The winner from last night’s bridal show drawing is Susan Cordova who is getting married next year. Please call the studio to claim your prize.
Also, as is my standard policy, any show special is automatically given to everybody who books while the special is running. This show’s special is $400 off any wedding photography package valued at $2400 or more. You just have to book Magical Moments Photography by December 31, 2007!
Once again we had a great bridal show. Remember that if you book your wedding within two weeks of the show, you’ll receive a complimentary $200 wedding print credit! As always, this offer applies to everybody regardless if you were at the show or not.
The winner of the matted frame for a 16×20 print worth $200 is Susan McNabb! Susan, please contact the studio within a week in order to claim your prize.
Did you know that finding just the right photographer can be a two way process? Some studios don’t care about a good client fit. They are either large studios with a sales staff and sales quotas or a hungry photographer who will take any booking they can get. This is a disservice to not only themselves but, the clients as well.
You should use the four “P”s of photography: Personality, Photography Style, Package and Price to select your wedding photographer. As you are interviewing the photographer, a professional photographer may also decide if you are the right client fit for them. Personality, Photography Style and Price are looked at in this decision process.
Price
The easiest fit test is Price. If you can only afford $1800 for a complete photography package and the photographer’s packages start at $3600, then you are both wasting your time by continuing discussions. However, a $500-$1000 difference might be surmountable. It all depends on how much each side is willing to bend.
Photographic Style
One factor which sets each photographer apart from another, is their own unique style. Some photographers may have a similar style but there are subtle differences. Other photographers have drastically different styles. The main wedding photography styles today are Traditional, Photojournalism, Artistic and Reportage. I recently referred a potential client to another photographer because the client wanted very Traditional photography. As a photographer who specializes in a blend of Traditional (to make the parents happy), PJ with a dash of Artistic thrown in, I knew this client would be paying a lot of extra money to hire me to photograph their wedding in a purely traditional style. After politely explaining this to the potential client, I referred them to another photographer who’s style more closely fits what the client desires.
Personality
Finally, some photographers see if their personalities mesh with yours. This is the most intangible of factors which a photographer may use to determine if they want to accept you as a client. Some photographers call this their gut feeling or intuition concerning a client. Photographers are human too, we try to work with everybody but, every so often there is somebody who makes us uncomfortable for one reason or another. Most of the time, the clients feel the tension too and book a different studio. Sometimes, despite the tension, the client wants to book the photographer. When that happens, the photographer may decide to be unavailable. In this case, it is much better to continue looking for a photographer who is as excited to work with you are you are to hire them.
Finding the right photographer is not an easy task. From our perspective finding new clients is not easy either. A professional photographer wants you to have a great wedding day so they can capture all of those magical moments which make your wedding day special. It takes just the right match between photographer and client to make sure you will receive the wedding photography you expect and deserve.
Yesterday, I was at the Hyatt Regency bridal show. As always, it was great fun to meet and greet all of you who are currently planning your weddings. As promised, I’m announcing the winner of today’s drawing for a complimentary engagement session. And the winner is….. Jennifer Vogler who is getting married on July 5, 2008! Congratulation Jennifer. Please contact me to arrange your engagement session.
Jennifer Morelli is the winner of our European Crystal Bridal show drawing. We had a lot of fun meeting all next year’s brides who have just started planning for their special day!
Wow! That’s about all I can say about last night’s engagement session with Melissa and Jeff. We went to Millennium Park and had a blast.
Today I was at the Complete Wedding Expo at the Schaumburg Hyatt Regency. It was great to talk with all of the newly engaged people who are planning weddings for 2007 and 2008. As always, I hold a drawing for various prizes. The prize for this show is $400 of wedding photos should you decide to book with me. And the winner of today’s drawing is Anna Rinaldi who is getting married September 8, 2007 or 9/8/7. Congrats Anna!
January is over. It was supposed to be a quiet month around here but it has been anything but quiet. There is some exciting news. First, I’ve had some more photos published in two bridal magazines. So if you pick up a copy of the “Wedding Guide Chicago” or in “Brides Chicago” be sure to look for my photos. A few of my past clients are having their fifteen minutes of fame!
Next, I have been working on a deal for something new to use with my material. I can’t tell you all about it just yet, but in addition to all of the standard photographer information (ie. sample photos, prices, etc…), it will have part of a book on wedding planning. That’s all I know at this point, there will be more to come in the days ahead.
If that was not enough, I’m unveiling a new ad.
And the winner is…. Samantha Jackson. Ijust thought I would get that out of the way right away. Earlier today, I was at a bridal show at the Elgin Holiday Inn. At most bridal shows, I hold a drawing for some sort of wedding related prize. Congratulations Samantha, I will be personally contacting you to arrange a time for your complimentary engagement session.
While there were not a lot of people at today’s show, I did get more of a chance to speak with the brides as they came through. However, the couple that made the biggest impression on me were already married. As the story unfolded, it seems they got engaged on Tuesday and married on Friday! Talk about no time to plan a wedding. Wow!
Two interesting things happened today which taken individually may not have much meaning. However, taken together well that is a whole different story.
Part 1: Roger Called
First my friend Roger called. I first met Roger back in 1988 when I was on a temporary assignment for IBM and Roger was a gate agent for United at Houston’s Hobby airport. At first, I was just a passenger and he was one of the United people who took care of me. Each Sunday night or Monday morning, I would fly from Albany, NY to Houston. Then on Friday, I would reverse my commute. Each week there was Roger with his friendly face. As the weeks turned into months, Roger realized I was a frequent traveller. We got to know each other and talked about our common interests flying, photography and women.
Well my assignment and eventually my job with IBM ended. Roger transferred to Chicago. Whenever I passed through O’hare, I would look for Roger. Eventually, Roger moved onto another job and we lost track of each other. Then one day, I met a gal from Milwaukee and moved to Chicago. Then through a strange twist of fate, I ran into somebody who was able to get a message to Roger. Our friendship was renewed.
Anyway, Roger, who still works for United, also photographs airplanes and sells the stock images to aviation magazines. It does not make him rich but he enjoys this niche of professional photography. Roger called me because a friend of a friend was getting married in Florida. Because the bride does not want to spend a lot of money for a professional wedding photographer Roger was asked to provide the wedding photography. Now Roger knows a lot about airplanes and photographing them. But he knows very little about wedding photography nor is he properly equiped with all the needed lighting and backup cameras.
I’m sure that given the motivation and time he could learn the ropes pretty quickly. Roger can even rent the needed backup equipment. But the key to realize is that since Roger sells photographs to a magazine, he is a professional photographer. Having him photograph a wedding is a little like asking a dermatologist to perform brain surgery. During our discussions, Roger mentioned that he would replace training by just taking a lot of photos. Still, I’m sure there will be missed photos. We concluded our phone call with Roger assuring me he will make sure the bride knows he is not a skilled photographer and she is taking a risk with her future family heirlooms to save some money.
Part 2: AOL News Story
Within hours of talking to Roger, I opened my web browser and just happened to catch the following headline Utah Woman Dies Hours After Her Wedding. I’ve heard stories of family members dying after a wedding. I’ve had a client call me six months after a wedding to ask for a photo for the funeral home. I’ve even know of cases where the father of the bride died at the wedding reception. But this was a first for me. At first I thought this was a second marriage of an eighty year old women. Then I read the story and realized the sad awful truth.
This bride was only 25 years old! Besides her husband of only a few hours, her survivors include two young children of her own and a step child from her husband. At this time, the cause of her death is undetermined. Not only does this drive home our mortality to me but also how important my profession can be. I am privledged to be a part of one of the most important days of a person’s life. This is such an awesome responsibility. A task entrusted to me which I don’t take lightly.
Part 3: The Juxtaposition
As I was contemplating what I would write about, I realized these two remote events taken together, Roger’s phone call about a wedding in Florida and a bride’s tragic death in Utah had meaning. Many times I’ve had phone inquiries where the first question out of their mouths is (even before asking if I’m available for their wedding day), is “How Much” I’ve begun to learn that I will never be able to win a bidding war for these types of clients. There is always somebody with a camera, regardless of training, who will be willing to photograph the wedding for less money. These people could be like Roger, a friend of a friend who suddenly got themselves in over their heads. Or they could be somebody who received a digital camera for Christmas who is looking for easy money on the weekend.
Regardless of why they decided to photograph the wedding, what happens if something goes wrong with the camera? What happens if they get a lighting situation which they don’t know how to photograph? My conversation with Roger who knows quite a bit about photography showed me that even some professional photographers don’t know how to photograph a wedding. So there is very little reason to believe any person with a camera can photograph a wedding. Weddings are very unpredictable when it comes to lighting conditions.
Combine that with the fact that weddings are a once in a lifetime event and there is very little room for error. Through my professional association, Professional Photographers of America, I’m aware of a situation or two where all of the photographs from the wedding were lost and they restaged the whole day, including room and board for the out of town guests. Very expensive propsition. Even then, some people are just not able to attend the restaging. Most importantly, there is no way to recreate the groom’s first look at a bride as she walks down the aisle. Or the groom dropping the rings because he is so nervous. So you save a little money by not hiring an experienced professional wedding photographer and pay for it in the long run by not having priceless family treasures
I do have to admit that after I got over the shock of the Utah bride’s death, my thoughts turned to the photographer. I know from personal experience, the family will want every photo of the bride they can get their hands on. I prayed the photographer had all the photos the bride and her family would have wanted. For in this case, there is absolutely no chance to even restage the wedding.