Here is a list of what most brides want:

* ALL full-res files and/or negatives in a box and gift wrapped.

* All of their wedding images to fit in one album.

* A package for around $675 because they will potentially be sending
you A LOT of future business.

* A copyright release from the photographer because they have this coupon for 1/2 price developing.

* At least 3 extra hours of your time to cover their wedding
(at no charge of course)

* To look 20 lbs. thinner. (The mom wants to look 40lbs thinner and
20 years younger)

* All prints including those posed family portraits to have that "cool" photojournalistic look about them.

* All fomal pre-wedding photography to be completed in about 30 minutes
prior to the wedding ceremony (because 2 hours just seems a bit too long)

* Internet posting of wedding images without an expiration date.
(In order to give family time to re-order)

* To hold their wedding date for FREE for at least 3 months while they
finalize their wedding plans and slowly interview other photographers.

* Engagement AND Bridal portraits included with every package.
(I mean portraits, not just a session - frame included)

* A Parent album or two thrown in as a thank you for doing business.


And Finally:

A completely customized, engraved, Leather bound, custom printed and designed wedding album delivered to them by the time they return from their honeymoon.

with; of course, the option to change a few prints around if they want too.






PS: just having an bit of fun here.

You forgot blood.. LMAO

L.

I guess it's the way the Georgia brides do it. They really don't have a clue.......I go through it all the time.

It seems that way everywhere...Florida brides, TN brides......
Yes, we can totally relate!
OR they want just the opposite, instead of wanting everything:
(this is the extreme)

~ "No engagement shoot, our friend already did it."
~ "No album, we can make our own."
~ "No online post. We can have the master digital file, so whats the point?" (now they have to purchase it, we learned our lesson!).
~ "Can we just have 4 hours of coverage, instead of unlimited?"
(this is all to lower the price, I guess!)

By then, there's not much left with our package!

Every photographer I have spoken with on the West Coast & NY seems to only get brides that are willing to spend whatever it takes to have a good wedding photographer, and they find the photographer first before any other vendor. The brides I meet usually try to book their photographer a month to two weeks prior to their wedding and want customized packages that let them cut out a bunch of stuff. The new thing they are looking for now is

*4 hour coverage
*CD (for Sams Club)
*No Album
*1/3 deposit down and the rest once they approve of the pictures (yeah right)


We are now just event photographers to them. Why don't they care? Is it that the Southeast is too slow to catch on or is photography loosing it value out here.


I started realizing this when a bride referred to me as the "Camera Man" at her wedding.

Another bride told me she spent over $2,000 on her reception band, but couldnt afford spending more than $1,000 for the photographer!

WHAT'S GOING ON?

dude u basically described most brides here where i come from hahaha

LMAO

ya... they just don't get it.

Wait, wait, you forgot that they need you to spend half the reception putting together group shots for all these groups (of 14 or more) on this paper plus a dozen more that the MOTB will think of at the time. But don't worry, I'll have everyone and their brother taking the group pictures, too, so you won't see any orders. Better yet, why don't we hand you a basket full of cameras and you can shoot with those. That'll make it a LOT easier for people to get the pictures back soon. And make sure you get everything that happens at the reception -- you ARE bringing a few photographers, right?

Ah, Atlanta... the land of 4 million people (3 million of them are photographers, really)

I think it's important to explain to brides why you won't lower package prices even if they don't want everything the package includes. I told a bride yesterday that I wouldn't give her a discount regardless of how many hours I was there, because regardless of how many hours I'm there I'm still booked up the whole day. It's not like I can shoot another wedding that same day! They have me for the day, regardless of how much they use me and since I can't book another wedding then I need to charge at least pretty close to what I would for normal all day coverage.

As far as people not wanting engagement pics, I tell them I won't discount for not wanting those because I think it's such an important part of the process with building a trust between the photographer and the couple. And I tell them it's so easy, it takes an hour for me to shoot and about an hour to edit and upload. So, even if I did give them a discount it wouldn't be much.

Same goes with the slideshow if they say they don't want that. I tell them, it takes us 10 mins to get it up and going, how much could we possibly discount to not show it! (in reality I would want to charge them MORE for not showing it, since it's my main source of advertisment!)

I usually tell them (if they are obviously looking for a "deal.") you know, this is your wedding! Don't short change yourself! If you need a little bit of a discount, I'm not going to take away things from the package for you! I want you to have the best experience possible, so why would I take something as fun and easy as engagement pictures from you!

They ususally appreciate the fact then that I'm not trying to rip them off!

Just my two cents....

Chris,
Those are awesome suggestions! Thanks for sharing! I like your last paragraph about service. When we first started, my husband esp. was soft-hearted and gave them so much and he worked so hard for so little. Those were definitely our experience in the past and we know not to give them discounts anymore! Now, we tell the brides the same thing you said, but it really amazes us how the brides react to it. Like with the engagement shoot, we explain to them about the trust with photographer..blah..blah...and they just hesitantly agree. Or one couple asked what the engagement shoot is for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We definitely have changed the way we do things and can only hope we get clients like you guys in CA get! They seem to know what they want in their photographer over there

We have raised our prices by 100% and I know there's a thread about that and how higher end brides are much better with trusting and respecting their photographer. So true! After we raised it, the next day we booked a wedding to a mountain resort in PA, the bride didn't even blink when she found out what the total cost is going to be.

I'm glad Greg posted this thread with some fun humor, because we were thinking we were the only one dealing with issues like that! Not anymore!!!

Its crazy how brides are so willing to pay 10k plus for a reception and other things, but for a photographer, their budget will be $1000-$1500! (I think they are influenced by websites, like The Knot who tells them this should be their budget range!).

Anyway, I have jabbered long enough! Hope I made sense, I'm not much of a writer!

you took the words out of my mouth

biz ain't bad tho, considering. Better than so. ga/n. fl. !!!

Great post Greg, and great follow-up Chris!

I'm thinking pricing has a lot to do with some of this. I am about mid- market for pricing and deal with these requests in a lot of my client interviews. I gave a few people discounts early on and was faced with several of these problems.

Some people want you to do 'one little favor' for them, and as soon as you give in, it's a downhill slide from there.

I'd sure apprecaite any more feedback like Chris had to say about getting around some of these problems as they're no stretch of reality.

I continue to wonder if seriously jacking up prices wouldn't eliminate a lot of this, but the thought of getting no business and starving to death makes me a little uneasy. Hmmm.