wedding photographers

[smc]

Hey,

I have bee doing wedding photography for several years part-time, relying mostly on referrals. Anyway it is getting to the point where I often get more bookings than I can handle and I have to turn some away. Also I would like a second shooter on occasion or a backup photographer in case I had an accident and was unable to work.

With these items in mind are there any other experienced wedding photographers who are in similar situations and would like to work together by passing on jobs and acting as emergency backups when available? If you are interested please send me a PM.

For reference my website is www.n-images.net (http://www.n-images.net)

Thanks

[Pollywog]

I havn't done many weddings, but I must say that I do love a lot of your shots on your site - very tasteful and creative.

[Melinda]

D'z Nutz and Dirty_SOHC work as a wedding team and they are really fantastic. I'm sure they'd be open to something like this, but they'll likely see this post themselves and PM you if interested. I would normally be, but I've limited myself to 4 weddings a year and I'm even cutting back more this year cause working 12+ hour wedding days while being pregnant isn't something I'm doing really well right now. Hypoglycemia pwns me :( Studio work is where my heart is these days :)

Good luck, it was a VERY VERY painful journey for me to find someone who was a reliable second shooter/back up, I got screwed around and let down more times than I have fingers and toes. I finally had to help train my own. If I could have found someone that was capable AND reliable right off the bat, I would have been the happiest woman in the world.

[quazimoto]

+1 to what melinda is saying.

Finding someone that is good and doesn't want more money than they are worth all while being reliable is a hard sell.

I would honestly say you are more likely to find a partner to do business with.

[kamakurakid]

Originally posted by smc
Hey,

I have bee doing wedding photography for several years part-time, relying mostly on referrals. Anyway it is getting to the point where I often get more bookings than I can handle and I have to turn some away. Also I would like a second shooter on occasion or a backup photographer in case I had an accident and was unable to work.

With these items in mind are there any other experienced wedding photographers who are in similar situations and would like to work together by passing on jobs and acting as emergency backups when available? If you are interested please send me a PM.

For reference my website is www.n-images.net (http://www.n-images.net)

Thanks

As you are turning away that much work, your prices are too low. There is a balance. When was the last time you reviewed your price structure? Why do you charge what you charge for a day? I know of a photographer in Calgary who charges $3,000 a day for weddings (photos to a DVD), might be apples and oranges but there is room for an increase I would think.

Getting a second shooter makes sense in any case, sickness and for better/more photos to select from. Ought to have some sort of referral system with other photographers you trust, trust being the key here.

[Melinda]

Originally posted by kamakurakid


As you are turning away that much work, your prices are too low. There is a balance. When was the last time you reviewed your price structure? Why do you charge what you charge for a day? I know of a photographer in Calgary who charges $3,000 a day for weddings (photos to a DVD), might be apples and oranges but there is room for an increase I would think.

Getting a second shooter makes sense in any case, sickness and for better/more photos to select from. Ought to have some sort of referral system with other photographers you trust, trust being the key here.
Agreed. For a full day WITH images, $1100 is ridiculously cheap. Paying out for a second photog or trying to get someone on board as a referal will be next to impossible. I would definitely re-examine your pricing structure, the amount of work that actually goes into a wedding, your own opinion of your skill and experience level and adjust accordingly.

[quazimoto]

Cost of a wedding must be thought of as such and think about it.


# hours of work required + cost of equipment and maintenance each year + cost or marketing and establishing brand name presence.

You need to ensure you aren't cutting yourself too thin as you will just not attract some clients with better opportunities. I try to tell some clients it's not just about the number of hours I must work for them but also everything that goes into running the business is passed off as an expense to the client.

$1100 would be poverty for a photographer.

[smc]

I do need to update the numbers on the website a bit. $1100 is a starting point and I would only shoot 3-4 hours for that. For a 10 hour day, I'd be asking for at least $2300 and if a client wanted a 2nd shooter the fee would have to increase.

I don't want to get into the position where I have to meet 4 or 5 couples to book 1, since that can take a fair bit of time as well. Right now I book nearly ever couple I meet in person.Also beside the website I do not invest anytime or money in advertising. I worry that without a larger investment in advertising expense. I wouldn't attract couples willing to spend $5000 per wedding.

That being said I guess if a am charging $2300 for ~15 hours of work I am pulling in a fair bit less per hour from wedding photography than I get from my full time job. Something I should think about. This isn't as bad as it sounds if you are using the photography business to cover expenses you'd have irrespective of the wedding coverage, but as I am now making real money from the travel photography, the usefulness of weddings for a tax instrument is has decreased.