be careful what you say - photog issue - sorry king of long

Sweet Lorraine

So when you say wedding the price goes up right? Well my cousin who is getting married next summer calls a photographer she really likes the work of and asks about having him photograph her "party" and the price. After making sure the date is available it goes something like this. photog: $65 per hour - you must provide a list of the group photos. I will do the touch ups and put them online for people to buy. cousin: my parents are without internet so how can they buy? photog: I provide a low resolution disk for viewing only and all photos will be watermarked for $25. cousin: how much for a high resolution disk that I can have printing rights with? photog: that is not an option. cousin: but your wedding packages include a disk with printing rights? photog: weddings get special treatment in regards to high res disks. With the albums, pics and disk with printing rights it justifies the price I charge. A lot more work goes into a photographing a wedding. cousin: so there's no way I can get a disk with rights to print? photog: Is your party a wedding? cousin: well yes it is. photog: there you go. cousin: so how can I get you to photograph my wedding? photog: Sorry I cannot photograph your wedding. I'm not the guy you want. cousin: I really do want you for my wedding. I love your work. photog: You believe I charge more just because it's a wedding while you don't realize the extra planning. What I do at a wedding does not allow room for error in any way and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You call me and lie about your situation because you don't trust me not to rip you off because your party is actually a wedding. It's not the kind of relationship I want with a bride. Sorry, I'm not interested. I'm sure you'll find someone you're happy with and I wish you luck. Goodbye. Now my cousin is furious with this guy because she thinks he wronged her. I think she was a little too smart for her own good. I know people have talked about trying this but I don't know if anyone actually did it and had it work. Anybody have luck with this? Is it a bad idea?

lvasilen

Wow yikes!! I have not tried telling anyone it was a party, I did hear it would lower prices but the photographer was nothing I wanted to mess with...for me the photog and reception were mission critical and everything else is not as important...for me. I see both he and your cousin's points but I think everyone needs to be as honest as possible....if you want to try and negotiate your pricing I have mentioned you know I saw your regular banquet or catering prices and can we hit that price point, etc. I guess lesson learned I hope everything works out for her!

kmmssg

After 3 DD's weddings, I have a real appreication for all the time they spent with us at the salon, getting ready, they were with us all day.  It is completely different than showing up to photograph a party.  I completely see his side in this one.  Your cousin got caught with her hand in the cookie jar and messed up.