Real life MMD: Can I up my quote for a friend's wedding photos?

2dachs

If your quote was two years ago then i think that you should grit your teeth an honour it, they did not know that you were going to turn in to David Bailey in that time, plus you should have given them the quote in writing and shown what was added eg. photo album, cd of photos etc..

I got married in September of 2004 {almost 8 years ago} and our photos cost £595 with the album, we could choose what album we wanted, but leather bound ones cost more on top of the price stated.Our album cost contained 40 photos of which fitted in to the album and one of which was on the cover plus we had a cd of the photos of which cost an extra £50 so our total was £645 and that was almost 8 years ago so i should imagine they have gone up our photographer was Shane from Chequered Leopard photography in Chesterfield i'd expect it to be around £850 now for what we had.

You really need to sit down with the the bride and groom to be and see if they want a cd of the photos and whether you are to be there all day and taking photos of the bride and groom before the ceremony,during the ceremony and taking all relatives photos and also are you to be there in the evening and during the first dance etc.. Learn from this and also make sure prices from now on are valid for say the next 6 months and that next yaers may increase with inflation etc..

milvusvestal

Not something you have control over, but it seems strange to me that a wedding should be deferred for as long as two years, having fixed one date already. How sure are you that the wedding will take place at all?

Yes, you should certainly quote a higher fee for your work, irrespective of whether your improved skills are reflected in the finished results. In your shoes, I'd make certain that your colleague pays a realistic deposit well in advance of the occasion. I can see a situation arising where, if the knot is tied, you find yourself having to canvass opinion through this channel about whether you should pursue an action for recovery of money owed.

Failing a deposit, get your colleague to sign and return a form of agreement acknowledging that the money will be owed. That way, there can be no dispute over what was agreed.

EccentricRavenJewellery

I agree with a lot of the posters here, that you shouldn't up the price. You'd be shooting yourself in the foot!
Like everyone else said, turn up, be professional, smile, hand out business card when appropriate, and basically go above and beyond the call of duty, to get yourself more work in the future.
If you really want to target, look out for the ladies without wedding rings, and chat to them about your service! (I'm including those with engagement rings who may already be planning their weddings).
It may be that as a friend, as well as a photographer, you're getting some perks from the wedding, like a free meal, slice of wedding cake, or access to the bar, in which case, it's a bit of give and take.
Could you stomach being dropped and then sitting home watching Eastenders, while you could have been getting paid to do a job? That could have led to more jobs?

Fujiko

Sorry if I am being a bit dim, but I am not sure from the question whether you are an amateur, doing photography as a sideline/hobby, or whether you are now a professional full-time photographer. I would guess your colleagues must be trying to trim costs by accepting a quote of £250 which seems unbelievably low. My daughter was married 25 years ago, and we paid considerably more, admittedly to a professional wedding photographer.

Littleweedj

It really all depends on the following:

1. Are you a professional wedding photographer or
2. Are you someone who takes good photographs with the aid of a really good camera.(like many others!!)

and therein should be the answer.

Having worked in the wedding business for over 15 years as soon as the W word is mentioned everything increases to unrealistic prices and wedding photography is no different. Weddings are overpriced in every possible aspect and it is a Business, so big profits are the norm.

One of my colleagues, who is a very good photographer, but not a professional in any way, gave the couple her time and expertise as her gift to them. If you were invited to the wedding you would be there all the time anyway and furthermore enjoy their hospitality at the ceremony/reception.

However, if you are a professional photographer, and not a guest, then £250 is indeed low by today's standards. Forward another two years then it would be time to discuss further and just be truthful about a more realistic price.......so as I said before.......it just all depends.

Gresp

Of course you can - just like the venue, caterers, bridal shop and all the other parties involved will.

The couple should be prepared to pay the prices applicable to their actual wedding date, not their postponed one.

One of the main factors when deciding your price is your experience. As you say, this will be worth a lot more in two years time, not to mention inflation.

Try explaining this. You might find they are perfectly obliging, or even expect it, therefore you have nothing to worry about. Even if, for example, you double your price, £500 is still very cheap for a wedding.

I speak as a photographer who is about to do my second wedding for a friend. For me it's just a hobby, so on both occasions I've said I'll do it for free as a wedding present (they're good friends). But I've also told people that in the future (i.e. when I have more experience and take it more seriously), I'd probably charge. Noone so far considers this unreasonable.

happyinflorida

You've put it's for a friend but you've also put a former work colleague.

It depends if you're friends or doing this for a former work colleague who you're not close friends with?

If it's a friend - how would you want it dealt with if it was you? Would you expect a friend to keep the original quote they'd made to you or would you understand the circumstances if they said, well the quote was made 2 years ago and that's what I charged then and now I charge X - you could offer a discount - again if you want to and the amount of discount on how friendly you are with this person.

You will need to fully explain everything to them - they may even be expecting an increase, who knows?

Was the £250 just your fee for turning up and photos were extra? I know this is how it was with my wedding photographer many years ago.

pennypinchUK

Like virtually every one of these "dilemmas", this can easily be sorted just by talking to the person. You simply say "I've put my prices up since I quoted you a price 2 years ago. This is because I am more experienced. My price now is £xxx." They have the choice to accept or go elsewhere.

It really is not difficult. Why do people complicate things needlessly?

James_H

The photographer and bride cannot be the closest of friends, otherwise the photographer would be a potential guest and not just there to provide a service (unless the guest list is very small).

The bride has already changed the goalposts by moving the date, so why can't the photgrapher change terms as well?

How to set the new price depends on how busy the photographer is. If the photographer has to turn down a job to take up this brides wedding, there is the cost of the missed opportunity. That could become quite a big wedding gift for a non-guest. If only a hobby photographer with lots of free time, then there's still scope to increase the price but to a lesser extent.

arrrbecca

If you are close to these people, I'd suggest making your case. Tell them, due to inflation and increased costs, you'd now ideally need to charge X and would appreciate it if they'd agree to a higher price. But, also make it clear that, as a gesture of friendship (and perhaps a wedding gift), you will still do the job at £250 if they cannot afford anything higher.

If you are less invested in a personal relationship, then you are well within your rights to up the cost, as £250 is a damn bargain!

Good luck.