This Can’t Be Serious…
I try hard not to let Craigslist ads upset me. Most of the time, it’s just people who really don’t understand the kind of time photographers put into their work and the sort of overhead and cost of materials for a fullday of event photography, like a wedding. But this?? Here’s the ad:
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Looking for a photographer that can shoot ceremony and reception. Need the following 1-Premium 8 x 10, wedding album (photos sealed inside the album), 1-16 x 20 framed portrait, 2-8 x 10’s, 4-5 x 7’s, and 150 proof book with 2 parent albums and 50 thank you notes. all negatives on CD ( a comparable package would be considered). Can only spend $1000- $1100. Thank you
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This person is looking for 3 albums, a FRAMED 16×20 , other prints, a proof book, 50 thank you notes AND a release of all the images on a CD. For $1,000.
::Blink::
::Blink:: ::Blink::
The only thing I can think here is that she must not realize that WE, THE PHOTOGRAPHERS have to pay for the cost of printing all these things. They don’t pop out of the sky from the magical printers with a free code all photographers have for products.
Those prints, albums and proofs alone would probably cost me close to the $1,000 she/he was paying. Then factor in me having to design the album pages, design the thank you cards, frame the portrait and not to mention, ohhhh, PHOTOGRAPH THE WEDDING. I’m only taking home $200 after a full day of shooting and weeks of post production? Crazy.
The only thing making me feel slightly better is that maybe, JUST MAYBE, she/he meant that the $1,000 would just be the cost of the products she wants. And then shooting time would be on top of that.
It might be unlikely, but to make myself feel better and hopefully sleep tonight, that’s what I’m going to believe.
January 18th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Well, I suppose you could get the photos printed at WalMart and get the albums and frames at the dollar store. That oughta make your take about $300 instead of $200. *lol*
I’d love to disparage the poster like I would someone making similar claims on a freelance writer, but I can’t really blame an individual for not knowing how business actually works. This is, of course, assuming that it’s an individual posting this for their own wedding, and not a coordinator or similar who would then mark up the cost for their own invoice.
January 19th, 2010 at 5:44 am
I think some people just seriously don’t get it.
To be honest, I’d have no idea what the albums and stuff cost, and I’m guessing the photography studios can get the materials for cheaper because they’re getting them in bulk…
But I have to assume that this person put it up on craigslist looking to get a freelancer who was desperate enough to shortchange themselve (I’m getting very disgruntled with people on craigslist).
Some of the people looking to get you to research and write intricate articles for basically pennies, it just galls me. I mean seriously, some of these people want to pay $1.00 for an article - wtf? And then they make it sound like that’s a good thing - they’re short seo articles and I’ll give you a batch of 500, woo hoo… and it’s eaaaasy… okay, if it’s so easy, do it yourself. idiots.
Oh, that was fun. Must come to colleen’s to rant more often:-) That’s one of the reasons I haven’t been looking actively for freelance - just if something good comes along kind of thing. I’ve been working more on articles and the fiction. Fiction pays nothing, but articles in regional magazines do, and they’re waaaaay more fun to write.
January 19th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Hey Word and Merry!
True….and I hope you’re both right. That it’s just, someone has a budget of $1,000 for their wedding photography. And that’s fine; you can absolutely find a photographer to shoot for that price; I even might!
But I just think that if you were getting married (or doing anything that involved large sums of money), wouldn’t you check around? Research what things typically cost? And not even so not to insult people, but just for the simple fact of not getting ripped off yourself. A 5-10 min google search would have explained what a typical $1,000 wedding photography package would get you. And then, of course with the economy, you could try to bargain and get a few things extra. Or contact students to save a little extra money.
And I feel the same way when people post ads for writers where they’re offering $1 or $2. It’s just…you look at them and can do nothing but shake your head. Because explaining it probably won’t change how they think. And yes, if it’s SO EASY, pick up a pen and write your own 500 short articles.
BLARG. Frustrating.