wedding book prices

I have had a couple of requests to photograph weddings for friends of friends.
They have both asked about books.
First the disclaimer: They are both budget shoots, they can't afford pro wedding photographers so I am keeping my prices as low as possible but explaining that there will be definite limits to what I can offer as a result. So I don't feel like I am damaging the industry by offering a limited service at a lower price.

I have said I will get back to them with a price for books based on the number of pages, quality and my time etc.

Cheeky question if you don't mind?
Anyone have any ball-park figures for an 'adequate' quality book package?

www.blurb.com will give you the answers on cost for a high quality product.

Doing this for friends of friends though is not the same as doing it for close relatives or close friends. Personally I'd say no. They may want the earth for nothing and could cause you loads of hassle.

Thanks John, I have made it clear that it takes a long time to prepare the photos afterwards and I will need to be paid my normal business rate for this work.
They understand, and are happy with that, but I don't have any experience of how long it actually takes! and I don't want any nasty shocks for them or me.

Incidentally, anyone want to rent me their DA*50-135 for the events?

A day for the photography at the wedding, preferably you and an assistant.

The first time, two days Photoshopping and preparing the book. Then set your price for the book on Blurb and let them buy from there! If they buy lots of books, you'll have the profit on those.

As for your time, that should really be three days worth...it won't be cheap.

John's advice is spot-on...

I know a friend of a friend who did a photobook for friends, the 'friends' baulked at the price (this was after the book was prepared...) and the friendship has cooled....

The wedding photographer's tasks are unkown by the general public, often people just assume the tog takes the pictures, sends them to the lab down the road, stick them in an album and hey presto Having done the same for 'friends', they forget that the tog has to prepare for the day, endure hassles, edit the photos and prepare the presentation, before dealing with the reprint order (another minefield)...

Making a book for myself takes a number of hours, and I think John's estimate of 3 days may be a bit on the low side, as the couple will have requests for photos to be added... Then there will be the discussions about the price....too much hassle.

Sorry but I won't be able to offer you any advice apart from one thing;

Don't go to cheap on the photobooks as you really do pay for what you get!

I tried a cheaper version and I regretted it straight away, they were TicTac Pro, based in Belgium. Cheap and nasty.

I have my company based in Italy, but their cheapest is £350 each, not what you are looking for of course.

Paul

Sounding even worse than I thought! ah well...
I have gone with the Blurb books (thanks John).
I have quoted for a day's work on top of the printing costs. I think I'll be happy with that.
They have agreed.

Wish me luck

Paul - when you say book I take it you mean the complete article printed and bound? Italy seems a long way away.

Mike

That is printed and bound, but the book isn't that big, probably 8"x8" with 20 pages

Yes I agree, Italy is a long way away, but I have tried companies in this country and was not impressed at all. Tried this company in Italy and was gobsmacked by their quality. So we use them all the time now.

Paul

I did the photograhy for my sisters wedding - never again! The photos came out great, better than I expected and everyone was happy with them, but it was a lot of preparation and afterwards the editing took me ages. A lot of that is down to my editing skills though

I am sending my sister the jpegs so she can sort out the album/photobook herself - I've just started life as a junior doctor so you can imagine I haven't exactly got time for this now! If you're not too bothered about copyrighting somebodies photos for yourself (which some people seem to be) then this might be an option. Less work for you and less cost for them...

You'll see a lot of doomsayers (especially on another well known forum) who say if you've never shot a wedding before don't do it and tell them to hire a pro, but I reckon if you know what you're doing with a camera (which you obviously do from your portfolio), you're clear with them what is possible and what's not then go for it.

depending on how well you know the couple I'd consider getting something in writing though. sounds excessive but I do think that sometime people look at professional wedding photographers portfolio and think "X has got a good camera, I'm sure he could do photos like that". Luckily I haven't had any comments about my photos along the lines of "you must have a really great camera" yet

Nick

Here are the photos by the way link

Paul - thanks, the quality of both book and printing must be good at that cost but it is for life (or a few years depending on how cynical you are).

Mike

Thanks Nick.
Yes it was the first thing I said to both of them -'I'm just an beginner with limited equipment and no staff'.
And getting their acceptance in writing is very wise. I'll do that.

I have done one wedding before, purely for the experience (they didn't want a photographer at all) and it went fine, but as I took the 'CD full of JPEGs' route, it didn't take too long.

One of the worst things a wedding photographer has to endure (whether pro or amateur), and I've come across is the gonadally-challenged idiot who comes along with his latest 15MP compact and starts boasting that he has a 'better' camera

Another thing I came across was that there were very few problems relating to the couple all day... they were happy to pose, relax and chat with the photographer. It's only when the bridesmaids start holding everything up, mothers start thinking the day revolves around THEM, registrars or ministers accuse you of holding things up, fathers of the bride accuse you of being slow, friends making the group photos seem like a free-for-all that the day becomes stressful...The hassles with the couple start afterwards....

Not trying to put anyone off

Try to make as clear as possible what is to be done, either in terms of pictures as well as later (prints, books, etc). Clear what they can expect to pay (over estimate).
Managing expectations is crucial, and this should be in writing. This can be awkward with friends, if you don't feel comfortable doing this, just talk it over and over.
Managing the nerves, drunkenness, silliness or downright bitchiness of people in the wedding is a whole other thing.

Ha ha, thanks for the further advice...
I am currently writing my agreement.
How many pages is normal for a modest photo book?