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Archive 2013 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?

  
 
Mitch W
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p.3 #1 · p.3 #1 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


ricardovaste wrote:
I agree, if a client expresses love for your work then they're most likely certainly going to be better to work with - I'm not debating that. My point was that if you need someone to express this from the get-go then you may be presupposing one of the conditions. If they're contacting you, I think it is safe to assume they like your work. They may not have divulged into every single blog post you've ever made, but they will like it. But hey, if you're batting off hundreds of inquiries you have that choice.

I've had numerous first contacts
...Show more
Nah, it's all good. We're just conversing!



Jun 06, 2013 at 10:41 AM
Dawei Ye
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p.3 #2 · p.3 #2 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?



TRReichman wrote:
There is more to life (hopefully) than wedding photography.

- trr


This makes me depressed

Like aremac said, for people like me who are Weekend Warriors, Wedding Photography is like a fallback/Nirvana for when we can't stand to go on with our day jobs haha



Jun 06, 2013 at 12:17 PM
D. Diggler
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p.3 #3 · p.3 #3 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


paparazzinick wrote:
Albums shouldnt take more than an hour max. most take 30 minutes. I edit the entire wedding I shot from Saturday Monday after work. Takes maybe 6 hours tops.


Don't tell your clients how little time you put into their wedding. They may feel ripped off considering what they paid.



Jun 06, 2013 at 01:54 PM
TRReichman
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p.3 #4 · p.3 #4 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


Dawei Ye wrote:
This makes me depressed

Like aremac said, for people like me who are Weekend Warriors, Wedding Photography is like a fallback/Nirvana for when we can't stand to go on with our day jobs haha


I felt the same way at a certain point. I started to get resentful that I was spending 100% of my life photographing other people living theirs. Puts things in perspective.

- trr



Jun 06, 2013 at 02:02 PM
Dawei Ye
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p.3 #5 · p.3 #5 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


Fair point!


Jun 06, 2013 at 10:25 PM
Aremac 01
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p.3 #6 · p.3 #6 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


TRReichman wrote:
I felt the same way at a certain point. I started to get resentful that I was spending 100% of my life photographing other people living theirs. Puts things in perspective.

- trr


This is exactly how I felt in Corporate America. I started feeling resentful that I was spending 100% of my life working to put money in other people's pockets, while no matter how hard I busted my ass my salary largely remained unchanged. That put things in perspective for me.



Jun 06, 2013 at 11:58 PM
awad
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p.3 #7 · p.3 #7 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


D. Diggler wrote:
Don't tell your clients how little time you put into their wedding. They may feel ripped off considering what they paid.


nah, i doubt they'd feel ripped off. it's like if you go to a doctor that's a specialist in something. it might take them a few seconds to diagnose and treat you, but it'll cost you a ton. more time spent ≠ more value. our current turn around time is less than a week and I've heard nothing but positive things from the couples.



Jun 07, 2013 at 12:38 AM
TheGE
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p.3 #8 · p.3 #8 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


Brian Virts wrote:
haha, just got this:

Message:
hi! I'm looking to see if your available on our wedding date 10/12/13
and what your prices are. our previous photographer went out of
business and the count down is on!!

I look forward to hearing back from you!
thanks,
traci


Brian Virts wrote:
She didn't say how f'in awesome I was, so probably not my client, just stating a point.


ricardovaste wrote:
Surely the simple act of contacting you shows you that they want to be in 'your pictures'?


Brian Virts wrote:
Yeah, there are tons of threads on the art of the inquiry. I've booked on less personal messages, but I usually never hear from this type of contact.


Those inquiries don't book because they're not the best clients. When you read between the lines of this kind of inquiry, you can reason that their photographer took off for one of several reasons: Either they found an underpriced photographer who couldn't sustain their business, in which case they were looking for - and got - a cheap photographer, or, assuming they're not telling you exact factual information, the photographer fired them, but they're not going to tell you how they were PITA and got themselves fired. Or the booking was so low (again, they bought in cheap) the photographer unethically took a higher paying gig and cancelled out on them maybe by telling them he's going out of business. In any of those scenarios, they're looking to repeat the same buying pattern that landed them their previous photographer. And so, they don't book you.

Sometimes you dodge a bullet when they don't reply back, you know?

All my neighbors who live in a cubicle for their JOB have farrrrrrr more of a life outside of work than I do. Farrrr more of a work-life balance. Farrrr more time for family, friends, hobbies, or even just relaxing watching a movie.

It just seems they have more of a life. Most people lead very uninteresting, boring lives. "Lives of quiet desperation" is how the poet put it, right?




Jun 07, 2013 at 08:45 AM
D. Diggler
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p.3 #9 · p.3 #9 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


awad wrote:
our current turn around time is less than a week and I've heard nothing but positive things from the couples


Do you hear any comments about the turn-around time? What do they say?



Jun 07, 2013 at 06:13 PM
awad
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p.3 #10 · p.3 #10 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


D. Diggler wrote:
Do you hear any comments about the turn-around time? What do they say?


Our contract states that the turn around time is 30-60 days. So when we deliver that early, the comments are usually how they can't believe they're done already. How excited they are to go through them, etc etc. Then just the normal praise about the photos. But nothing negative about the turn around time.

Last year we were delivering at the end of the 60 day time table and we weren't hearing anything negative about that either. So I guess in the end, it doesn't even matter.



Jun 07, 2013 at 06:29 PM
tobicus
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p.3 #11 · p.3 #11 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


^ My goal is to finish our remaining weddings within two weeks of shooting, even though our official window is 60 days long. I just want these done and out of our lives.


Jun 08, 2013 at 07:59 AM
D. Diggler
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p.3 #12 · p.3 #12 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


tobicus wrote:
My goal is to finish our remaining weddings within two weeks of shooting, even though our official window is 60 days long. I just want these done and out of our lives.


L O L. I don't even start on mine in 60 days.

But I can understand what you're saying about wanting them out of your life.



Jun 08, 2013 at 03:35 PM
awad
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p.3 #13 · p.3 #13 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


D. Diggler wrote:
L O L. I don't even start on mine in 60 days.

But I can understand what you're saying about wanting them out of your life.


do you do this full time? or are you part time?



Jun 08, 2013 at 10:40 PM
D. Diggler
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p.3 #14 · p.3 #14 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


awad wrote:
do you do this full time? or are you part time?


Full.



Jun 09, 2013 at 12:35 AM
awad
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p.3 #15 · p.3 #15 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


D. Diggler wrote:
Full.


when i was doing this part time, i'd be hitting that 60 day mark because I just would have no time to do it. What are you doing for 60 days before you have time to touch the images? Now that I'm full time, I get anxious if I don't get them done as soon as possible. Granted, my girlfriend and I run the business, so we split up the workload, Doing it on your own might be the reason why.



Jun 09, 2013 at 04:25 PM
Ghost
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p.3 #16 · p.3 #16 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


This is a revolving door industry. Just as many that get on the bandwagon because they just got a digital rebel, there are many that leave after spending loads on 5d3 and L glasses only to realize that running a photography business is more business than photography.

We book ourselves first. So we don't get burned out. If it is no longer fun, then this is no longer worth it for us. And yes, we are part-timers.



Jun 10, 2013 at 11:50 AM
Brian Virts
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p.3 #17 · p.3 #17 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


TheGE wrote:

Those inquiries don't book because they're not the best clients. When you read between the lines of this kind of inquiry, you can reason that their photographer took off for one of several reasons: Either they found an underpriced photographer who couldn't sustain their business, in which case they were looking for - and got - a cheap photographer, or, assuming they're not telling you exact factual information, the photographer fired them, but they're not going to tell you how they were PITA and got themselves fired. Or the booking was so low (again, they bought in cheap) the photographer
...Show more

Ha! She called me, I'm actually going to meet with them. I'll get to the bottom of this one in about 2 minutes flat. It may be a viable client, we'll see.



Jun 10, 2013 at 03:23 PM
D. Diggler
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p.3 #18 · p.3 #18 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


awad wrote:
What are you doing for 60 days before you have time to touch the images?


During those 60 days I'm editing a mountain of backlog and shooting new weddings.



Jun 10, 2013 at 03:43 PM
Prettym1k3
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p.3 #19 · p.3 #19 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


DavidCZ wrote:
Because most weddings are weekends, they will take lots of family time. Husband and wife team are good and can still enjoy working together. But when there are kids, it will be another story. It could be especially tough for husband and wife team.

One has to balance the life and work very well as wedding photographers.


Hey David,

I know you're in the SJ area, so I can speak to people in our area.

It sucks. I pull 40 hours a week at my day job. With commuting, I'm gone from 7:30am until approximately 6pm every day. My wife works too, so same thing. Then, at least this year, we have about 15 weddings on the books. I told my wife I may take on 1 more, but that's about my limit, I think.

This year, I'm only second shooting twice for friends. I simply can't take on more than that, which sucks, as I love helping other people. But with the mid-night editing, weekend shooting, and the 40 hrs. at my day job, it sucks.

Oh, the reason why I wanted to mention this, is we have a kid. Just one right now. He's almost 2. But without both my parents and my wife's parents living in the area, we'd be hosed. It's expensive to live here, childcare is insanely expensive, and the lack of free time makes it really, really rough. But we survive.

I can tell you this: My wife and I never, EVER tire of spending time with our son. All of our friends who have a stay at home parents, or whatever, are always trying to escape. We get home from work, and if there's no client meetings, editing, Skype meetings, phone calls, etc., we plop on the floor and just laugh for hours with our son. So there is that. This year has been an exercise in looking on the bright side of things.

A little more on topic, I've seen my bookings go up, with less questioning as to my pricing and less request for discounts. Which is really, really nice.



Jun 11, 2013 at 01:34 PM
Prettym1k3
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p.3 #20 · p.3 #20 · Is the economy picking up and photogs are dropping out?


awad wrote:
when i was doing this part time, i'd be hitting that 60 day mark because I just would have no time to do it. What are you doing for 60 days before you have time to touch the images? Now that I'm full time, I get anxious if I don't get them done as soon as possible. Granted, my girlfriend and I run the business, so we split up the workload, Doing it on your own might be the reason why.


I haven't taken longer than a week to turn around a wedding in almost 2 years. I just don't sit on stuff.

And I have a day job. And take on family sessions. And engagements. And still find time to spend with my wife and kiddo.

Everyone's editing time is different, but why it takes that long to edit these days... I'll never quite understand.



Jun 11, 2013 at 01:46 PM
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