jthrasher

Hey Courtney, my rates for location type shoots is $300 for a 2 hour shoot. This comes with a proof book. Prints, and albums are available as well. I think that is about average. Some photographers will have a lower "sitting fee" rate but then have higher print package prices. I choose to have a higher sitting fee and lower print prices. it all balances out.

Quote: Originally Posted by MikkiStreak Exactly my point--- I'm more suspicious of the motives of the photographer who posts his own special offers while trying to find flaws in other phtographer offers than of a bride posting something they saw and referring people to view it. I see where you are coming from but, none of the photographers who posted in this thread, including myself, are trying to find flaws in this photographer. Like I said, we are offering a suggestion to be careful based on our experience. If you choose to be suspect of our experiences, that's fine. But, it only makes sense to take advice from people who have been through situations and seen things that you haven't experienced yet. Of course there's more validity from a referral about a vendor from friend or someone you trust. But this isn't a referral. Have you used this photographers services before? Do you know all that his offer includes? Have you asked him about print/album prices? How are the brides here that you are posting the info for suppose to know if this is legit if you haven't used him either. You only saw him advertise. All we are saying is get all the info first. And, we are just sharing our experience with you. The truth is, you don't know any more than we do about this photographer. It might help if you posted the information so we could see for ourselves who he is, and what he's offering so that everyone can come to their own conclusions. Quote: Kind of like when brides post where they have seen items on sale with different venders. I don't see anyone posting that they should be cautious because there's a "catch" in the offer... I give people warnings based on direct experiences or experiences based on similar situations. I've seen similar situations, hence the caution. I don't mean to be in a debate over this. I'm just trying to help you and other brides see where we photographers are coming from.

Quote: Originally Posted by MikkiStreak I completely agree with Leigh - there are brides who simply can't afford the high-end photos from expensive photographers. Which is why I posted the info when I came across the *limited time* offer from this particular photographer. To me, it's much more suspect to see other photographers jump in to discredit this limited time offer when they themselves want the brides on here to trust that their freebie offers are sincere and valid. Just an interesting observation.... We're not trying to discredit this photographer. We're merely offering suggestions to be careful. There is a big difference between you posting the info that you found and the photographer themselves coming and posting the info. You supplied no website where we could see his work or if he was in fact a legit photographer. We photographers deal with weddings for a living and we see hundreds of scams that people try and pull. Most of you are getting married for the first time, so it's likely that this is your first run in with these kinds of things. We're merely offering suggestions based on our experience. Take it as you wish I think it's only common sense to be skeptical of such an offer at first especially when there is no information supplied about the person. In my case, I was the one posting my own giveaway. I have a website with hundreds of photos to back up my work. Ladies were free to PM me and ask questions about the offer. Not sure why that would be more suspect.

Quote: Originally Posted by anacgarcia I e-mailed the guy and he's available for my wedding.. do you think he'll accept to shoot my wedding even if I already have a photographer? hehehehehe... extra photos never hurt.. I bet your current photographer would be VERY upset though. I know I would be

Quote: Originally Posted by MikkiStreak So I guess that means we should be equally as cautious about the photographers on here who 'give away' a wedding package because they are probably marking up their prints also to make up for the 'freebie.' completely NOT the case with my giveaway. Any prints, albums or anything else that Jessalyn buys from me will be the same price as what I sell to other clients. Personally, I think this type of pricing structure is ethically wrong and deceiving and I would never price my work like this. I can't speak for other photographers that may come here and offer something similar. I'm just speaking on my behalf and the contest I did back in January.

excellent tips for sure. Thanks for posting this, not only for the women's sake but for us photographers too. thanks! I haven't received the email yet asking if I have your date available , so you might want to send that

that's why inbreeding and crack are illegal

Ladies.... PLEASE be VERY careful about this. Usually, if it sounds to good to be true is probably is. Even though many of you are on a budget, are you willing to risk your wedding photographs over it? These are once in a lifetime memories that will never be able to redone. I've hear married couples say ALL the time(not my clients of course ) "I wish we would have gone with a different photographer" or " I wish we would have spent more and got a better photographer" I'd really hate to have that happen to any of you. I know budget is important, but budget wisely and spend your money on what counts most. As I've said before, the flowers will die, the food will be eaten, the drinks will be drank, but the photos will last generations. Make sure you're going to be happy with them and not be another couple who wishes they wouldn't have been cheap with hiring a photographer.

Leigh, you suppose to say its customary for you to tip your photographer 100% of your package price.

Amanda, thanks for sharing! Send some of your DW Knottie friends over to this forum! It SO much better over here!

Congratulations!! and welcome to the forum. You've come to the right place! It would be great to see more Europe brides here!

I'm still so pissed about a "meeting" I had earlier today. A potential bride comes over to my house which was suppose to be a meeting to talk about her wedding. She shows up 15 mins late, comes to my door with her phone to her ear. She walks in, takes her phone away from her ear but keeps it open like it's still on and asks me if I have my pricing information, WHICH IS ON MY WEBSITE!!!!!!!!!! I gave her my brochure which is identical to what is on my site and she turns around like she's ready to walk out the door. I was in complete shock. I asked if she wanted to see some of the albums so she knows the difference and she had to go because she's "scheduled so many other appointments today" WTF?? If you knew you schedule our appt. why did you schedule others so close around it. Especially when the weather is bad. Unbelievable. Ladies, please DO NOT do this to your photographer or anyone else for that matter. What a complete waste of my time, not to mention her time and driving across town in bad weather. I seriously want to write her and either tell her how rude that was or ask her why she even bothered to come.

I'm not sure why lighter skin would be better for photos. I know tan lines are good but not sure why you'd want to stop tanning all together

Quote: Originally Posted by akh you sure you're not cheating on us and spending time on a different forum? Hmmmm? HMMMM? well.... yes.... there ARE other forums, but they are for photographers, not brides. So technically, I'm not cheating besides... I love it here

Quote: Originally Posted by akh jonathan - where have you been lately? hiding? shooting weddings? (better share!) I just got back from a conference in Dallas. besides that I've been very busy putting together my new website which will be unveiled hopefully in the next couple days! I'm so excited :-) sorry I've been MIA lately

awesome work man! welcome! glad to see another quality photographer here.

Quote: Originally Posted by amyh I've actually been comparing this photog to other packages and, as I said previously, she gives you your money's worth, but I don't really need the RD shots not the day after. Honestly, I am looking for complete wedding coverage (10hrs) and the cd/dvd for prints, retouching... I think thats the main thing.. what about an album? Are you interested in an album? are any prints included? What's the price she quoted you for that package? For me, even though the rehearsal dinner is included in my package, it's pretty much something I include for free because I enjoy doing it. If a couple wanted to trade the time I would normally shoot at the rehearsal for a day after shoot, I'd be open to that as well. That's all part of being flexible with my packages and making custom packages that really suit the clients needs.

Quote: Originally Posted by NABUMBAH nothing. Ours included his travel fee for him and an assistant in the price. Can you find someone who will include their travel? There are a few up-and-coming LA photogs that might be willing to do it for very little up-front. I can PM some of their contact info to you if you are interested. you are probably still paying for travel though. Did he quote you a rate with travel? Usually, If someone is wanting to hire me I will put together a custom package that includes travel, but it's just a package with a travel fee added to it, based on what the client wants. I can be pretty flexible with my rates sometimes so sometimes it's not as expensive as you think it might be when adding in travel costs. The thing is, you REALLY need to check out different photographers, their rates and what's included in their packages, and figure out what you want. Keep in mind the amount of time the photog is offering, and also add in any extra costs there might be for adding in things you want like an album, digital negs, etc. Then ask them for travel cost and total cost package quotes before you make any decisions. Even though one photographer may have a more expensive package, it may be cheaper to hire them in the long run.

Hey Nancy! You've come to a great place! I'm from MI too. Grand Rapids. Where are you? We're starting to get quite the MI crowd here.

welcome! you've come to a great place. There's tons of info here and great people to help you along the way.

You can easily get around this if your photographer is a guest at the resort. You just need to book a room for your photographer.

I'd say, based on their websites, I know you could find better photographers to work with. Just because a resort says they work with these photographers doesn't mean you are limited to using one of them.

very nice. another high quality photographer.

here's another