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Wedding photography.... Who really needs it?
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Feb 26, 2021 08:13:15   #
joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois
 
Rongnongno wrote:
If you think about it, wedding photography is a rip-off from beginning to end.

Folks are spending a large amount of money to 'create' memories' but really, what is left after a few months?

Very little, possibly an image or two on walls that will never be looked at again, a couple of albums that will gather dust until lost during a move.

In a few years the images will be yellow, desuet on some piece of furniture among other equally old and part of a scenery some call home.

Years later the album may be reopened one day by a kid who was snooping around and sees images of a wedding they do not relate to. “Is it you mom? Dad?” Then the album is placed back into a dark corner and forgotten again.

Nostalgia lasts only as long as someone remembers.

When reopened next, it might be when someone cleans out an attic and finds a trace of an event, does not know who is in the pictures, guesses about it for a few moments. The album is placed on a pile, 'keep' if the person wants to look at it again but probably will forget that too. With a little less luck the album ends in an estate sale and those that did not make the cut, the greatest majority, in a literal bin disposed up in a field full of trash... Who wants a cracked, dried up book made of people no one knows?

So thousands of $$$ to fill the dumpster, historical or real...

Those here who speak of the 'ethics' in pricing should stop and think about their 'commodity' offerings and realize that they are ripping up folks who need their revenues toward something more useful than spit in the wind.

Now, yes there is a market so why not profit from folk's gullibility? You must have a photographer because the Jones had one.

At the very least, now, be honest about it when you work, at least in your mind.
If you think about it, wedding photography is a ri... (show quote)


Very well said and I agree completely. Everything about weddings is over priced.

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Feb 26, 2021 08:17:08   #
Bull Schmidt
 
the only record of that day are the pictures taken. wife passed away after 45 years of marriage and those pictures are my memories of that day. most of the people in the photos have passed on to GOD. if you can not afford a pro, ask your friends to shoot pictures. anything is better than nothing. even a cell phone can work. send what you have to the couple and let them pick what they like. COSTCO does a great job and don't forget to thank them those people

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Feb 26, 2021 08:33:04   #
Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.
 
Peterfiore wrote:
Weddings are a great rip-off. As I told my wife as we were planning our daughter's wedding. " You know we're only renting the food".

However, the memories are forever. As long as you have memory.


No, I don't NEED all the photos I have taken of my boys, the photos my Dad took of my siblings and me, the photos that were handed down to me from my grandparents, aunts and uncles, the wedding photos of my parents, ourselves, our boys and some of my cousins. Just wish I had wedding photos of the grandparents...
The quality of some of them is so bad that they should really be thrown out.
However, all these photos together have given me many pleasant afternoons, looking at them and remembering.
And even more pleasant: Telling my grand-kids about their family members, going back four generations.
Who can tell their (grand)kids about Grandma's dog, who stole my cookie, and then show a picture of that dog? Or tell about the great-granduncle who ended up in the ditch complete with horse and buggy, and then point out that great-grand-uncle in a family photograph.
Yes, for all that I do need my photos and am glad I have them. As well, my boys are now discussing who is going to get what photos when my time to leave this earth has come. I'm beating them to the punchline: I am in the process of scanning all the photos I have, including the negatives I still have. When I'm finished, I'll put the lot on four separate external hard drives and each of the boys (the wife of the youngest one, since he passed away a few months ago) will get one of these external drives.
So, no, I do not NEED all these photos, but I'm sure glad I have them!
Call me a sentimental old lady if you like, I've been called worse. And name calling has never hurt me!

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Feb 26, 2021 08:40:29   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
Bull Schmidt wrote:
the only record of that day are the pictures taken. wife passed away after 45 years of marriage and those pictures are my memories of that day. most of the people in the photos have passed on to GOD. if you can not afford a pro, ask your friends to shoot pictures. anything is better than nothing. even a cell phone can work. send what you have to the couple and let them pick what they like. COSTCO does a great job and don't forget to thank them those people


That opinion is certainly applicable to a lot of events beyond weddings.

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Feb 26, 2021 08:42:43   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
Morning Star wrote:
...So, no, I do not NEED all these photos, but I'm sure glad I have them!
Call me a sentimental old lady if you like, I've been called worse. And name calling has never hurt me!


You're a sentimental old lady. And your family is probably all the better for it.

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Feb 26, 2021 08:49:26   #
ELNikkor
 
A professional took our wedding photos and gave us two wonderful albums and a lot of extra 4x6's in envelopes. They sat for years in a drawer; we never looked at them after the first day he gave them to us. We moved to our new house and brought them with us. Now, 24 years later, we've still never looked at them since we got back from our honeymoon in 1997. Maybe next year, on our 25th anniversary, we'll take out the albums and see how we looked on our wedding day, then, put the albums away until our 50th...(We don't have any framed 8x10's of that day on any of our walls, nor have we watched the video that was shot of the event, either.)

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Feb 26, 2021 08:58:55   #
Photec
 
Cany143 wrote:
When you come right down to it, nobody 'needs' anything more than food, clothing, and shelter. Recognizing, of course, that clothing is nothing more than portable shelter.

Something else nobody needs is somebody telling them what they do or do not need.


My thoughts exactly. Simple and to the point.

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Feb 26, 2021 08:59:14   #
garrickw Loc: Wyoming Mn.
 
This is off the main subject but you know the thing that gets me is these people that are part timers or a stay at home mom with a nice camera shooting weddings my daughter hired one of these friend of a friend with a nice camera I ended up fixing every file shot to get some decent prints for them ..and she paid big for that photographer could have hired a top of the line photographer from New York ha

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Feb 26, 2021 10:07:41   #
Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida
 
Most pictures of any kind bring back beautiful memories.
They are priceless.

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Feb 26, 2021 10:57:05   #
Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida
 
Bubbee wrote:
Most pictures of any kind bring back beautiful memories.
They are priceless.


Absolutely. Perhaps most of us don’t review wedding images, graduations, family events, old pictures of relatives etc, everyday; but when we do, they are undeniably meaningful, and fun.

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Feb 26, 2021 12:38:44   #
anotherview Loc: California
 
Well, that's one scenario, and likely realistic. But you may be comparing apples to oranges.

Another scenario I've been involved in as a family member for a large group: I'm asked to take photos in JPEG file format for distribution to many others via one individual. The individual making the gathering happen hires a wedding or group photographer who mingles while posing individuals and doing cameos. I take intimate photos on request of attendees.

Later, I may process, print, and frame a few photos that seem special. Done right, the photo of a mother holding her baby will survive the ages, and especially so if dated and described by notation on the back. Let me say from experience that family photographs become more precious by the day.

At the same time, I could argue that even the most mundane photograph carries some interest if for no other reason than it captures a moment that will never repeat.
Rongnongno wrote:
If you think about it, wedding photography is a rip-off from beginning to end.

Folks are spending a large amount of money to 'create' memories' but really, what is left after a few months?

Very little, possibly an image or two on walls that will never be looked at again, a couple of albums that will gather dust until lost during a move.

In a few years the images will be yellow, desuet on some piece of furniture among other equally old and part of a scenery some call home.

Years later the album may be reopened one day by a kid who was snooping around and sees images of a wedding they do not relate to. “Is it you mom? Dad?” Then the album is placed back into a dark corner and forgotten again.

Nostalgia lasts only as long as someone remembers.

When reopened next, it might be when someone cleans out an attic and finds a trace of an event, does not know who is in the pictures, guesses about it for a few moments. The album is placed on a pile, 'keep' if the person wants to look at it again but probably will forget that too. With a little less luck the album ends in an estate sale and those that did not make the cut, the greatest majority, in a literal bin disposed up in a field full of trash... Who wants a cracked, dried up book made of people no one knows?

So thousands of $$$ to fill the dumpster, historical or real...

Those here who speak of the 'ethics' in pricing should stop and think about their 'commodity' offerings and realize that they are ripping up folks who need their revenues toward something more useful than spit in the wind.

Now, yes there is a market so why not profit from folk's gullibility? You must have a photographer because the Jones had one.

At the very least, now, be honest about it when you work, at least in your mind.
If you think about it, wedding photography is a ri... (show quote)

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Feb 26, 2021 12:41:56   #
yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey
 
Sure seems these days there are an awful lot of people like the OP who claim to know what's best for other folks.

Color me skeptical.

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Feb 26, 2021 13:18:21   #
srg
 
Cany143 wrote:
When you come right down to it, nobody 'needs' anything more than food, clothing, and shelter. Recognizing, of course, that clothing is nothing more than portable shelter.

Something else nobody needs is somebody telling them what they do or do not need.


Ha ha, excellent reply.

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Feb 26, 2021 13:22:56   #
srg
 
Rongnongno wrote:
If you think about it, wedding photography is a rip-off from beginning to end.

Folks are spending a large amount of money to 'create' memories' but really, what is left after a few months?

Very little, possibly an image or two on walls that will never be looked at again, a couple of albums that will gather dust until lost during a move.

In a few years the images will be yellow, desuet on some piece of furniture among other equally old and part of a scenery some call home.

Years later the album may be reopened one day by a kid who was snooping around and sees images of a wedding they do not relate to. “Is it you mom? Dad?” Then the album is placed back into a dark corner and forgotten again.

Nostalgia lasts only as long as someone remembers.

When reopened next, it might be when someone cleans out an attic and finds a trace of an event, does not know who is in the pictures, guesses about it for a few moments. The album is placed on a pile, 'keep' if the person wants to look at it again but probably will forget that too. With a little less luck the album ends in an estate sale and those that did not make the cut, the greatest majority, in a literal bin disposed up in a field full of trash... Who wants a cracked, dried up book made of people no one knows?

So thousands of $$$ to fill the dumpster, historical or real...

Those here who speak of the 'ethics' in pricing should stop and think about their 'commodity' offerings and realize that they are ripping up folks who need their revenues toward something more useful than spit in the wind.

Now, yes there is a market so why not profit from folk's gullibility? You must have a photographer because the Jones had one.

At the very least, now, be honest about it when you work, at least in your mind.
If you think about it, wedding photography is a ri... (show quote)


Now that I know that you admire Ross Perot so much, I will be reading your posts with a lot of scepticism.

Reply
Feb 26, 2021 13:40:57   #
Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA
 
Rongnongno wrote:
If you think about it, wedding photography is a rip-off from beginning to end.

Folks are spending a large amount of money to 'create' memories' but really, what is left after a few months?

Very little, possibly an image or two on walls that will never be looked at again, a couple of albums that will gather dust until lost during a move.

In a few years the images will be yellow, desuet on some piece of furniture among other equally old and part of a scenery some call home.

Years later the album may be reopened one day by a kid who was snooping around and sees images of a wedding they do not relate to. “Is it you mom? Dad?” Then the album is placed back into a dark corner and forgotten again.

Nostalgia lasts only as long as someone remembers.

When reopened next, it might be when someone cleans out an attic and finds a trace of an event, does not know who is in the pictures, guesses about it for a few moments. The album is placed on a pile, 'keep' if the person wants to look at it again but probably will forget that too. With a little less luck the album ends in an estate sale and those that did not make the cut, the greatest majority, in a literal bin disposed up in a field full of trash... Who wants a cracked, dried up book made of people no one knows?

So thousands of $$$ to fill the dumpster, historical or real...

Those here who speak of the 'ethics' in pricing should stop and think about their 'commodity' offerings and realize that they are ripping up folks who need their revenues toward something more useful than spit in the wind.

Now, yes there is a market so why not profit from folk's gullibility? You must have a photographer because the Jones had one.

At the very least, now, be honest about it when you work, at least in your mind.
If you think about it, wedding photography is a ri... (show quote)


The flip side is that there seems to be too little photography committed to paper any more. We all know that digital images can go away with a properly aimed lightning strike or sun flare, or with outdated technology. We have some photos of my wife as a 5 year old in a wedding held 67 years ago and they still look great. I won't justify or disparage anyone the price of what they pay for wedding photography. More than the value of the photos is peace of mind. Getting married can be very stressful and knowing someone who is competent and reliable is one part of getting the stress down. When it comes to wedding albums, yes they are expensive but they preserve history. Generations from now might be interested in knowing what their great grandmother looked like even if they never met. With the uptick in the genome interest a lot of people are researching family trees. Records like photos become invaluable in such research.

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