wedding pricing!!

[SJames]

wow Paul.. that was a lot to take in.. and has made me feel even better about this day! i just got back from our talk.. and she is really confident in me.. and wants me, not anyone else.. and i have stressed to her, more than once, that i am a student and that i have NEVER done this before.. and she says that's ok.. =) i think im going to be ok.. THANKS EVERYONE!!

[mrsrice22]

Sarah,

It doesn't take very long to file your DBA, apply for your sales tax AND EIN#. I'd atleast do it for peace of mind and everyone is used to paying sales tax, all you're doing is acting as the middle woman by collecting it and passing it on to "the man". You can call the comptroller (or whoever it is that handles when you file) and let them know that you're currently a student and only do this on occasion and ask to have your filing changed from quarterly to yearly - that's what I did.

As far as pricing, charge for your time. You need to eat and live too. Factor in time spent on phone calls, emails, the time at the event, the time after, delivering, ordering, etc and figure out what you want to be paid hourly. You'll spend about 8-10 hours at the event, another 8-10 (or more) weeding through the images and editing, another 2-3 for correspondence before and after and probably 1-2 hrs for order and delivery. I would imagine a wedding typically yields up to 40hrs of work, but I'm not a wedding photographer and my 2-3hr portrait sessions end up being anywhere from 8-15 hrs on avg.

Good luck! I've assisted a few weddings and it's a lot of work, even for an assistant so be ready for everything and if you can go check out the church and see if you can sort of do a walk through to get an idea of where you want to be. Maybe bring your friend, it could be fun. :)

Kristina

[MikeC]

Originally Posted by SJames

i can get the correct lens tho.. i thought i posted it earlier.. we get free rental where i go to school.. and i do not have a web site yet, in working process... i was thinking about meeting up with her and letting her pick which photos she wants printed.. i print with WHCC now, thanks to cherese! lol.. and if she wants a cd i could make her one.. but only for internet use.. i don't make the res big enough for printing..

Can i tag along....

[BenE]

Originally Posted by SJames

wow Paul.. that was a lot to take in.. and has made me feel even better about this day! i just got back from our talk.. and she is really confident in me.. and wants me, not anyone else.. and i have stressed to her, more than once, that i am a student and that i have NEVER done this before.. and she says that's ok.. =) i think im going to be ok.. THANKS EVERYONE!!

Be sure you get all this in writing, and have her sign a contract. Even seasoned photographers have run into situations where they have problems with customers after the wedding.

Sometimes photographers even get blamed for things that are beyond their control. A few are :

Miss a shot the mom wants
Didn't get a certain person in a shot
Some of the images are off color.. (such as available light during the ceremony). And many, many more.

My favorite was a wedding for a family I had photographed for years. Seniors, families, etc.. a good customer for many years.

When the mom saw the wedding photographs the first comment was that I made her hair look lopsided! Well...... the hairdresser worked past time for the photography to start, but I was to blame for the way her hair looked????

Sad part.. they never used me again, after about 15 years of a good relationship.

Good part is that I didn't have to see her everyday at work.

......

By the way, if you allow the mom or bride to give you a list, and you agree to shoot what is on the list..... be very careful, you are setting yourself up for problems.

[BenE]

Originally Posted by mrsrice22

========== I would imagine a wedding typically yields up to 40hrs of work,=======

About the most accurate estimate I have seen. I figured my total time was at least 30 hours on most weddings. That was 3 years ago.

[bryanlindsey]

Originally Posted by sjames

well, none of ya'll are helping.. But thanks anyways! Way to encourage a "new" photographer! Ya'll are just great!

lol!

[WarrenG]

Originally Posted by SJames

i just got back from our talk.. and she is really confident in me.. and wants me, not anyone else.. and i have stressed to her, more than once, that i am a student and that i have NEVER done this before.. and she says that's ok.. =) i think im going to be ok.. THANKS EVERYONE!!

Sarah, this is going to sound terse, but I promise you it is not meant to be. Why do you think she wants you to do the wedding? Do you think it is because of the portfolio you offered her? Was it becasue of the vast number of weddings that you did, and the back-up plans that you have in place for when things go wrong? Was it becasue you know most vendors in your area, and had recommendations of who does a good job?

The truth is, she wants you because she does not want to spend several thousand dollars for a professional wedding photographer, therefore she wants to take advantage of you, because you are inexpensive.

Would you take your child to the cheapest pediatrician in town, or would you take her to one that has some time under their belt, that your friends recommend, that you know has the experience to take care of your baby? The same should be said for a wedding photographer!

Trust me when I, and many other wedding photographers on here tell you (from experience) that the cheapest clients are ALWAYS the most painful to work with.

I do wish you luck.

W

[Phisch]

Just to reiterate an important point: please make sure you have a contract that states you are a student/beginner and that you make no promises to get everything on their shot list but will do what you can to the best of your ability.

You are good friends at work and because you are, you both ought to preserve that by making sure you have everything in writing and it's all understood.

RE: gear - I would recommend you think through how you shoot before you look for a list of gear to bring. Without doubt you ought to bring a good body (I think you have access to 5d Mk II so if you can bring 2 so you have a back up).

You may or may not want balcony shots...but a long lens and a wide lens are both going to be helpful to you. Bring 2 flashes so you have a back up.

Bring lots of reliable cards.

Originally Posted by SJames

wow Paul.. that was a lot to take in.. and has made me feel even better about this day! i just got back from our talk.. and she is really confident in me.. and wants me, not anyone else.. and i have stressed to her, more than once, that i am a student and that i have NEVER done this before.. and she says that's ok.. =) i think im going to be ok.. THANKS EVERYONE!!