Wedding Photography for friends

[natalieross]

Hi i wonder if anyone can help, im new to this forum.

Ive been dabbeling in photography since i did it for my A levels MANY years ago and in the past couple of years things have really moved forward for me and im doing quite a bit of wedding photography.

This is all well and good for my paying customers, BUT when friends ask me to shoot their weddings i feel like i should do it for free, but at the same time, i know im worth what i charge.

HELP! I need all and any advice you can give me, do i charge, do i discount? What do you do?

Thanks Natalie

[MattUK]

How much do you llike them?

If you love them, do it for free and buy them a gift
If you like them, do it for free and position it as your gift to them
If they're ok, tell them you'd love to take the photos and will give them a special 20% discount on your standard rate
If you don't like them that much, tell them you'd love to take the photos, and your standard rate is x

[OldBoy]

Originally Posted by natalieross

Hi i wonder if anyone can help, im new to this forum.

Ive been dabbeling in photography since i did it for my A levels MANY years ago and in the past couple of years things have really moved forward for me and im doing quite a bit of wedding photography.

This is all well and good for my paying customers, BUT when friends ask me to shoot their weddings i feel like i should do it for free, but at the same time, i know im worth what i charge.

HELP! I need all and any advice you can give me, do i charge, do i discount? What do you do?

Thanks Natalie

Business is business. You brought the cameras, lenses and flash plus other things therefore, you need a return on your investment. Matt gives good advice above, but it's up to you how much you charge each group. If your friends object to your charges then, suggest they get a quote from a Pro and they will soon come back to you.

[Cathus]

I've done this & charged them abt 30% less than I'd have charged if I didn't know them. I wouldn't do it for free as I couldn't afford to give them a present of that value

[donoreo]

My brother in law got married last year and a very good friend of theirs did the photography (I would NEVER do a wedding). She is a professional. She did charge, but a very minimal amount, enough to cover any rental equipment she needed and travel, etc (the wedding was a 2.5 hour drive north of Toronto).

[xavier]

frankly I find this is one of those " catch 22 " situations where dose one charge or not? and how much? ultimately its up you. But I would advise coution in the exacution of this as I read on this very site a coutionary tale whare sume one did a free-bee and the coustomer keeped going back as they were unhappy with the resultes. I'm not saying don't do it just take care in how you do it.

[deena]

I think it also depends on how financially 'well-off' your friends are. If they're struggling to find funds for the wedding and they're good friends, I would do it for nothing. If they have money, I dont think they would have a problem paying for your services.

[F11]

Natalie, I grant you this is a difficult one - but do your earn your living as a full time photographer or is it just a bit of pin money? If its strictly business then I would assume the bride and groom would ask you to do the job at a discounted rate. However, if these people are close friends and you have a special relationship with them, then I don't think money should be the motive. To do the shoot is you giving your time to those friends and I personally can't equate this in monetary terms. However, if you produce copies of prints, compile an album etc., depending on your own ability to fund this yourself as a wedding gift, I don't think it unreasonable for you to ask the couple for something for your time in the printing, after service so to speak. I recently did a photobook for myself - all the images were mine but the time it took to format the layout etc was considerable and had I had been doing this for someone I would have expected some gesture towards this. Hope this helps.

[GeoffWessex]

Not really contributing to the original question, but I thought I'd just add an example of a good wedding photographer - one whose work is so superior to mine that I wouldn't even dream of trying to emulate it - Bella West (who works from Shaftesbury, Dorset). I've met her on a few occasions and seen her at work - and now she even teaches professionals!
Have a look, also, at the fees charged - e.g. up to 3500 pounds for a day's shooting. And, you know what? If you've got the money, she's worth it.

[messyhead]

I can give you my perspective on this as a friend of a pro wedding photographer.

We asked her to do our wedding shots, but completely expected to pay for it. We had no intention of trying to get it for free. When we met with her, she offered us 'mates rates' which was quite discounted. After all it was still her business, and she still had costs to cover.

You say you feel you should do it for free as they're friends. But do you know if they expect it for free?

I would suggest that the next time the situation comes, just tell them you'll give them a discount off your normal rates as they are friends. If they're not happy about paying as you're a friend, then explain you'd still have costs to cover. They should be understanding enough to realise that you've got a business to run.