First Wedding for Practice?

My business partner and I have decided to try our hand at weddings. I have shot one wedding before but not as the hired photog and I was pleased with the results and the B&G were too. I am confident I can achieve good results.

I have tried for the past 4 months to tag along with a pro but that hasnt materialized so I put up an ad on craigslists for wedding photography. I am offering to shoot a wedding for free for experience and then give them a CD of images after post. In exchange I get portfolio pieces and they get something more than their friends with P&S snapping away. If they want prints, those would be available to order off my site as well.

I got a response from an out of state couple coming to disney to get Married. The usual tight budget, not a lot of money for anything else...yada yada yada. The wedding is during the week in the morning.

So some questions...
I will have a contract, but anything specific in it besides usage rights? No money changing hands so no deposits or amounts due...Stated we would provide up to 4 hours with 2 photographers (my partner and I). My main issue is being able to use these for advertising.

My partner and I do not have back up equipment, so I was thinking with 2 photographers, that would be the same as one photog with back up equipment... If something were to go horribly wrong, since no money is changing hands, there shouldnt be any backlash.. Would that be the case?

Since they are out of state, I would not be able to meet them prior to the event, which would seem a bit awkward. Anything I can do about that besides just talking on the phone? How does everyone handle a situation with an out of state couple?

Thanks

I find this statement grossly wrong.

Also why would they order from you when you just gave them all their images?

If they can't pay for a photog, then Uncle Joe with his P&S should be good enough. If you're bringing two photogs and spending 4 hours + drive and not getting paid a dime that sucks.

Try posting this in the "business of photography" section.

pixelharmony wrote in post #5834256
I find this statement grossly wrong.

Also why would they order from you when you just gave them all their images?

If they can't pay for a photog, then Uncle Joe with his P&S should be good enough. If you're bringing two photogs and spending 4 hours + drive and not getting paid a dime that sucks.

Try posting this in the "business of photography" section.

I expected comments like this... Like I stated, I am not looking to make money, just the experience. So I lose 4 hours and and a little gas money, so what. Its cheaper than paying to go to a class to learn. How did you start off?

If they dont order images from me, that is fine. Sorry but I cant justify charging $1k or more to shoot a wedding when I have no previous professional experience at it. To me, that is grossly wrong and a huge gamble.

EDIT: Mods, please move this to the Business section, posted in wrong forum.

Start as a second shooter and get paid.

cory1848 wrote in post #5834210
I have tried for the past 4 months to tag along with a pro but that hasnt materialized

Tired of waiting for call backs...

If you're confident you can get good results then charge, but don't do it for free.

Thread moved.

I think shooting for free is a really tough thing to start. I shoot for free and don't look back, mostly for military people and for friends. You have to decide what you want to do and stick to it. If the couple are on a tight budget, it doesn't mean they are without money to pay for honest work. If you promised something, you have to come through. Talk to the couple again. Tell them you will be using their images for your portfolio. It's always dangerous to give a disk away with all your pictures because their prints may not represent the work you do. Once you promise free, it's really tough to take it back, even if they order prints, I promise you, they will not order $1000 worth.

You would be surprised how many orders you get even after providing a CD... they want high quality prints and not many have the knowledge or time to find those .

At least thats my experience...

MANY wedding photogs started with a free wedding... go for it... especially since they are out of twon and not in your client base... so their friends wont call asking for discounts!

I'm curious about this subject as well. I don't feel confident enough as I'm a newbie, however I have a friend that is getting married in August and doesn't have a photog lined up just yet. I told her I'd take pix but not as the main photog, unless she doesn't find one.

If/when you give them a disk, you put your watermark on those and then they can choose what they'd like to print (or point them to your site with same) and then remove the watermark? Or would you leave that on even for print outs? (did that even make sense?) I would probably offer to do this at my cost since it is a good friend of mine also with the stipulation that I can use the photos in a portfolio.

TIA!

Thanks guys, I am excited about this and looking at it as a chance to get things going. The reason I am hesitant about charging for this, is because along with money, brings liability. I am nervous about that part.

I emailed them back and am just waiting for a response now.

I wouldn't mind doing it for free. To me, it would be good practice and seeing what I am getting myself into. It's not like you are totally working for them, you are doing this for yourself too. If they know you are free and getting your feet wet, go for it. I was thinking of crashing some weddings to see what I can come up with too. (not literally barging in)

I don't do weddings but I do shoot a lot for free, I consider it paying my dues in the industry I shoot in, it gives me excellent experience, a great reference and I always have fun, go for it and you might want to rent a backup body just in case

pixelharmony wrote in post #5834256
Also why would they order from you when you just gave them all their images?

Not going to address the rest since I agree. But I sell a CD to some clients and they sometimes still order enlargements. Reasoning? They can be sure of quality in the print from my pro lab of choice...ie they know they can order a print and it'll be right the first time, no fuss. Any other prints that aren't so important (4x6s for sharing, etc) can be had from Wal-Mart or their home printer.

cory1848 wrote in post #5834321
How did you start off?

By charging a dirt cheap rate that pisses off the old hats but still at least made it somewhat worth my while.

I'll shoot whatever I can for free just for practice also. I got my DSLR in April and took some photos of my cousin's wedding the same month, like a week after receiving camera. I was new to DSLR but I think I did an ok job. I say go for it, if you think it'll help you, it might not be easy to get a job as a second shooter so if you have friends that you can practise with/on go ahead.