Wanted - photographer for wedding in Cornwall

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You can gain experience in other ways, you just choose not to.

You say it is better to shoot weddings for free than it is to pay to go on a course. I disagree, training is a very valuable part of running a business and learning how to do it properly in the first place rather than making mistakes on the job is worth every penny. You also learn how to do things you may not even have considered and learn a lot about the business side too. I fail to see how muddling along on your own can be any more valuable, it will take longer too.

Shooting as a second is honestly not that difficult to find if you just go and look in the right places. (and this is not it)
 
People have different priorities and it isn't anyone's place to judge them because they hold a hog in higher regard than a tog.

The photographer who did my wedding was superb and I only paid £400. Because they didn't take the **** and ask for travel costs we flew them to HK and paid their hotel etc for a week to photograph the other half of the wedding. We had quotes from some asking to be put up for the night in the same hotel...I don't provide B&B for my plumber so why should I sub a tog for their job.

And the cost of marquees! number of times i've put down the phone on those thieves.

hopefully she'll lay off the ice cream so i don't have to get married again!
 
AliB said:
You can gain experience in other ways, you just choose not to.

You say it is better to shoot weddings for free than it is to pay to go on a course. I disagree, training is a very valuable part of running a business and learning how to do it properly in the first place rather than making mistakes on the job is worth every penny. You also learn how to do things you may not even have considered and learn a lot about the business side too. I fail to see how muddling along on your own can be any more valuable, it will take longer too.

Shooting as a second is honestly not that difficult to find if you just go and look in the right places. (and this is not it)
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No course can prepare you for taking on a full on multi venue wedding with 100+ guests, however I did go on plenty of courses prior to my first wedding shoot including an RPS wedding course in Lacock, TFC Art nude and studio lighting course and a portrait photography course. I have also done some shooting at family weddings and have undertaken some assisting work at events (football tournaments and a graduation ball).

I have posted adverts for assisting positions on these and other forums as well as the photography jobs website. I have also posted responses to specific adverts for wedding assistant positions and heard nothing. Got a few bites for event assisting (see above) - but nothing for weddings and since I had made a significant investment in terms of equipment - I wasnt prepared to wait any longer.

What avenues of experience have I chosen not to explore - and why would they be more beneficial to me than the path I have taken?
 
EdinburghGary said:
I am going to sit on the fence (sort of).

1: It's WRONG to ask a PRO to do it for free. Besides, no real pro would do it for free, so it's moot.

2: It's extremely KIND to allow an amatuer to shoot it for free. You are giving the person a great chance to discover a talent which may lead to a career.

With my free work, I always 100% without ANY mucking around, explain that I could make a complete cockup of the work. I insist that if they CAN afford to pay, they SHOULD. I act like I am offering a "charitable" service with no guarentee of them liking said service. I then tell them though, that if they can accept that, I will most likely end up being awesome and they will want to divorce their husband and have my babies, which is also bad for the whole wedding thing.

If they accept THAT, I'm sold :D

Gary.
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:clap: legendary

this has all kicked up a fuss

someone asked me to shoot their wedding this november.
my g'f's good friend
if they were on a tight hideous budget I would have agreed, warning them that I was not a pro, but hired some decent glass for the day.
However, I advised them that if photographs were important to them, to pay for a pro. last time I heard, they had hired a pro.
They still want me to bring my camera though and take some candids etc. which I'll happily do and fill in any time the pro isn't around..setup? speeches?
I've done model time for photos for free before. love doing that.
event stuff for free, 8 hours work plus some processing and my travel...yes..free..but only because he hasn't paid me yet! BAH!

if I was doing this on a charity basis, I'd hope to get travel and some looking after, food would be nice..and some cake!, also expenses for any extra bits like wedding brochures. but also a waiver regarding copyright usage for personal promotion/portfolio and a waiver for liability should hideous things go wrong...such my camera dying..etc
 
Moonhawk said:
You talk about a recession and not being able to afford to employ someone - whilst at the same time accusing the OP's of being "tight brides" :shrug:

We dont know the personal circumstances of the OP's of either of these threads.
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And I don't care about their problems, I have 2 children to feed.
I don't get my food for nothing, sadly Tesco don't operate a try our food for experience policy, my garage don't fix my car so a mechanic can get experience, I actually have to pay them, amazingly they learn on the job getting paid!, but then people pay garages to mend cars, the worlds not full of free mechanics.
Why is it people always think photographers are a charity?:naughty:
 
swanseamale47 said:
And I don't care about their problems, I have 2 children to feed.
I don't get my food for nothing, sadly Tesco don't operate a try our food for experience policy, my garage don't fix my car so a mechanic can get experience, I actually have to pay them, amazingly they learn on the job getting paid!, but then people pay garages to mend cars, the worlds not full of free mechanics.
Why is it people always think photographers are a charity?:naughty:
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Ok fine - this is just going round in circles - and the mods have now clarified TP's policy on this matter.
 
Moonhawk said:
Ok fine - this is just going round in circles - and the mods have now clarified TP's policy on this matter.
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lol, that's pretty much what every wedding thread ends up doing. Why is that?
 
Moonhawk said:
No course can prepare you for taking on a full on multi venue wedding with 100+ guests, however I did go on plenty of courses prior to my first wedding shoot including an RPS wedding course in Lacock, TFC Art nude and studio lighting course and a portrait photography course.
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And that contradicts what you said on another thread about it being better to shoot weddings for free than it is to go on a course!

If I were you I would seriously invest in some training with the likes of Mark Cleghorn, Damien Lovegrove, Brett Harkness (he's just outside Manchester so not a million miles from you). The RPS course does not have a particularly good reputation and that's from someone who is applying for an L in Jan. :shrug:

I would also consider the SWPP, I know they get a bad press at times but if you look at the January convention programme there is a heck of a lot that you can pick from. Not only on the photography but the business side too.

I hope that helps Moonhawk, there are aspects of what you say that do make a lot of sense to me and believe me I know just how hard it is to get things off the ground. What I thought I could do in a year will realistically take me three.
 
I can't believe that a wind up post has caused all this grief!

The OP has just 1 post on TP, has long done a bunk, and YOU'RE STILL RAVING ON AT EACH OTHER :lol:

Priceless :lol::lol::lol:
 
AliB said:
And that contradicts what you said on another thread about it being better to shoot weddings for free than it is to go on a course!
If I were you I would seriously invest in some training with the likes of Mark Cleghorn, Damien Lovegrove, Brett Harkness (he's just outside Manchester so not a million miles from you). The RPS course does not have a particularly good reputation and that's from someone who is applying for an L in Jan. :shrug:

I would also consider the SWPP, I know they get a bad press at times but if you look at the January convention programme there is a heck of a lot that you can pick from. Not only on the photography but the business side too.

I hope that helps Moonhawk, there are aspects of what you say that do make a lot of sense to me and believe me I know just how hard it is to get things off the ground. What I thought I could do in a year will realistically take me three.
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I still stand by that statement. The training I got on the courses whist useful does not compare to shooting a wedding for real - where is the contradiction of which you speak.

I'll certainly look into the training you have suggested, thanks - but since i'm already 2 weddings into my freebie stint - with another 3 already booked and the possibility of an additional two family shoots on top, i'd rather wait and see how things pan out first.
 
The contradiction occurs in you saying you'd rather shoot a wedding and learn that way then attend a course, but then speak of having attended many courses! :)

Seeing how things pan out might suit you and I wish you all the best with it but personally I'd rather know I'm heading in the right direction than guess. Horses for courses. :)
 
AliB said:
The contradiction occurs in you saying you'd rather shoot a wedding and learn that way then attend a course, but then speak of having attended many courses! :)

Seeing how things pan out might suit you and I wish you all the best with it but personally I'd rather know I'm heading in the right direction than guess. Horses for courses. :)
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I would rather shoot a wedding than attend a course - this is based on experience of doing both, I still dont see what you are getting at. At what point did I say I hadnt attended any courses? I could continue to spend hundreds on more courses - but why when I can shoot weddings for free. Also I wouldnt be able to use material from the courses for my portfolio (without it being questioned) - whereas a real wedding I can.

My request for assisting jobs is still open and i'm always on the lookout - i'd happily go under the tutilage of a pro, unfortunately such opportunities are thin on the ground and due to an imminent house move - further investment in courses and training isnt possible due to cash flow - recessions a b****r huh!
 
andy_fozzy said:
I can't believe that a wind up post has caused all this grief!

The OP has just 1 post on TP, has long done a bunk, and YOU'RE STILL RAVING ON AT EACH OTHER :lol:

Priceless :lol::lol::lol:
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I thought that pretty much as well.
Also the user name looks like an anagram to me but can't "see" it :shrug:
(Apology's if its genuine of course):
 
Cobra said:
I thought that pretty much as well.
Also the user name looks like an anagram to me but can't "see" it :shrug:
(Apology's if its genuine of course):
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:eek: I thought the same as that :eek:

I can't see it either!!!
 
mrsseaniepee said:
Hi there. I hope I am posting in the right forum here.

I am looking for a photographer who is maybe building a portfolio and would like to offer their services for free at our wedding next year. We are getting married at a hotel in Newquay, Cornwall in June 2010.

If you are interested please reply. Thank you!:)
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a mrs being married...:thinking:
 
The OP was last active at 10.57 today and so the thread was into page three by then. To be honest, I am not surprised she chose not to post again.

How many times do people comment that you should be careful what you say on a forum because of the way in which your business may be viewed, or the way in which your comments could taint others in your industry? Those wedding forums are rife with stressed out women so it's not the best plan to wage war on them! ;)
 
the original poster will have no need to reply to this thread, they will have got a few pms offering services and probably speaking to them bout what they can offer/want. :)

I think this thread has run its course now:lock:
 
I think you'll find that the OP has found a possible solution and is now passing on details of how rude people are on a photography forum called Talk Photography. If this is how professionals think they are going to market their services via the WWW i think they should think again. Any pro wedding tog on TP would do well to maybe avoid a signature that advertises their services on this forum. Especially those that were not rude to the original request. The Internet has a habit of "making mountains out of mole hills".......

Paul
 
Hammerhead64 said:
I think you'll find that the OP has found a possible solution and is now passing on details of how rude people are on a photography forum called Talk Photography. If this is how professionals think they are going to market their services via the WWW i think they should think again. Any pro wedding tog on TP would do well to maybe avoid a signature that advertises their services on this forum. Especially those that were not rude to the original request. The Internet has a habit of "making mountains out of mole hills".......

Paul
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I agree with you, hammerhead. Good observation
 
:thinking:

i didnt think professionals came here to market themselves...
 
fletch5 said:
:thinking:

i didnt think professionals came here to market themselves...
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Have noticed an increasing trend of advertising in Sigs. IMHO Think it should be against the forum rules but that for others to decide.
 
Hammerhead64 said:
I think you'll find that the OP has found a possible solution and is now passing on details of how rude people are on a photography forum called Talk Photography.
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Whilst some of what is said may well be the case the OP did herself and the members of this forum no favours whatsoever imhgo... :shrug:


If she had introduced herself in a similar fashion to how she addressed the point in that other forum and possibly added the point that she had been recommended by someone over there it is quite possible, nay very likely, she would have received a much different response... ;)


Don't forget ALL forums are rife with OPs that really are nothing but wind-ups and genuine OPs should really give us as much background and help as possible if they are not also to be viewed with caution... especially when coupled with a total absence of follow up posts to assist and clarify... :suspect: ... and then to go back on the other forum and say how rude WE all are... :nono:


Moonhawk said:
Certainly seems that way looking at the link on post #63 of this thread. Matty has posted an appology on that forum on behalf of TP :thumbs: :clap:
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I am not sure a one-way apology is all that's required here, let alone anything to be proud of, but a real big-up to Matty for having the balls to sign up as a Newbride2b to apologise for our members behaviour... :eek: ... lesson learned guys perhaps...


Just mhgo... ;)




:p
 
Venomator said:


If she had introduced herself in a similar fashion to how she addressed the point in that other forum and possibly added the point that she had been recommended by someone over there it is quite possible, nay very likely, she would have received a much different response... ;)

Don't forget ALL forums are rife with OPs that really are nothing but wind-ups and genuine OPs should really give us as much background and help as possible if they are not also to be viewed with caution... especially when coupled with a total absence of follow up posts to assist and clarify... :suspect: ... and then to go back on the other forum and say how rude WE all are... :nono:
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Excellent points there Oh great green one :thumbs:



Venomator said:


I am not sure a one-way apology is all that's required here, let alone anything to be proud of, but a real big-up to Matty for having the balls to sign up as a Newbride2b to apologise for our members behaviour... :eek: ... lesson learned guys perhaps...


Just mhgo... ;)
:p
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Agreed and agreed :thumbs:
 
Well done matty for the very public apology in the wedding forun on TPs behalf
 
:notworthy: I'm sorry "Oh great green one" I have to disagree with you on the point of the OP being treated differently, with the exclusion of a couple of "Pro" Wedding togs (most notably Hacker) I think that there are a few establish members and some newbies that have made possibly inappropriate comments to add to the posts in these kind of threads (I would point you in the direction of another thread that is provoking a similar response under the very frail guise of TIC). :notworthy:

Please don't send me to the tower for my affront of questioning your greatness :D :exit:
 
I agree. I think this thread has run its course.

I understand the frustration at an apparently cheeky request, and I too share that frustration. However I hope my post, while quite frustrated...was a little more polite and helpful than some of the replies I've seen.

Just think when you're replying, you're talking to a real live person on the other end, not just some text on a screen.

Time to close this one I reckon :)
 
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