Competition or not?

[Kym]

I shot a wedding in May (which I normally avoid).
It was the 'worst case' of a family friend situation with people on a very tight budget... i.e. free.
It was interstate and they did pay our expenses (Nel was with me), so I still got more than this $100 dude (i.e. a paid trip to Melbourne).

I had 2 camera bodies, several lenses, umbrellas, stands, remotes, 3 flashes etc.
Nel did all the posing and directing.
We dumped images to a notebook during the day, and onto a external hard drive at the end of the day.
Etc. I.e. I did the most professional job I could.

Prior to the event when they asked us, I did sit them down and explain what my capabilities were, what a pro-wedding tog would do that I could not etc.
In other words there was a clear explanation of expected outcomes.

The photography was our wedding present. In the end a very happy couple.

It's a situation, although I was happy to do it in this case, is not something I'd make a habit of.

The alternate for this would have been a bunch of friends with P&S cameras, so no 'pro-togs' missed out

I wonder how often this sort of situation occurs?

[Redgum]

Kym, there are no rules on who does what when it comes to photography. So called professional photographers, like professionals in any other field, need to compete with the market place. And the market includes anyone who cares to compete. I think photographers who complain about competition are a little "precious" and deserve exactly what they get - less business. There are no reserves and if you and I want to provide a service, whatever the cost, that's our privilege, particularly when it comes to family and friends. In the end, as long as everyone involved is happy, providing a photographic service is open to everyone, not just those who think they have a mortgage (and probably have) on fancy gear and presumed expertise.
What you gave your friends is a beautiful gift that they no doubt will prize for a lifetime.

[kiwi]

Ignoring the competition side of it let's look at it from a pov of the couple. Would they have a reasonable expectation of the likely or should I say potential outcome

Possibly not, if you didn't have much clue someone saying I have a d700 etc will sound quite good probably and high end even

Are they going to get let down ? Maybe not. If the photographers equipment fails, definately. The risk is there

So, from the photographers viewpoint how many $100 jobs is he going to do before he realizes he'd get more delivering papers ?

I think practice your photography dreams on low risk photography

If have no problems if hed have replaced weddings with family, pets or kids etc

Weddings though I think are usually a bit different

[camerasnoop]

He's obviously been knocked over in the rush, because the ad is back, but the price is now $200. Like it or not, but most people who contact me ask me the price before they ask me anything else.

[I @ M]

He's obviously been knocked over in the rush, because the ad is back, but the price is now $200.

He just checked his failbook page and 3 people (including his mum) told him he takes fenominel pictchas and he was 2 cheap.

[Xenedis]

lol, at least he's looked at the memory card to see how many pictures he can fit - or perhaps that's credit where credit isn't due :P

If I were a gambling type, I'd put a fiver on the photographer having attempted to shoot a wedding once before, and discovering the memory card's capacity limitation when his shot of the groom kissing the bride didn't appear on the chimp screen after pressing the shutter.

Enterprising young person. Just about every student wants to earn a little from whatever enterprise to see them through uni. A couple of people I know, Dick Smith and Clive Palmer, ran many such enterprises in their early days earning nothing at the outset but look where they ended up. At least you know where you stand with this person ($100) - better than pretending you're a professional and charging a $1000.

Sure, but they had a clue about what they were getting into, though, right?

This person certainly doesn't value themself very highly.

I suspect it's not a lack of self-esteem, but a lack of a clue about the type of business in which he aspires to work.

The unfortunate outcome is that he'll eventually get a clue, but at someone else's huge expense.

That $100 (or $200) fee he charges is actually a whole lot more costly than the face value.

I think practice your photography dreams on low risk photography

Bingo.

One's wedding day is usually the most important or significant day in one's life, and it's not the place for a newcomer to discover just how much he doesn't know, as the married couple (and the respective families) end up being the losers, with average, bad or totally missed shots as a legacy of their special day.

[ving]

Enterprising young person. Just about every student wants to earn a little from whatever enterprise to see them through uni. A couple of people I know, Dick Smith and Clive Palmer, ran many such enterprises in their early days earning nothing at the outset but look where they ended up. At least you know where you stand with this person ($100) - better than pretending you're a professional and charging a $1000.

a truer word has never been said. a student of photography making a few buck on hte side...

[zollo]

there's probably a better way to make a few bucks on the side for a student photographer than at some unsuspecting couples wedding.
- good for the industry? not particularly...lose
- good for the student? what $100 bucks for a days work?... lose
- for the couple? yeah if all they have to spend is $100 bucks, but really, come on... lose

[jasevk]

Everyone seems to have the same opinion, there is a bit of madness involved, either that or a lack of knowledge of what a client would reasonably expect of a wedding photographer, regardless of price.

[kiwi]

I don't think mad, I think naive.

Someone txt him and point him to this thread would ya

[Art Vandelay]

there's probably a better way to make a few bucks on the side for a student photographer than at some unsuspecting couples wedding.

I'm not sure that a couple could be called 'unsuspecting' if they hired a $100 for a 1000 image wedding photographer and then weren't satisfied, as redgum said above, at least he's not charging full fare, and then only delivering $100 results.

Thinking about it, and the customers who are likely to take up his offer, we may be too harsh. He may well pull off a few good ones & his clients may well be happy... Well happier than they would of been if their only other option was getting a collection of all the guests phone photos.