Okay, I've come across some ridiculous articles before, where a particular no named author wanted to share his or her feelings concerning the price and quality of today's wedding photographers, but what I read this morning TRUMPS them all. I won't name the author or source, but I'm sure you Google freaks won't have a hard time finding it. The exact paragraph that my anger stems from is as follows:
Hiring Photographers - Amateurs Can Work
"If you have friends or relatives who are good with a camera, you can save a lot of money by hiring them to document your wedding. If you have a friend or multiple friends take pictures, you can upload every one of them to a site like Kodak Gallery and let everyone buy the prints they want for much less than a professional photographer would charge you. If you do hire a photographer, give him or her a list of the pictures you want taken and make sure to include the rights to the images in the contract. Most photographers charge outrageous prices for printing and do not let you keep the negatives or original files. You should also consider hiring a professional photographer who does weddings on the side. If the photographer has another source of income, he or she may be more willing to negotiate the contract price and image rights."
This is amazing to me, that someone with very little knowledge of what Wedding Photographers actually go through the day of a wedding, would actually have the guts to publish.
Now, most of the people who read my blog on a regular basis are undoubtedly smart enough to understand why this is bull, however, believe it or not, some people would probably read this article and respond with "great idea!"
I don't have the time currently to give my response to this article in detail, I simply wanted to pass this along to friends and professionals and remind them that times are certainly changing and with the economy in the situation that it's in, this kind of "let your bud photograph your wedding" stuff is actually taking flight. My summed up personal opinion is keep you prices in a position that justifies the quality of work that you're out-putting. Not just the end result of the photographs, either. The quality of customer service you offer, books, prints, amount of post processing that goes into your work, EVERYTHING. When the economy flips back around, potential clients will notice the difference between those who do it well and those who don't.
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Comments
dude...did you know that pictureme portrait studios (the guys in walmart) are actually starting a division doing weddings/events? i about peed my pants when i heard the news...i can't remember the name of what they're calling the 'company'...but when i find it ill send it to you. they're trying to start it up without necessarily tagging it with 'walmart'....but it's the same company. and it's dirt cheap. and it makes me hate people that do that even more.
(09.14.09 @ 04:40 PM)