Negotiating prices with a photographer

lizzywig

A friend of mine starting up her own photography company a few years back and she does weddings. Last summer another friend of mine got married and hired my friend as her photographer, they had known each other for about 5 years but via me and so weren't close friends but hadn't expected the fall out that happened to happen! My friend who got married had booked her for 5 hours but assumed that this was 5 hours of photography time, i.e. when she was actually taking the photos. So when the groom disappeared off for 45 mins when he wanted a lie down the bride thought this time would be excluded from the 5 hours that had been booked and that the time would start again when the groom was ready to come back. The same applied to the wedding breakfast. My friend the photographer had to say to the bride on the day that no she was booked only for 5 hours from start to finish as one block of time. This did not go down well especially when the meal ran late due to various people not being where they should have been. In addition to this the bride and groom had not provided any food for the photographer or her assistant who ended up going to eat in a seperate part of the hotel and buying sandwiches. My friend (photographer) was very frustrated because she had explained prior to the wedding that she would need to leave by a certain time as she had a wedding the following day of which the bride was staying at her house. Of course my other friend (the bride) was very upset because it was her wedding day and all the photography plans were going wrong.

So my advice is to check exactly what you are paying for on the day itself. Definitely provide some food.

I know my friend (photographer) often does negotiating with clients over their requirements, but you need to be reasonable because at the end of the day it's their living. You might think yes but you're giving them money but you have to ask whether it's worth them getting out of bed, they'll have petrol to pay to get there plus have to pay tax on the fee you pay them and plus the supplies. I would negotiate but I wouldn't go for what you have suggested above as I think you will just be told no. Ask yourself what you want most of all. When do you want them to get there (i.e. do all the before shots) and what do you want them to cover? Work out how much time you will need and whether to add any extra in for people going missing...! Is the photobook hard copy photos or is it one of those printed ones that you can do online, I assume the former or else it's a pretty hefty fee!! Think about what you want to come out of the photos, I think maybe you could negotiate a smaller book than the one that is currently offered.

I would start off by saying that you would really like 6 hours and ask if they do any packages for that. See what they come back with. Then maybe ask for small photobook (if she does them) and some photos on DVD...I know you didn't say you wanted them but I know a lot of people who have regretted that choice, up to you though.

Dekazer

bungenstein wrote: »

Any cheaper than that and its pretty much slave labour, how do you expect good photos from someone who charges that little?

Also, the photographer needs to eat, they are working non stop, how do you expect them to do the evening shots?

I think the replies about editing are answering that first point - otherwise I would't think £60-odd per hour was too bad!

Secondly, we're only planning on having the photographer there till 6pm, after that it's friends and family photos only, so she won't starve! And that's why I was thinking of offering food - lunch is a buffet and we won't want photos of the whole 3 hours sit down meal will we?! Maybe we will, needs some thought.

74jax wrote: »

A couple of the weddings I've been to the photographer has had their own lunch, I've never been to one where the photographer sits down with guests.

A friend of mine's a wedding photographer and he once got snowed in overnight at a wedding! That's really going beyond the call. He got lots of business out of it though (BTW I didn't want to ask his advice on this because he charges £2k per wedding and he's coming as a guest to ours and I didn't want him to feel pressured into giving us a freebie).


@lizzywig, that's quite a cautionary tale. I hope they both ended up reasonably satisfied afterwards. Good tip about checking exactly what's included, and asking about the size/type of photobook.


At the end of the day, I very much respect anyone working for themselves. I would never ask rudely, or expect, to haggle any money off. However, I do expect to have a sensible conversation about what we can get for our money, and that's where this place is so helpful - now I feel like I have a much better sense of what to check, where there might be some slack, and what's reasonable.

Again, many thanks everyone!

missimaxo

I would be very surprised if any photographer who charges by the hour excludes down time from the hours charged for. 5 hours I would expect to be from start to finish.

Spencer_Li

We've just chosen our photographer.

Key questions we asked were:
- what is the contingency plan in the event of rain/bad weather?
- what would happen if you were ill?
- are they part of any professional associations or clubs?
- do they carry spare equipment?

Find out if the photobook is to be designed by the photographer. Remember that she'll probably take thousands of photos on the day and just picking the good ones is not sufficient! The photobook should tell the story of the day.

Request to see some full albums, to get an idea of what the finished product will look like.

Also, make sure you get on with the photographer.

Incidently, we rejected a photographer due to him (and his assistant) wanting a meal and to be seated with the guests. Other photographers had requested a light meal such as a sandwich so that they remained fresh.

sandraann

As a wedding photographer myself i'm struck by your comments re bunging the photos on a disc.On a serious note you need to check if that's what she's doing or do you expect every photo to be individually processed as that's where you'll really notice the difference in the photos. Check that she has insurance and don't consider using anyone without it.
I'm photographing a wedding soon where the groom has insisted that i sit with the guests and have a meal which probably costs around £60. It's way way more than i expect but I'm going to this wedding with a real feel good factor about the couple and will certainly include freebies of canvases etc .What exactly does she mean by an album, most decent storybook albums cost more than her 5 hr coverage so don't expect too much

TediousPhoenix

We got a good photographer for our wedding. I think we had her for 2.5 hours for £250 on a Monday. But most importantly for us, after explaining how I'm into photography she gave me every single RAW file so I could make my own album. The album cost £350 but it meant that I could spend days editing the photos myself and putting the care and attention into the photo album that was personal to me; it made it all the more special. (From this I know that many more hours will be spent post-wedding using Lightroom etc. and creating an album than spent at a wedding.)

And most photos were good - anyone can snap and get lucky (I probably fall into that category), but she was good with her composition.

I would have hated to have been limited to a certain number of photos.


As an aside, I went to a wedding the other week and the professional photographer was rubbish. For a start he was constantly taking shots at a 45 degree angle. I would have been angry had I hired him!


Edit: If anyone is looking to do the album themselves (assuming they have the relevant copyright from the photographer) there are some good sites that do photobooks out there for less than £50. The album we got was a Bellissimo album from http://loxleycolour.com - thought it may be useful to someone as I spent a long time trying to find one. There was another company who I wanted to order though (they did hand made Italian albums but I can't remember the name at the moment) but I've seen examples and they are lovely, but you have to be a working photographer to even order though them. I'd advise asking what album you'd be getting and factor that into the cost and what you're willing to pay.

wiggychick

I agree with the last couple of comments. Cleaning up the photos can be hours of work and then a photobook on top of that is very time consuming. I went for getting good photos on disk and then spent the time pulling together the photobook myself.
We used Bobs Books - because the book opens flat without losing pictures down the spine.
Once I'd put it all together over several weeks I got a couple of people to look at it (one of them the photographer) and they gave me a few hints about some of the colours or compositions I'd used.
It's not perfect but it has every photo I wanted and every person I wanted in there somewhere!
Because I'd spent so long on it I became very familiar with the software and made additional copies customised especially for our parents, which they loved.
Hope it goes well!

Dekazer

Spencer_Li wrote: »

We've just chosen our photographer.

Key questions we asked were:
- what is the contingency plan in the event of rain/bad weather?
- what would happen if you were ill?
- are they part of any professional associations or clubs?
- do they carry spare equipment?

[...]
Request to see some full albums, to get an idea of what the finished product will look like.

Also, make sure you get on with the photographer.

Very good tips - I wouldn't have thought to ask about what would happen in the event of illness..

sandraann wrote: »

As a wedding photographer myself i'm struck by your comments re bunging the photos on a disc.On a serious note you need to check if that's what she's doing or do you expect every photo to be individually processed as that's where you'll really notice the difference in the photos. Check that she has insurance and don't consider using anyone without it.

It's purely from never having hired (or wanted to hire) a photographer before. Also, as I haven't met her yet, I don't know what level of work she expects to do either.. Good tip about insurance too

wiggychick wrote: »

We used Bobs Books - because the book opens flat without losing pictures down the spine.

Sounds good

Having not wanted a photographer, but feeling rather pressured into getting one, I think this thread has been really useful preparation for meeting our potential photographer, so thanks everyone! I think I might forgo the book - particularly as we live on a narrowboat and don't really have space to store it, and it might get damp. I guess if I have all the shots on disc I can do it myself in future, or just print individual photos for display.

sugarwalsh

Have a good look at the different photographers in your area. I'm part of a community called Blipfoto and there are many proffesional photographers on there. Their styles can vary vastly, from formal to informal, arty to 'realistic'. Don't just go with the cheapest, go with the person who you like the most. There is little point in paying out for some pictures if you wont like them!

We are using a lady who has become a friend after photographing another friends wedding. She has a fantastic eye for detail, but her pictures are much more relaxed. I want someone who will record all the little details, capture peoples' personalities and be happy with organising groups into the more formal pics too. Most importantly I want someone I feel relaxed with.

Megan

gandy

74jax wrote: »

A couple of the weddings I've been to the photographer has had their own lunch, I've never been to one where the photographer sits down with guests.

we did provide a meal for our photographer but he took it at one of the tables outside the room our wedding was so he could download the photos he'd taken already and have a quick run through them.

i was prepared mind you to do that because he was staying with us until the first dance so it would have been a long day without a good meal for him and he had a two hour journey back home from where our wedding was.

he was really good though, popped in and out to make sure he didn't miss anything even after we had the speeches done and everyone was too busy eating to do anything photo worthy!