Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean  Whenever someone asks me to shoot their wedding, friend or not, I arrange to be out of town. |
How to avoid being asked to shoot wedding
By Ryuji Suzuki
1. Tell your single female friends that they aren't allowed to marry until they can afford real money for photographers. Don't keep friends who can't agree. Also, avoid meeting their mother at all costs. If she is Japanese, never speak Japanese to her. If Russian, same. If she is French, it's ok to speak French as long as your French is very bad. Always talk about politics when you meet their mothers, but again, not with the French.
2. Don't put ANY picture of social events on your website. Your website should also have "I don't shoot wedding." and perhaps more in boldface. You should get a separate domain for those pictures, and make sure you have a different name or no name at all on the social pic website. Your real close friends will ask you regardless of what you have on the web, but you don't want a stranger calling you.
3. If you don't want the job, never quote the price. Not even a price range. Just ask them to make their offer and you'll see what you can do. They won't come back to you. (Pricing high is not a good option. You feel bad if they take the price, and this actually happens more often than you think, because you will look very confident when you quote the ridiculous price.)
4. Tell them that having you to shoot won't save much money. Whether people admit it or not, it is a factor in their decision. Give them a service fee schedule of your local pro lab (and make it as complicated as you can).
5. (US Only) Tell them how many tablets of Tylenol you needed to go through the form 1040 and 88xx. Tell them how many BOTTLES of Excedrin you needed after the last wedding you shot. Make liberal use of exaggeration to make them feel bad asking you.
6. Tell them you will be the first one to hit the bottle of the 18-year-old scotch at the cocktail bar, even before the bride's father, and this is the only way you can go through the group formal shots painlessly. (Conversely, never let the bride's father hit the scotch until he is dismissed from the group shots.) In most countries outside the US, they have bottles of spirits on the table, so ask for a few extra on your table. Also, you need a few glasses of Chianti Classico with the steak so that you can go through the cake cut and first dance painlessly.
7. Never leave good impression with the caterers and the manager of the building for the reception. This part is easy if you follow my advice 6 above, but just make sure you don't get kicked out (outside the US, this won't happen). Don't give them your cards. (Or give them cards with erotic nudity printed on it.) You don't want business through them. But keep good relation with the DJ and musicians.
8. If you shoot wedding for your close friends only and want to keep control of who you will shoot, ask them not to put the pictures on the web with your name. You better not put a watermark with your name or website, either. You should try to include pictures that no pro will shoot, but never let anyone else see your name next to it... at least until you decide to start a full service wedding studio business.