FAQs
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I have had a camera in my hands for 25+ years. One of the deciding factors starting to shoot professionally was literally my OWN wedding! The photographer at our wedding ended up being, well, it got worse with time.... It was a "budget" package, though second to the venue, was the second most expensive thing we purchased for the wedding. The package included a bundle of 4x6 prints, but most importantly for me, it included a disc with all of the images for my own use. During preliminary talks, things were good. He was a nice guy, friendly, and suited our personality. He arrived on the wedding day a little later than was planned, but in time for what we wanted. Honestly (and obviously) I wasn't paying much attention to him during the ceremony, though I did occasionally take note in the back of my mind that he was there getting ceremony shots. After the ceremony, he took plenty of pictures as we filed family through, etc. Then he took a few shots of us together. Then we're not sure where he went... We (wife and I) were waiting in the private bar area while guests were seated and such in the reception hall. It clicked in my head that there were no "bridal" shots of just my wife. So I went hunting to find him so we could get some pictures. Rather I ended up finding my dad and grabbed my camera from him and took my own pictures of my wife! Yep, no photographer, at least not the one I hired to get the pictures for me... So I was at least happy I got the pics I wanted of my wife. Through the reception he was there getting pictures of the goings on, and navigated the guest tables around our table for group pictures to get everyone that was there - can't really remember who orchestrated that parade... Now on to after the wedding.... It was literally THREE months later when he finally got to us the stack of 4x6 prints and CD with pictures. But that's when the biggest problem arose... The CD only had pictures STARTING at the reception!!! We had NONE of the ceremony pictures or family pictures afterwards! I know they exist because we received 4x6 prints of them. Much to our dismay, he never could produce the much more vital pictures of the ceremony and family. So I settled on scans of prints. After that, I decided that I could definitely do that job and knew exactly how NOT to do it! To this day I still abide by the many subtle lessons from that day, and from new ones learned along the way!
- What questions should customers think through before talking to professionals about their project?
I wish, and we try to convey to our potential clients, that they understand there is a LOT more to photography than just showing up with a camera and snapping pictures. I am not even referring to the upfront cost of good equipment for professionally shooting events and weddings and such - I carry in my hands about $7000 of equipment when shooting a wedding, and that's not counting the additional lenses and camera bodies and other miscellaneous equipment that are in the bag. The misconception is that "Geez, they are only shooting for 3 hours and charging $750 - that's $250 and hour! That's ridiculous!". (example is purely for mathematical simplicity) My wish is that our clients understand that it's way more than those 3 hours they are paying for. They get my full attention to all of their photos afterwards by individually editing the images so each one is checked, adjusted, cropped, etc., so they get a bunch of fantastic photographs that they will want to look back on and remember years later. Editing typically takes about 3 to 4 hours per 1 hour of shooting, sometimes more. Different photographers price their packages and services differently, and each has their own reasons and strategies. But please understand when looking at potential photographers, that potential clients should look at more than just the "dollars per hour", and look at the personality of the photographer(s), their past work, etc.