If someone offered you $300 to cover 3hrs of a wedding, 1.5hrs of commuting, and 2hrs of sorting/editing time, WITH LESS THAN 8HRS NOTICE, how many photos would you include? Prints? Extras?
If you’re thinking that sounds insane then you’re correct but I’m just losing my mind here. He asked for an additional DISCOUNT and thought that I was going to include 200+ prints into a photo album for him??? I’m new to photography so I figured I could at least get the experience and use for marketing but I don’t have permission to post photos of the family in their culture either. I did someone a favor and it’s been nothing but a nightmare.
There are tons of responses to your question here, and that’s great
My thoughts- Some potential clients are better to be avoided. Say “no thanks” and move on. These type of people will continue to ask and ask for the ridiculous, and kill your profit.
If you shoot a cheap wedding you won’t give your best effort. This will definitely show in your finished product.
Shooting a wedding on the cheap lowers the bar when it comes to pricing for all the local photographers. They make all, or part, of their living off shooting weddings that are priced to reward their talents and skills. If customers discover that they can pay less for a guy with a camera, often they will go with lower price. The customer needs to be educated about why a good photographer costs more.
Always, always have a meetup with the couple before considering even taking them as clients. Have a list of questions that will help you understand them better. You can gain better information by meeting face to face, and this helps you to make a better decision about whether you want them as a client.
The client should know that they get what they pay for. If they pay a photographer $3000+, they can expect a quality product from you. You better be able to deliver that. Those higher fees will also weed out the bargain hunters who become a pain in the ass later.
If you don’t want to tell then a flat “no”, then tell them you might know a photographer who will shoot for cheap and let that person deal with the problem. He won’t be in business long to hurt the prices a professional will charge.
Good luck.