have one camera, or none at all. It just doesn't matter.

Artists sometimes dress funny and tend to stay up late. They usually prefer to photograph attractive young women and are proud of it.

uncanny, the same applies to bikes :o) One camera, one lens, one bike, one overpowering arrogance...

She had a SOCO do the photos at her wedding (a lot of them moonlight as wedding photographers). Was quite a reasonable price and very professional.

😆 those who use black humour to cope!

Did he also have a problem with tracking/motion shocks?

What a load of old cobblers, lavish church/stately home weddings, overrated and overpriced holier than thou photographers and the majority of this thread

Thanks for the material though. some great stuff here for my next stand up gig, cheers for that especially the photographer stuff

Just need to chuck in a few about the red or mustard leather DFS sofa, how many pointy bits you have on top of the conservatory,you can see tesco extra superstore if you stand on a stool in the back bedroom,green camo calor gas bottles for the mobile kitchen bbq and guaranteed laughs all round

i guess humor like value for money is subjective

Am I being heckled? i'm only doing it as a hobby now otherwise I would have to charge

And seems u are short on humor

i wasn't trying to be funny. earning a living is a serious business, making the jump from dilettante to professional is not to be taken lightly.

my girlfriend's just messed up my opening to negotiations with ours 😆

i said for her to email him and say "we're still quite interested, but we're trying to work out our budget limits so my boyfriend will ring you in the next couple of days to talk about it".

what she actually said was, "we'd absolutely love you to photograph our wedding, we can't wait. andy will call you in the next couple of days to confirm".

nice one. 😆

earning a living is a serious business, making the jump from dilettante to professional is not to be taken lightly.

You and Ti29er could certainly make a killing as a comedy duo specialising in irony based on today's performance.