# Help on wedding paperwork



## delizo23 (Jun 17, 2009)

i dont know if this is the place to do make this thread but im doing it anyway 

i have a wedding to shoot "professionally", coming up this july. i know, im far from professional, just a young hobbyist. but the client (an old friend) likes how my pictures turn out, so i guess ill do it for them for cheap.

they asked for a receipt. how would i write this receipt out? im guessing in a form of a letter. kind of like a contract. could you guys help me out and give me some suggestions on what to say.

also, i KINDA already set up a little package of what they'll get. but could you guys give me some more good package ideas.

ALSO, they want an album. any good albums i can buy online? they were thinking about a "yearbook looking" kind of album, where the pictures are printed on the pages permanantly.

thanks guys. i can always count on your great suggestions and harsh critiques.


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## B Kennedy (Jun 17, 2009)

I can sense the wolves licking their chops and I'm gonna be here to witness it!


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## delizo23 (Jun 17, 2009)

haha stop ur scaring me.

ok ok. you guys can call me a noob. whatever! just give me some pointers after the humiliation. unless you were born with a high photography IQ, we all started from the same spot, the bottom!


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## Big Mike (Jun 17, 2009)

I've moved this out of the Gallery and into the Shop Talk section.  

Even if you are just doing this for friends, you should have a contract in place.  It should spell out the service that you are providing and the compensation are are receiving.

This could also act as a receipt.  

Try a Google search for sample wedding photography contracts.


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## farmerj (Jun 17, 2009)

B Kennedy said:


> I can sense the wolves licking their chops and I'm gonna be here to witness it!



I thunkeded you may be onto a nice show here.



As to the OP....

you may want to reconsider that with which you are about to endeavor into....

You "old friend"  just elevated your relationship out of "friendship"


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## Blank (Jun 17, 2009)

That little icon dude with the popcorn is hillarious. It's the little things for me.

You better put your flame reatrdant suit on Delizo, you will feel some heat. I just wanted to make you aware of a couple of things. I am no wedding photographer, I am an event photographer none the less and there are certain shots you will need to get. As for a contract, Google *Wedding Contracts for Photographers* (there is about 364,000 hits you could make). As for your service, put it in perspective (this is the part where I get irate), working photographers these days are suffering because every Joe Blow feels like professional photography can be snapped out by anyone with a friggin camera. Weddings is the gateway to a genre implosion. "We don't need to pay $3000 for a wedding photographer, Johnny just got a new camera and you should see the shots of the rainbow he got". Delizo, that is my 1 and only ***** on your endeavour. I am not here to talk you out of it, I'm here to tell you to package your service and keep the market alive.

The irony about this whole wedding gag is: 
The cake costs anywhere from a few hundred to some stupid figure and it's never seen again.
The flowers costs anywhere from a few hundred to some stupid figure and it's never seen again.
The food at costs anywhere from a few hundred to some stupid figure and it's never seen again.
The poor old photographer gives his **** away and is there for a lifetime.

Weddings photographer's on here, he's committed obviously, give the guy some tips.


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## UUilliam (Jun 17, 2009)

Look at his folio... give him his dues, i think he can pull it off..
he has experience it isn't like he just went out bought a camera and went straight to wedding shooting
on this occassion i think he is acceptable considering his work on his blog, it looks like wedding photographs anyway...

to the op:
i have no idea hot to do wedding stuff so i cant tell you anything to be honest
but i can suggest...

a book with a selection of 50 images with you photographing the brides preperation (going to where she is staying and shoot her getting make up done and her bridesmaids) then get a shot of the guys at a bar or summin or w/e they are then shoot the wedding then the after party

your work looks pretty good from what i have seen, just remember though... if they dont turn out well, it is on your head that they dont have memories of their wedding... no pressure 
im sure you will do fine though,
by receipt i am sure they mean a contract between you two to basically say if you mess up their wedding images they cannot persue in sueing you and they need to pay you an upfront deposit then pay the final sum within 1 week of the event, maybe some more experienced toggers can help you out

To the forum:
as i said look at his work, it is pretty good, and looks like wedding style images


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## farmerj (Jun 17, 2009)

He may be Andsel Adams, I couldn't care less....

When it comes to what he is doing, there are no "friends" or "family" to what he wants to do.

It's that business sense he needs to put the separation in.

His "old friend" is asking for a receipt why?  Because to him, this is now a BUSINESS transaction.

It's not "welcome to the world of wedding photagraphy", it's "welcome to the world of business."

I refuse to fix other peoples vehicles for this same reason.  Same reason I will refuse to take other peoples pictures.


And yes, his portfolio does show ability to shoot the wedding.


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## Nicholas James Photo (Jun 17, 2009)

Can you give us a budget before recommending things. albums for example can range from a few dollars/pounds to ,000's
can I reiterate what the others are saying.... get yourself a contract friend or not.


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## delizo23 (Jun 17, 2009)

mike: thanks, i guess i should have done that first before posting here. sorry for putting this in the wrong section.
i looked on google and found a good one.

farmerj:hes a friend that likes my pictures. that means he has to like them whether or not. if he doesnt like them, then i ill do what a friend should do and give him a refund.


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## delizo23 (Jun 17, 2009)

farmerj: youre absolutely right. if a contract is made then it becomes a business and i should perform and operate LIKE a professional. 

Blank: im sorry im one of those a-holes that messes up the whole system. what was once a hobby is now becoming my career. i was just layed off and i need the cash. so anything like this little gig is going to help me. i have a hobby to support! haha.
im not here to take anyones thunder. just here to learn


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## Blank (Jun 17, 2009)

delizo23 said:


> Blank: im sorry im one of those a-holes that messes up the whole system. what was once a hobby is now becoming my career. i was just layed off and i need the cash. so anything like this little gig is going to help me. i have a hobby to support! haha.
> im not here to take anyones thunder. just here to learn


 
Don't be sorry. Your non-profit career, not mine.



> farmerj: youre absolutely right. if a contract is made then it becomes a business and i should perform and operate LIKE a professional.


 
Your words not mine.


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## atbawrps (Jun 17, 2009)

UUilliam said:


> Look at his folio... give him his dues, i think he can pull it off..



Not really, but whatever.


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## B Kennedy (Jun 17, 2009)

Soooo anyways, back on topic.  To the OP, what package were you thinking of presenting them with?


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## nrois02 (Jun 17, 2009)

^ thats what i would like to know. are you going to the house before the wedding to take pics? my gf's grandfather used to go there before to get pics and said it was a fun time but you have to lug a lot of s**t around but you get some good pictures. what are you going to do for them?


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## adamwilliamking (Jun 17, 2009)

Step away from the high pass filter, my only advice.

That and, how do you intend to shot the bridesmaid + bride and best men + groom at the same time before the ceremony? you should have a bout 15 minutes to get those shots, so.. 7 minutes each and some running.. not to mention that no one is going to listen to you so make sure you bring your strong voice that day. Make sure you talk to the preist or whoever the hell is marrying people these days, he'll most likely hate your guts. Don't get in peoples way but still make sure to get the perfect shot when they're heading down the aisle, from both sides would probably be preferable from your clients. 

Im half ****ing around with you but theres an incredible amount of truth in jest.


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## delizo23 (Jun 17, 2009)

alright. i spoke with the bride and groom today. we met up at a coffee shop

i gave them my contract.
ill put it up on here to show you guys later when i get to my work computer, cuz im on my house computer now and the file is at work.

the package they will be getting is:
-aprox. 500 photos will be taken.
-a CD of all those photos
-1 album (50 of my best shots). the pages are hard, pictures dry mounted
-100 prints of their size (for family and other people they decide to give it to)

the way the wedding will go down is:
3:30pm - bride getting ready (groom getting ready same place)
4:30pm - bride and groom pics
5:30pm - family pictures at the church
7:00pm - Wedding Ceremony
8:30pm - Cocktail hour (bride and groom dont want pictures at this time. so pics of guests)
9:30 til whenever - Reception (Reception building is right next door to church)
2:00am - having some drinks with the groom

i have a helper. (i personally think he's an ok photographer)
we each have 2 cameras 
we will both have a D200 and a D80 EACH.
both with battery grips (but im still bringing my charger)
between the 2 of us we have a SB600, SB600, SB800, SB800, and vivitar 285hv (and lots of batteries)(triggered by ebay triggers)
gary fong and stofen diffusers, cokin filters, light stands and umbrellas, slik tripod
the lenses we have are:
-nikon 50m f1.8 (x2)
-sigma 18-50 f2.8
-sigma 10-20
-sigma 70-300
-nikon 18-200
yea i know, my lenses arent that great. but ill try and make due with the low lighting. my D200 cant handle the high ISO, so i dont really know what to do with that. flash i guess.

so overall, i think my preperation is getting there. maybe another lens. i know the times wont go exactly as planned but i think there is enough time in between each section to get some decent shots even if the plans change. they spoke with the priest and he said its ok to take flash photography. there will be around 65 guests (small wedding). small chapel too. i have the address of the chapel and im going there this week to check out the lighting scenerio. 

so yea, hopefully everything goes well for my first real paid wedding. the wedding is July 24th. i still have a month for more preperation and practice. the pictures of the weddings i took were my relatives. so there was no pressure there. having this real gig will surely put the pressure on. hopefully its a good start to the beginning of my MAYBE career. (haha i know someone will hate that last sentence, but whatever its the internet, i cant get punched in the face or anything)


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## farmerj (Jun 17, 2009)

I wish you the best of luck.

You could always rent a decent fast lens for the day.  Course, you'd have to have a couple more days to figure out how to get it to work for you.


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## B Kennedy (Jun 18, 2009)

The bride and groom are gonna see each other before the ceremony? Isn't that bad luck?


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## B Kennedy (Jun 18, 2009)

2 questions on what you're providing them.  CD with high resolution files? or low resolution.   I think you should DEFINITELY confirm the size of the 100 prints.  Hopefully they didn't sign the contract already, but who knows, they might say they wanted 100 8x10's which is a huge price diff than 4x6's.  Which im sure we all know.  I'm just saying that you wanna make sure that there are no vague items in the contract.  You don't wanna be an ass about it, but its for the benefit of both parties to understand exactly what they'll be getting so they don't think one thing, and you provide another.


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## delizo23 (Jun 18, 2009)

B Kennedy said:


> 2 questions on what you're providing them.  CD with high resolution files? or low resolution.   I think you should DEFINITELY confirm the size of the 100 prints.  Hopefully they didn't sign the contract already, but who knows, they might say they wanted 100 8x10's which is a huge price diff than 4x6's.  Which im sure we all know.  I'm just saying that you wanna make sure that there are no vague items in the contract.  You don't wanna be an ass about it, but its for the benefit of both parties to understand exactly what they'll be getting so they don't think one thing, and you provide another.




hm. very true. i should tell them that. cuz i was just basing my prices on Flickrs prices when you order prints. 8x10 are $2. 4x6 are 15 cents. 
soooo, say they wanted 100 prints of 8x10. thats $200. hmmmmm, yeaaaaaaaa. i think i should limit that. plus the album is gonna be around $100. 
also im gonna send them a cd of low resolution photos with a watermark. from there, they can view it and choose which ones they want to print. when the album is done, make a high resolution cd with all the edited pics, for them to keep. 
thanks B!


yea im thinking about renting a lens. theres a Calumet store around here that rents out lenses. maybe get another 2.8 lens.


and yes theyre gonna be in the same building. but no, theyre not gonna see eachother, because theyll be in a different rooms. i dunno, thats just the way they wanted to have it. dont ask me. easier for me.


question?
you guys know a good website to make albums? the ones where the picture is printed on the page. (preferably hard pages like foamboard. but if not, then like a yearbook). i think i found a few but i dont know how the quality is gonna turn out. i might test it soon and order an album.


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## farmerj (Jun 18, 2009)

> question?
> you guys know a good website to make albums? the ones where the picture is printed on the page. (preferably hard pages like foamboard. but if not, then like a yearbook). i think i found a few but i dont know how the quality is gonna turn out. i might test it soon and order an album.



Please share that information if you do find one....


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## B Kennedy (Jun 18, 2009)

delizo23 said:


> B Kennedy said:
> 
> 
> > 2 questions on what you're providing them.  CD with high resolution files? or low resolution.   I think you should DEFINITELY confirm the size of the 100 prints.  Hopefully they didn't sign the contract already, but who knows, they might say they wanted 100 8x10's which is a huge price diff than 4x6's.  Which im sure we all know.  I'm just saying that you wanna make sure that there are no vague items in the contract.  You don't wanna be an ass about it, but its for the benefit of both parties to understand exactly what they'll be getting so they don't think one thing, and you provide another.
> ...





farmerj said:


> > question?
> > you guys know a good website to make albums? the ones where the picture is printed on the page. (preferably hard pages like foamboard. but if not, then like a yearbook). i think i found a few but i dont know how the quality is gonna turn out. i might test it soon and order an album.
> 
> 
> Please share that information if you do find one....



WHAAAAAAAA????!!!?!??!?!?! $2 buck for a 8x10?  Wheres your markup lol.  That seems crazy low.  Theres a bunch of good book makers, do a quick search through tpf and you'll find some threads on it.  Personally I've used asukabooks, but you have to be a registered business to use any of their services


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## Blank (Jun 18, 2009)

The train has left the station...


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## delizo23 (Jun 18, 2009)

haha no those are the prices of Flickr. i was gonna print 100 out for them. their pay for those prints is already included in the final payment. its like giving them a cd of pictures. and them going to Target or Walmart to print them out. im basically just doing it for them. i think theyre paying me more than enough to do this for them and let it come out of my final payment. being a new photographer and all.


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