Engaging the Customer/Responding to Inquiries

[olgabe]

Originally Posted by hibou

You are more right than you know. In fact it is not even a real wedding. ^_^.

Oh my. If the customer asks you how many weddings have you done, will you tell them the truth?

Couple more points. It's not very smart to brag on your 'professional' blog about the first 'professional camera' you just purchased. It seems like you are not doing flash photography, and you can't do all natural light only at the weddings. Really, it's wishful thinking. You need fill flash for traditional family portraits 80% of the time. You need flash for receptions. 50 mm f1.8 does not cut it. Actually, 2 flash guns,,, gotta have backup if you charge this much.

I've only done a few weddings, but it is SO different from engagements and portraits. It's not a completely different skillset, but you got to be real quick on your feet, and you rarely get a chance to pose anything or figure out optimal lighting. When you get their attention, they are stressed and distracted, and it shows in the pictures. You need to shoot "on automatic" (not on P mode, I mean - but not waste a split second on fiddling with the controls) - because your real job is to make them feel relaxed, happy and natural when they are stressed, cranky, and sweating in those penguin outfits and merengue skirts.

How long did it take you to shoot those portfolio wedding images? In a real wedding, you'd have maybe 20 min for all of those combined. Could deliver the same stuff as fast?

Btw, what happened to images from real weddings - I thought you said you shot a couple already?

[hibou]

Originally Posted by olgabe

Oh my. If the customer asks you how many weddings have you done, will you tell them the truth?

Would you believe no one has ever asked?

Thanks for your input about what I should and should not blog about, and the helpful advice about how to shoot. I think it's fair to say that if anyone doesn't like my writing style or portfolio images, they won't hire me, so I won't change these things.

Btw, what happened to images from real weddings - I thought you said you shot a couple already?

I said I booked a couple already.

And with that I think I've exhausted any potential for helpful information from this thread, so thanks everyone.