This morning after staying up incredibly late to finish working on an event, I got up very early to bring my 06 Jetta into the VW dealership for its 40k service. They told me when I made the appointment that this is one of the first major services for the car and it is going to run about $500. After I got over the initial shock of such a high price, I made the appointment. I feel like it was even more of a shock considering every time I go to the gas pump the price for gas continues to sky rocket. Two days ago it was $3.89 a gallon, absolutely crazy! Anyways, my car service is going to take at least 4 hours so I decided to walk across the street to the local Starbucks and get my caramel light frappichino and turkey bacon egg sandwich. Now I have never been one of those people who open up their laptop next to their cup of coffee and get work done at a Starbucks, but strangely I see the appeal. The combination of relaxing music, coffee and laid back atmosphere is really appealing at this early morning hour. I hope I don’t get bored here anytime soon because it will be at least an hour and a half before Kathleen can pick me up.
Ok, I think I am going to take this time to go over some things that I have been meaning to blog for quite some time. I want to talk to you all about my packages, the things that we offer and why we price the way we do. I apologize if this post is lengthy.
In my opinion there are two schools of thought as far wedding photography goes. No, I am not talking about photojournalism vs. traditional, or Canon vs. Nikon, I am talking about giving digital negatives vs. not giving digital negatives. When I started this business and started shooting weddings, I put a lot of thought to the way I wanted things to go. I asked myself, “What would I want in my own wedding photography?”
One thing that has always been incredibly important to me was to make sure all my clients received their images from their wedding day. I am very proud to say that from day one, I have always included a disc of all the full-resolution edited (color corrected, etc) images with full rights to print. When a client comes to me and asks me to photograph their wedding, it is my belief that they should get just that, the photographs from their wedding day. I don’t want to go from a photographer on their wedding day to a print sales person afterwards. I would rather give my clients a great experience where the one thing that they don’t have to worry about on (or after) their wedding day is their photography.
As a side story, I recently re-did my mother and father-in-law’s wedding album from 1971. That was such a different time in wedding photography. Their entire album was comprised of 18 images, your read that right, 18 images. And what is even crazier is that was ALL of the images they had from their wedding day. They couldn’t afford to purchase anymore prints from the photographer. So basically even though there were many more than 18 photos taken, those photos were never seen or experienced by anyone but the photographer. My in-laws never got to feel the emotions that those photos could have helped them remember from their day. Photography (then) for that photographer was very much about the bottom line, it was about how many reprints and enlargements he could sell to capitalize on their wedding.
All of my wedding photography packages INCLUDE a disc (actually 2 copies) of your wedding images from your entire day, and yep they are the full resolution, non-watermarked photos. No matter which package your choose, I include 2 copies of the disc so that you could put one in a safe place (such as a safety deposit box of safe) and the other one you can simply enjoy. You can view your photos, or e-mail them to your family or friends; you can even make prints on your own. (Of course I offer some really cool options for printing such as high quality prints, enlargements, canvas’ etc). But my point is that it is YOUR wedding day. You hired me to do a service and I want to provide that service all the way through.
So as far as my packages and package pricing, we offer only the best. Our photo lab is one of the best photo labs in the country and our album company (Kambara) is by far one of the finest album binding companies anywhere. These albums are not just any albums; they are completely custom albums that they fit the personalities of you. And best of yet, they are guaranteed for life. We have put a lot of thought into every detail of our wedding photography packages so you can relive your wedding day for many years to come!
So yes, there are less expensive options out there. There are ways to cut corners and save a couple of dollars here and there. I believe that this is a day that deserves a little more. As far as all the brides-to be, you have been thinking about your wedding day probably from the moment you heard the word wedding. I know that this is not just a day for you; it is something much much more. It is something that you have been dreaming about and feeling for more years than you can remember. Now that you have met that perfect person for you, the one that completes you, you get to finally have your wedding day. I want to capture that day for you so you can relive it every day of your life and share it with your own kids and your own family one day. I want you to “Dream It, Live It, Keep It… Forever”.
I would love to sit down with you and learn all about your day and show you all that your wedding photography can be. I LOVE what I do and I would love to share my passion for photography with you. If you are getting married in 2009 this is the perfect time to setup a consultation at my studio. Simply give me a call at 203.615.3344 or send me an e-mail at rob@rjtpictures.com.
I hope everyone is having a great week. Check back later today or tomorrow for another post. I promise the next post will include a photo or photos or maybe even a slideshow.
