Anyone here in debt and getting married?

8pnoodles

I am looking for a couple who are getting married, probably towards the end of 2007, or in the beginning of 2008 (ish) who would not otherwise have a photographer for their wedding day.

I would shoot the wedding for free and they'd get a disc of images free too.

As it's free I can't travel too far so the wedding needs to be close to Stafford or perhaps Luton at a push (have a mate in Luton who I could stay with and I know the area well).

I am NOT offering this to anyone who can afford a photographer but would rather have a freebie. I only want a genuine couple who would otherwise have no record of their day. Hence me posting here because I have definitely seen some people in debt saying they are due to get hitched soon. I would love to be able to "give something back" for the good advice I have had in the past, and this seems a good way to do it.

This would be my first full wedding on my own and I can make no guarantees that any of the photos will come out and that it wouldn't go disastrously wrong! Hence me wanting to shoot for a couple who would definitely have no photographer otherwise.

I have however second shot four weddings so far and have another four lined up for this year to second shoot. My husband and myself have a website for our wedding photography, and many of the images in our gallery have been shot by myself if you want to be nosey.

Fingers crossed the wedding I do will then be used by me to build up a portfolio. So there's something in it for me too. I am not entirely altruistic!

I am flexible in style, and tend to do a combination of reportage and formal posed shots. I will also be a member of the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers soon (when I can scrape the membership fee together!).

If anyone knows a couple this would be of interest to, please drop me a line or reply to this thread, thanks.

Bewitched2761

what a lovely idea! dont need a photographer! but Im sure there will be lots who will!

Skint_Catt

Well done on giving something back - that's soooo nice! :T

Crown

Totally agree that this is a great idea. Not only is it a decent thing to do but its a all round win/win situation. you get more practice and the hope of getting the experience to forward your career and they get a great set of prints (hopefully!)

All the best with it. I too would think about offering some type of service but im not sure what I have to offer the rest of the MSE Community. I'll have to have a think.

Nice one anyway. have you posted this on theMoneySaving in Marriages, Relationships & Families forum? may get some more people there although I understand what you say about a couple who truelly cant afford the service otherwise.

8pnoodles

Yep it's in the wedding tips thread. I might post on the main board too, and see if I get any takers!

We had a free photographer at our wedding building up her portfolio. She made out she was a genius photographer though and we were really disappointed, to be honest with her attitude on the day more than anything. She knew she was doing it for free so really couldn't be bothered with us.

I would hate for anyone to have expectations from me, I would rather they see the photos as a nice surprise, rather than having inflated expectations of what I can do!

I do have this year to perfect my technique though, I'm going on a course in April and I have top of the range kit (nicked from husband lol).

Its' weird, many of my images have sold to our clients, it's just that branching out alone bit that's scary and could make me go all to pieces!

hypno06

What a fantastic idea - each side gets something out of it and it doesn't cost!

I am sure someone will snap this opportunity up, and I am sure that the resultant photos will be fab.

Good luck x

immoral_angeluk

That's really kind. We had a lady do the same for our wedding and we just paid for her expenses and she gave us all the images on 2 cds. It was wonderful the have the images which we wouldn't have had otherwise.
Oddly enough we live near Stafford but our lady came from bristol.

Astaroth

I think this is a very generous offer and is something that I am also considering doing though for the Kent/ London/ Surrey area.... just need to decide if I do really want to get into photography in a more professional way

Snaggles

That's a lovely idea, we couldn't afford a photographer for our wedding, and luckily MIL paid (after much persuasion from hubby ), but we had someone very cheap, and some of the pictures are a bit dodgy (I have a 'For Sale' sign sticking out of my head in the one where I'm arriving at the church lol!).

Hope you manage to find someone!

Astaroth

Snaggles.... that shouldnt be a problem to remove using photoshop... if you have a "soft copy" of the picture (and own the copyright) I wouldnt mind attempting to edit it out for you.

Snaggles

Thanks, that's a really sweet offer - in actual fact I did exactly that (although I used Micrografx, as I haven't got Photoshop), and it looks okay now, but the original version has caused much hilarity among my family and friends!