Some brides will have a fixed amount that they want to spend and will troll as many photographers that they like as possible, hoping to get a bite. Don't take it personally. It's business.
amonline wrote:
I love how no one reads the actual question.
Seriously. What the hell?
Request for coverage of a wedding party sized at 13+, with 40+ guests, two locations 45 minutes apart with a schedule that spans at least 6+ hours MINIMUM, with full images on disk, etc. etc..... but don't want to pay over $1,000.
WTF
So, I know others are getting hit with 2013 inquiries right now. What's your doozy?
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Very irritating to me unless the bride is stupid (which she will probably .....) and doesnt know the real value of
things in general these days.
that a photographer has a lot of weddings booked for 2013 (the present year here in Spain at the time writting this) doesnt make me jealous I only have 8 at the moment but very well paid and havent booked quite a few becouse I havent dropped prices to the point that I get booked right away ( this last paragraph is not for the photographers fully booked or so with high prices )
amonline wrote:
I love how no one reads the actual question.
I had a 2012 bride who not only was low-balling me but one of her conditions was that she wanted posed portraits of every single one of the 200-some guests as they arrived for the ceremony!
I saw your ad on _____. I am writing in regards to finding a photographer for my wedding on Ju__ __, 2013 at the Cathedral of St Cheapo the Lowballer from 9:30am to 2:30pm. A short brunch reception will follow after the ceremony about 2 blocks from the Cathedral.
Your photography is beautiful! Unfortunately my fiance and I cannot afford a lot and we were looking for a photographer willing to work with our budget and possibly a videographer as well, if you do could recommend anyone. My fiance and I have actually just been given a beautiful canon 60d camera. If possible we really just need a photographer to point and shoot, and zoom in and out to capture photos on our wedding day. We are so simple and just want someone to be there to capture the special moments. No editing or equipment required. What would you charge for such an occasion? My mother has never worked a camera in her life, and was able to snap a few photos for our unoffical engagement shoot. I've included a photo of our camera and a few photos from our engagement shoot.
eNoBlog wrote:
Tell her, nicely, that your fee and her budget are not a good match, and wish her luck with her wedding. Why do we need to insult people? Is it possible, just possible, that she barely has $1,000 for wedding photography?
It was a joke from an Aussie film. Sorry wasted here.
I saw your ad on _____. I am writing in regards to finding a photographer for my wedding on Ju__ __, 2013 at the Cathedral of St Cheapo the Lowballer from 9:30am to 2:30pm. A short brunch reception will follow after the ceremony about 2 blocks from the Cathedral.
Your photography is beautiful! Unfortunately my fiance and I cannot afford a lot and we were looking for a photographer willing to work with our budget and possibly a videographer as well, if you do could recommend anyone. My fiance and I have actually just been given a beautiful canon 60d camera. If possible we really just need a photographer to point and shoot, and zoom in and out to capture photos on our wedding day. We are so simple and just want someone to be there to capture the special moments. No editing or equipment required. What would you charge for such an occasion? My mother has never worked a camera in her life, and was able to snap a few photos for our unoffical engagement shoot. I've included a photo of our camera and a few photos from our engagement shoot.
D. Diggler wrote:
I had a 2012 bride who not only was low-balling me but one of her conditions was that she wanted posed portraits of every single one of the 200-some guests as they arrived for the ceremony!
I would have said sure, and added around four hours to the contract and day's schedule.
amonline wrote:
I would have said sure, and added around four hours to the contract and day's schedule.
What I found frustrating on a 2-3 occasions last year were couples who loved my work and were really ready to go with it when we met / booked, but then later down the line backed up on that and decide they want 30 group photos in a completely unreasonable amount of time. And don't really budge, don't take on my advise. I never want to be 'one of those arrogant photographers' but I think I need to start drawing a line in the sand with people, or perhaps being more assertive. Maybe that should be a 'New Years Resolution'.
Yeah that really riles me when they want to lowball the photography yet they're getting married at some expensive venue, having 8 bridesmaids, the biggest limo bus you can get, Mariachis, a Band and DJ.......but they only want to pay under a thousand for their photos.
misty23 wrote:
Yeah that really riles me when they want to lowball the photography yet they're getting married at some expensive venue, having 8 bridesmaids, the biggest limo bus you can get, Mariachis, a Band and DJ.......but they only want to pay under a thousand for their photos.
That's because of social engineering. There's a class war going on against people with money.
kwhaley29 wrote:
+1
If you think that photographers don't do this, just list a piece of gear on this site and watch the lowball offers roll in. . Or look through the threads for complaints about the cost of new equipment. "How dare Canon/Nikon charge this much money, it's ridiculous!"
D. Diggler wrote:
If the people with money would start paying their fair share in this world they wouldn't be warred on. The rich *******s bring it on themselves.
You seem like a great guy to talk politics with
/sarcasm
But seriously,
From my own anecdotal experience, I have had to deal with less and less hagglers and "jerks" the more I raise my prices. Those poor ******s bring it on themselves.
MattSepeta wrote:
You seem like a great guy to talk politics with
/sarcasm
But seriously,
From my own anecdotal experience, I have had to deal with less and less hagglers and "jerks" the more I raise my prices. Those poor ******s bring it on themselves.
And you book enough jobs at your higher rates to live a comfortable life on, or is it just a part time endeavor for you ? I'm always interested in hearing from photographer who charge higher rates on what they make per year. Im not being sarcastic or anything, it's just that in my region, there's so much competition and everyone is always undercutting everyone else, if you don't "deal", you dont get the work. If you stick to your high prices, you starve.
Now if it's ONLY a part time gig, you can hold out for your price and if you only shoot one wedding every couple of months, it's no big deal because you have other income to get you by. I wish I had that deal going on in my life.
Nothing bad yet. I'm doing an insanely cheap elopement session at my e-shoot rates because they are a referral from a really, really good photographer friend of mine.
Otherwise, I've turned a few people away who were grossly below our budget, but nothing astronomically silly.
