Affordable Wedding Gear Advice Please

[Tronhard]

I know what you mean... It's a (hopefully) once in a lifetime event, and if anything goes wrong...

its my daughters wedding in July and shes insisted i take the photos, talk about pressure
I've got a friend that's going to take the ones I've got to be in using my gear, but i cant say i'm looking forward to it

[DanK]

its my daughters wedding in July and shes insisted i take the photos, talk about pressure
I've got a friend that's going to take the ones I've got to be in using my gear, but i cant say i'm looking forward to it

If you don't mind some unsolicited advice: I wouldn't it, no matter how much she insists. There is the obvious issue, which Trev raised: if something gets messed up, then her annoyance or worse will be focused on you. But there is another reason as well. I don't know if you have kids married before, but I have, and the father's social role in the wedding is pretty intense--and somewhat unpredictable. And you have to be on the job all the time, because you won't know when the opportunity for good candids will happen. I simply wouldn't have had time to take even a modest share of the pictures at my kids' weddings.

I occasionally do events like engagement parties for friends' kids, but I didn't even take a camera to my kids' weddings or engagement parties, and I am very, very glad I didn't.

[rpcrowe]

Shooting daughter's weddings sucks... I wanted to enjoy the weddings with my wife but, got Shanghaied into shooting the weddings of two step daughters...

[William W]

As per being most beautiful, the CiC conversation inevitably branches out from the roots of “Sony or Canon 6D?” . . .

It seems VERY difficult to break into the architectural market genre. Real estate agents are usually just looking for the cheapest route, don't want to pay for (or care) about creating "stunning" images. I have found some exceptions, of course. I believe that although wedding photography is extremely competitive, there are so many opportunities to shoot weddings and break into that marketplace, that given enough time and working smart and creating beautiful work will garner as much business as I want with a much less price sensitive audience. My 2-cents as to why I want to switch.

Yes: there are more people getting married than Real Estate Agents who are seeking sales photography.

But, many Wedding Clients are very "price sensitive".

I have done both (comparatively not much of the Real Estate work but very many Weddings).

Irrespective of what number per year quantifies “as much business as I want” – one key difference is the Client’s Premise.

A Real Estate Agent is not emotionally involved in the purchase of the Goods and Services from you: nor is the owner of the Property a “Subsidiary Client” (well not where I work).

What I mean is the Estate Agent is the one who is responsible for Brief and the Home Owners pay the Estate Agent to produce a successful Advertising Program. (it is the successful sale of the house which is the product that the Home Owners are buying and only part of that is the Stills Photography).

On the other hand, a Bride and Groom have much emotion vested in their choice of Photographer and the actual Final Images that they purchase and often there are other Peripheral Clients whose opinion is quite loud too (for example MoB/DoB and MoG/DoG and the favourite Aunt who made the Wedding Cake, etc).

From a BUSINESS perspective, there are two relevant points that you might consider from these observations –

1. The outputs expected from mostly all Real Estate Agents can be reasonably quantified and expected. There is a similar pattern to all the Briefs, only the Subject changes. As you mention part of the Brief is a price point.

2. The outputs expected from a B&G are more varied and less able to be quantified. Although the novice might conclude that there is a pattern to the Brief and that the Brief is predicated on “creating beautiful work” my experience tells me that is not exactly so.

***

Further (as you no doubt already know) if the Agent is not happy with the Living Room shot you can fix by going back and redoing it, no charge; an the other hand if the MoB is not happy with the “First Kiss” Shot that’s a different kettle of kippers.

***

(I have re-iterated this point many times on another site which has quite an active and experienced “Business Forum”):

It doesn’t matter if your goal is to shoot one wedding a month or five per week, to be successful as a business, (i.e. one goal being to sustain satisfied Clients), it is very important to understand exactly what business one is in.

This is best achieved by firstly Defining the Business.

That definition does not need to be much more than four or five sentences, but the sentences must be succinct and also accurate.

***

I’d argue that it is much easier to make a good generic definition for Real Estate Photography which would suit most western markets and it could be something like this rough only below:

[text in square brackets is not part of the definition but indicates SOME OF the local information as an example of how one would use that information to assist in creating the Business’s Definition]:

[In this geographic area an advertising run is made only for selling prices > $2,000,000, and the cost of the run is typically $9,000 to Client – Real Estate Agents typically expect Still Photography costs to be $300~$500 for a final spread of seven images at least two being outdoor shots.]

[Real Estate Agents in this area typically leave some detail to the last minute and have three or four ‘photographers’ on their list]

SAMPLE DEFINITION:

Jackson Brown Real Estate Photography will produce print ready, crisp, high impact, visually appealing, interior and exterior images of any property, in any condition, located within 100kms.

Turn around can be within four hours and we are contactable 24/7 with a response to work within 12 hours.

We produce final indoor and outdoor spread of at least twelve images.

Our base investment for speedy and quality work is $289.

***

On the other hand, let’s say for the sake of this conversation, we begin to define the Wedding Photography Business and we include the term “creating beautiful work” – we must first ask
“beautiful work in whose eyes?” . . .

***

As general advice, I think that it is very important to understand that in a (successful) Wedding Photography Business the Photographer is not only selling Wedding Photos and in some situations the Wedding Photos (as the “Goods”) are less important to the Client than the Wedding Photography (as the “Service”).

WW

[William W]

. . . I want to transition into wedding photography and would like to get gear advice for my transition . . . Any advcice is appreciated.

. . . It doesn’t matter if your goal is to shoot one wedding a month or five per week, to be successful as a business, (i.e. one goal being to sustain satisfied Clients), it is very important to understand exactly what business one is in. . . . As general advice, I think that it is very important to understand that in a (successful) Wedding Photography Business the Photographer is not only selling Wedding Photos and in some situations the Wedding Photos (as the “Goods”) are less important to the Client than the Wedding Photography (as the “Service”).

I recently purchased this book.

I had time it read it twice, thoroughly, during a short hospital visit: my copy is now full of my margin notes and annotations. That's an indication of my opinion of the value of the text. I think that you will find it a worthwhile investment. Some of the more detailed areas of business are USA specific, which is an obvious bonus for you, but it is easy to translate that advice and commentary to be applicable to other country’s western business models.

WW