Bridezilla?
Jan 24, 2019 13:44:49 #
I just finished a wedding consultation.
I’m very nervous about the way it went down. I’ve never had to refuse to photograph a wedding before. But I have had one that I wish I had backed out of and now my intuition is telling me to back out of this one. So far I have not signed an agreement.
The bride was very negative, she didn’t smile much and felt like some of my work was out of focus. But the groom disagreed with her and was very personable and had looked at my portfolio in depth and liked what he saw.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this one. What’s the best way to tell them that it’s not a good fit? I’ve never done that before in all my years as a wedding photographer.
I’m very nervous about the way it went down. I’ve never had to refuse to photograph a wedding before. But I have had one that I wish I had backed out of and now my intuition is telling me to back out of this one. So far I have not signed an agreement.
The bride was very negative, she didn’t smile much and felt like some of my work was out of focus. But the groom disagreed with her and was very personable and had looked at my portfolio in depth and liked what he saw.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this one. What’s the best way to tell them that it’s not a good fit? I’ve never done that before in all my years as a wedding photographer.
Jan 24, 2019 13:50:19 #
"I believe another photographer may provide a service more to your liking."???
(Directed at the bride.)
(Directed at the bride.)
Jan 24, 2019 13:52:19 #
fotoman150 wrote:
I just finished a wedding consultation. br br I’... (show quote)
Tough spot.
I've been there too but went ahead and shot it.
This was in film days when I handled the printing as well.
My intuition was right.
I got it done, but it was very stressful.
I'll be following this post to see how others have handled it.
Good luck.
Jan 24, 2019 13:55:12 #
fotoman150 wrote:
I just finished a wedding consultation. br br I’... (show quote)
I retired from wedding/portrait/glamour photography in 1997 and closed my studio after 15 years, in favor of wildlife and landscape photography. Never second guessed my decision. The final straw was the third wedding I shot where the wedding party was all given "disposable" cameras and their built in flashes kept tripping all my lights as they were all on Wein slaves. (This was still in the days of film so all was lost when that happened.)
Long story short, I walked out on the wedding shoot, and was sued by the wedding party. Bottom line was I won the lawsuit as my iron clad contract stated on Line 1 that I was the be the "ONLY" photographer at the venue. The wedding party was ordered to pay me the balance of my contract plus attorneys fees. It just got to the point that shooting people wasn't worth the stress and aggravation anymore.
Good luck.
Jan 24, 2019 13:56:16 #
Longshadow wrote:
"I believe another photographer may provide a service more to your liking."???
(Directed at the bride.)
(Directed at the bride.)
Ok. I thought about recommending another photographer but I don’t want any of my associates to have a bad experience.
Jan 24, 2019 13:59:07 #
GoofyNewfie wrote:
Tough spot.
I've been there too but went ahead and shot it.
This was in film days when I handled the printing as well.
My intuition was right.
I got it done, but it was very stressful.
I'll be following this post to see how others have handled it.
Good luck.
I've been there too but went ahead and shot it.
This was in film days when I handled the printing as well.
My intuition was right.
I got it done, but it was very stressful.
I'll be following this post to see how others have handled it.
Good luck.
Yeah I’ve done a bad one too and almost decided to scrap weddings altogether because of the stress. But I refused to let it get me down. Now I’m much more careful. I saw the warning signs in hindsight.
Jan 24, 2019 14:01:25 #
MT Shooter wrote:
I retired from wedding/portrait/glamour photograph... (show quote)
You were very brave to walk out on a wedding. I don’t think I could have done that. I understand why you would want to though.
Jan 24, 2019 14:02:28 #
Strodav
Loc: Houston, Tx
It's hard to walk away from work, but if your gut says don't take the job don't for at least three reasons: 1) If you think a job is going be tough, you will not be at your best - its just human nature; 2) you know difficult people will ask for a lower price than agreed after the event pointing to "flaws" in your work, they will be nit picky, maybe lawyers, ... ; 3) They will slam you on social media, which you don't need. When I don't want to take a job, I usually overbid it rather than say no.
Jan 24, 2019 14:12:56 #
fotoman150 wrote:
Ok. I thought about recommending another photographer but I don’t want any of my associates to have a bad experience.
Ah, yea. I thought that also, but didn't suggest it for the same reason.
(If one does wind up being contacted, they're on their own for deciding to take it. At least YOU didn't recommend them.)
Jan 24, 2019 14:48:27 #
Jan 24, 2019 14:49:59 #
Longshadow wrote:
Ah, yea. I thought that also, but didn't suggest it for the same reason.
(If one does wind up being contacted, they're on their own for deciding to take it. At least YOU didn't recommend them.)
(If one does wind up being contacted, they're on their own for deciding to take it. At least YOU didn't recommend them.)
I have a stack of other photographers contact info that I got from a wedding show. I may recommend them. They are higher priced though.
Jan 24, 2019 14:50:40 #
Jan 24, 2019 14:53:58 #
I did weddings back in the 90's and was using a 'Blad. Never had That problem. But, if you think the job will be "difficult" it will be. Tell'em, "Thanks, but, No Thanks"!
Jan 24, 2019 16:59:02 #
fotoman150 wrote:
You don't need to recommend anyone, just simply state "you did not seem as happy as I hoped with my work and hopefully you will find someone more to your liking. Thank you for the opportunity." Less said is better, don't let your ego over-ride your very experienced gut feeling. She is the decider and she is already not happy with your work. Do you want the stress of the whole wedding based on that FACT?Ok. I thought about recommending another photographer but I don’t want any of my associates to have a bad experience.
Back when I did weddings I wanted the bride to think of me as a friend and my photography walked on water going in. Then if any difficulty arose it was easily solved.
Jan 24, 2019 17:00:22 #
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