p.1 #1 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
Hello there,
I have a serious issue I would like to discuss with some of the wedding photographers on this forum...it is in regards to Bella Photography
Before I begin I would like to say that I am 19 years old, have been doing weddings for about a year and have a total of 18-20 booked for this year. I try to run things and friendly and as professional as possible and feel as if I am growing as a wedding photographer, hopefully in the right direction.
Now to the subject at hand, Bella photography, if you do now know what Bella is, it is a nationwide wedding photography studio who hires various photographers all across the nation to shoot weddings for them. The photographer basically accepts whichever job and just shows up and shoots, no prelim work, no editing or anything like that. Total shoot and burn.
Now I have been accepted into Bella as a photographer and already completed a few second shooter jobs to get "certified" as a primary shooter but the more I shoot with Bella, the more I hate it. To me wedding photography is supposed to be a relationship with the B&G and the photographer and with that relationship comes great and personal photos. I can make this almost factual by providing full wedding sets from times where I have shot with a couple I have met before hand and with a couple I have met the day of the wedding. I honestly cannot stand being at Bella weddings because the primary photogs I have shot with are TOTALLY fake with the couple (e.g. "oh great smile", "love that pose" and other crap like that) and I just stand there in disgust.
Anyway, I feel as if Bella Photography is this nationwide powerhouse that is desensitizing and commercializing wedding photography, which is an industry that absolutely thrives on personal interaction. Am i wrong to believe this or do people have different opinions on Bella?? If so, what are your opinions on such a matter?
Now the problem for me is whether I should stay or quit.
The $$$ they give is is good becuase they days that I dont have a wedding, I can just accept some random Bella job and shoot and get paid some $300 which is nice for a college student, ya know? Maybe I need to be convinced that $$$ overcomes my ethical concerns (thats never the case as far as I'm concerned), or should I let my values dominate and quit the Bella jobs, enabling me to further my passion for my own Wedding photography while making less $$$. (It is important to note that when I get home form a Bella shoot, I hate the fact that I did it, haha)
I appreciate any thoughts you may have on any matter regarding these issues
Thank you for reading
And like always, pics for click (sorry if i used this picture before, its just too late right now )
p.1 #2 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
I think you will find that many photographers including myself started their careers this way although i can certainly empathise with certain elements of your post i think it would be wiser to refrain from openly scathing a company that curently pays and employs you.
The idea is to gain as much technical knowledge as you can aswell as knowing how to develop good people skills that are so imperative when shooting weddings.
You will always see things that you may not necessarily like or agree with however simply try to extract the positives and eliminate all the negatives.
If you still feel uncomfortable with the current arrangement you may want to consider leaving and branching out solo as it will show through the quality of the images which would be unfair to the paying couple imho.
However just a few things you may want to consider operating a studio can be very demanding time consuming challenging with little no or no profits in the early stages so i think that the course that you are currently on is actually quite a positive one as you are learning the craft and getting paid to do so regardless of the clinical and insensitive approach that this company alledgedly employs.
As you are only 19 you are actually doing very well in regards to the experience that you are gaining...In years to come you will look back in retrospect and appreciate these types of opportunities. wish i had that type of foresight and vision at that age.
Either way best of luck in your endeavours.
p.1 #3 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
$300 is not much compensation... IMHO. and agree with above post, it's NEVER a good idea to bad mouth a company you worked for or are still working for. If a current or future employer finds such a post online, it will not be good for you. If you're talking about ethics... look in the mirror first =)
But yeah, at 19 that's a very good experience. I started as a photo journalist when I was 18, and now just starting as a wedding photographer. Learn as much as you can... what works and doesn't work in a business i guess. Actually, i'm probably not making much sense it's 4:30am and I just woke up... -_-;
p.1 #4 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
Could you give us the website? I can't find anything that looks like what you are talking about.
I agree with Chris above, it doesn't make sense to go on a forum and badmouth a company that you are currently working for.
This type of wedding photography may work quite well for a bride who really doesn't care about the photography, but most brides will not be happy with this approach. I wouldn't worry about this being the way of the future.
If I were you, I would stop badmouthing them, work for them for a while, make a little money and learn as much as you can about wedding photography. Think about it like this: this is a great opportunity to learn what NOT to do at a wedding. When I first started a spent a few falls shooting for a large school photography chain, and not only did I do a lot of photography, I got to see how that industry works and what this company was doing well and not so well.
p.1 #5 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
If you don't like it, quit. No one has a gun to your head.
They have a different approach to shooting then you do. At 19 if you're doing 18-20 weddings then why are you bothering with Bella? Either your flat out lying or these 18-20 are through Bella. If they are through Bella use the experiance and quit bad mouthing your employer, especially while signing your name to your post.
Real bright. Not sure you'll have to worry about making the decision. They may make it for you.
p.1 #6 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
It's a different model ... not everyone is going to like it. You COULD be positive about it and consider what your primary shooters are doing RIGHT, and discount what you don't like about them. But everyone's got something to teach you ... take advantage of that. Don't think you're the hotshot young guy and discount the years of wisdom you could tap into.
p.1 #8 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
Are you concerns limited to only a few photographers you've worked with, or do you feel that all of them behave the way you described?
The personal relationship between photog and couple is something that you have to cultivate and I don't know how gency jobs are ever going to approach that level of connection.
If that's what you are after, then stop taking these souless gigs and go for it. 18-20 is more than I have booked!
p.1 #9 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
As bad as you make them out to be, they are actually some nice people who work for them. Sure they are a powerhouse that may be crap in your opinion, but they do refer me some nice work sometimes. They asked me to be on their team and I said $450 for a wedding isnt worth my time and also if I dont get to edit and enjoy the job with the client, I wont do it.
SO then they sent me atleast 3-4 weddings per year. Nice people.
Kind of like a place in my home town, Big Day. Any PGH people will know what I mean. They pay $400 per wedding for their photographers. You click and burn. Thats it. The guy seen me at a coffee shop in a meeting. Asked me if I would shoot for him. I said sorry but I would rather have the interaction with the client and make the $3000 or more I make on a wedding rather than $400 and not ever meet with them or know if they liked the images or what.
I say stick with them for a bit to gain experience then run.
p.1 #10 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
Sooner or later people will be getting married at their local WalMart Chapel O' Love, right next to the pharmacy, clinic, eye center, and tire shop. While they're getting their tires rotated, he could check his eyes so he can make sure she's good looking, go to the clinic to get tested for VD, get the penicillin at the pharmacy, and get married all in one afternoon. They could even book their RV rental for their honeymoon down to the "Redneck Riviera" at the WalMart vacation center.
You have to ask yourself, if you can stand alone and have 18-20 bookings without the aid of the NTB of wedding photography, do you really want to be bound to follow their path?
p.1 #11 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
Bella is really good. More and more people work and shop at Wal-Mart and get their dinner at the local McDonald's or a soup kitchen. Bella serves a tremendous portion of the market who believe in a checklist life.
bride - check
groom - check
wmd - check
Kind of like that pithy warm feeling you get when talking with a particularly swarmy minister. Void of intellect or substsance - and - some fantastic wedding pictures.
p.1 #12 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
Has anyone heard of National Studios? I think they're a parent company for some Mall kiosk-type shooters, but might have a wedding photography arm... They're outside St. Louis, MO
p.1 #13 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
Mike Kalcevic wrote:
Sooner or later people will be getting married at their local WalMart Chapel O' Love, right next to the pharmacy, clinic, eye center, and tire shop. While they're getting their tires rotated, he could check his eyes so he can make sure she's good looking, go to the clinic to get tested for VD, get the penicillin at the pharmacy, and get married all in one afternoon. They could even book their RV rental for their honeymoon down to the "Redneck Riviera" at the WalMart vacation center.
That's the funniest thing I have read in a long time! It's been a crazy morning and I needed that! Thanks!
p.1 #14 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
Mike Kalcevic wrote:
Sooner or later people will be getting married at their local WalMart Chapel O' Love, right next to the pharmacy, clinic, eye center, and tire shop. While they're getting their tires rotated, he could check his eyes so he can make sure she's good looking, go to the clinic to get tested for VD, get the penicillin at the pharmacy, and get married all in one afternoon. They could even book their RV rental for their honeymoon down to the "Redneck Riviera" at the WalMart vacation center.
A buddy of mines got married at a place called the Chapel of Love in Vegas! There was a room filled with costumes and outfits so people could dress up and do themed weddings and if you were in a rush, they even had a drive-thru window! The basic package was $49.95 and will get you a ceremony with a certified Priest. If you opt for the higher package (which they did) you'd get the ceremony with the Priest, a video of the ceremony and an 8x10 framed of you and your guests outside by the rusty old horse carriage that they tried to krylon spray paint white.
It was fantastic! Of course the couple did it as a joke. They came back to Los Angeles and had a 800 person wedding that cost way over $100,000. (Bride's father is a Diamond dealer).
In response to the OP regarding his rant about his employer, the best advice I ever got from anyone was from one of my previous employers. I hated my job and I hated some of the people I worked with even more. My boss knew that I was a performer/producer and he wanted me to move up in the company. My boss told me that if I didn't like my situation, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. (He meant do something about it in the company) I took his advice and did...I quit and found a new job. Boy oh boy was he sad that I left.
p.1 #16 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
I don't see anything wrong with staying with your employer as long as you are learning and gaining experience. Quit after you're not getting anything out of it. Maybe you just have to learn how to create the relationship with the Bride and Groom much quicker, so you can get the kind of shots you want.
I assume your employer doesn't want you handing out your own business cards at the weddings they send you to, but people will remember you if you make a good impression.
p.1 #17 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
If you feel that strongly about it, why even bother asking us? Sounds like the decision is pretty easy--leave. Last year I was in a work situation I didn't enjoy, and I left despite the relatively comfortable financial situation I had there. Now a year later I'm doing work that I enjoy with people that I respect and like to be around, and I'm much happier despite earning less.
But I would advise you to reconsider. You're gaining a lot of experience, earning money, and have the opportunity to have seen it all in the wedding business by the time you've graduated college. That seems like a great opportunity to me. So what if other photogs there might be soulless--you don't have to be. You can still be a model professional and represent the business honorably and with dignity in the midst of other photogs doing half-hearted work. Once you graduate and have one less thing to worry about, you could reevaluate your situation and see if you're ready to quit and strike out on your own, and if that doesn't work out you'll have your degree to fall back on.
p.1 #19 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
Wow, great responses. Thanks
I have to say that it did not even occur to me that I was badmouthing Bella, I just have a strong opinion towards their type of business. I think strongly about some things and dont find anything wrong with that (although I may suffer the consequences of it later)
I apologize since I did not mean for it to pose its own dilema.
Yohan, I think you perfectly summed it up for me, why should I let their attitudes influence mine. I think I will take that advice most seriously as it falls completely under my values and beliefs. Just we must be reminded of that sometimes
Bpuppy...thanks for the honesty because I think I may have quickly fallen into the "hotshot young guy" mindset for a split second and actually forgot why I was doing all of this...to gain more experience and learn. I know i have ALOT to learn and I guess the slightest bit of success can get to your head.
As far as the $$ goes, $300 for a 6-8hr shift of second shooting may seem like nothing to most of you, but that can cover almost 2 car payments for me or a few college books etc. Its not great, but its ok pay for me. (It beats selling cameras at Bestbuy) Remember, those are not my prices I set for my own weddings, its what the company pays me.
In response to Dustin, I have to say that I worked my @$$ off trying to build my business and spent quite a lot of money I barely had to support it. I just want to make sure I am making the right decisions in regards to this company. Although, I do hope things end up working for you.
Dlai...How does someone know 800 people Thats nuts, haha.
again you guys, thanks for the info, it REALLY helped me grasp this situation.
I would love to hear any other comments you may have regarding this
p.1 #20 · Taking away the soul of wedding photography???
Deebo, I would like to add that I don't see it as either/or. There is nothing to stop you from benefiting from both Bella's money and the experience.
When my chidren were little, the few times I took them to Kmart or Penney's for portraits I got a variety of "photographers". Some indeed were smarmy, and clearly didn't care a bit about the job they were doing. Some did, and the expperience was vastly different.
Even as a second shooter, your own work ethic and attitude will have an impact on those around you. As the primary, you will set the tone at the weddings you shoot. Sure, I would HATE to shoot and walk away without the satisfaction of PP and presentation, but if the money satisfies you,and the experience helps you toward your goal, then you can also rejoice that at least your couples are getting a caring sincere photographer on their day.
)
Thats nuts, haha.