Generic Wedding Related Rants!!!!

I'm being dragged to a wedding later this month where my other half says "all of the pictures are being taken by their friends", which should prove interesting :lol:.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I just done a 6 hours reception shoot for exactly that much, well, it was a gift really. Did it more for a favour for a friend.

But not that this is not a rant.

Story is that, a life long friend planned to get married this summer, and i was supposed to do the entire day's shoot, which would be around £400. Not long after they set the date, Groom's mother found out she has terminal cancer so the wedding was put forward by about 10 months, they did the ceremony in the same Church their parents got married in over 30 years ago in St Ives (We all live in the Midlands now), and only invited family for the do. I didn't go and the only photos were done by people there.

I was then asked to do this reception shoot, which by now the price won't be a full day, and with their mother in a bad shape I said i would do it for £50.

Shot it the Saturday before last (21/02/09), on Wednesday (25/02/09) the Bride calls me while i was at my normal 9-5 Job at work and said that they had just been to see the mother in the hospice and she's in a really bad way and ask if they can have the photos because the mother wants to see them. At the time I had just been through the collection and filtered out the really bad ones but done ZERO processing.

I said that I need more time and asked if I could have until Friday. She then started crying on the phone, :eek: so i gave in and said that i'll go home from work and process as much as i can and I'll call them around 10pm when they are done.

So i got home from work at 7, went straight to my computer and started to process the pics, picked out just shy of 100 pics and did them the best I could in 3 hours and the groom picked up the photos on a CD.

He got them printed in Tesco or Asda, showed it to his mum on Thursday, which they all loved, and she passed away on Friday. :(
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Mate, you deserve a big pat-on-the-back for that. True gentleman and a real honour!
 
I think anyone of us would've done the same, I had no idea how long she has left, and I did not want on my conscience that it is me who denied a dying lady's wish (turns out to be one of the last wish) so I didn't even had time to eat dinner that evening and got down to work.

The photos gave them joy and I got a call from my friend on Saturday with the bad news, it was when i found out she had passed away the day before but he did say his mum loved the photos and thanked me for them.

A couple from the night.



 
I don't have a rant, but more of a question, the subject of which could well turn into a rant depending on how things play out. A close friend of my wife is getting married at the end of this month. Photography being done by a student friend who's doing a 'tog course apparently - ok, fine. However, I've been asked to take some pics too as they've seen some of my photos and my gear, and guess they would like to have some images from a different perspective (and seem under the mistaken impression that I'm competent :lol:).

Now, I'm not casting any dispersions on the 'official' tog, but considering she is a student, my strong expectation will be that my kit may intimidate somewhat. I don't want the poor girl to feel as though she's been dumped on by the B&G when she sees me shooting with a 1d3 + 85L.

Should I just leave it all at home and enjoy the day (at the risk of upsetting the B&G who are expecting to see me turn up kitted up), or try to maintain my distance and be as discrete as possible? Either way, I can see a rant forming after the event !
 
Talk to the B&G, let them know your concerns.
People will always turn up to weddings with cameras, and now that DSLRs come in a large range (i know you shoot a 1dmkIII) you will always get some relative or friend at a wedding with one, take that view and if you want to do it then do it

Mike
 
At the very least I'd take your kit and leave it in the boot of the car, there's no harm in using it either. If the students pics are great then its all well and good, but your pics might be the only good memories of the day in a few years time, and thats worth upsetting a few people. If I was said tog student I'd probably take any oppertunity I got to speak to you, rather than feel intimidated.
 
Thing is, having never done it before, I think I might really enjoy it as well (seeing as though I'll be under virtually no pressure as just a guest with a camera). Yeah, I guess it's best to take it all, at least then the option is there.
 
It might also make the student feel abit better, taking abit of the pressure off him/her.
 
dod said:
I had an interesting one recently.

Day after the wedding the bride's mother buggered off with someone else. I was asked/instructed that she be "removed" from all the group photos. :bang:
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:eek: :eek: :eek:

Raymond Lin said:
I just done a 6 hours reception shoot for exactly that much, well, it was a gift really. Did it more for a favour for a friend.

But not that this is not a rant.

Story is that, a life long friend planned to get married this summer, and i was supposed to do the entire day's shoot, which would be around £400. Not long after they set the date, Groom's mother found out she has terminal cancer so the wedding was put forward by about 10 months, they did the ceremony in the same Church their parents got married in over 30 years ago in St Ives (We all live in the Midlands now), and only invited family for the do. I didn't go and the only photos were done by people there.

I was then asked to do this reception shoot, which by now the price won't be a full day, and with their mother in a bad shape I said i would do it for £50.

Shot it the Saturday before last (21/02/09), on Wednesday (25/02/09) the Bride calls me while i was at my normal 9-5 Job at work and said that they had just been to see the mother in the hospice and she's in a really bad way and ask if they can have the photos because the mother wants to see them. At the time I had just been through the collection and filtered out the really bad ones but done ZERO processing.

I said that I need more time and asked if I could have until Friday. She then started crying on the phone, :eek: so i gave in and said that i'll go home from work and process as much as i can and I'll call them around 10pm when they are done.

So i got home from work at 7, went straight to my computer and started to process the pics, picked out just shy of 100 pics and did them the best I could in 3 hours and the groom picked up the photos on a CD.

He got them printed in Tesco or Asda, showed it to his mum on Thursday, which they all loved, and she passed away on Friday. :(
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Nice one, it's good to see there are still plenty of people around with honour and integrity. A very moving story and it sure puts a lot of these rants into perspective (mine included).

:clap:
 
py6km said:
I don't have a rant, but more of a question, the subject of which could well turn into a rant depending on how things play out. A close friend of my wife is getting married at the end of this month. Photography being done by a student friend who's doing a 'tog course apparently - ok, fine. However, I've been asked to take some pics too as they've seen some of my photos and my gear, and guess they would like to have some images from a different perspective (and seem under the mistaken impression that I'm competent :lol:).

Now, I'm not casting any dispersions on the 'official' tog, but considering she is a student, my strong expectation will be that my kit may intimidate somewhat. I don't want the poor girl to feel as though she's been dumped on by the B&G when she sees me shooting with a 1d3 + 85L.

Should I just leave it all at home and enjoy the day (at the risk of upsetting the B&G who are expecting to see me turn up kitted up), or try to maintain my distance and be as discrete as possible? Either way, I can see a rant forming after the event !
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Take the kit - it's a fact of life that guests at wedding often turn up with high end gear. The 85L is just awesome for interior shots anyway, it would be criminal not to not take it or leave it in the car.
 
or get the students number and speak to them? might help and between you sort out how it will all work. could help each other as required;)
 
fletch5 said:
or get the students number and speak to them? might help and between you sort out how it will all work. could help each other as required;)
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And if they shoot Nikon, call them dirty scum and beat them at the wedding :lol:
 
I think the word "don't" is missing from the first half of your sentence. :p:lol:
 
i had same thing for 15 years i was a party dj and a bloody good one so i did lots of weddings this is real simple and in my eyes a golden rule , thanks for the invite you don't need to pay me for being there however if i bring a camera i will require paying simple as, no discussion,
 
bi9johnny said:
i had same thing for 15 years i was a party dj and a bloody good one so i did lots of weddings this is real simple and in my eyes a golden rule , thanks for the invite you don't need to pay me for being there however if i bring a camera i will require paying simple as, no discussion,
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Shouldn't that be "If I am asked to bring a camera...."?

Otherwise I would gatecrash every wedding I could, and hand them an invoice :D
 
Sorry to bring this back up BUT:

Are there any wedding photographers who are getting an email somewhere along the lines of this:

"Hi

We are getting married on XX April 2009 and are looking for a wedding photographer.
We are on a tight budget like everyone else at this moment in time.
Can you please give me a quote for xxx products/xxx prints/ a cd of all the images from the day..."


Now, i know that some people are struggling with the current financial climate but then the email goes on...

"...we are getting married at xxx hotel in xxx location..."

...so i go check out the hotel online and its nice big 4*+ hotels. Did they not just say they are on a tight budget?

Now, the things im ranting about here are (if you didnt already know):
1) I thought they were on a tight budget and yet they have some nice fancy (and probably expensive) hotel wedding.
2) Why are they only just looking at booking a photographer this close to the ceremony?
3) They have gone through my website and have seen what products we offer, and yet want a "quote"
4) We dont offer "Just a cd of the images from the day" and if we do then to sell the copyright/licence for them to print the images when they please is going to cost more then the base package...why do they think this option is cheap?
5) We are not even from around the area. We are talking both enquiries are an 1hr 20mins drive from the location...and they want cheap?

Sorry, but this annoyed me, plus i am ill and very tired!

Rant over

PS. Ok, hadn't finished ranting:

6) "We are on a tight budget at the moment"...surely that means that WE are also on a tight budget as well, so how are we meant to do these things "Cheap"?

Now thats rant over
 
Do you feel it is being used as an excuse though to try and get your service cheaper?
 
No, same here :D
Will keep you posted on the outcome though! Haha!
 
Seems like the 'credit crunch' is an excuse to try and beat prices down. I do a bit of freelance music work and I'm not working at the minute because MD's are trying to beat me down pricewise to the point it's not even worth the hassle of boxing my kit up (and there's a lot of it, sometimes enough to warrant hiring a van) and driving 30 or 40 miles.
 
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