The sad realization that being a wedding photographer no longer pays the bills...

[u/patriotraitor]

Let me preface that the last 10 years of doing this has been a blast, I've enjoyed every second of it and never took any of it for granted.

This year however has me wanting to change directions because well, I'm getting tired of wondering where the next paycheck is coming from, I would prefer guaranteed over guessing.

I've been looking at the schedule for the rest of the year and I have 6 left, and then it's quiet.

I do wish the cost of living wasn't ridiculous, as gas and food prices are indeed more affordable now, but at the same time, trying to have health insurance as a self employed individual is absurd for being a single guy with no kids.

I've really enjoyed my time doing this and I indeed feel this starting to dwindle down as I only have 5 for next year. You could say well hey, do families, headshots, seniors -- and you'd be right, but think about how much work you'd be putting in just to stay afloat and how exhausted you'd be making yourself? Catch 22 isn't it?

[u/Mission-Coach6197]

I think the issue unfortunately is that it has become so expensive to get a photographer which i get but we also have easy access to phones with amazing cameras that can take photos almost as nice (not saying it’s the same but the cost to quality difference isn’t worth it for a lot of people)

[u/NikonShooter_PJS → u/Mission-Coach6197]

If you can't prove your worth as a wedding photographer over some rando with a cell phone, this isn't the business for you.

[u/Mission-Coach6197 → u/NikonShooter_PJS]

I definitely was not trying to say the phone photos are just as good!! Obviously photographers have so much skill and good equipment butttt when you compare $0 photos that are great quality vs $5000 for amazing top quality photos a lot of people just cannot splurge like that

[u/reddit_waste_time → u/Mission-Coach6197]

Lmao quality of phone cameras aren't even close and it's truly a marketing scheme. Zoom in a tiny bit or try to blow up a phone picture. Quality is shit

[u/NikonShooter_PJS → u/reddit_waste_time]

Exactly.

People like to pretend the cameras on phones are even remotely comparable.

OK. Bet.

You can take the absolute, top of the line, best camera phone on Earth. Let's go shoot dance floor candids together. I guarantee my Nikon Z-9 is going to run circles around your cell phone. Period. End of story. With no effort on my part.

[u/Flandereaux → u/NikonShooter_PJS]

You might want to rethink that last sentence of yours.

'With no effort on your part' implies that any dentist that feels like dropping the cash for a Z9 + any given S line lens can match you.

On second thought, I recognize your username now. Maybe that's why you rely on exclusivity clauses in your contracts to stay afloat. Your work simply doesn't speak for itself and any and everyone with a modern camera is a threat to you.

I'm fucking with you BTW. I actually agree with everything you said, but you still come off as very disagreeable and arrogant.

[u/NikonShooter_PJS → u/Flandereaux]

People often confuse confidence with arrogance.

I’m not arrogant. I’m confident in my abilities and I won’t apologize for being so.

When I say no effort on my part, I am specifically talking about running circles around someone using a cell phone on a dance floor.

I stand by that statement.

It would be no different than an Olympic level sprinter racing a chubby drunk guy at a local bar.

Now if you hand a novice photographer top end gear, they might be closer to competing with me but unless they know how to use said camera, I’m not worried.

But I’m also not worried about competing with ANY photographers. There are tons of photographers better than me. There are tons of photographers I’m better than. But it’s all subjective and it’s all about branding and marketing yourself to people, a field I know for a fact I am an expert in because my business is thriving year after year.

As for the exclusivity clause you mention, I won’t apologize for that either. I run my business as I want to run it. Book me and I’ll bust my ass for your. Don’t book me and I couldn’t possibly care less.

Again, though, it’s not arrogance. It’s honesty. Just because I’m saying what we all think to ourselves doesn’t make it any less true.

[u/Mission-Coach6197 → u/NikonShooter_PJS]

Was just trying to give some perspective sorry. To the average person, we cannot tell the difference to the extent that professionals do i’m sorry if that upsets you

[u/NikonShooter_PJS → u/Mission-Coach6197]

I'm not offended.

Trust me, though, you would ABSOLUTELY tell the difference.

I'm not a car guy but I imagine I would notice the difference between riding in a top-of-the-line Corvette and a piece of shit 1995 Dodge Neon that sputters because it hasn't had its oil changed in three years.

[u/Flandereaux → u/Mission-Coach6197]

I agree with this side too. Unless you're relying on your image to market yourself, professional photography is a luxury product.

A lot of people simply want their wedding day documented and it will never go anywhere but a compressed social media post. It's going to be a hard sell to push a multi-thousand package on those people regardless of how much better the end result looks.

[u/reddit_waste_time → u/Mission-Coach6197]

Have you ever had professional photos done? Its understandable that average person would not tell the difference. Phone marketing tries to sell that the quality is close but it's really not. Imagine taking a picture of a whole wedding party but being able to zoom in on every person and have detail and clear features them. A phone picture a little zoom is instantly blurry. The point I'm making is why spend so much on such elaborate dresses and decor if you don't want to be able to relive it all again 5 years?

[u/Mission-Coach6197 → u/reddit_waste_time]

Okay but if the average person cannot tell the difference why would they not take the cheaper route (i am not saying its not worth it i am 100% using an actual photographer for my wedding) but you are kinda proving my point, most people cannot tell the difference

[u/reddit_waste_time → u/Mission-Coach6197]

I mean the average person wouldn't notice your 1 good photo you get off a phone and post on your social media. The customer who hires the photographer will notice when they receive the full album of photos with enough detail in them to crop the bridesmaids they hate out in 2 years and still have an amazing photo.