Re: [Leica] re: most important person at a wedding?

["Ted Bayer" <tedbayer@charter.net>]

Ted, friend, I had to laugh my head off reading this.  Brings me back 50
years ago when I did those "misery days" of shooting - sometimes two in one
day.  And three or four on some weekends.  Holding the 4X5 Linhof in one
hand, the huge strobe in the other, a ton of battery on one shoulder and a
wallet of sheet film holders over the other.

But looking back, it was a good learning experience.  You could offer me the
moon and I wouldn't do another one.  ;-)

Anyway, did truly enjoy your rant.  It made my day.

Blessings, and best wishes for a great New Year.

The other Ted in Olalla


- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ted Grant" <tedgrant@shaw.ca>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2003 3:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Leica] re: most important person at a wedding?


> JCB said:
> Subject: [Leica] re: most important person at a wedding?
> > Also, I've seen weddings shot journalistically. They were just OK. The
> > clients liked the photographs, but in the end, missed having the
> > traditional photographs. There should have been two photographers. One
> > shooting traditional Hasselblad and the other shooting reportage
Leica.<<<
>
> JCB,
> But why Hassie and not a Leica in competant hands?  Or as I had to do as a
> rookie comercial shooter for a company... use 4X5 Speed Graphic, flash
bulbs
> and the list of mandatory photos in your pocket not to miss any of "the
most
> important pictures of the wedding!"
>
> Hell there's a wedding guy here in Canada that sells a set of playing type
> cards for wedding shooters with all the mandatory poses and pictures with
> the light setting angles and chalk marks on the floor where to set them,
for
> about $100.00 bucks a pop. But he guarantees if you follow the card set
ups
> you'll make a fortune from the wedding as every sitaution will be perfect.
>
> I've seen the results by some shooters.....aaahhhhhhhkkkkkkkkk!!!! cough,
> cough, puke !
>
> I'll take an experinced photojournalist doing a wedding any day for the
best
> pictures that show the bride, her mother and few snaps of the groom
that'll
> blow away any fancy set up where everything looks like it's cut from a
> catalogue crap!
>
> Obviously you'll appreciate I hate weddings. And a carry over from the old
> man here, my son Scott  a professional shooter with his own business has
> special business cards printed boldly on the back....."I DON'T DO
WEDDINGS!"
> And hands them out as soon as the word wedding comes from the mouth of a
> prospective bride or anyone looking for a wedding shooter.
>
> But if one is stupid enough to do them, they should be wise enough to
charge
> exorbitant rates to off set the agony of doing them. I mean why would any
> photographer subject him/herself to an agonizing day of misery unless
you're
> going to have major income return? And if you're not yer pretty stupid!
>
> I believe I've told you how I finally ended people asking me to do their
> wedding. Very simple, as I started out with a set fee for the complete
shoot
> including film. When the day was finished I handed all the film to the
best
> man if he weren't too drunk to look after it.
>
> He in turned handed me in "cash" the sum agreed upon by the bride and
groom
> in our final arrangements, one thousand dollars. They got all the film had
> it processed and printed and I never heard from them again. I thought the
> thousand would deter people, hell all it did was get me more requests
> because the bride would show what and how I shot theirs, so their friends
> wanted the same thing.
>
> Quick fix I thought!  Charge two thousand that'll get rid of them! It did,
a
> few, but they kept coming.... OK lets kick ass and it went to four
thousand
> and that killed off a bunch of them, but there was always some idiot
stupid
> enough to get married with more money than brains, so it went to five
> thousand!    ... I gave them film they gave me 5 big ones cash and I'm
> history.  It worked, as only a few over the years have been stupid enough
to
> pay me 5 thousand and it's the easiest money you can make for a one day of
> misery picture taking. :-)
>
> But I still hate it and these days I absolutely refuse..... however? If
the
> price were right I might be persuaded. ;-)
>
> ted
>
>
>
>
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>


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