Feedback

I welcome all comments about this blog and the next comment is no exception as it raises some valid points:

this is the cheesiest thing I have read in AGES! Why doesn't someone just
say that studios SUCK and pimp people for money by using cheaper photography
labour, but are booking intensified, so can afford extreme high-end advertising,
and generally, the honest guy, has sweet chance and LUCK going for them.

It is all about experience, absolutely. It is all about knowing lighting, for sure, but
you can have all that and still get screwed by your equally well-meaning peers.

Talent and decent photography has nothing to do with websites and complete
albums. When has anyone ever thrown 600 plus images from an 'entire' wedding into an album? Like never. Stop tooting that craphorn. Album showers only ever display their best albums anyway. It just shows you have more years under your belt and who says you are not bored by now?

Stop with these guidelines that you should have this, or that.People will book what they can or can not afford.

Crap images are always crap images and it shows. If people will pay for the crap images, let them be.

The only guidelines are what the customer is prepared to pay and the rest is all about what the photographer can provide for them.

Sometimes it is price, sometimes it is talent and MOST of the time it is connection.

pffft sometimes I am ashamed of this industry. Especially El Cheapo,who no doubt charges over 3k and started with cheap FIRST, then typed their way up. Stop
being a freaking enemy.

I have read through this comment and the first thing that shows is the angry tone. It makes me wonder why there is such a tone. Personally, this sounds as though it has been written by a photographer who sees themselves as talented (and quite likely could be) but is perhaps struggling against the bigger and more successful studios.

To the anonymous poster, have you sat down and worked out how much you NEED to be paid to make a living? Take into account your home, lifestyle, personal tax, GST, equipment upgrades, presentation (personal and work space), advertising (web and print media). You would be surprised at how quickly the costs add up and how much you need just to live and run a business fulltime. I was shocked when I sat down so long ago and realised I was screwing myself out of having a life.

I have already admitted that I started out as an 'elcheapo' photographer. I worked two jobs and did photography on the side (rather half assed because I didn't have much time to devote to it). I thought I was doing so well booking in someone for $700 and all I had to do was give them
the negs and a folder of proof photos. I had a couple of emails from other photographers telling me that I was too cheap and I immediately thought that they were just upset because I was taking their business. It was only after nearly killing myself for a pittance (then taking two years away from my camera because I couldn't stand looking at it) that I sat down and re-evaluated everything. The emails weren't from jealous photographers, they were from photographers who saw that I was undervaluing my work because it WAS good.

From there I worked backwards. I decided how much profit I wanted to earn in a year, added in all my costs then divided it by the average number of jobs I knew I was capable of booking. The numbers shocked me and I was worried about starting all over again with the new pricing but I did. Not only did I reach my average figures within a few months, but I well surpassed them allowing me to go full time and devote more time to the photography business and outputting a very high quality of work. The road wasn't easy and it was a lot of trial, error and hard work.

I am not a big studio. I work alone. I advertise and I rely heavily on word of mouth. I get more referrals from the big spenders than the budget weddings.

And for the record, I have a package that starts at less than $2000 but very rarely is it chosen.

I think you have missed the point of this blog. It isn't here to tell people that cheap photographers are bad and expensive photographers are good. This blog is here to EDUCATE people on what to look out for in a positive way and what to avoid.

There are ALWAYS exceptions to rules. The points that I have covered on this blog are only a small range of what to consider, but for those brides/couples who have absolutely no idea what to look for, this should be a good starting point.

This is another step in educating the consumer. People see photographers as doing their best to take as much money as possible. For sure there will always be people out there like that, however sometimes it is merely the fact that a photographer simply needs to make a living and support themselves to do what they love - and no, I'm not bored. I love what I do for a living.

I invite this anonymous poster to construct a post of what they think are important things for brides to consider when looking for a photographer as a different viewpoint is always useful.

edited for 'anonymous' who thought I was having a go at them. Anonymous, if you care to send a non anonymous email I am happy to chat to you and keep this off the blog.

How to find a photographer: a guide for those with a little more money to spend

Before I start the topic, I would like to direct people to read a few of the comments left at the site. Since the last post, a few photographers have left comments and expanded on some of the issues I have talked about on this blog. It is all interesting reading.

How to find a photographer: a guide for those with a little more money to spend

When a couple has a little more money budgeted for photography, there is much more scope to choose from. This is where clients may start to have difficulty and end up making poor choices. So how do you find a good photographer?

First of all, what IS a 'good' photographer? This is different for everyone. For some people, it is the style of the photos they are after, for other people it is how well do they get along with their photographer, for others it is 'just how much can I get out of this photographer'.

Style does not make a photographer any better or worse than another photographer; just different. You can have two photographers who shoot in entirely different styles from each other charging the same amounts. Style is simply a matter of personal taste, whether you like arty, photo-jounalistic/candid, traditional or modern. This is the beauty of photography that, in theory, you could have two photographers who shoot different styles set up shop next to each other and charge the same prices and both would do as well there as in any other location simply because they would attract different clientele. So the first step in finding your photographer is finding a style that suits you.

Once you have found your style, go through and find a few photographers with a similar style (even if you think you can't afford them). Try and put into you own words what it is that you like about their photos. This will help you when you go for your appointments when you are talking to photographers about what you like.

I recommend visiting no more than four photographers. The reason is that if you see more than this, all the information and images tend to blur and you will struggle to remember who is who. I strongly recommend that if you think you have no idea how you will spot low quality images, book an appointment with a studio that you think is well over your budget and go in and listen to their spiel, look at their work and see what they offer clients. When you visit other photographers afterwards you will then have a much better idea of what to look for. (and you might get a surprise and realise that the photographer you love might be within reach of your budget).

In all your meetings, listen carefully and don't be afraid to ask questions. Is the photographer listening to YOU? This is a big one. If a photographer doesn't take an interest in you and your wedding, what will they be like on the day?

Look at the photos and albums. It is easy enough to make a pretty website with between 20 and 50 great photos, but is the photographer's work consistent? Are a small selection of photos the only ones that have made you say, 'wow', or are you seeing a great number of images that you like?

Some things you can easily look for in photos that show a photographer may not be as talented as they seem:

(I am planning some samples of all these to show in a later post).

• hard dark shadows around eyes or under noses.
• shiny spots that really stand out on foreheads, cheeks, noses.
• Lack of detail on white dresses
• Lack of detail on men's suits
• distinct hard flash shadows around people
• red eye
• If you are being shown an enlargement of someone's face, have blemishes been removed?

The above are all things a quality photographer is easily able to overcome where others who are less experienced will struggle.

When you are talking to the photographer, how well are you getting along? This should be one of the greatest factors for any couple. It doesn't matter how many awards a photographer has, if you just don't feel comfortable with them then it will come out in the images. You need to trust your photographer and be able to communicate with them. Remember that your photographer is the person who is with you for the entire day; you simply do NOT want to get sick of having them around.

Does the photographer offer a pre-wedding or engagement shoot? If so, use it. This will give a taste of what to expect on the day leading to being more comfortable when having your photo taken.

Last but not least, don't be scared of price and don't be afraid to ask terms of payment. Many photographers will be able to set up payment plans for you if you need to stretch your budget to get exactly what you want.

Following this advice, with a budget of around $2000 and upwards, you will be able to find someone who produces consistent, quality work in a style that you love.

Tips for finding a wedding photographer: The budget conscious bride

Most brides will have studied bridal magazines or scoured internet forums finding out as much information as possible before they see a photographer. I have had lots of brides approach me with a list of questions a mile long that they have been told to ask from either magazines or forums.

The thing is, with a little bit of study, a photographer can answer all of these questions to a bride's satisfaction.

So how do they sort the wheat from the chaff?

I will tackle the questions from the point of view of the budget conscious consumer.
Before I start, I would like to make it clear; not all 'cheap' photographers are bad! However finding the good ones requires homework and an eagle eye, or maybe even just luck.

I will create a hypothetical situation for you to demonstrate.

You have found a photographer who is in your budget and is prepared to give you what you want - typically all photos on a disc and release of copyright for $1000. When you go for your appointment they show you an album of photos from many different weddings that are all 'okay'. Nothing fancy but passable.

The absolute first question you should ask is, "how long have you been shooting weddings?"

The first reaction from this photographer will be to try and make it sound like they have been shooting for as long as possible. The only catch in this situation is that if they say something like, "I've been shooting for 5+ years" or "I've photographed over 100 weddings", and they have presented a very average looking folio of photos for you to view, then alarm bells should be ringing.

You will need to delve further at this point and perhaps ask to see a proof book of photos that were taken at just one wedding. If they are reluctant or don't have one or only want to show you a complete finished album, then perhaps it is time to consider looking at another photographer, or book an appointment to come back to view photos from just one wedding.

After 5 years, or more than 50 weddings, they should have enough experience under their belt to confidently show you ALL images from one wedding and not just the 5-10 that worked out 'okay' and were still only, at best, average. Even if they show you a completed album, look closely at each individual image and not the overall product. Fancy layers, textures, patterns added to an album can be there simply to trick you into thinking an album is better or fancier than it really is. Less is more.

(textures, layers and patterns should be used to enhance a photo, not to fill pages)

You go and see your next photographer who offers photos on a disc for $1000 - same as above. You say to him/her, "How long have you been shooting for?" They look a bit sheepish and give you a response, "well, I have only taken it up in the last 18 months after having it as a serious hobby for quite some time". They then show you a folio of their best images from assorted weddings and you think they are brilliant.

Still delve further and as the next question, "Can I see a full wedding? A proof book or disc or something?" Be prepared that they may say that they don't have one but ask if you can make another appointment time to go back and see them if they can get one ready. If they are prepared and are able to take one out for you and you see great photos, then you know you have found a gem. If the photos are average, then still don't discount them.

Ideally, the people who should be charging $1000 are those people who are portfolio building and not yet in a position to go full time as they are in a transition phase. They have a talent they are building and it is increasing each time they shoot but they don't have an extensive enough folio to give up the day job completely.

Another option for finding talented gems is approaching photography students. Here in Australia I would lean toward contacting TAFE colleges that offer the diploma of Photography. Their courses are generally more skills based than universities or private colleges and students have to have a rudimentary photography knowledge before they are even accepted into the course. Most of my assistants/second shooters have been past TAFE students and always perform to a reasonable standard.

The people to avoid - If someone has been shooting for a long time and they are showing folios of work that you consider, 'okay', then best to think twice about booking. After all, what they show you in that appointment should be the best of all their work and make you say, "Wow!".

It may take only one appointment to find this photographer, or it could take you ten, but never settle for someone just because of the price. $1000 is still a lot of money to part with and you might aswell do the legwork and get value for your dollar rather than give it away to the first person who meets your budget requirements.

Next blog - How to find a photographer: a guide for those with a little more money to spend

Answering a few caretaking questions

I would like to thank the many people around the world who have sent me emails of support and asked permission to post the link. I thought it would take a long time to get any sort of feedback so have been shocked to have emails being sent to me so quickly. I would like to see this blog grow as an educational tool so please feel free to post the blog link in good faith. I am also open to blog posts suggestions if there is an issue you would like me to explore and discuss here.

Before I post info that is useful to the bride, I will answer a few questions that have been raised in all the emails.

Where are you located?
I am a wedding, portrait and commercial photographer based in Australia.

Why is the blog anonymous?
It is anonymous for a few reasons.

• Brides/consumers want anonymity when posting. If I give my details out there is always a chance that someone could try and contact me personally to divulge details of images featured on the blog
• I do not wish for the blog to be connected to my business as, with all industries, jealousies may arise and someone might find something they could potentially use against my business and therefore, my livelihood.
• I wish to give other photographers a chance to speak here anonymously if they wish. If I have none of my details on here, they can be assured theirs won't be either.

You might want to clean up the blog as it looks messy when you are trying to create a professional appearance.

That was more of a comment than a question however I will give a response. I am a photographer, not a web designer. My business website is professionally designed, I am figuring this blog thing out for myself. I have removed the test message (I worked that out earlier) but as far as the rest goes all I can say is, I take great photos.

Why do you use the amount of $1000 in your examples?

I use $1000 as the most common email I receive from potential brides is, "We are looking for a photographer to shoot our wedding for $1000 and put the images onto a disc, can you do this?" They don't question quality, coverage, how they will approach the photography/photographer or any other question. With these emails it is all about money and $1000 seems to be the magic number.

Why do you use the amount of $2500 as the starting point for good photography?

The more a photographer charges, the more confident they are in their product. From experience, when you approach photographers who start at around the $2000 or so mark then you are starting to pay for 'ease of mind'.

There are people who pay a fortune and still get ripped off.

This is probably the only negative comment emailed so far and I don't consider it a bad comment to be made. Yes, there are sadly some consumers out there who pay a lot of money and either get 'ripped off' or simply bad results. Unfortunately in all walks of life, there will always be people who will take advantage of others. However this blog is not to point the finger at rip off merchants, but to educate consumers by giving 'buyer beware' tips and advice.

Can I book you to shoot my wedding?

As much as I would like to take a booking through this blog, I won't as it would take away anonymity - and the fact that you are in California also makes it a bit difficult. Good luck with your search for a photographer.

I would like to encourage people to leave blog post comments as I would like the readers to see the sort of feedback that is being emailed to me.

The Bride's Story

The bride in the images from the blog post below this one, appeared in a forum one day, asking for help to adjust some of her wedding photos. These are some quotes direct from the bride. (reprinted here with her permission):

• We had our wedding two weeks ago and there are some photos that our photographer took, but to me, they look like she just used any ordinary camera to take them. The quality is ok but not that great IYKWIM?
• I was wanting to make my own wedding album and also get some printed on canvas but am worried that they wont look professional...
• the thing (is) I paid $1000.00 to this "photographer".I have added another few photos, and i dont want this to sound selfish, but these are the best photos I have and they still need work done to them. Some of the others werent even worth me printing :(
• I signed a contract for the amount and that is it. I have full copyright of the images and also have all of them on CD.
• After reading the replies in this forum I think I will be confronting the "photographer" about this, it truly is disgusting to see the difference in someone just spending a few minutes have a quick play with it. Imagine if she had have put the $1000 to use and spent some time on them. I did see her work before hand and I must say some of the photos look glorious, needless to say I was in tears when I rcvd the disc in the mail....she couldnt even be bother dropping it over...could be guilt playing on her mind????
• we had her for 7 hours, she was there until 10pm but she has no photos of us entering as man and wife, no photos of me getting out of car or getting in car... photos (very very blurry) of two of the speeches but not the other 3. She was there the whole time.......I seriously thought professional photographers would know what to take photos of....and I am also confused as to why so many of the photos "didnt turn out" or "couldnt be printed" etc....
• they are pretty bad. Ashamed to say it, but I can even take photos better than that and i only know how to turn my camera on and off and open the flash thingy, i dont even know what all the different functions do so i am far from professional.

Quote from the bride from an email; reprinted with her permission:

• I dont want any other bride have this happen to them after their wedding. I wish there was somebody to point this out to me when I was booking.

The last point is the most important and the reason this blog exists. To give information to help someone make a choice that saves them heartache.

It IS possible to get acceptable photography for $1000 (or less) but it requires a bit of homework. When you start looking at photographers that charge more you are starting to pay for peace of mind.

Wedding photography should be an investment for your future. What other item can you purchase that can bring you as much joy forty years down the track as it can on the day you first received it? It is something tangible that can be handed down to your children and even your grandchildren. Also, what is the first inanimate object people grab from their house if it is burning down? The treasured photos because they are irreplaceable.

Let's imagine that you have decided to go all out and spend $4000 on an incredible wedding photographer and album. Now divide that by 40 years and it is costing you $100 a year. Let's break it down even further and it works out to 27 cents a day.

Not a bad investment when you look at it that way, is it?

I think the bride in the example would agree.

What photographers wish they could explain to consumers without looking as though they are trying to swindle a booking.

Years ago, I started out as an unimpressed bargain hunting consumer looking for the 'best deal', I then went on to become an 'el cheapo' photographer and from there, after many years of formal study, informal study, many happy clients and a handful of accolades I can now confidently call myself a professional photographer. Due to my experience I can safely say:

• I can completely understand where a consumer is coming from when they are looking for a photographer. Bargain or expensive.
• I understand the 'el cheapo' photographer's motivations and reasoning for being cheap.
• I now understand why decent professional photographers charge the prices that they do.

and all of this I am happy to explain to you.


Why do consumers undervalue photography?

In the days of film, photos were expensive to produce. Before a client even saw proofs, a photographer could spend a couple of hundred dollars (at least), purchasing film and printing the images then providing them in a proof folder. Guests at the wedding either had little point and shoot cameras that weren't really up to the job of even taking passable photos or no camera at all. If you were lucky, Uncle Joe might get out his full manual camera from the back of the closet for the occasion.

Back then, the skill of a photographer was obvious because they had to get it right first time in the camera. There was no shooting 2000 photos on the day and hoping for 100 good ones (NB: shooting 2000 images on film would cost approximately $1000 to produce). Receiving the proofs would often involve many family members turning up as they 'oohed' and 'ahhed' their way through the proof photos - receiving the album was an even bigger occasion. The client receiving the negatives was hardly heard of, or a photographer would gift them to the couple after a year or two when all orders and albums had been finalised.

Nowadays, technology has made the taking of photos accessible to everyone. DSLR cameras are ridiculously cheap and many people have discovered the joy of photography. The costs of printing have dropped dramatically and the ease of 'popping photos on a disc' is tempting to many.

Hobbyists who were scared of trying pro-shooting suddenly own the big gear and have a new confidence that they can capture the photos because they can see in the back of the camera if it is there or not.

This has lead the market to become flooded with 'Weekend Warriors', 'El Cheapo' and 'Shoot and Burn' photographers who have made the "$1000 for photos on a disc" seem like a normal request.


So what are you paying for?

$1000 for the photos on a disc sounds like a great deal, right? Wrong. More often than not, (keep in mind I used to be one of these photographers - back in the film days though), these will be images shot by a person who genuinely loves taking photos but has absolutely no background in photography except the sheer joy it brings them. The 'photographer' will likely be shooting using the auto setting as they are terrified of missing something by fiddling with controls, they will have poor to average composition and little understanding of lighting and how it affects the camera and/or the subject.

The shooter will likely only take photos 'on the side' (hence the term 'Weekend Warrior') and will tell you that they are working the other job just until they build their photography business enough to leave. They will either not use photoshop at all OR they will be the opposite extreme and rely on it far too much. Photoshop can do amazing things in the right hands but when it comes down to it, you quite simply, "can't polish a turd". Images on a disc are usually that - files downloaded straight from the camera and burnt to a disc. You will have just given $1000 to someone to do something that my 10 year old son can do.

Now you are thinking, "but I just won't pay $2500+ for photos - it's not worth it particularly when I won't even have the hi-res disc". Right? Wrong again. People just don't realise how much work goes into good photography. Photography IS an art and should be treated like an art. The trained photographer, whether they have had formal or informal training, has worked damned hard on their craft. The study light, they study their camera gear, they are constantly challenging themselves and the limits of their gear.

Work flow of a full time pro-photographer

If you book a photographer for a wedding, what you see them do on the day is approximately 5-10% of the work. After you say your farewell on the day, then the real work begins. Quality control is a huge step in the process as a photographer only wants a client to see the very best that they can offer. They want return business, they want referrals, they want you to fall so in love with their work that you just have to have an album created by them. These photographers are working full time for you to create something you will cherish. This means hours spent ensuring your proof images are perfect, rejecting images that they simply aren't proud to have their professional name associated with. Hours are spent making sure the colours, white balance and levels are correct and doing a few simple crops to ensure the composition is spot on. Hours and hours spent to produce images that you will want to look at over and over.

Album design can be even more intense. By now the photographer/digital artist has an idea of the client's style and albums will be individually designed to bring out the best in the images and create something that will make you cry with happiness. Each design will be unique and not involve 400 of your favourite photos crammed onto one page. This is also when photographers/ digital artists will do that thing they do in photoshop that makes a great album simply incredible.

But you still don't have the hi-res disc? As explained earlier, back in the film days it was rare for negatives to be given out. Most times a couple will put all the photos they want into their album and the people who want prints are family and friends. This is how a pro-photographer makes a living. If a hi-res disc was given out to each client than you can be assured that more photographers would have to take on another job to make ends meet, this in turn means that they can no longer spend as much time working on your images to ensure they are perfect before you see them. They would then have to drop their prices to account for the loss of quality...

The alternative offered by many photographers is that you can purchase the negatives for an extra fee (seems the fee varies greatly between $400 and $2000 depending on who you ask). While this may seem a huge amount to you, put it into a full time job perspective of one wedding a week with associated expenses taken out.


"But I can't afford $2500+"

I understand that not everyone can afford this amount and in a couple of days I will have a topic just for you about what to do in that situation. However there are some couples that are cutting back on photography simply because they think they just don't need to spend it.

So here is a little perspective;

How much are you spending on the reception? At the end of the day, where does that food end up? Where do all the little things that make it special end up? How about the dress or the flowers? Or even the cars?

The food ends up flushed down a toilet, the little nick knacks are forgotten by most people, the dress is packed away in a box (or if a bride is game, it is used in a Trash the Dress session), the flowers are thrown away and the cars are seen for about 45 minutes by other people (even if you pay $600 an hour for the honor).

Then when it has all become a lovely memory, you are excitedly waiting to see your professional photos... and your $1000 photographer hands you images like this:

The following are real wedding photos from a photographer who charged $1000 for images on a disc - the photographer released copyright to the bride. All images have very poor exposure but will also explain a point or two on each image.

This image needed fill flash

Flash has been used but the photographer has either used the small in-built flash, not removed the lens hood or has the flash incorrectly synchronised. The image is also out of focus aswell as very poorly posed.

Out of focus, poor composition

Again we see the same flash issue (notice the dark shadow down the right side of the image), the posing is traditional however it is not a successful outcome as the groomsmen have been lost. Red eye is noticeable.

Traditional cake shot however we see the same flash issue again here.

Poor composition, again with the flash.

The groomsmen closest to the camera has a defined shadow down the side of his head. This is caused by incorrect flash use leading to the very hard lit look toward the foreground. As your eye moves to the back, the bride and groom are lost. Poor use of flash has also led to red-eye issues.

This image is not only severely out of focus, the file was corrupted and still ended up on the disc given to the bride.

A lovely moment between the bride and her son. Unfortunately the little man is very out of focus.

Next blog - comments from the bride above.