Weddings Wedding Photographer only hired till ...?

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Bill Kexel

Well-Known DJ
Dec 5, 2006
2,097
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Phoenix, AZ
It really baffles me on how a couple will hire a wedding photographer to cover only up till 1/2 hr. after dinner.
For a future wedding, I now have a photographer (and now the bride) that wants me to try & ram everything together before she leaves.

This sucks, because it makes me look bad. (everything rushed so the B&G can save a few bucks)

Thoughts?
 
Quite frankly, I don't see how it makes anything look bad. Some couples like to have the formalities done and over with so they can enjoy the rest of the night with their friends and family.

All you have to do is just roll from one event to the next.
 
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I tell all my brides (as a photo) that they need me for 3 hours from when they enter the reception. so if they enter at 6 they'll need a photog till 9.

this 1/2 hour thing is old school, from the film days, sometimes seen in big east coast cities (phila, nyc). I've seen it a few times and usually the couple will cut the cake on the way in, get toasts done and first dance/parent dances and then the photog leaves. No real reception coverage, which may sound strange to some but in over 10 years selling albums to brides where they choose the pictures, I'll give them 70 images for their album, 90% choose no reception 'candids', often no garter bouquet shots even, never dollar dance pics.
 
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Most of us here would rather have them "save money" on a less expensive photography bill than hire a less expensive DJ. Where there might be a problem is if the shooter does nothing during the hour or so of dinner.

The trend of shooting by the hour rather than the event has become very popular in our region. If it hasn't yet where others are, it is strongly suggested the question of shooter's time on the job becomes a part of your Event Planner, or at minimum, part of the pre-contract or post-contract discussions.

My whole thought process about the upfront hundred yard dash jammit-all-in before salad has had to change, begrudgingly.

One HUGE fall out from this upfront jammit all in is that any unexpected delay, even just 10 minutes, dramatically effects food quality and service, therefore, as their event expert, our clients absolutely must be advised of the potential landmine. Any (the word any is highly stressed) variation from the anticipated timing, plus or minus 10 minutes, could result in raw under-cooked chicken or well done shoe leather steaks. Yes, this means the pressure and stress of being precisely on time shifts to the customer. They may actually change their mind and extend the shooters hours. If they don't care, why should I?
 
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Using hours (for photo or dj or anything) makes sense in many ways....

"weddings from $299!!"...oh, 3 hours. $200 per hour for more time! - an easy upsell, low come-on price, etc.

A typical wedding for a DJ is 5 or 6 hours - but I've seen brides requesting 7, 8 even 9 hours!! "well, can you start at 4 and we have the hall till midnight"

It's worse for photogs - "well, we start hair at 9 am, so be there for that, and we have the hall till midnight!" That's a long long tiring day and you dont' get a break as a photog, except maybe (and only maybe) during dinner. Your're "on" the whole time.

Of course the flipside is brides that spread out all the 'events' of the reception..7pm first dance, 8pm garter, 9 pm money dance - grandma is gonna be gone by 8:30, anyone with young kids is gonna wanna leave too. I've seen 2/3 of the guests gone from some reception after the first dance/parent dance bit.
 
IceBurghDJ said:
Using hours (for photo or dj or anything) makes sense in many ways....

"weddings from $299!!"...oh, 3 hours. $200 per hour for more time! - an easy upsell, low come-on price, etc.

A typical wedding for a DJ is 5 or 6 hours - but I've seen brides requesting 7, 8 even 9 hours!! "well, can you start at 4 and we have the hall till midnight"

It's worse for photogs - "well, we start hair at 9 am, so be there for that, and we have the hall till midnight!" That's a long long tiring day and you dont' get a break as a photog, except maybe (and only maybe) during dinner. Your're "on" the whole time.

Of course the flipside is brides that spread out all the 'events' of the reception..7pm first dance, 8pm garter, 9 pm money dance - grandma is gonna be gone by 8:30, anyone with young kids is gonna wanna leave too. I've seen 2/3 of the guests gone from some reception after the first dance/parent dance bit.
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I often explain the "scam" (short on hours) that some of the low-budget DJs use. When they start finding out all the ways vendors nickel-and-dime it works in my favor. I always bid a 5-hour block and I don't start tagging on OT until it goes significantly over. Can't tell you the last time I had a 7+ hours event (DJ-wise).

I've begun to feel the pain of always being "on" with photog. Wife busts my chops if I even think about selling over 8. We may still work 10 but as long as I don't sell it as such she's okay. On the guests leaving, that's precisely why I preach to effectively use the room focus events and space them out. I also rotate genres/tempos in 4-song blocks throughout the entire night. I usually start the floor with an anniversary dance, followed by an interview segment (photos) then hit a 70s funk piece, usually followed by cupid. I then start immediately mixing in modern dance pieces. At least around here if I work it this way it's practically never a miss and, for whatever reason, I hold most of them including grandma and the kiddies. It likely works differently in different markets though.
 
I've been experimenting with what to play when and how to keep them involved. It's fun, ok, not, when you pick a song and the floor empties..either you guess wrong or they wanted more of what you were doing and the mood just dies.

I do the first/parent dances then been opening with uptown funk and then do cha cha/cupid in that first half hour along with a slow dance or two before the garter bouquet or anniversary dance if they're doing one. I try to put 'participation' songs in every block - ymca, twist, tootsie roll, gangnam style, etc. I keep the more modern stuff till after the events are done and grammy is about to leave - the younger drunker ones are more likely to dance then.
I don't play as much motown as I should.
 
IceBurghDJ said:
I've been experimenting with what to play when and how to keep them involved. It's fun, ok, not, when you pick a song and the floor empties..either you guess wrong or they wanted more of what you were doing and the mood just dies.

I do the first/parent dances then been opening with uptown funk and then do cha cha/cupid in that first half hour along with a slow dance or two before the garter bouquet or anniversary dance if they're doing one. I try to put 'participation' songs in every block - ymca, twist, tootsie roll, gangnam style, etc. I keep the more modern stuff till after the events are done and grammy is about to leave - the younger drunker ones are more likely to dance then.
I don't play as much motown as I should.
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Try this out and see if it works for you. Do NOT play your hottest piece first. The first song (or so) are give-aways and rarely will suddenly fill the dance floor. I throw something like "Play That Funky Music White Boy" or "Brick House" on first (after the Anniversary dance). If a bunch of people jump up then I've got a do-no-wrong kinda night. The 2nd piece is always "Cupid Shuffle". It's nowhere near as long as "Cha Cha" and that 4 minutes they've had to wait will often have the dancers itching to hit the floor. Hit that 2nd piece with a decent, everybody-knows-it cut and the floor will happen. I then start working semi-newer, hip-hop pieces and will pop the top cut (Uptown Funk right now) about 6 cuts into the first dance set. Build a crescendo with your floor and don't get discouraged when it empties. That simply means its time for a mis-direct. Flip to a slow song, or an oldies genre ("The Twist"), or BeeGees/YMCA/Shout, etc. Keep flipping that thing all night long and you won't have to worry about panicking over losing a floor. You'll have another back within 5 minutes and everyone in attendance will get something they like.
 
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azdeejay said:
Ahh, ok, now I get what you were saying, I agree.
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I've seen it a lot in my market. It's highly effective, whenever I let prospects in on the little gotchas and it seems to put them more at ease with me. One of my competitors sub-contracted to me for a while. He even scammed me a few times by pitching a 4-hour event then I'd always get an OT invoice the following week. It happened 2-3 times before I found replacements and stopped using them. He's basically out of the DJ biz at this point and selling photobooths.
 
Never thought of doing less hours for less money a scam. I did one wedding this year at my 3 hour party package rate just to fill the date. I was actually surprised when they ended up wanted me a couple of hours later and paid for it. If the party would have fizzled out, I would have ended up with less money. Come to think of it, that would be an incentive to do a better job.
 
Jas said:
Never thought of doing less hours for less money a scam. I did one wedding this year at my 3 hour party package rate just to fill the date. I was actually surprised when they ended up wanted me a couple of hours later and paid for it. If the party would have fizzled out, I would have ended up with less money. Come to think of it, that would be an incentive to do a better job.
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If you're taking a kid's birthday party, and you know it's only going to run 2-3 hours, then it's not a scam. However, if you're taking a wedding, knowing it's going to run 5 hours and you quote a 3 hours price while knowing you're going to bill OT, you're scamming.
 
Incidentally, I just got a photography lead in for next September. 40 guests and they've asked for 10 hours. My wife has threatened me to not book past 8 hours. I'm very doubtful we'll get it but I did our standard $1,450, which is stipulated at 8 hours on our website. If it runs over we'll just cover it, no OT.
 
rickryan.com said:
If you're taking a kid's birthday party, and you know it's only going to run 2-3 hours, then it's not a scam. However, if you're taking a wedding, knowing it's going to run 5 hours and you quote a 3 hours price while knowing you're going to bill OT, you're scamming.
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I wasn't scamming. I thought the client was scamming me! He didn't want cocktail or dinner music and didn't mind me setting up while guests were present.
 
Jas said:
I wasn't scamming. I thought the client was scamming me! He didn't want cocktail or dinner music and didn't mind me setting up while guests were present.
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Believe it or not, some people are like that. They don't care - even after you explain what that might look like. That's one of the times when you have to decide if this event is for you or not.
 
ittigger said:
Believe it or not, some people are like that. They don't care - even after you explain what that might look like. That's one of the times when you have to decide if this event is for you or not.
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Cheap, no-class gigs are always the biggest PITA. In a case like this, if they wanted me to setup in front of their guests, all in effort to save $100, I'd pass.
 
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