selflove
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- May 12, 2005
- Messages
- 972
Date: 6/15/2006 12:44:50 PM
Author: selflove
We spent $700 for photographer which included 4 hours of time, a bound photo album, all original digital negatives on CD, and 60-5x7 ''credits'' (so we can use the ''credits'' to trade up for larger prints or take 60 5x7s). I had to negotiate the price down and he reduced the number of ''credits''. I wish I had booked him for 1 or 2 more hours so I had more from the reception. I LOVE our pictures, I think he did a fabulous job. Shocking that I found him in LA. I can''t believe the going rates around here.
And no videographer.
$2000 is a full 20-25% of our expected total costs, for reference.
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Yeah, and dont they say you should spend 10% of your budget on photography? YEAH RIGHT!
My guy''s regular rates would have been $950 for what we got.
So the first thing I did was stroke his ego and say that he was recommended by our chapel and that I checked out his work and I really liked it. Which wasnt a lie. Then I told him that our budget was only $700 and since we are moving to Slovenia in a year, we dont want any big portraits or albums to pack and ship, we just want the negatives so that we can make our own portraits and albums once we get settled. He said "Okay, I could do $700 for you, maybe just reduce the number of 5x7 credits, would that be okay with you?" All the vendors that I spoke with at bridal expos got the same schpeal from me and some of them were really blunt and like "No, we cant do that." so then Id just move on. I did find one other guy who was recommended by our chapel and he would have done 3 hours for $850 and only given us the negs but I thought all his pictures had the same poses and in the end I thought he was really arrogant anyways.
I tell you, it wasnt easy finding someone! And my sob story isnt untrue...we really dont want big portraits and I can make my own album. (Although I REALLY love the album our photog put together for us.)
Its too bad you re not getting married in LA so you could use him!!
Author: selflove
We spent $700 for photographer which included 4 hours of time, a bound photo album, all original digital negatives on CD, and 60-5x7 ''credits'' (so we can use the ''credits'' to trade up for larger prints or take 60 5x7s). I had to negotiate the price down and he reduced the number of ''credits''. I wish I had booked him for 1 or 2 more hours so I had more from the reception. I LOVE our pictures, I think he did a fabulous job. Shocking that I found him in LA. I can''t believe the going rates around here.
And no videographer.
How? How, how, HOW did you get him down to $700 for all that? What are his normal prices? That''s astounding. Seriously, how do you approach bargaining for discounts like that? The photographer I really like (in Mass.) normally charges a minimum $2500 for 4 hours with two shooters, the proof book and online album. Because ours is going to be small and on a boat, she said (over the phone, no contract yet) that she wouldn''t need the assistant, and would charge $2000. But that still doesn''t include any albums or digital files. Now I''m wondering if I should try to talk her into including AT LEAST the files with that. I''m meeting her in a couple of weeks. Tips, please!
$2000 is a full 20-25% of our expected total costs, for reference.
************************
Yeah, and dont they say you should spend 10% of your budget on photography? YEAH RIGHT!
My guy''s regular rates would have been $950 for what we got.
So the first thing I did was stroke his ego and say that he was recommended by our chapel and that I checked out his work and I really liked it. Which wasnt a lie. Then I told him that our budget was only $700 and since we are moving to Slovenia in a year, we dont want any big portraits or albums to pack and ship, we just want the negatives so that we can make our own portraits and albums once we get settled. He said "Okay, I could do $700 for you, maybe just reduce the number of 5x7 credits, would that be okay with you?" All the vendors that I spoke with at bridal expos got the same schpeal from me and some of them were really blunt and like "No, we cant do that." so then Id just move on. I did find one other guy who was recommended by our chapel and he would have done 3 hours for $850 and only given us the negs but I thought all his pictures had the same poses and in the end I thought he was really arrogant anyways.
I tell you, it wasnt easy finding someone! And my sob story isnt untrue...we really dont want big portraits and I can make my own album. (Although I REALLY love the album our photog put together for us.)
Its too bad you re not getting married in LA so you could use him!!
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