bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

OK, here's the deal. Contracted to go to a 50th class reunion to just take the "class photo." No table shots, nothing else, just the class photo of the whole group.

Not easy to do with several people having walkers, wheelchairs etc, limited chairs and a pretty flat surface (outside, broad daylight) several couldn't hear so they continued talking, turning heads, not listening to me. OK, it is what it is.

Took 4 shots, of the group, and like someone (not me) had said something......people all started going back inside.

OK, it is what it is, I would work with what I had.

As I suspected, the first shot was the best, but I had about 8 people with turned heads, or closed eyes, or grimaces on their faces.

Quickly worked my "magic" swapped some heads, and put the school name and "class of 1967"

Set up the event printer, and nobody came to the table to buy.

Here's the unfortunate part. The class president couldn't be there, so he was on a big screen "teleconferencing" with the group. He announced that the DJ for the night, was the kid that DJ'd their school dances, and all their class reunions, had passed away that morning. Talk about taking the wind out of everyone's sails! He proceeded to say that "he was glad that they had gotten together, and this is a good reminder that they should all cherish the friendships and the fact that they may be seeing each other for the last time.

Well, I had half put my stuff away. I had charged $200 to cover the shoot. With nobody buying, I gave my card to the organizer and said that they could give my info to people who wanted prints. I had figured that the $200 wasn't too bad for an hour's time.

Before the class president's speech was over, I had a line 1/2 the way around the huge room. Sold 80-8x10's at $15 each (my event price for the DS-80 printer.....cost me 70 cents each) I also got 4 family photo jobs scheduled, and one that I'm doing as a freebie. (lady told me that this was the first time her husband had missed a class reunion, and he was in hospice. She wanted to know how much I would charge to come take a last photo of her and her husband. Of course! I'll also give her a nice print as well.

I know I often say to never give your work away, because it devalues what we all do, but I couldn't charge this sweet lady who wanted one more nice photo with her husband before he passes. I felt it's the least I could do, since I seemed to have profited by the death of one of their classmates. I'm still a little horrified when I think of it in those terms.

bk

BermBuster Loc: Hi Desert S.Cal

Thats for sharing. Thats the type of experiences we all need more of!
I look at it this way, How fortunate they were to have you there! Talk about easy going and taking it in stride! You've got me beat!
And again...how lucky that lady was that you were there also!

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

My parents had almost the same thing happen to them this past weekend (same weekend as mine, except for much longer than 50 year reunion)

They went to go to the reunion, only to find out that a classmate had passed away, so they ended up at a funeral instead.

The moral of the story is that we do need to appreciate friends while we have them.

jaysnave Loc: Central Ohio

Great story Bob. I always enjoy your stories. Keep em coming. As I was reading through waiting to find out the unfortunate circumstance, I thought it was moving toward you reverting back to your music days and becoming the DJ.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Glad I didn't get roped into that. The poor guy (one of the organizers) happened to have his laptop, but his taste in music was the kind of easy listening jazz that makes awesome background music, but he was getting pretty verbally beat up by the other "seasoned citizens" for not playing dance music for the nice dance floor they had installed. He hooked into the hotel's conference center sound system, and played his smooth jazz. It was OK until the food was done, then LOOK OUT. Ladies with walkers yelling at him to play something they could dance to. It was funny, but the poor guy was really upset. He was just offering to play some music that he had with him.

Of course, nobody else stepped up either. Easier to complain.

For about a second, I was going to volunteer my phone with iHeart radio on it, but then figured if they were assaulting him like that, how would the treat me if I didn't keep the music "peppy" enough for them.

Man........I LOVE my job! There's always something that stands out in my mind, from every event or wedding that I shoot, that I can look back on it fondly. The angry "walker ladies" will be one of those things.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

A great story, Bob! It is not, however, surprising to me. Having been in the wedding and portrait business for a very long time, I know that so many of my sales were and still are motivated by emotions and sadly enough, the contemplation or realization of death of ourselves or our elders. Sounds morbid, but it's true.

I have had family portrait clients who made very minimal portrait orders- just a few small prints but upon the death of a family member, the same clients would rush into my studio and order a large framed portrait of their departed relative in a deluxe finish and an expensive frame and were willing to pay the rush charges so it would be ready for display at the funeral. When I realized it was for a funeral, I would suspend the rush charges and in many cases do an all-nighter and deliver the portrait directly to the funeral home early in the day well ahead of the visitation or ther services. In a few cases, I did not have the stomach to make any charges at all..sometimes there were tragic circumstances.

In one of our larger local cemeteries, in the separate sections devoted to the Chinese and Italian communities, it has become traditional in some families, to have a photograph of the departed persons embedded in their monuments. The paper photograph is sent to Italy where it is somehow printed on and oval shaped porcelain/ceramic plaque, fired and glazed and then permanently cemented onto a recess in the the tombstone. Oftentimes, when there is not a good formal portrait to work from, the family would bring in a tattered old image, a snapshot or a grim passport photo (with a government stamp or impression across it) and pay me a goodly fee to have it totally restored. The process from Italy, I was told costs around $1,000. plus shipping and import duties. Point is, theses folks would never think of comming in for a reasonably priced portrait sitting and a modest print but when death occurs it seems that money is no object.

The word, in theses communities, got around that theses old austere portraits did not look too good on the tombstones, so to this day I get theses perfectly healthy old folks coming in for portrait sittings. I would tell them how their children and grandchildren would certainly appreciate some lovely portraits of them and they usually respond sheepishly "...no it's for the cemetery". Makes me feel bad that so many folks are not appreciated and cherished until they are dead!

I have had a shocking number of family portraits sitting that were booked on an urgent bases because one of the family members were in the end stages of a terminal illness. This is never a pleasant task for me. I'll skip the gory details but oftentimes this poor soul was not looking too good. In most of theses cases, the sitting was done nick of time as the person expired shortly thereafter. The only solace I derived form theses experiences is that the ill person was pleased that the sitting was being done for his or her family to remember them by. Crazy thing is, many of theses folks would have never had a professional portrait made while everyone was well and happy.

Back in the 60s, the P.P.of A. and Kodak sponsored the the "7 Ages" portrait promotion. There were a series of brochures that were made available to professional photographers along with pre-fab kind prints advertising kits. The idea was to have PROFESSIONAL portraits made a 7 major milestones of life...baby pictures, kids, grad photos, engagement, weddings etc. etc. The part about the "golden age" was nicely and delicately worded but it suggested that grandma and grandpa won't be around forever so it's time to get them photographed. Morbid enough...the entire program was based on the contemplation of loss! As reluctant as I was to do this kinda advertising, I did place a few print ads showing some my character portraits of senior citizens- also with some rather emotional copy. Did it ever work! Gangbusters!

Most of my better wedding sales are definitely emotionally based. I am not suggesting that all of this is based on death and loss but I always advise my clients to make certain that parents and especially grandparents and more elderly relatives are sure to be included in the formal portraits- theses are always included in albums and are big portrait sellers.

When I worked in New York City, a large part of the studio's clientele were a community of Jewish folks who had survived the Holocaust. Theses people had suffered unimaginable horrors and lost most of their families and many remarried and started new families in the U.S. where the landed as refugees after WWII. Their wedding and Bar Mitzvah calibrations were lavish and very emotionally charged. There were tons of family groups, table shots and festive dancing shots to be taken. I would see the same people at many of theses occasions- everyone was an adopted uncle or aunt because the actual relatives were all gone! The albums were often in two or three volumes. Every family member and guest had to be included in the images and all of this was totally emotionally charged with tears and joy all at the same time. After covering theses affairs, I would be physically drained for two days!

When I was a kid, I had some affluent cousins that were in the funeral business- they had and still have a chain of very successful funeral homes. They offered, at the time, to bring me into the business, finance my training and schooling and set me up as a manager. I respectfully declined. It was not that I was afraid of dead folks but I always had the feeling that this kinda business was based on GUILT. Sometimes people treat their elders badly or take them for granted and then, when the old folks pass away, they spend tens of thousands of dollars on caskets, fancy funerals and tombstones. Nowadays, in retrospect, I think- to my self- how much of MY business is based on emotions and guilt? I could have been a rich man burying folks...instead I photographs their weddings. Well, money isn't everything!

I still tell my potential wedding clients that "after all of the planning and expense of their upcoming wedding, the only tangible thing they will have left is their wedding album...oh an a whole new set of in-laws"!

With kindest regards and a morbid sense of humor, Ed

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

OK, here's an update. I gave a speech at a boys home today, because they bring in speakers to introduce the boys to careers. For some reason, they asked me to do the speech for photography, because one of the boys wanted to be a photographer. I get there, only to find out the one boy that was interested in photography, went home to his parents yesterday.

They wanted me to do the presentation anyway. Sure, why not? One of the workers kept saying "I know, I'm a photographer too" and kept adding things to what I was saying. (with a lot of little comments about how much I charge, etc...) She even said "what makes you think that it's better to do prints instead of just handing someone a disk "like every other photographer in the world." No problem. I know that I don't know everything. I answered with my philosophy on why people should get prints. etc..etc... Basically, this one "photographer" asked 99% of the questions, the boys were mostly unimpressed. The question came from one of the boys about my most memorable experience. Well, I brought up the stuff in this post, and said that sometimes it isn't always about money. Our friend "the" photographer that kept sniping about how much I charged, etc was crying at the end of the story, and as I left, she asked for my card and said that she wants to hire me for her family photo.

Here's the thing. While flattered for a brief moment, and feeling lie maybe I had changed her mind. I woke back up and decided that I'm not going to do it. Even if she has good intentions, I can read a pain in the rear end person from a mile away, and I won't need that grief.

The thing is, it really does show the point that if you capture someone's emotions, they will sell themselves.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

The sad thing is, my in-laws have already prepaid for their gravestone. They had their dog's photo engraved in it! This miserable little yappy thing, that nobody likes will be memorialized forever.

Tim Stapp Loc: Mid Mitten

The very first family portrait session that I did was for a family where Dad had two weeks to live (he went two years, what a fighter).

The first solo wedding I shot, the bride had framed portaits of her mother and grandmother in the church pew where they would have been sitting had they been living. I made certain that I captured that. She cries when she saw the shots.

Reminds me, I need to tell them happy anniversary today!

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

I was a guest at a wedding for the daughter of an old high school friend. Their other daughter was killed in an auto accident about 2 years ago. The 2 sons of the deceased carried in a photo of the daughter, and placed it on an easel with the bridesmaids. It was a tearjerker to say the least.

I think at that point, I would have purchased a photo of their daughter. Not a dry eye in the house.

It was too bad that they had hired an official that had just gotten his mail order "ordainment," and the ceremony itself was awful. I think in all my years, I've never felt so uncomfortable for someone else in my life. I think he had a HUGE fear of speaking in front of people. Not exactly someone that should be performing a wedding. My guess is that he won't ever do it again (his choice)

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Just getting back to the business issues having to do with this thread. I too have been asked to cover many events aside form weddings. To make life easier for everyone concerned, I no longer, as of the last 20 years, do any of this work on speculation. I have a simple policy that works well in every case. I simply offer the planners or organizers a package deal that supplies each attendee with a group photograph at a fixed blanket rate. The money is collected through adding an additional fee to the ticket cost. The attendees collectively pay for the venue, meals, entertainment, etc., so why not have the photography included?

A certain time and place is set for the group photograph to be made. If it is an outdoor function, an alternative indoor location is planned in the event of inclement weather.
Sometimes it is easy enough to get everyone's attention during the shoot, however with very large groups or where some of the participants may have certain visual or hearing impairments, I have a few preventative measures to avoid turned heads, closed eyes and bad expressions. Sometimes we use a medium volume "bull horn" or the venue's public address system to assist us in communicating and instructing folks in what we need them to do. I also have a fairly large placard with a big yellow HAPPY FACE which brings on smiles and open eyes- it is held right behind me at the camera position. When there are folks with physical issues or disabilities, wheel chairs, walkers or people with other mobility problems, I make certain that they are seated and comfortable before setting up the rest of the group. This way they are able to remain more patient and comfortable while we are setting things up.

Where a number or rows of people are required, I make sure that there are enough chairs, benches or even bleachers or risers on hand to provide seating and various levels of elevation. I always arrive early enough to set things up and make sure everything is organized. Unfortunately enough, every once in a while someone or something, beyond our control, throws a wrench into the works and creates some kinda chaos. That is what it is but at least I know we have done everything possible to do the best possible job under the circumstances and of course, we are getting paid for our time and efforts and all the folks are going to receive a nice souvenir print. Sometimes at big events, I will bring in another shooter to make individual shots upon request of the guests and organizers. Individuals pay for their own prints. Sometimes we include, at no additional charge, a small coverage and a set of prints or other media to the organizers for their own records, publicity or promotional use. The additional expense is figured in to the total package cost and it is good public relations.

Kindest regards, Ed