What a weird coincidence last night

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rickryan.com

DJ Extraordinaire
ODJT Supporter
Dec 9, 2009
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Hendersonville, TN
www.rickryan.com
Yesterday, we did a photog + dj package at a nice hotel venue. While I was setting up sound, I noticed a young lady being shown the facility by a staffer, obviously a Bride who was considering the hotel. I had cards at the ready, as it's often a good time to make a sales pitch. Unfortunately, they moved on in the tour and she didn't stop to speak. I finished my sound set, grabbed a camera, then headed upstairs to shot the Groomsmen.

After finishing with them, the next thing on my shot list was to shoot the outside of the hotel. When I finished that, I was headed back in the door when I noticed the young lady walking my direction. She asked me for a card, which I didn't have on me, and we struck up a conversation. Her wedding is, get this, next month (12/19) and is the identical size and layout as the event we were in the process of doing; 50 guests. I got a piece of paper and pen from the valet as I asked her name. She told me and I stuck out my hand and said "I'm Rick Ryan. It's nice to meet you." She looked at me, really shocked and said, "Did you say Rick Ryan? I just emailed you this afternoon." Sure enough, she had apparently emailed for a quote on photo+DJ. I offered her the same package we were in the process working; 2 photogs (8 hours coverage) plus 1 DJ/MC (5 hours) for $1,995. Her comment, "Wow, that's a great price." I also offered to throw in 10 uplighting fixtures at the same price. If we get it, that will put us at 4, photo+DJ gigs within 6 weeks. It also thrilled me to see her reaction at the value. I just hope I didn't scare her away by being too cheap.
 
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Oh yea, the event last night went off fantastic. Strange family situations going on and there was plenty of drama. The hotel's event director actually quit last week, leaving everyone in a lurch. We just did our normal thing and at the end of the night, the young lady came up to me and said, "Thank you so much. Everything was wonderful. I don't think we could've gotten through this without you guys".
 
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You should ask this bride how she found you when she emailed you earlier yesterday!

I stopped my Google Adwords campaign on October 22nd. I have not received a single direct email inquiry since I stopped it. However, I know that November and December are the SLOWEST months for booking future events, and felt that continuing to pay for clicks would be a waste. I was paying a marketing company $150 per month to manage the ads, and the clicks were costing me bewtween $250 and $350 per month with the month of April being insane with click through taking. I think that month I spent about $600 total.

I plan to go back to google adwords in January, but it get's expensive!
 
You should ask this bride how she found you when she emailed you earlier yesterday!

I stopped my Google Adwords campaign on October 22nd. I have not received a single direct email inquiry since I stopped it. However, I know that November and December are the SLOWEST months for booking future events, and felt that continuing to pay for clicks would be a waste. I was paying a marketing company $150 per month to manage the ads, and the clicks were costing me bewtween $250 and $350 per month with the month of April being insane with click through taking. I think that month I spent about $600 total.

I plan to go back to google adwords in January, but it get's expensive!

I've dabbled with google adwords with no success. In the past couple of months I've been experimenting with facebook ads. Had gotten a lot of page likes but can't say I've seen any actual bookings. I have to think though, that FB ads will stick around longer since, after they click like, they'll continue getting my feeds. I've been doing extremely targeted ads and averaging $150 per month outlay.
 
A few things..

Excellent feeling RR in that she was tracking you down. I hate it when I go to pull a card from my wallet and find that I've given them all out.

In regards to Ricky B's inquiry about Google Adwords.....I think I've seen him mention if before. I've never tried them, but did look into it one. For me, I guess I'm lucky in that my SEO is really keyed into my area.

And, I second the success with FB adverts. I love the targeting options and the instant feedback I can visually see through the FB stats and my online stats as I'm working a FB campaign. It allows you to tweak things if you see things not going as expected.
 
Thanks Randy. I emailed that prospect this morning and included one shot from last night.
Nashville_Wedding_Photographer_Photography_DJ_MC_Lighting_Photobooth_Franklin_Bowling_Gallatin.jpg
 
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Cool Shot!

You know what I've always wanted to see as a visual side by side comparison from a photographer. A comparison of a photo taken with a High end Smart phone such as a Galaxy S6 or IPhone 6, and the same shot taken with the typical DSLR camera that a photographer uses.

I'd love to see the differences.

...A Photographer did this like 4 years ago on Wedding Wire, but it was a IPhone 2 compared to a Nikon D90 I think. Of course there was a huge difference at the time as the IPhone 2 had like a 3 megapixel camera.
 
Megapixels aren't the difference, though the camera on a 2 was significantly crappier than today's.

Almost any photographer will tell you that past 6-7MP it doesn't matter a whole lot, but the lenses are where the picture is at.

It's extremely common for a lens to cost more than the camera body - sometimes many times more.

The off-camera flash is another crucial aspect.

I'd love to see the side by side though, for sure. For a flat image the gap is probably closing, but you don't get any depth of field on a phone or point and shoot.


Sent from my mobile device.
 
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My Galaxy S6 can do 16 mp, so I would think I could print a large 9x13 no problem with that if I had to. I was told by a photographer a few years ago who's top camera could do 21 mp that his 21 mp camera would have no problem doing bill board photos.

I remember during the recession seeing so many Photographers (many newbies) using just a Canon Rebel, and having only one lense to use with it. I wonder how great the wedding photos ended up. I saw that a lot between 2008 and 2012. I wonder if any photographers can use such a basic DSLR with a lense, and get away with charging Mid level to Premium rates on the regular. ...Being a photographer with such a small camera investment and doing a boat load of bookings that pay well sounds like a great way to make money.

Would brides know/see the difference, or care what camera the photographer is using?
 
Well, to post an update, I'm still waiting on the Bride to give me the thumbs up but I just received an email from one of her friends (she told me the first girl gave her my name) and sent a quote for DJ and Uplighting for her 6/26/16 wedding. I went ahead and offered the same package as the first girl ($1,995). Kinda cool when a girl you haven't even booked yet is now referring you to others. Fingers crossed.
 
So what was the price you quoted this potential bride that you feel she might think is too cheap? Why would you even say this in the first place.? Did you quote her a price based on the service you provide or just a price you felt will win you the gig? Is it that you figured I need to quote her a price she can't refuse?

Sorry I just saw your post about the price. What was your motivation for that price?
 
My Galaxy S6 can do 16 mp, so I would think I could print a large 9x13 no problem with that if I had to. I was told by a photographer a few years ago who's top camera could do 21 mp that his 21 mp camera would have no problem doing bill board photos.

I remember during the recession seeing so many Photographers (many newbies) using just a Canon Rebel, and having only one lense to use with it. I wonder how great the wedding photos ended up. I saw that a lot between 2008 and 2012. I wonder if any photographers can use such a basic DSLR with a lense, and get away with charging Mid level to Premium rates on the regular. ...Being a photographer with such a small camera investment and doing a boat load of bookings that pay well sounds like a great way to make money.

Would brides know/see the difference, or care what camera the photographer is using?
The funniest thing for me is I have a Canon T3i. It's the best camera I've ever owned. The funny part is that when some people see me with that camera at an event they think I'm a photographer. I have to tell them no I'm not. I'm a DJ.

It's called biting off more than you can chew. Anyone can take pictures and a good camera can do a nice job but that doesn't make you a professional photographer. There's more to it then just simply pushing the button to snap a picture. That's just like there's more to DJing then simply pushing buttons. Just because you can push play doesn't mean you know what you're doing.
 
So what was the price you quoted this potential bride that you feel she might think is too cheap? Why would you even say this in the first place.? Did you quote her a price based on the service you provide or just a price you felt will win you the gig? Is it that you figured I need to quote her a price she can't refuse?

Sorry I just saw your post about the price. What was your motivation for that price?

Holy Shit. This dude right here. Read Macho.
 
Like I said I'm sorry for not catching the price he gave the bride. Please don't take this part personal. I get what your aim is. To be a one stop shop business. You can get more than just a DJ here. Think this over before you respond.

Aren't you doing what some of us complain about? Aren't you undercutting someone else by offering so much for such a low price? Then you said you're throwing in 10 up lights for free. What about the DJ that undercuts your price? You don't like that do you?

Do you even know what a good professional photographer charges to take pictures at a wedding on average? How much are you paying those guys to work for you to take pictures? Just playing devil's advocate.

What you are doing may be a big reason why some photographs are hurting right because of such practices. Now don't get me wrong with this. I have a friend that moved out of state where his brother lives. He moved there to learn from his brother about photography. His brother has been all over the world shooting weddings. He gets paid 10-30k to shoot weddings. So what you're doing isn't affecting him one bit.

Now what about the one that was used to getting paid between 3 and 5k to shoot a wedding. He you come along knocking that person out the box. Or either they get forced to lower their price just to stay in business. Especially if you're providing super high quality for such a cheap price.
That's no different then the DJ who provides a premium service for such a ridiculously low price. Like I said this is not to beat you down. All of this is just for discussion.
 
Like I said I'm sorry for not catching the price he gave the bride. Please don't take this part personal. I get what your aim is. To be a one stop shop business. You can get more than just a DJ here. Think this over before you respond.

Aren't you doing what some of us complain about? Aren't you undercutting someone else by offering so much for such a low price? Then you said you're throwing in 10 up lights for free. What about the DJ that undercuts your price? You don't like that do you?

Do you even know what a good professional photographer charges to take pictures at a wedding on average? How much are you paying those guys to work for you to take pictures? Just playing devil's advocate.

What you are doing may be a big reason why some photographs are hurting right because of such practices. Now don't get me wrong with this. I have a friend that moved out of state where his brother lives. He moved there to learn from his brother about photography. His brother has been all over the world shooting weddings. He gets paid 10-30k to shoot weddings. So what you're doing isn't affecting him one bit.

Now what about the one that was used to getting paid between 3 and 5k to shoot a wedding. He you come along knocking that person out the box. Or either they get forced to lower their price just to stay in business. Especially if you're providing super high quality for such a cheap price.
That's no different then the DJ who provides a premium service for such a ridiculously low price. Like I said this is not to beat you down. All of this is just for discussion.

I'll respond. You have no clue what doing business is, how to build a client base, nor how to price your services. Your opinion means nothing to me. Now go away.
 
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Like I said I'm sorry for not catching the price he gave the bride. Please don't take this part personal. I get what your aim is. To be a one stop shop business. You can get more than just a DJ here. Think this over before you respond.

Aren't you doing what some of us complain about? Aren't you undercutting someone else by offering so much for such a low price? Then you said you're throwing in 10 up lights for free. What about the DJ that undercuts your price? You don't like that do you?

Do you even know what a good professional photographer charges to take pictures at a wedding on average? How much are you paying those guys to work for you to take pictures? Just playing devil's advocate.

What you are doing may be a big reason why some photographs are hurting right because of such practices. Now don't get me wrong with this. I have a friend that moved out of state where his brother lives. He moved there to learn from his brother about photography. His brother has been all over the world shooting weddings. He gets paid 10-30k to shoot weddings. So what you're doing isn't affecting him one bit.

Now what about the one that was used to getting paid between 3 and 5k to shoot a wedding. He you come along knocking that person out the box. Or either they get forced to lower their price just to stay in business. Especially if you're providing super high quality for such a cheap price.
That's no different then the DJ who provides a premium service for such a ridiculously low price. Like I said this is not to beat you down. All of this is just for discussion.

What exactly would you charge for this same gig Mix? When was the last time you got $1995 for any event you did?
 
I wouldn't know what to quote this bride for the job as I never spoke to the bride to find out any of the details about her wedding. I would need to communicate with the client before I could give them a price quote.

I know I wouldn't provide any photography because I'm not a photographer, I made that post for discussion. I didn't make that post to put anybody down.

Now for those who are getting paid 1k or more consistently combat what he was offering with all of the things he mentioned? How much would that effect your business and what you charge if at all? My company doesn't offer all of that by itself. I would contact out certain things people I know that can do that part.