I never knew I was so judgey about photography sites!!

Kristen625

Holy cow, I don't know what is up with me, but if I don't like their site, I'm not calling!  I can't stand that they play music on almost every photography site.  And yes, I do turn it off, but its obnoxious and unnecessary.  And not putting pricing down is annoying as well!!  Grr.  I found one site that was basically awesome (no music and the photos were great, even if there were a few awkward ones) and then they even put their pricing down...yeah WAY out of my budget. Sigh.  Well I guess its back to the grind stone.  Sorry for the rant, but I figured around here I couldn't be the only one who feels like this!  

LaBellaBarv66

Ugh I'm having the same problem. All the photographers I like are wayyy out of my budget, probably because they're good and know they're good and can charge more. It's annoying.

gracediva

I agree with the music. i hate the music on pages. i kind of like when they have their prices because i hate calling people.

Kristen625

@meghanandbenspencer I understand they have to make a living and all that.  And I know that a lot of them will spend hours of their time with photoshop and things like that (I have quite a few photographer friends).  Not to mention they are under a lot of pressure by people because these photos are very important (not just the bride and groom, but family members too) and they need to look good.  I think I was mostly reeling from sticker shock.  I wasn't expecting that kind of price tag on photography. 

And @gracediva, I'm with you, I hate calling people too.  I'm much better with email and such.

Well, hopefully I'll find someone soon and someone who is a little closer to budget.

wabanzi

The term "investment" really bothers me, and a lot of photographers use that word.  Hmm. Are you suggesting that my photos will be worth more money in the future than what I paid?

Charge what you want to charge for your service and product.  But don't try to make it more palatable by calling it an "investment."  

investment |inˈves(t)mənt|noun1 the action or process of investing money for profit or material result: a debate over private investment inroad-building | a total investment of $50,000.• a thing that is worth buying because it may be profitable or useful in the future.
Music on websites bugs me too. Not sure of thinking there.

gracesauve

@kristen625 I totally agree with you and appreciate your honest opinion.  As a photographer I believe that being open and friendly with my clients is a way better way to build a 'relationship' with them and create the perfect experience on their wedding day than acting all 'I'm worth $10,000' and totally missing the point of what this business is supposed to be for. 

I hope you find the best option for yourself and again, thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Grace 

cowgirl8238

wabanzi said:

The term "investment" really bothers me, and a lot of photographers use that word.  Hmm. Are you suggesting that my photos will be worth more money in the future than what I paid?

Charge what you want to charge for your service and product.  But don't try to make it more palatable by calling it an "investment."  

investment |inˈves(t)mənt|noun1 the action or process of investing money for profit or material result: a debate over private investment inroad-building | a total investment of $50,000.• a thing that is worth buying because it may be profitable or useful in the future.
Music on websites bugs me too. Not sure of thinking there.

This bugs me too!  I know they are working for a living and that they are trying to sell their services but when I look at sights with huge fancy script lettering, orchestral music playing, and flash player images going by I can't help but feel like they think I'm stupid or something.  I get it I really do, but I just find that anything with the word "wedding" attached becomes more about selling an idea then a product.  Oh well just my two cents!

photokitty

Banned vendor ETA

@knotporscha vendor? Certainly sounds like it.

SteffJay

wabanzi said:

The term "investment" really bothers me, and a lot of photographers use that word.  Hmm. Are you suggesting that my photos will be worth more money in the future than what I paid?

Charge what you want to charge for your service and product.  But don't try to make it more palatable by calling it an "investment."  

investment |inˈves(t)mənt|noun1 the action or process of investing money for profit or material result: a debate over private investment inroad-building | a total investment of $50,000.• a thing that is worth buying because it may be profitable or useful in the future.   don't you think your wedding photos will be useful to you in the future? and your kids or grandkids or whatever?
Music on websites bugs me too. Not sure of thinking there.

Yeah, got to disagree with you here. Photos and video are the only physical evidence of your wedding that you will have in the future. Kind of sounds exactly like a good investment, if you ask me.

CanadianGurl

I personally wouldn't judge them by their music choices (personal preference) or by the lack of posing their pricing (easily obtained by an email request), but the quality of the website, whether they have an updated blog, ability to easily navigate the website, how pretty the color scheme etc. is I definitely am judging of. I think a photographer with good style and good technical abilities has the ability to make a good website, or at least should have the desire to have a good website, so those are things I judge, not just for wedding photography.

ShirlPearlOKC

Yeahhhh the music thing didn't really bother me until I began to visit website after website after website after website. The more I had to mute the music, search for the button to mute the music or ultimately mute my own speakers because I couldn't find their mute button- that's when I got frustrated. I like a clean website that I can move through smoothly and get to the information easily. 

Prices not being on the website doesn't really bother me as much because it helps me focus on the quality of work before I see the prices. And sometimes flash doesn't even work on my iPad or my iPhone and that really sucks!