My first wedding...advice on D70 please

[dvdowns]

Have you ever needed that insurance ?

[dc2]

Originally Posted by dvdowns

Have you ever needed that insurance ?

Sorry for butting in but I would not think of doing a wedding with out it .
Not fair on the clients

[Mark McCall]

Desmond,
In my 8 years as a professional photographer, I have not had to file a claim on the insurance.
But it's like any other type of insurance,...when you need it, you REALLY need it.
I figure it up as the cost of doing business. The premium is tax deductible.

Covers equipment malfunction, stolen equipment (with wedding images inside), truncated flashcards, even photographer negligence. (Anything you could possibly get sued over).

A local photographer here in town was sued last year....twice. They did not have PPA's insurance.
They had the largest studio on one of the busiest streets in town, but now they're out of business.

There are just too many things that can happen at a wedding....especially in the fragile world of digital technology.

My dad used to say...."Always take a job too big for you".
This was the route I took very early in my photography career, and it has paid off handsomely.

True story....
My first paid wedding was July 4th, 1997.
Bride was 8 months pregnant. Wedding took place in the parent's back yard. The photography bill was $200. (You know the type of wedding I'm talking about).
5 years later, I photographed the pregnant bride's sisters wedding for $4,700.

The same Mom paid for both weddings.

Was the Mom surprised at the dramatic increase in fees? If she was, she never flinched.
The family buys YOU as much as they buy your photography.

To succeed, you must be #1. A mediocre photographer or better, #2. A bood business person #3. A very good salesman.

I hope you guys jump in.....the water's fine!

[CyberPet]

Mark, you are a true inspiration for all of us and I'm so happy you're doing well in your profession. Since I've seen your images, and also seen all the workshops and other things you do to help others, I know you will do well also in the future.

I just wish the weddings in Sweden were like the ones you have in the US, where you document the whole day, and not just portraits and if lucky also the ceremony itself. I know it's a lot of job to work maybe 10-12 hours, but it's also so rewarding. Meeting people during such a happy event is a luxury and not many people are lucky enough to be able to do that for a living!

One of the most famous wedding photographers in Sweden is charging about $5,000 for a full day, but she's pretty alone doing this. Most photographers only have a few hours at the most and makes between $750-1300 a wedding. In my area, it's even less.

[Mark McCall]

Petra,
Here's a real jolt of inspiration:

Doug Box, one of the US's premier wedding photographers lives in Caldwell Texas. Population: Aprox. 3,500.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Caldwell-Texas.html

His wedding packages begin at $2,500 and go up from there.

He lives on a 2,000 acre ranch in the Texas Hill Country, and he's able to command top dollar in one of the smallest wedding markets.
If he can do it, anyone can do it.

I'm available if you ever need any help. I could never repay the people who helped me get started.

[CyberPet]

Mark, thank you soo much!! I think helping out someone is good kharma.... so I will absolutely take you up on your offer!

I always try to help with the skills I have (mainly graphical stuff - my trade since 25+ years) and it's so rewarding to do that. So I always say "Pay it forward" when someone wants to thank me. So I'll do that in my turn, once I get this wedding thing down.

Learning is soo much fun!!!

[dvdowns]

I agree on the insurance thing , I wouldn't do it without insurance but I was just wondering what percentage of weddings end up as claims .
It is a bit different in New Zealand though , people can't be sued like they can in America . There are goct agencies that handle things like accident payouts and they deal with the offender , you can't sue the person that crashed into you . Another bad part of the law here is that if a person commissions you to take some pictures for him he owns the copyright to the pictures . A photographer was once sued [ ok it happens] for using the same style again in pictures he sold , as the style he was commissioned to do . So you make the people sign an agreement saying that you retain copyright if you don't want to get stung .