Do You Guys have your answers for this ??

Red Tie Photography wrote in post #16644717
I was just going to post this question Jim. I'm curious to know your answer!

I tell potential clients that I am a member of a professional organization, the Wedding Photographic Society, who's mission is, among other things, to provide capable, professional photographers as backups whenever a member is sick or injured. While I've never missed a wedding yet, there have been others who needed a backup at a moments notice, due to car accidents. The WPS was able to provide a photographer to cover the wedding within an hour.

The WPS keeps a list of emergency photographers just for this reason.

I'd say the toughest question I've been asked--and it doesn't happen now so much as in my first couple of years--would be the 'what happens if you get sick / shot with a poisoned blow dart / die in a fiery plane crash' question. There really isn't a great answer for this--there are good answers that use rhetoric to put the actual risk in perspective, and there are ways of mitigating risk and pointing to backup procedures. But if I die, it's true that I most likely won't be shooting their wedding.

How could you NOT have the answers to those questions?

^I was a bit baffled by that as well--those seem like softballs written by a wedding photographer.

Yeah, those are pretty typical questions.

Yes you guys are right. I know they are softballs. Was hoping you guys got hit with some stuff that you actually had to think about before you said something?

I don't think pro photographers were the target audience for those questions.

A good read, but I would say that I'm asked all of those questions so frequently that I go ahead and address them all on my FAQ page.

And I'm asked for a certification of insurance about 25% of the time; as has been said, usually at the higher end places.

Good questions, all easily answered by any professional. I answer many on my website, and I may put the rest in my FAQ... I'm not sure I have an FAQ but I may add one.

Peacefield wrote in post #16646443
A good read, but I would say that I'm asked all of those questions so frequently that I go ahead and address them all on my FAQ page.

And I'm asked for a certification of insurance about 25% of the time; as has been said, usually at the higher end places.

I was thinking the same - I'm going to get an FAQ put up and these are awesome questions to answer.

Good idea on the FAQ Tim

Pretty basic questions really.

Your experience level should really be self evident on your website. This should only ever be just a general interest type question as opposed to one grilling you over whether you are experienced or not. Bios and about pages clear up this 95% of the time.

If you are a solo shooter your website shouldn't be giving the impression there are other togs. If it is the website isn't doing its job properly and you aren't selling yourself as the brand enough.

I thought showing people complete weddings at meetings was a run of the mill thing everyone does? I don't get people asking to see a complete wedding as I've already shown them one within 5 minutes of a meeting starting. If anyone is asking this question prior to a meeting it shows they have a lack of confidence in what they have seen so far say on a website etc. This is a perception issue and can/should be worked on. Really this question should never come up.

I never get asked this as the details are all on the website. If someone hasn't looked at the website and they contact me that is where I send them. Pre-filtering deals with this.

Never been asked the next one as I only do full day coverage.

Is an album included... all explained on the website.

Dealt with in the after the wedding FAQ

Dealt with on the website

Dealt with on the before the wedding FAQ

In a nutshell I view every one of those questions as easily avoidable. If I have to answer any of them (with the exception of the first) then my website isn't doing the job it should be and I am failing somewhere.

I've always worked on the basis that if a question can be asked it should be answer on my website before I get asked it. When you remove questions like these and others from the equations by pre-filtering potential client meetings just become a friendly chat about someone's big day. There is no grilling from a potential client. Personally I also take the approach that if after explaining to a potential client at a meeting how I work if they have a need to ask me a question I have failed in explaining it to them as well as I could have done.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #16651036
When you remove questions like these and others from the equations by pre-filtering potential client meetings just become a friendly chat about someone's big day. There is no grilling from a potential client. Personally I also take the approach that if after explaining to a potential client at a meeting how I work if they have a need to ask me a question I have failed in explaining it to them as well as I could have done.

I totally agree. and these were t-ball questions, not even softball.
honestly I'm usually the one asking the most questions at our meeting

trying to think of the craziest (most off-guard I was caught) question I've had..
I might have to think about this one a while and come back to it, i'm drawing a blank haha
(oh the irony!)

This got me thinking as to want quantifies experience?
Photographer 1 has been shooting weddings for the last two years and in that time he has shot 32, 16 each year all between May and September.
Photographer 2 has been shooting for four years, only shoots 8 a year but they are spread throughout the whole year.
Who's the most experienced based on the above question?

casp3r wrote in post #16665348
This got me thinking as to want quantifies experience?
Photographer 1 has been shooting weddings for the last two years and in that time he has shot 32, 16 each year all between May and September.
Photographer 2 has been shooting for four years, only shoots 8 a year but they are spread throughout the whole year.
Who's the most experienced based on the above question?

I'd be more interested in seeing who was better