Photographer- Is this normal?

Re: Photographer- Is this normal?

• Jessie42613 member

  

  October 2014

  I don't think it's a huge deal, but I also think *you* tell *him* what time to be there, as opposed to asking.  Do you have him all day?  Or only for 8 hours?  If it's all day, tell him what time H&MU starts, give him the location, and "see ya then!"  If it's 8 hours, figure out what time your last event starts at the reception, add an hour, then work backwards from there.  If the last thing you're doing is cake cutting at 8:30, assume you want him there until 9:30, which means he would arrive at 1:30.  Why isn't your DOC straightening this out for you?  (Or do you not have a DOC and I've got you confused with another poster?)

  
  

  Also, if engagement pics didn't work out, and it's a service you paid for/was included in the contract, are you receiving something else for the value of the pics?

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• CTYankeeBride member

  

  October 2014

  We don't have a DOC (the venue has a banquet manager who handles the details of the ceremony and reception itself but I'm on my own as far as managing our vendors).

  
  

   His standard contract says "roughly 2 hours pre-ceremony through much if not all of the reception."  I e-mailed him before signing the contract because I was concerned that 2 hours pre-ceremony wasn't enough time to have formals outside before it's dark out and he stated that the time is adjustable, it just reads that way so he doesn't start at 6 a.m. and work until midnight.  I e-mailed him recently for a specific time and he asked if it would just be me and FI for the first look so that he could time it accordingly. That was a month ago and he didn't respond answering with a time.  So 3 e-mails/ texts and I don't know if he plans on being there at 4 p.m. (two hours pre-ceremony) or earlier as we had discussed. 
  

  
  

   He's the pro and I've given him all of the information he's asked for and all I'd like is for him to say "I'll be there at x time and that's all the time I need for getting ready/ first look/ formals."  Maybe I'm over-thinking this but if we're having "getting ready" shots at 4 p.m. then we won't have enough time to be outside for formal photos before it's dark outside but he's the pro and if he says 4 p.m. then that's fine by me. 
  

  
  

  He offered us a family shoot for after the wedding which is fine with me.  We would love a nice non-wedding photo of the four of us and it's more than fair of him to offer especially considering that he came down considerably on his asking price to meet our budget (which I didn't ask for- I asked for pricing, when he came back with his pricing I thanked him for his time and said "our budget is x" and he came back with "I can do it for x since I really want to do a wedding at that venue and you're on a Friday in November/ I'm running a special right now."). I offered to skip the engagement session from the outset because I felt like it was only fair to remove something from the package since we weren't paying full asking price. He insisted on the session and keeping the package as-is.

  
  

  At this point I'm going to wait a few more days so I'm not harping (maybe he's just trying to situate something before he responds?), e-mail him the timeline the venue provided. As for his meal, I can order the chicken and hope there are no dietary/allergy restrictions but I have asked three times now.

  

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• Jessie42613 member

  

  October 2014

  Honestly, I think 2 hours pre-ceremony is not nearly enough time, unless you don't want any pro photos of you and the girls getting ready.  And when will he take details photos (like pics of the room all set up beautifully before people get in there)?

  
  

  Just as a comparison, my photographers arrived at 9am, and I had a 2pm ceremony.

  
  

  I'm fairly certain that every time I've been a BM (3 times this year alone, and again tomorrow), the photographers have arrived before noon.

  
  

  Good luck...

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• CTYankeeBride member

  

  October 2014

  Thanks!
  
  I was thinking the same thing. I'm a photographer (I don't do weddings anymore) and I would feel rushed with just 2 hours but I keep trying to convince myself that everyone works differently. I did e-mail him numerous times about the 2 hours and each time he indicated that we'd work out a final time.
  
  We're having everything at the same place- getting ready, ceremony, and reception. I'm not going to have any hair/ makeup pics because we're all on our own for that and I'm not having a hairdresser or makeup person come to the Inn. Maybe (and I say this with all of my fingers crossed) two hours is enough in that case- an hour for the last minutes of me getting into my dress, the groom getting his last touches, a first look and the formals. Maybe it isn't and I'm going to learn the hard way to "get it in writing."

  

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• banana468 member

  

  October 2014

  FWIW, our photographer arrived an hour before our ceremony and stayed for cake cutting and dancing which amounted to 8 hours. It was enough for some getting ready shots with the BMs and some formals with the BMS and my parents. Then he got a shot of our limo and he was off to the church where he was able to get some pre ceremony shots of DH and the BM and then the entire ceremony.
  
  I don't think he photographed the empty. Reception venue all set up but 7 years later I don't care. I only want photos of people. It

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• CTYankeeBride member

  

  October 2014

  banana468 said:

  FWIW, our photographer arrived an hour before our ceremony and stayed for cake cutting and dancing which amounted to 8 hours. It was enough for some getting ready shots with the BMs and some formals with the BMS and my parents. Then he got a shot of our limo and he was off to the church where he was able to get some pre ceremony shots of DH and the BM and then the entire ceremony. I don't think he photographed the empty. Reception venue all set up but 7 years later I don't care. I only want photos of people. It

  This is pretty much my opinion.  It would be nice to have photos of some of the DIY things I've worked on but even that's not entirely necessary. 

  
  

  I would love to get outside before the ceremony for family/ formal photos and I'm worried that 2 hours is 4 p.m. and it's going to get dark fast (November wedding). I've decided that if it's too dark out, we'll just have to do the photos inside and I can only control what I can control. So hopefully 2 hours is plenty for some getting ready shots, a first look, and the family photos.  I'm going to force myself to have a little faith here. 

  

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• banana468 member

  

  October 2014

  A great photographer takes photos without needing a ton of time. Remember, if it's raining you'd need to be inside too.

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• CTYankeeBride member

  

  October 2014

  That's ultimately what I told myself- there is no point in stressing out because even if he says he'll be there at 10 a.m. it won't guarantee us any outdoor shots.  I'll plan on him arriving 2 hours before and if he says he'll be there earlier I'll adjust accordingly within reason.  Thanks!

  

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• hyechica81 member

  

  November 2014

  i had a hard time contacting my photographer he would not answer his house phone and i had lost his cell,  thankfully my cousin had used him for video at their wedding and she still had his number.. so i was able to get a hold of him. 

  
  

  he totaly had the wrong times written down for our ceremony and reception when we first met we said it would be around 430-5 for the ceremony ( church) and 7 was our reception so we wanted it as close as possible so that we did not have a gap..

  
  

  i did get a hold of him got the times straitened out got his meal choices and the time he would be at my house. he came at my house around 330 took photos left 20 minutes before church which was at 5 we did photos in the park, then went to venue, he stayed till 1130 then took off. he did a good job taking the photos and getting the right shots but his editing was poor, but my dad whos a retired wedding photographer did all the editing for me that needed to be done

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