Weddingbee Boards Topic: Would love your opinion...

Weddingbee Boards Topic: Would love your opinion... http://boards.weddingbee.com/ Weddingbee Boards Topic: Would love your opinion... en Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:23:57 +0000 Sweeney2Be on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64921 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:14:27 +0000 Sweeney2Be 64921@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ I woulnd't pay for something like this, for a few reasons. My day of coordinator has enough to do and I woulnd't want one who has to do all that and the photog stuff. It's too much and leave huge room for error. 2 - photography isn't a simple art - sure anyone can point and shoot but woman want those fairy tail photos and at the end of the day that photo is mostly captured by the talent of the photographer and his/her equipment - not revealed through photohop. 3 - fixing a crappy photo in photoshop takes 3 times longer then just taking a good one in the first place and enhancing color and what nots. 4 - Family and friends who have no experiance taking pictures or working a wedding isn't a good idea flat out. It will take 2 times longer to achieve all the photos due to inexperiance with working with large groups. Not to mention, if they are a family memeber it's likely they will get pulled this way or that, forgetting a key shot or messing one up.  I guess what I'm saying as a photographer and a graphic artist, at the end of the day if this caught on (which I'm sorry to say I don't think that it will) it would destroy the photography business as a whole and as someone who's been in the industry as long as you say you have, it's strange to me you'd want to provide a cheaper option then simply hiring you. Where you could coiuld make real money, honestly when it's all done, you'll have worked longer for less money if you did this - fixing someones bad pictures isteand of enhancing already good ones...just weird.  I'm not bagging on family and friends taking pictures, I'm sure in lots of cases it has worked out - I'm just saying based on what this guy is asking...trusting a novice to take photos at your weding is a dial up for isaster. Unless you could simply care less about it and will be over joyed with whatever is taken...I say - hire someone. And that coming form the photog who doens't even shoot wedings ;-)  missm on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64920 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:14:03 +0000 missm 64920@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ Thank you for the up-front request and explanation.  I agree with Janna19 - a bare minimum package is probably a better route for a budget bride, though it still doesn't really take into full consideration your experience or utilize the extent of your talent or services.  Not sure how your pricing is set up, but perhaps you can have a bargain package and then allow some add-ons to meet the needs of those who can afford a little more (extra hours, post-production, an e-pic shoot, etc.).   From the client side, it's a trade-off - the photographers charging $1100 for full bells and whistles are often the ones with less experience.  If you want the bells and whistles but don't have the bucks, this can be a good match, but you certainly forgo the benefits you mentioned of experience.  However, sometimes you luck out and find someone with both the experience and a price range that fits... depends on the market.    suzanno on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64918 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:12:01 +0000 suzanno 64918@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ I actually think that our photography coverage is really inexpensive - but we have had this photographer take many portraits for our families over the years, and I'm sure he makes his money on the back end - on the photos and portraits that we order from him - as opposed to on what are essentially sitting fees.  And our $1500 doesn't actually cover an album or portraits - we will probably spend another couple thousand after the wedding day - on a large album for us, smaller ones for both sets of parents, 8x10s framed for both set of parents (mine will get several different poses, I already know) and a 11x16 portrait on canvas for us. But I strongly believe that we won't regret any of that - and it was one of our big priorities from the start.  There is no way I want to trust documentation of this very special day to our friends and their point-and-shoots.  Most amateur photos are snapshot quality - and while they're fun to look at, they are not anything I want framed on my wall. Janna19 on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64911 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:57:51 +0000 Janna19 64911@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ Suggestion - if you want to compete but not put in the 50-70 hours you mention, could you offer the option to just shoot the day and hand over the disc?   No engagement shoot, no post production, no order taking or album planning...then you could do it for $1000 maybe...they can upload them and print albums themselves.... tjtherese on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64902 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:38:47 +0000 tjtherese 64902@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ FANTASTIC feedback ladies!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!  I have to let you know, as a professional (located in the conservative Midwest) I am constantly approached by brides who "don't value the professional" as much as you all do and I have to say... your responses have truly been a breath of FRESH AIR! I constantly hear about how "she hired her uncle, friend, etc" and this person had NEVER photographed a wedding before.  My concept came about as a result to responding to a "budget bride" looking for a way to "cut costs" while at the same time (when traditional photography is still popular around here) not sacrificing the good composition and professional nature it takes to orchestrate a professional photo shoot.  There IS SKILL in knowing how to coral everyone and stay on a time schedule.  Of course, this element is limited in the photojournalistic style shoots...  GREAT feed back and I truly appreciate your responses...  For me, having been in the business for as long as I have... it's become harder to "compete" BECAUSE there are photographers (who are just starting out) who provide comparable qualtiy photos - but their fees are so much less.  You end up competing on price alone and experience often times is kicked to the curb!  For me personally...I simply cannot justify $1100 for full day of coverage ... I'm not sure you all know this but for ANY given wedding... a professional photographer has between 50-70 hours of time invested. Comprised of consultations, engagement shoots, post production of the engagement photos, wedding day and post production of the images not to mention order taking and album planning... after costs (such as buying the album, camera equipment, etc) most photographers are looking at working for a little over minimum wage at $1100-- ESPECIALLY when they're giving their disc away ... there are no reprint orders typically after that!   It's gotten tough to compete... just trying to find ways to diversify and what better way than to go to the ones who are making the decisions!!  You are invaluable! Thank you again for all your feedback... back to the drawing board! T      rebecca on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64901 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:36:02 +0000 rebecca 64901@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ I agree with previous posters. Check out Mrs. Penguin's most recent post with her teaser pics -- I know my guests can't do that. suzanno on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64899 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:27:30 +0000 suzanno 64899@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ Um, no.  First of all, I don't feel comfortable asking my guests to do something that I should have hired someone to do.  Plus I want my guests to enjoy the party, not spend all evening behind the lens of a camera.  I am hoping that very few people will bring their own cameras, and even fewer will think to take them out of their pockets or purses. Plus, I don't think that the main problem with most of my friends' amateur photography is posing and framing.  Quite frankly, it's lighting and camera use.  That's why I hire a professional photographer.  I have a Canon 20D myself, and I can take fantastic posed shots - I want someone who can get candid shots that are equally fantastic.  In my opinion, no amount of turning my wedding and reception into a photography class for my guests is going to result in any photos taken by my guests that I will like any better than I would.  And certainly nothing will come out of it that would be comparable to the photos my professional photographer will take.  Professional photography doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.  We are paying $1500 for 7 hours with two photographers, and that includes all images on cd.  If I couldn't afford a photographer, I would happily ask any one of several talented friends to do this for us, but for me there really isn't any middle ground where I would pay someone to not actually take pictures hoping that would make someone else's pictures look better in the end. snmcdowell on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64873 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:26:12 +0000 snmcdowell 64873@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ I'm not sure I would go for your idea as-is, however I might pay around $200 for a "Digital camera butler" of sorts who whould have a laptop set up near the exit and help guests upload their photos at the end of the night, so the bride and groom could get non-pro pics IN ADDITION TO pro pics. I wouldn't do it without pro pics though. missm on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64858 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:04:13 +0000 missm 64858@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ Definitely too much pressure, stress and potential anxiety!  Brides who are comfortable with a more casual approach to photographry are more likely to have a friend or relative do the pics anyway.  There probably aren't that many on the cusp who would be interested in a setup like you described. When working out our budget, photography was high on the list, so we budgeted accordingly.  Our top choice was way out of our budget range, but we found other options that were in our price range and couldn't be happier.  Pro pics are expensive, but you truly get what you pay for.  Couples with a budget crunch can look for up and coming photographers, students or a growing number of non-pros with good eyes and equipment.  Adding in an advisor would be distracting. As a guest, I would not want to be responsible for capturing the day - it's too much pressure knowing that the pics you and the other guests take are "it."  Several people will be taking pictures at our wedding in addition to our photographer, but they can do as much or as little as they like.  It's nice to know if they're not in the mood, they can set the camera down and not stress about making sure someone got the cake shot.  LeahB on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64851 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:51:30 +0000 LeahB 64851@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ I'm gonna have to agree with the other posters, but I would also like to add that as a guest, I wouldn't want the responsibility of this couple's wedding photos! Eek! Talk about pressure! Also, your guests won't be able to enjoy themselves if they're all trying to take pictures. People will take pictures anyway, and then trying to get all those pictures is a pain in the butt as it is! Let alone, them being your actual wedding photos. I don't want my guests to "work" at my wedding. My brother is an actual professional photographer and I specifically told him I didn't want him being the main photographer because I want him to enjoy himself. That being said, I told him he better bring his camera and take pictures, because I love his work. His stuff will just add to everything my paid photographer will take. MissBanana on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64832 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:18:42 +0000 MissBanana 64832@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ We hired a professional photographer for our elopement, and I was so amazed with how good the photos were that I would never try to capture another event like that with snapshots.  Seriously, the pictures looked like an ad campaign for getting married.  Beautiful.  It was both the composition of the photos *and* the quality of photography that made it great.  I don't think most snapshot takers could really reproduce that, no matter how much help they had. So, no, probably not.  But I do think that there's a market for a photography professional that has packages that can be tailored to a particular budget.  Being able to hire our photographer for just 2 hours made him so affordable we couldn't not hire him.  caliocteach on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64808 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:20:38 +0000 caliocteach 64808@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ Sounds strange, complicated, and unnecessary. I found a photographer for $1100 who will take all digital images and give me copies of them all on high res cd and post them on his website for professional printing.  This price included my engagement photo session -- which was amazing, and touch-up to selected photos.  I honestly don't see how you would save me time, money, or effort. chinglish on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64803 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:13:57 +0000 chinglish 64803@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ Ok I'm going to respond with my gut reaction:  Honestly, I'm not sure if its worth YOUR time as a professional to spend the time setting up the site, evalutaing the lighting, posing people etc and NOT take the pictures. I foresee the 'friends & family' asking YOU to step into taking the pictures or asking you how to change their camera settings etc, taking way too much time to do the actual shooting. It may turn into more of a wedding photography workshop than a photography consulting. Overall, I think it may be more work on your end, and not enough gain. No gain in actual portfolio pieces (the friends & family own the photos), no gain in artistic experimentation (taking unique shots in the moment), no gain in relationship building with the bride and groom (they'll be torn with which camera to look at, if there are multiple shooting at the same time)  This is just my personal opinion with a background in design/photography, I really value the person behind the camera and what they see. I feel this takes away the spirit of capturing the moment. On the other hand, I do think this might work with brides & grooms looking for the more traditional posed portraits. if you enjoy teaching people, have the patience with dealing with many people at the same time, it may work out! peihan17 on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64795 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:57:37 +0000 peihan17 64795@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ Seems awfully complicated.  The couple would need to spend a lot of time letting a whole bunch of people take posed pictures of them- I'm not sure how well this idea would work for the currently popular 'photojournalistic' style photography. In the few hours of a reception, how many people would you be able to give pointers on?  Also, many point and shoot cameras really just don't take the best quality photos, even if the composition/lighting is okay.  Also, one of the biggest problems with not having a designated, paid photographer is that the couple may not get the shots they want.  This idea wouldn't really solve that problem.  People will only get a few shots that they're interested in, not say, pictures of you with the in-laws or some such. Good idea, but it seems like something I might want as entertainment for the guests, not as a replacement for a photographer. shannamt on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64794 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:57:36 +0000 shannamt 64794@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ This is not something I would personally go for.  I'm not so concerned about setting up shots (I'm more of a candid girl anyway) so I'm wanting a photographer who can look for those "moments".  I don't think that is something a consultant could do uneless they were watching the whole time and instructing when to take every picture and what settings should be used and at what angle. As for the posed photos, that would be something that I think my friend who takes decent photos would have a better handle on. I guess long story short I want a photographer who can take spur of the moment great pictures and that is why I am hiring a professional.  tjtherese on "Would love your opinion..." http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/would-love-your-opinion#post-64786 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:47:56 +0000 tjtherese 64786@http://boards.weddingbee.com/ Good morning all... <img src="/my-plugins/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/icon_smile.gif" /> I'm new here at the Weddingbee but love what I see so far! I have been around the wedding industry for over 15 years as a professional wedding photographer and BOY HAS IT CHANGED the past 3-4 years!  WOW!  Seems there are more choices than EVER for a bride planning her perfect day!  It also seems, with the technology of today, it has made photography so much more accessible to the average consumer therefore, brides expect more and more control over their final wedding images than ever before! I'm hoping I can get some much needed feedback from you all by way of your opinion and thoughts.  I PROMISE- I'm NOT selling ANYTHING because the thing I'm "thinking" about selling, I don't even know if there would be a market for but I'm hoping you can help me figure that out.  I read in a thread here on Weddingbee posted back in April about the couple who did their own photography with a tripod.  Sounds good in theory, doesn't it?  BUT, I read all of your responses which has lead me to posting this question: 1) With budgets getting tighter for a lot of brides (but of course not all), and the advances in consumer use digital cameras being the high quality they are, why wouldn't a bride want to photograph her own wedding or have a friend do it? - -- what I heard in the post in April was-- "way too stressful worried about if the photos would come out or not" and in general... HIRE A PROFESSIONAL?  Well... what if a professional with over 15 years experience would offer this expertise as a "wedding day consultant" rather than your photographer??  Would you be interested? Would this be appealing to you? OKAY... so here's how it might go: You contact a good friend who takes "decent photos"-- they're learning and seem to be pretty good.  You ask everyone else who will be attending to come with camera in hand as well.  You hire "a professional" to come in and pose your groups, consult live on-site with tips for making the photos great working with each of your "photographers"- spends some time setting up beautiful photos of the bride and groom- based on appealing site selection, lighting conditions, etc.  At the end of the day, you've paid MAYBE $400-$500 and YOU GET TO KEEP ALL OF THE IMAGES from everyone's camera to do with as you please!!!   On the back end... your "prfessional photography consultant" offers (if need be) retouching services if you elect to have some of the pictures enhanced... IT'S ALL UP TO YOU!  WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS CONCEPT?  Would you pay for something like this?  Would this even be appealing?  I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS! I'll check back here on the site to see what you all have to say!  I won't share any email addresses or websites because truly... I'm not looking to sell you anything... just doing a little Market Research.   THANKS SO MUCH for your time!