{"id":11619,"date":"2013-10-15T09:37:04","date_gmt":"2013-10-15T08:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/?p=11619"},"modified":"2017-11-22T22:39:56","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T22:39:56","slug":"bride-beware-you-might-get-what-you-pay-for-in-wedding-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/bride-beware-you-might-get-what-you-pay-for-in-wedding-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Not Hire A Cheap Wedding Photographer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>I sometimes dip in and out of the bridal forums \u2013 I like to keep totally in touch with the current trends and way of thinking of our brides.\u00a0 It helps to make me a better photographer I think because for me in order to do that I need to almost be inside my bride&#8217;s head if this makes sense.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/fns-weddings-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-84595 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/fns-weddings-1.jpg\" alt=\"fns-weddings\" width=\"300\" height=\"228\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-84595 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/fns-weddings-1.jpg\" alt=\"fns-weddings\" width=\"300\" height=\"228\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Think the way she is thinking, see the things she is seeing, pre-empt what she is about to do so I\u2019m in the right place at the right time and know when to ask for pictures and when to just keep quiet and go about the job of documenting the day as it unfolds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>So, knowing what the latest fad or craze is for table decorations for example ensures that when my couple have decorated their tables that way I don\u2019t miss the all important details in the shots I take.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Equally when I am putting together my marketing materials it\u2019s good to know what\u2019s \u201cin\u201d and what\u2019s \u201cout\u201d \u2013 so if I want to make my wedding packs look like and be made from pocket folds then my brides will identify with them because they may be considering these for their invitations.\u00a0 It\u2019s good to keep in touch.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>It\u2019s also good to keep in touch and clued up on how the wedding photography market is perceived by most brides to be (apologies to any grooms to be who may be reading this post for referring to the brides but I see very few grooms on the forums and deal with very few grooms at the enquiry stage).<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_84597\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-84597\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-84597 size-full\" title=\"Image courtesy of FNS Weddings\" src=\"http:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Allerton_Castle_FNS_Weddings020-1.jpg\" alt=\"Image courtesy of FNS Weddings\" width=\"800\" height=\"571\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-84597\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-84597 size-full\" title=\"Image courtesy of FNS Weddings\" src=\"http:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Allerton_Castle_FNS_Weddings020-1.jpg\" alt=\"Image courtesy of FNS Weddings\" width=\"800\" height=\"571\" \/><\/noscript> Image courtesy of FNS Weddings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So I was a little sad, if not surprised, to see one post this week on one of the most popular forums made by a desperate bride to be who had that morning received through the post her wedding photography \u201cdeposit\u201d back from her photographer along with an accompanying letter stating that due to the recession etc. she was ceasing the business.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The bride had gone on to say that for \u00a3450 she was getting an album and a printable CD along with all day photography.\u00a0 The problem here is that whilst the photographer concerned \u201cprobably\u201d had another job during the week from which she subsidised her weekend photography long term this can not be sustained.\u00a0 In short there is not only no profit in that kind of pricing \u2013 worse than that \u2013 each time that photographer offered such a package, whether she realised it or not, she is making a loss.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Not long ago one of the few reasonably priced UK album manufacturers went bust.\u00a0 It had a massive knock on effect throughout the wedding photography industry.\u00a0 Not only could photographers who offered cheaper packages not get the promised albums the replacement ones they could get cost more.\u00a0 So where this lady photographer may have thought she could price the wedding at \u00a3450, knowing she could obtain a \u201ccheap\u201d album for her client once this company went bust then she had no cushion in place to be able to supply an alternative without losing even more money.\u00a0 There must come a point (obviously there did \u2013 hence the return of the deposit) where it\u2019s no longer viable to carry on haemorrhaging money in the name of business.\u00a0 It\u2019s a sad state of affairs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>There was no place for this lady to go with this other than to take the action she did \u2013 although it must have been terribly distressing for the bride.\u00a0 In including the printable CD she was not going to gain any reprint sales either \u2013 so had no hope at all of picking up any of her shortfall<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The scariest part of this whole sorry story though is that it is repeated all of the UK virtually every weekend.\u00a0 So consider this \u2013 if the album and the prints in the album are costing the photographer virtually all the money they are making from the booking then what is left for other necessities such as Professional Indemnity Insurance, Public Liability Insurance, back up cameras and lenses, additional lenses to ensure they are properly equipped for the job, a flash gun and back up flash gun, the necessary pc and software to process the ?\u00a0 Training \u2013 even the most accomplished of us still need to keep working on this one!\u00a0 A reliable car \u2013 which they know is going to start when they turn the key and get them to the wedding, suitable wedding attire?\u00a0 Tax \u2013 both personal and VAT required on products they buy in to enable them to fulfil the contract?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Ok \u2013 so we\u2019ve established that these guys are flying pretty close to the wind in most cases.\u00a0 They are certainly much braver than I am!\u00a0 But it doesn\u2019t end here either.\u00a0 What happens if they are sick and can\u2019t photograph the wedding?\u00a0 Who is going to step in and take their place?\u00a0 Or indeed if they cease trading as this one did?\u00a0 At this level it\u2019s unlikely that they will have insurance to cover it or a network of other photographers who will be willing to step in and bail them out.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So what steps can you take to protect yourself against the unthinkable happening?\u00a0 The advice I\u2019m going to give now should apply whatever price you have agreed to pay for your wedding photography.\u00a0 Following years of experience in the business this is the absolute minimum protection you should be looking for from your photographer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>A \u2013 Ask about insurance. Your photographer should have adequate Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance, in addition to this I would also want to know that they keep all their equipment fully insured too.\u00a0 Accidents do happen and what if that lens they dropped at last weeks wedding costs too much for them to replace before yours?\u00a0 I would want to know they had it covered!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">B \u2013 Basics.\u00a0 Do they have enough kit and back up kit to undertake the commission you are paying them for, regardless of the weather?\u00a0 If it\u2019s raining and they have to shoot your entire wedding indoors do they have the necessary lighting equipment to enable them to do this?\u00a0 Furthermore, do they have the knowledge and skills necessary to use the equipment?\u00a0 Do they have the skill necessary to produce pleasing pictures for you and not just \u201csnap shots\u201d?\u00a0 Once the wedding has been photographed do they have the basic equipment necessary to produce your finished pictures?\u00a0 If producing an album for you do they have the design skills and creativity necessary to make that album look it\u2019s best?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>C \u2013 Contingency plan.\u00a0 Do they have in place a \u201cplan B\u201d should the unthinkable happen and for some reason they are unable to fulfil their contract with you to photograph the wedding?\u00a0 What happens if they are sick or unable to attend the wedding due to personal reasons?\u00a0 Do they have a network of people, equally competent as themselves who are willing and able to step in at the last minute to ensure all is not lost?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the end of the day there are wedding photographers around to suit all tastes and budgets.\u00a0 Just because a photographer is a relatively low price does not mean that there should be any compromise in the level of protection that is built in for you, their client.\u00a0 Whilst every photographer at owes it to their clients to ensure that they do undertake their business in a professional, reasonable and fair manner, every bride also owes it to herself to at least look at the photographer who she \u201cthinks\u201d she can\u2019t afford.\u00a0 It could be that the very one she thought she couldn\u2019t afford turned out to be not expensive but priceless.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Sharon at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fnsweddings.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FNS Weddings<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I sometimes dip in and out of the bridal forums \u2013 I like to keep totally in touch with the current trends and way of thinking of our brides.\u00a0 It helps to make me a better photographer I think because for me in order to do that I need to almost be inside my bride&#8217;s head if this makes sense. Think the way she is thinking, see the things she is seeing, pre-empt what she is about to do so [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,86,22],"tags":[140],"class_list":["post-11619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips-from-industry-experts","category-wedding-photography","category-wedding-planning","tag-wedding-photography"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/5starweddingdirectory.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}