Pistnbroke wrote:
Wedding photographer since the Hassleblad days and about 4 years ago no problem to get 40 weddings and turn away 80. Now the phone has not rung for months despite 30 a weeks to the website ( was 120).
I put it down to mobile phones /lack of money and weekend warriors but no I was wrong.
The reason in the UK is the use of preferred suppliers by hotels...disco /catering/chaircovers/ photographers etc. It not a problem if they say we recommend X Y and Z but then they say if you don't use X y or Z there is a £200 ( $250) surcharge to use your own choice of photographer.....
X<Y and Z are back handing the wedding planner at the hotel (£200) so at one local venue with 10 weddings a week that a lot of $$$$$$. As most wedding planners are female the female photographers seem to get preference. There is also a scam going on with payments to be in the Hotel wedding brocure.
One local photographer who was a bit arrogant fell out of favour with hotels and that was the end of him after 20 years.
Fortunately I am at an age to retire with only one wedding to do that will be the end.
How does this play out in the US ?
Wedding photographer since the Hassleblad days and... (
show quote)
Pistnbroke wrote:
Wedding photographer since the Hasselblad days and about 4 years ago no problem to get 40 weddings and turn away 80. Now the phone has not rung for months despite 30 a weeks to the website ( was 120).
I put it down to mobile phones /lack of money and weekend warriors but no I was wrong.
The reason in the UK is the use of preferred suppliers by hotels...disco /catering/chair covers/ photographers etc. It's not a problem if they say we recommend X Y and Z but then they say if you don't use X y or Z there is a £200 ( $250) surcharge to use your own choice of photographer.....
X<Y and Z are backhanding the wedding planner at the hotel (£200) so at one local venue with 10 weddings a week that a lot of $$$$$$. As most wedding planners are female the female photographers seem to get preference. There is also a scam going on with payments to be in the Hotel wedding brochure.
One local photographer who was a bit arrogant fell out of favor with hotels and that was the end of him after 20 years.
Fortunately, I am at an age to retire with only one wedding to do that will be the end.
How does this play out in the U.S.?
Wedding photographer since the Hasselblad days and... (
show quote)
Morbid title! When's the funeral!
I would not venture to opine on the wedding photography industry in the U.K, but I always tend to disbelieve all the doom and gloom that many photographers predict. I work and live in Canada and prior to that in the United States. There have been many shifts and changes in the wedding business but it is still alive and well and the level of success is up to each individual photographer and their style. the product, quality, and marketing strategy. Each operator has to market and function on their own and can not depend on "wedding planners" and "package deals" from venue operators.
In most North American jurisdictions, this monkey business of restricting outside independent photographers from operating in certain venues is actually illegal in that is restraint of trade and may even qualify as contravening anti-monopoly and antitrust laws in countries that have those regulations.
Back in my days in New York, many of the big catering hall operators attempted to restrict admission to their " so-called "house photographers" and the had to cut it out because it was illegal and from pressure from their clients. Besides the laws, many of the brides and grooms, their clients, objected. Their argument was that if they are spending thousands of dollars on their reception catering and have the right to bring in any vendors of their choice. Of course, the venue operators were receiving kickbacks from the "house photographers". Some caterers would tell the clients that THEIR photographer knew the halls better and could manage shooting with all the mirrored walls (etc) and get along better with the maitre 'd...guys and some of these folks insinuated that outside shooters would not get cooperation- intimidation tactics. It was all a crock and many of the photographers joined together and put an end to all of those shenanigans.
Female wedding planners- photographers? Nothing wrong with that. My wife ran our office and did most of the sales for decades and my booking rate ain't too bad either. My daughter is a talented photographer and hopefully, she will take over the wedding department soon. I have rarely seen a bride choose her photographer based on gender. I have never met a male wedding planner- I'm sure there is one somewhere- geezers don't have that kind of patience or organizational skills! Gotta love the ladies!
I started off in the business in the days of the 4x5 press camera and went to medium format for may years -6x7 press cameras, Rolleiflex models, Hasselblads- whatever. I never discussed my equipment choices with my clients. Mostly they never asked and again, I can't recall any of anyone selecting their photographer based on gear. Hopefully, savvy buyers select their photographer based on their work and service and assume that their professional shooter will utilize the best equipment for the job.
Independent photographers and studio operators should not only depend on wedding planners and "deals" with other vendors. You need to market and sell directly to the clients and there are many avenues- the Internet, bridal shows, print advertising in bridal and wedding publications, networking with other like-minded vendors and most importantly fostering recommendations and referral business from satisfied customers.
There are many fine photographers who have been in the wedding photography business for a very long time. They have a great work ethic and know what the are doing, however, they have failed to keep up with current trends. Many of the younger set prefer strictly candid, impromptu, photo-journalistic coverage and certainly don't want their photographer to direct the entire event or intervene in any way. In my own case, I do feature elegant formals and aromatic casual images as well as a photo-journalistic approach. The couple will give me more time to do "my thing" and know that I am gonna pose a few shots during the affair but most of what I do nowadays is spontaneous candid shots. I also feature my "lighting like in the movies" and use multiple flash so I work with more than one assistant.
Yet another fact of life to consider. There is AGEISM. I am a 74-year-old geezer with a gray beard! Some of the young folks would rather have a young handsome fellow or a pretty young lady photographing their wedding. I survive in the business because of the high quality of my product and a lot of referral business in a number of ethnic and social communities. My crew is also much younger. I have been training the younger gang to take over the wedding department and after the upcoming season, in the Fall, I may walk down the aisle backward, camera in hand, for the last time. I can't remember the last time I had a weekend off!
Then consider the price! I would rather do one wedding for $5,000+ than 10 weddings for $500 each. So...I market in the high end and I am not looking for every wedding in town. I am not in competition with the amateurs (God bless them) and the high volume/low cost "wedding factories". Although I operate a full-time photography business, you could call me a "weekend warrior" because my "day job" is commercial and industrial photography and corporate portraiture. This enables me to do the weddings at a high end/low volume basis. A high volume business is operated another level but that would be incompatible with my pricing strategies.
So...I don't think the wedding photography business in dead or on life-support. Like everything else in the photography business and many other luxury products and service industries, success is out there but it's a matter of a good business plan, public relations, a sound pricing strategy and cutting through all the interference and dealing directly with the potential customers.
About far off countries and lands the other side of the pond. I used to attend many more international conventions. Years ago, at P.P.of A local and national conventions I would meet photographers from all over the world. At the time there were some radical changes in wedding photography. I photographer form Oklahoma, Bill Stockwell, came on the scene with a very romantic and casual approach- very unlike all the formal stuff that was prevalent in most geographic locations. There was soft focus, multiple exposures and Stockwell had "crazy" names for his shots "Madcap Misties" "Floral Fantasies" and he started off his lectures with this: "Y'all brave gunners enter the dreamy world of weddings and pick up all the rocks and stones and leave all the pretty flowers behind"! Thing was, he appealed the brides with a very romantic approach and became very successful. Many of the established photographers called him a "NUT" and totally derided his philosophies- except the smart ones!
Bill had an adage that I keep in mind to this day! "If you give the bride a bunch of weeds, she will toss them away but if you give her a bouquet of beautiful flowers, she will buy a lovely vase to put them in"! Think about that! So...there were photographers at these seminars from all over the world- Australia, New Zealand, North Africa, India and many countries in Europe. The ones that began to apply and integrate some of these new ideas into their routines became very successful. It seems there is a certain degree of universality in creative work. Of course, buying habits can vary greatly even within the same city, state, province, culture, and country, You need to do the marketing research and deiced if you are gonna be a follower or a pacesetter.