1 photographer 1 camera no flash....

nicksan wrote in post #12819150
Were these good friends?
If so, I would have done it for free, as a wedding gift.
But that's just me.

Probably is just you. I wouldn't shoot a wedding for free even if it was the the bride who took my virginity. It's just too much work. They have no idea how much work it really is, so they wouldn't appreciate it as much as you'd hope anyway.

Sacadelic wrote in post #12811642
Well, when the bride and groom take a look at the quality of photos from the event, they will see why photographers get paid so much and that not just anyone can grab a camera and take pics. That was mighty nice of you to offer them such a good deal. I am sure they they will regret it in the long run..

This. ^^^


When the couple sees their photos and **** about the low quality, it generates more work for the real pros.


Forget it and move on.

As much as we don't like to think it possible, not everyone places a high value on wedding photos.

The groom didn't put any sort of value on them, so in hindsight they were probably not the sort of clients you would want anyway.

cdifoto wrote in post #13043044
Probably is just you. I wouldn't shoot a wedding for free even if it was the the bride who took my virginity. It's just too much work. They have no idea how much work it really is, so they wouldn't appreciate it as much as you'd hope anyway.

Buy them a toaster for $50 and save yourself and them the aggravation. Seriously though, I've been down that road before for "friends" and family. They imply that I could do it as a wedding gift. Seriously??? Do you think I'd be giving you a gift of similar value? I"m never insulted that they asked, as long as they weren't insulted when I said, "I'm honored that you'd want me to take your photos, but I'd rather be there as a guest to celebrate your special day...."

That's it. I'm gonna go buy a nice used dental chair and some x-ray equipment and start selling myself as a dentist. I mean, all it takes is the equipment, right..... ?

ph0ngtran wrote in post #12811413
Thats right guys i was so shocked when i attended tonights wedding. Lets start from the beginning. My wife's friend approach me a few months ago to see if i could shoot their wedding, because we know them i gave them my top package for the price of my lowest package.(i'm still new to the business so my prices were not outrageous) the groom felt offended saying why do photographers charge so much and that anyone can buy a digital and take a picture. He literally wanted me to shoot for free because my wife knew them for a long time!!!RED FLAG!!!!! Friend or not Im sorry but i worked my butt off to spend all these money on my gear. So I said no.
So today we went to the reception, the first thing i notice right away the photographer is shooting with an Canon Rebel XT, no disrespect on the XT because i use to have one but he was shooting with the KIT lens. The back drop was not even ironed and he was using on camera flash. So when the 1st dance came the photographer went to eat and the whole time the photographer didnt even crack a smile, omg I seriously did'nt even know what this guy is thinking. I seriously am not lying this foreal foreal. I really hope this isnt his real job. Sigh* sorry guys i just had to come out to vent a little bit time to go back in!

This is a joke right? I really don't think you have any room to talk. I'm sure you won't be able to understand my reasoning given your pretentious mindset.

Hooooold On There.

I shot a couple of weddings with one camera and one lens, then hired lenses. It was a 24-105 zoom, granted the pictures all had that feel about it, but it is possible. When I had a 2nd lens, but still one camera, it's still possible, but very stressful and you have to plan your shots carefully.

You may not get top 10 wedding photographer images, but I am sure you will get plenty of images that the bride will be happy with.

The XT business. Yeah, granted that is not good kit, but it was my 1st camera...

I think, like us all at times, you are just being a snob...

Wedding Gift.

Hell no. If your good enough at something, get paid. Maybe offer a discount.. I charge friends, but give a discount on the current price I am charging, £100 to £300 pounds. Next friends wedding I am doing, my prices will have gone up and I am hopefully taing bookings, but he will probably get £500 off. Is it worth it, no, but I am happy to do it, but not for free mojambo...

If you're a skilled photographer and are friends with the B&G offer to take a nice framed portrait of them as your gift. Assuming the hired photographer didn't deliver a quality product your offer might be welcomed. As others have stated, not every couple places a high value on wedding albums as in the past. Perhaps it's a financial reason or perhaps they're both getting re-married, but it's their decision to make.

I would like to see the pictures. You should have asked the photographer if he was going to post them on the internet. I would have.

I shot a couple weddings with my XT and the photos came out quite nice. It's all in the way you shoot the photos really. I'll admit, I didn't use kit lenses. I used a 50mm 1.4 and a 28-135 IS. Not kit lenses but not top notch either.

Getting to the whole shooting for free thing. If it's family or good friends I would & have done it for free. Reason being, do you know how many business cards I hand out at weddings? Lots! Their younger friends or family members who are contemplating marriage would think of you first especially if their family member or friend (whom you are shooting for) raves about the photos you took at their wedding.

A

CameraMan wrote in post #13049950
I would like to see the pictures. You should have asked the photographer if he was going to post them on the internet. I would have.

I shot a couple weddings with my XT and the photos came out quite nice. It's all in the way you shoot the photos really. I'll admit, I didn't use kit lenses. I used a 50mm 1.4 and a 28-135 IS. Not kit lenses but not top notch either.

Getting to the whole shooting for free thing. If it's family or good friends I would & have done it for free. Reason being, do you know how many business cards I hand out at weddings? Lots! Their younger friends or family members who are contemplating marriage would think of you first especially if their family member or friend (whom you are shooting for) raves about the photos you took at their wedding.

I didn't book a single wedding that way. It doesn't warrant busting ass all day for free.

CameraMan wrote in post #13049950
Getting to the whole shooting for free thing. If it's family or good friends I would & have done it for free. Reason being, do you know how many business cards I hand out at weddings? Lots! Their younger friends or family members who are contemplating marriage would think of you first especially if their family member or friend (whom you are shooting for) raves about the photos you took at their wedding.

The problem with this is you have established your value as being zero. i.e. by doing it for free the expectations with regards to cost of any potential clients from that wedding are lowered dramatically. Using the same reasoning as you put you may as well do every wedding where they are not prepared to pay you for free as it is "good advertising".

To all of those talking about "gifting" a shoot... I don't normally give my friends wedding gifts worth $3-5K so why would I gift them my services worth that much? Yes I'll offer a discount or charge them cost for the album production. The only weddings I'll be doing "for free" will be my brother and sister's and that will only be if they want me to be the photographer.

Here we go again...

Why is it that some people think you can't get decent shots with a XT and kit lens? A great photographer will without a doubt be able to get great shots using them. You can have the top equipment available, and yet still get lousy shots if you don't know what you are doing.

Today's XT is way more sophisticated and the kit lens has a lot more quality than cameras and lenses a decade ago, yet there were still wedding photographers a decade ago taking breathtaking wedding photos.

I agree that you should reserve your judgement until you've actually had a look at his photos. And also stop thinking that having good gear will make you take better photos.

piotr.g wrote in post #13052656
Here we go again...

Why is it that some people think you can't get decent shots with a XT and kit lens? A great photographer will without a doubt be able to get great shots using them. You can have the top equipment available, and yet still get lousy shots if you don't know what you are doing.

Today's XT is way more sophisticated and the kit lens has a lot more quality than cameras and lenses a decade ago, yet there were still wedding photographers a decade ago taking breathtaking wedding photos.

I agree that you should reserve your judgement until you've actually had a look at his photos. And also stop thinking that having good gear will make you take better photos.

I think you could get good shots. The only problem I see with it are Flash and High ISO. My old 350D/XT only had the crappy pop up flash..

dariussutherland wrote in post #13052669
I think you could get good shots. The only problem I see with it are Flash and High ISO. My old 350D/XT only had the crappy pop up flash..

Of course it largely depends on lighting conditions as well. I would also add that the photographer at the wedding using on camera flash was a mistake, but my post was about the OP attacking the camera and kit lens.

A non-ironed background could potentially also not affect the quality of the photos, if the photographer separated the subject from the background a little more than usual and shot at the most open aperture on the kit lens (which I image would be around F5.6 @ 55), to blur the background.

My point is that there are a lot of factors in photography which are more important than the gear you are using: available light and knowledge of exposure, composition skills and even communication skills.