Through the Lens

The 10 Commandments of a successful wedding photographer by Dominic Lee, AMPA

(1) Never ever take a booking without a booking fee, (average 10%, a deposit is refundable while a booking fee is non refundable).

(2) Never ever smoke or drink alcohol while working and always dress as if you are a guest at the wedding (if you want to dress like “an artist” then take up wild life photography).

(3) Never ever give the client printable files on DVD, (unless you intend changing career within 3 years. They will print them on cheap fax/copy paper using the printer they got free with the computer which has all the 4 colours of the rainbow in one cartridge!!!!).

(4) Never panic, (the word "patience" should not even be in your vocabulary).

(5) Always carry a spare camera & a spare flash with spare batteries, which are fully charged, (anyone wana buy my old Fuji S3?).

(6) Never take photographs during the Gospel or during the Consecration, (it’s as disrespectful as doing a jig during the Nation Anthem).

(7) Always tell the Bride to lie to the Hotel manager about the time of the ceremony by +2hours, (banqueting managers never ever get the timing right and they always and I mean always blame the photographer).

(8) Always advise the couple in writing that the price is only guaranteed for e.g. 3 months after the wedding and will increase annually by e.g. 20% (they can take years to place their order and guess who gets blamed for the delay?).

(9) Never wait till after the wedding to get the balance (did you ever hear of a bride & groom paying for their honeymoon when they got back? Most of them have paid the travel agent in full at least 6 months in advance).

(10) Treat all the guests with respect and courtesy, 90% of them will never see your work and will only remember your attitude on the day.

If you have any more Commandments please click on ADD COMMENT.

Regards, Dominic

IPWS - Sneak Preview

We are currently working on a new and even stronger website which will serve you better. The upgrade will feature many new and innovative features which will
maintain our position as Ireland's premier source of news for professional photographers. The introduction of the new site will involve a "little" work but we hope that you will see the gain out weighs the pain.

If any of you have comments or requests regarding the upgrade please tell us about them now - already we have been asked to separate Sports from Press/PR in the photographic categories of the directory. We have many other planned changes but please submit you requests and ideas to me and I will attempt to incorporate them in this and future upgrades.

How much are you worth?

The PA make no apologies for charging for photographers - why do we.

This website sets out clearly rates for photographers (in sterling) Too often I hear of photographers doing jobs for crazy prices. Get to know your costs and expenses, figure out a respectible fee which will give you a decent living and stick to your guns.

Regards

Alan M

The Good Ol’ Days by Dominic Lee

My Aunt nabbed me at a wedding recently and complained that I never sent her the photos from the last family event as promised.

I told her I had emailed them to her son but his mailbox was full so they bounced back to me. To which she replied: “well send them to me; if my mail box is full the Postman will just knock at door”.

So it’s little wonder that this same lady is bewildered with the notion that her daughters wedding album is costing exactly the same as the house & farm they bought back in the 50’s for £3000 (Old Irish Pounds).

Around that time Frank Gavin of Dorset Street was carving his name as a wedding photographer so I asked his son Joe for a page from his Dad’s old records to establish what a wedding album cost in the 50’s. An Album with 12 prints was £10 & 10 shillings (1953). A footnote mentioned “1 flash bulb used”.

I was a bit worried when I read: “2- E’s for 15 shillings” but then I realised the prints were numbered A to Z. The average shots taken on the day was between 12 & 20. (Joe would now take that many in the Brides bedroom!).

The photographer then raced home (on his bike) printed the lot and raced back to the reception in the sincere hope that he would get there before the other photographers who had also turned up at the church.

No such thing as an advance booking back then so the one who got to the reception first with the proofs made the best sale. There was simply no money left for the other guys when they arrived.

To put things in perspective, I found a motor magazine from 1955 (with my birth cert), advertising a brand new VW Beetle for £499, which is roughly what we now charge for one framed 12 inch family portrait.

But it’s still hard to imagine that our grandchildren could be paying the same amount for their wedding album as we paid for our house in the 90’s!

Dominic Lee, AMPA

Joe Duffy - get a life! by Dominic Lee, AMPA

If I received a voucher from Louis Copeland’s Menswear for 50 Euro and I came out of the store having purchased two new suits, several shirts & three ties, and if I then rang the Joe Duffy Show to complain about having to spend thousands on top of the voucher value, I would be told to get a life and stop wasting their time.

Please Joe, before you entertain such trivial complaints about photographer’s prices (again), ask them did the photographer drag them into the studio at gunpoint? Ask them were they tied down and tortured till they agreed to buy several portraits of their children?
            Tell them the same thing you would tell any other shopper who encounters a good sales person; that if the salesman allowed them to buy only goods to the value of the voucher and didn’t attempt a bigger sale that he would not be doing his job.

 
            Why do you feel the need to fuel their misguided belief that successful businesses must be “exposed” on the show? Silly question; we know the answer.

            Offering some form of discount is common across the spectrum of all business.
When supermarkets offer a “loss leader” they clearly intend that customers will buy more products when they're in the store.

So it's a discount to attract business. Where's the big mystery? Where's the conspiracy? It's on page two of The Idiots Guide to Marketing. Read it and get a life!

Dominic Lee

Bertie & Twink by Dominic Lee

Carla Bruni got 60,000 Euro and French President Nicolas Sarkozy got 1 Euro but RyanAir just gave us a lesson in how to get a shit load of publicity in every newspaper and TV channel around the world for the price of one advert in a magazine and a petty fine of 60,001 Euro.

Now where is that photo I took of Bertie & Twink?

PS It’s worth mentioning that RyanAir have offered to donate another 60,000 to a charity, very commendable.

Dominic Lee

Canon Spring Collection

I was at the Canon Spring collection in London last week. It was an impressive affair and Canon added two nice professional lenses to their range. For photographers starting out they also introduced an entry level SLR, the EOS 450D, which has many features which were historically the preserve of more expensive models. In addition they also launched a couple of attractive HD Video Cameras for those of you looking at moving into the multimedia arena. However what impressed me most about Canon was not the range of innovations to compliment their already extensive range but the plans they have to service the Irish market and build on their No1 position in the region. Canon already provide training on their products but now they hope to be more visible at various events providing on the spot advice and possibly on the spot servicing - if they can work out the logistics of same. They also offer a loan replacement for equipment should a customer have a problem. But these are just the top line plans that they chatted about with me. I am sure they have other plans which will be unveiled over the coming months. It is good to see a camera manufacturer taking a serious look at how they service the professional market in Ireland.

Charity! Why bother? by Dominic Lee, AMPA

Would you select the “Bob The Builder” over the others to add on your house extension because Bob raised 3 grand and devoted a week’s hard labour building a house in an African Shanty Town for charity? Not likely, and it’s also unlikely that a client will choose you as their photographer simply because you ran the marathon or sold a hundred calendars for a charity.

After sponsoring an event I heard the comment “but you must have done well from the publicity”. What a load of rot, whether you raise 3 grand or 30 grand I can honestly say that no one will take account of your charitable efforts when making a booking.

So why do it?

I suppose you need to start by considering what 'Charity' means. If it stems from an innate belief in the notion of a brotherhood of man, then it is perhaps because as humans we are programmed to want to share whatever it is life has bestowed upon us.

Imagine a world without charities.  It's a scary thought.  No body with a care to help the elderly, the down trodden, the disabled, the hungry or the poor. What a sad world that would be!

A quote by Sally Koch: - "Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us daily."

So don’t leave it to others, do you’re bit for charity. You will get diddley squat in terms of extra business but you will feel good when you lend a helping hand to a good cause.

Dominic

Dáil to debate rights of Freelance Photographers

Earlier this year, Michael D Higgins TD described the Competition Authority’s ruling that freelance actors, musicians, photographers, artists, and all those involved in atypical work cannot be represented by a trade union in a collective agreement as “illegal and in breach of a number of regulations.”

Next week in the Dail, the Labour Party is introducing its own Competition (Amendment Bill) which aims to

1. enable trade unions to organise and to negotiate collectively on behalf of individuals who enter into or work under contracts “personally to do or provide any work or services” – the emphasis being on the word “personally”.

2. allows for collective negotiation and bargaining in relation to the terms and conditions of a scheme whereby services are provided to the public by members of a trade, profession or vocation and paid for out of public funds.

They would welcome support in helping to get this Bill introduced.

Please contact your local TD either by phone,fax or email and ask them to support the Labour Party’s Billl when it is introduced next week.

Send their replies here.

Also Show your Support, by being in the Public Gallery when this issue is being debated in the Dail. If you would like to attend on either Nov. 27th or 28th from 7-8.30pm) then please contact Labour's Campaigns Officer, Cathy Flanagan, at 01.6784700

If you can’t make it to the Dail, then watch the debate on the live webcast.

Mooney doesn't rate photographers by Alan Murphy

During a recent broadcast RTE 1's Derek Mooney made a rather throw away remark about wedding photographers. (Slide the timer across to 26:30 to hear the offending remark and the lead up) Mooney's argument was that all brides should simply collect images from guests - after all the mobile phone pictures "are fantastic - Get rid of the photographer altogether!!"

While I have no argument with couples choosing not to employ a professional photographer for a presenter on the National airwaves to suggest that images from guests using disposal cameras and camera phones is comparable to using a professional photographer is wrong - if Derek wants to see real images I suggest he look at the websites of photographers listed in our directory.