Lots of new wedding photographers on Craigslist in Las Vegas again.

Seems like there is a whole new generation of them in the past month:

http://lasvegas.craigs​list.org/crs/164986562​6.html


http://lasvegas.craigs​list.org/crs/164957785​6.html - 20 years of experience according to the website

http://lasvegas.craigs​list.org/crs/164863088​9.html - 10 years experience in editorial. I recognize a few of the portfolio images from someone who used to post under a different name/alias.

http://lasvegas.craigs​list.org/crs/164628839​0.html - says it all, 24 years photography experience and 12 years professionally.

http://lasvegas.craigs​list.org/crs/164596491​1.html - doesn't have any wedding stuff on the website, but his fashion/editorial photos will draw clients because of the color and processing.

http://lasvegas.craigs​list.org/crs/164386058​3.html - cheapest offer out there right now.

http://lasvegas.craigs​list.org/crs/164334623​4.html - another potential startup.

All of these are only posting for their first time in Las Vegas in the last month. All are putting themselves out there as wedding photographers.

There are so many new people offering wedding photography all the time. I wonder if they'll realize - like I have - that you can't make a living from it unless you have 2 weddings a month and net at least $3k from each of them. Hopefully they're like me and are not doing it to make a living.

What's your general sense of their pricing Joey - are there a bunch of typical $500 shoot & burners, or are we starting to see higher end pricing commensurate matching skill level?

You just have to remember that (assuming they're the $500 GWAC) these guys are neither your peer nor your competition. Brides who will hire a wedding photographer at $2000+ will not even consider hiring one of these guys as even a possibiity. They're a different market segment.

Interesting.... more folks with the "investment" pricing strategy.

Investment is the common term now. Their prices range from free to comparable to mine and perhaps slightly above in one or two cases. Brides who hire me aren't looking for $2k+ photographers either: I'm still in the low range bracket, just not rock bottom. $2k will get you Chelsea Nicole, a well known local with a much better website and more polished photos than I provide.

Almost all of them don't seem to do a great amount of retouching, and several use filters like fake motion blurs and/or heavy glows that I see often with startups. One of the things I used to distinguish myself early on was that I retouched all of the photos, and I knew fairly well how to handle photoshop and lightroom.

I'd say you have little to worry about then Joey - your work is far superior and certainly more polished than most if not all of these folks.

Regarding "investment"...... it depends upon where you are in the country. In some areas it's the latest buzzword fad. In others it's regarded as a presumptous catch phrase to pose as something it is not.

I haven't looked at your site in a little while, but have you bumped your prices above the GWAC's as many have suggested, commensurate with your quality & service level, and if so has it made a difference in bookings?

form wrote in post #9822885
Investment is the common term now. Their prices range from free to comparable to mine and perhaps slightly above in one or two cases. Brides who hire me aren't looking for $2k+ photographers either: I'm still in the low range bracket, just not rock bottom. $2k will get you Chelsea Nicole, a well known local with a much better website and more polished photos than I provide.

Almost all of them don't seem to do a great amount of retouching, and several use filters like fake motion blurs and/or heavy glows that I see often with startups. One of the things I used to distinguish myself early on was that I retouched all of the photos, and I knew fairly well how to handle photoshop and lightroom.

Bookings are at least as good as before, and my prices are about 55% higher on average than last year. I still feel that I am at the capping point without offering albums or prints to make it a more complete service, but I still don't have time for those things. I can't imagine charging $1500 to cover a wedding and not give something besides the disc(s).

That's great Joey - sounds like things have improved nicely for you.

If you're doing the same amount of work but earning more thats' always a good thing . I understand how album design and creation would put significant time demands on you, but I don't see how that would be the case for prints.

If I understand correctly, you put a fair amount of PP time into your disk images right now. That's your major time investment after the shoot. Sending print orders to a competent lab would hardly represent a major increase in time, but the potential rewards could be extremely profitable for you. Have you tried that?

form wrote in post #9823050
Bookings are at least as good as before, and my prices are about 55% higher on average than last year. I still feel that I am at the capping point without offering albums or prints to make it a more complete service, but I still don't have time for those things. I can't imagine charging $1500 to cover a wedding and not give something besides the disc(s).

But in what way would I include or involve prints in a package, and why would anyone want to buy prints from me when they have the disc and can get prints for less by themselves?

They may not...........

But then again it's a service YOU would be offering that others do NOT. Some people just don't like to be bothered at all with printing or finding a printer.

Another option....you could offer a print credit for $xxx.00 to be used for __________. Or, you could simply include a "Beautiful matted and/or framed (whatever size) print in your standard packages. Again, it distinguishes you from the GWAC's. A few lines of new text on your website could potentially add phone inquiries to your day, and a few more $$$ in your pocket.

But - you never know until you try .

form wrote in post #9823387
But in what way would I include or involve prints in a package, and why would anyone want to buy prints from me when they have the disc and can get prints for less by themselves?

Actually prints are common with local photographers from entry-level to mid-range. Many of them offer 4x6 prints, and some offer a few larger prints. I tried the print credit stuff before, but got no interest back then. How much of a difference can I charge to add a print credit? Everything will have to be inflated a bit to cover expenses. Also, how do you ship the prints - direct from the lab or do it yourself? Most of my clients are not locals and I imagine large prints would require that I get access to some carboard cylinders.

Don't even get me started on the frames: I would have to spend hours researching to see what I like, and then I'd have to figure out how to show them in a catalogue for the client to view. How would I do that?

Use Smugmug.com to create your prints and they/you can ship directly to customer, print quality is outstanding. But I agree with you in that offering prints may not be the best route. Rather than prints offer 1 nice canvas wrapped print, like a 16x24 of their choice. Even if they dont take you up on the offer the fact that you do can, will not hurt you at all and will separate yourself from some of the others.

I lol'd in agony over the cheapest offer out there Craigslist offer. That sucks man.

http://lasvegas.craigs​list.org/evs/165023389​6.html - Another new one I've never seen before.

This one gives me a very difficult time:

http://lasvegas.craigs​list.org/crs/165031445​3.html

Good advertisements, competitive processing and photos, and his rates are currently a little under mine despite the fact that his cameras cost 3-5x as much as mine. His name has been showing up on theknot forums a bit lately as a good choice.

Craigslist doesn't really exist here...yet. There is a Tasmania section, but last time I looked at it, it was full of spam ads and the like. No real ads.

No doubt you see it too, but I see a lot of new Facebook photographer fan pages from GWAC's. Typically what they will do is do one wedding for free/nearly free, call themselves a wedding photographer, and use three or four of their best images from the day and repost them constantly.

It is frustrating though. No doubt i will be a bit annoyed when Cragslist hits down under.