An email I received about a wedding

[Nekrose]

I received this email from a woman getting married. She was hoping for a photographer, but was not willing to spend more than $400.

I just thought it was too funny to keep to myself. And very sad as well, because this is what most people here expect to get when they hire a photographer.

And sadly, many photographers that I am competing with are more than willing to jump at this opportunity. They don't see all that goes into the actual wedding, and as a result, the pictures are seriously lacking.

"I'm looking for a last minute photographer for my small wedding (45 people) on Wed June 2nd (4pm - 8pm) on the Marine base in Kaneohe. This is the pricing I was hoping to get... 4 hours of shoot time Unlimited unedited & edited photos on thumb drive with in 10 days of shoot 50 edited photos of our choice retouched and printable up to 8X10 We own all photos unless authorized on photo by photo basis $400 Please let me know if this sounds like something you would like to do. Mahalo!"

[daddyoproductions]

Wow. Back when we got married, we couldn't afford much for a photog either, as we were paying for the wedding ourselves. I searched around for someone who could do a small custom package for us. We ended up finding someone who shot I think 3 rolls for us with minimal edits for $500. He gave us the negatives as well, as long as we ordered a certain number of proofs between me and the rest of the fam. He was retired and only shot the occasional whatever he wanted to keep himself busy. We did not get anything fancy, but certainly better than what a family member could have done

~C

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Nekrose

4 hours of shoot time

Maybe. For a wedding, $50/hr for both shooting and editing is about right, and I get a 1:1 ratio of shooting/editing time. So that comes out to 8hrs, which makes sense. However, in my pricing, this would only be for my TIME, not the resulting products...

Originally Posted by Nekrose

Unlimited unedited & edited photos on thumb drive

No. Flat out. Nobody will give her unedited pictures, and certainly nobody will do it for "free"

Originally Posted by Nekrose

with in 10 days of shoot

Reasonable, if that's ALL the photog were doing. This falls under a rush for most of the people I've spoken to, and is subject to another charge.

Originally Posted by Nekrose

50 edited photos of our choice retouched and printable up to 8X10

Again, a fair request. 50 is a bit much, and it's another extra that they are asking to get for "free". 25 files from a friend of mine, an established pro, would cost quite a bit, let alone 50.

Originally Posted by Nekrose

We own all photos unless authorized on photo by photo basis

No way in hell. Again, the vast majority of photogs do NOT relinquish ALL rights: they almost always allow for portfolio and business related used, but not resale.

Originally Posted by Nekrose

$400"

HA!

[fantasmic2tek]

I could not have said it better Osmosis.

I was cool with it up until the "I own all photos" part. I'd probably respond with "how bout royalty-free instead?".

But then again, I'm not really in it for the money. I just need a little money every now and then to pay for new toys.

[Nekrose]

I think I should add that I am in Hawaii. $400 falls into the range of what people charge for a simple portrait shoot.

I also would have to travel to the other side of the island for this.

And I wouldn't give out my unedited photos for her to do whatever she wants to them.

[shutterprincess]

WOW @ that email. That's ridiculous on so many levels. I'm new and know very little about the business side to photography but even I wouldn't jump on this even though I could use the money.

[Evn1ngStar]

Well I hope this couple is entering marriage with a more realistic view than they have about getting a photographer to do what they want....

[candleman]

>insert laughing<

.....good luck with that

[windrider86]

Funny as the person writing the email sounds like they are somewhat knowledgeable with photography or they would not have included several of the statements they made. Knowing that makes it even more laughable