Wedding Pay Up Front?

[Fills]

Hi Guys,

Just as a pre-intro I tried to search the topic but was blanketed with guys wanting to become Wedding Photographers...:lol: . Well I'm not asking that, nor wish to be at this point.

It's my wedding and I've hired a photographer, and so far the worst thing about him is he shoots Nikon, but that's beside the point and just to get you guys all in a huff. The question I have, is the contract he's given to me (not signed yet) is asking me to pay in full 30 days before the wedding. Is this standard?

Now I realize what is at risk for him and his loss should we up and leave so to speak, but I have given him a $500 retainer. To pay for his time 30 days in advance, and to pay for his product, typically another 30days after that, leaves the entire risk for me with no umbrella besides a signed contract. Now it seems to me if we've given the retainer and we've signed the contract, we'd all have an equal amount to lose. What do you pros do yourselves? Thanks in Advance,

[cmM]

It depends. I've shot a couple weddings(2nd shooter), and the way the contract was layed out was like this: 50% deposit, and the other 50% on the day of the wedding, either before, or after the actual ceremony/reception.

[NGrinerPhoto]

you really need to get it all before or on the day. like cmM said ... 50% when they book you and 50% on the day. i have heard too many horror stories about couples breaking up after the honeymoon, not having the money to pay or much less not caring about photos.

[Phil V]

The general consensus (3 posts) Yes it's normal to pay up front. I see what you're saying about risk, but really if after the wedding you didn't pay the rest, he'd be left with a lot of expensive photo's on his hands that no-one wants. He'd be close to out of pocket, and not paid for all his time. It's a fairly standard business practice.

[Avalonthas]

Paying up front is standard in the industry. As long as you can confirm his identity and get his signature you are safe from fraud, and he will be assured he gets paid even if u call it quits. So yea, its ordinary procedure. Congrats on your marriage.

[Mike Panic]

depends a lot on your location... ive heard people ask for 25% to book the wedding, 50% due a week before the wedding and the remaining 25% when the proof book or other works are delivered

[charlesu]

Is he shooting Nikon digitals? I might reconsider. My studiomate shoots Nikon digital and film but for weddings she will NOT shoot Nikon digital. It's her firm opinion (and others too) that canon is there for the big day but Nikon isn't resolving white detail well enough, particularlay in difficult situations, yet. I've seen books by guys shooting Nikon Digital weddings and in every case, I'd agree with my studiomate. She shoots medium format film and some 35mm on the day of. She will shoot digital in the studio and/or controlled situations.

[Fills]

Thanks guys. Just wanted to make sure it was standard. I certainly wouldn't have a problem with paying him on or day before hand, it's just 30 days up front scared me a bit. I don't want him sipping on 'pina coladas' or I might have to call one of you local boys at noon on a Sat this summer :lol: . I've met him and talked with him a few times, and he's the real deal so, consider it a dead issue. He's going to give me the full RAW files too so I get to edit away.

[Bruce Hamilton]

...and the fourth was a message from the FOB screaming "where the h*ll are you?"

So... Where were you? ;)
Hopefully, shooting a wedding where you actually got paid...

[S230]

One is that there are always people who don't grow up and just don't believe that you can see right through them. They may be spun a little differently, but there are only two excuses that these people offer for their behavior.

(A. THE DOG ATE IT

(B. I DIDN'T KNOW!Just to throw in a little humor but true... "Excuse number A. The DOG ATE IT" actually did happen to me with an assignment I was working on.
Just didn't understand at the time why my teacher never believed me..
=P

[Mike Panic]

Is he shooting Nikon digitals? I might reconsider. My studiomate shoots Nikon digital and film but for weddings she will NOT shoot Nikon digital. It's her firm opinion (and others too) that canon is there for the big day but Nikon isn't resolving white detail well enough, particularlay in difficult situations, yet. I've seen books by guys shooting Nikon Digital weddings and in every case, I'd agree with my studiomate. She shoots medium format film and some 35mm on the day of. She will shoot digital in the studio and/or controlled situations.

as much of a canon fan as i am - your statements dont hold weight w/ me


if you are complaining that the nikon digital doesnt resolving white detail well enough then someone, or several are not taking the time to make correct white balance adjustments.

i'll get 2 photos, one from canon one from nikon and ask you to tell me which is which... you've got a 50/50 chance of getting the answers right and im willing to bet i can play this game w/ you all day and you still wouldnt have 100% assurance that the photo you were choosing to match w/ a camera would be correct... im sorry, your statement and your friend's hold no weight w/ me

[defordphoto]

Let's stay on topic please.

[jyee]

It was a good thing we didn't pay our photographer the full amount on the day of the wedding. We paid for the airfare, car, and hotel for the guy and gave him 75% of the cash after the wedding. Now we can't get a hold of the guy. He doesn't answer email, cel phone, or return messages I've left with people in his household.

We chose this guy over other highly recommended local photographers because we really liked how this guy arranged his pictures in the albums we saw (he did lots of photoshop layouts). We checked references and saw lots of examples of his work. Unfortunately it is a year later and we've pretty much given up on getting anything decent from this guy.

A different perspective from the consumer......if you pay the guy up front you never know something unexpected could happen and you're stuck with nothing.

[robertwgross]

Well, I don't know the photographer, so I don't have a dog in this fight (so to speak).

It is not uncommon for the wedding photography agreement to state the complete payment terms, and that is for the full payment to be completed on the day of the wedding, prior to the ceremony. However, there is no law that states how an agreement should be written up. You, the clients, signed the agreement, and I assume that you still have a copy.

You might go over the agreement wording in detail. It's possible that there was some big misunderstanding. I hope so, because that can be solved. On the other hand, maybe the photographer had some major catastrophe and he hasn't recovered from that.

I heard about a photographer who made some human errors with his wedding photography processing. He was afraid that it was going to take him hundreds of hours of work to recover from the problems. The thought of that just crippled him into inaction. Later on, threat of a lawsuit brought him to his senses.

I had a businessman dodging me one time over a down payment on a house. He wouldn't return my calls at all. So, I simply staked out his place of business, and when I saw him roll in one day, I jumped out of my car and we had the discussion right there on the sidewalk. Two days later I had my settlement in hand.

What do you want to do now?

---Bob Gross---

[tim]

I charge 1/3 deposit, 1/3 30 days before the wedding, and 1/3 no later than 30 days after the wedding. If they're not paid up on the wedding day I won't go (though they might be able to persuade me depending on circumstances), but they wouldn't get even electronic proofs until I got paid in full. That payment schedule could change in the future.

[VentureFox]

Hi Guys,

Just as a pre-intro I tried to search the topic but was blanketed with guys wanting to become Wedding Photographers...:lol: . Well I'm not asking that, nor wish to be at this point.

It's my wedding and I've hired a photographer, and so far the worst thing about him is he shoots Nikon, but that's beside the point and just to get you guys all in a huff. The question I have, is the contract he's given to me (not signed yet) is asking me to pay in full 30 days before the wedding. Is this standard?

Now I realize what is at risk for him and his loss should we up and leave so to speak, but I have given him a $500 retainer. To pay for his time 30 days in advance, and to pay for his product, typically another 30days after that, leaves the entire risk for me with no umbrella besides a signed contract. Now it seems to me if we've given the retainer and we've signed the contract, we'd all have an equal amount to lose. What do you pros do yourselves? Thanks in Advance,

Trevor,

Both for wedding and all other assignment I request a 50% booking fee to secure the day or to accept the assignment. The remainder is payable by the latest on the weeding/assignment day, but normally they pay about a week in advance allowing for funds to clear.

Regards

[rich_yau]

1/3rd to secure the day[which ends up being some wierd amount like 466.66, and then 2/3 before the weddding. honestly though, i would do the wedding on 1/3rd anyway just for my portfolio, but my principaled dad, the head photographer....you get the point. Anyways, back to class, I have physics next hooray, labs are due today and im just finishing up.

[robertwgross]

Anyways, back to class, I have physics next hooray, labs are due today and im just finishing up.

Concentrate on the section that deals with optics.

---Bob Gross---

[InspiredGraphix]

I am still fairly new to it, but i require 20% deposit to book, then full payment no later than 10days prior. Seems to work, and i always get paid.

Congrats on your wedding too.

I paid our photographer extra for RAW files (although i rec'd JPEGs actually) ontop of the normal package we selected. We got our stuff from him and it was great, and i planned on doing some PP of my own. That was 2yrs ago now... and i still haven't looked at em! :o Have too much work to do...

Anyways, congrats on the wedding, and as long as you have done your homework i wouldn't worry about paying the guy. I am sure someone here will help you out if it does all take a turn for the worst. I would, but i would have a 13hr flight across the Pacific.

Rob

[Wilt]

Like Tim said...1/3 to book, 1/3 prior to wedding...not paid, I don't show. Last 1/3 payment gives them access to the preview book (suitably marked so that they don't try to use them as final prints). First 2/3 fully covers my costs, so there is no risk in not getting last 1/3, apart from less profit in the pocket before the final print order is placed!

[Davis]

At my wedding, we paid our photographer 50% at booking, and 50% on the wedding day when he arrived. When I was shopping around, no photographers asked for full payment before-hand, but I guess it's out there (according to this thread)...

[Moments]

I break my contract into 5 payments. For contracts under $4000,
$400 retainer/deposit
$1000 - $1500 (depending upon the package) due two weeks before the wedding
I don't collect any money on the wedding date. I still wish to keep the day just about shooting.
$500 upon the proof delivey
4th payment is 1/2 of the remaining balance which is due upon the date of the album order placement
5th & final, due upon the pickup of the finalized albums which is usuall 12-16 weeks after the album order has been made.
For contracts writen over $4000, I increase the 2nd and 3rd payments. I dont want the last two payments to be above $1200 each.

I still get upgrades and additional orders on approx 75% of my jobs, even when they still have a balance. The smallest, under $50 the lagest was a package that was written at $2800 and balooned to over $5000 at the album order. On average I get between $200 and $500 in extras.

I know this is different then most, but here is the reason.
it spreads out the payments to keep money rolling through the studio at all times. I do 50 - 60 weddings per year.
I have never had clients not come in to pick up thier proofs, sure some might have taken a week or two, but all have come in. By the time they have picked up the proofs I've collected $1900 - $2400 and only produced proofs. If they don't come in to order the albums after 30 days from the proof pu date, no sweat, I have not started to produce any albums. They also don't get the TYCs untill they come in to place the album order. I start to charge interest after 30 days from thier proof pu date . Sure I run the risk that some may not order thier albums, but I can say that since 2002, I have only 4-6 that have not. The rest of my clients could not wait to get thier albums.