Wow.  Mystic 5.  It’s over, it was amazing.  When my partner Jennie mentioned the conference months ago, I read through the itinerary and saw only one name, Joe McNally.  He was the reason I had signed on to go.  He’s been a hero of mine for quite awhile.  A veteran who’s shot the world and done it beautifully.  Now I’m ashamed to say that he was the only real reason I signed up.  The list of photographers that spoke at the event were a veritable who’s who of wedding photography.  I hesitate to list any of their names here because I would be remiss if I were to accidentally omit even a single one.  So instead of singing the praises of each individual photographer or company, I will convey to you what the broad brush stroke of the event left indelibly etched into my soul…

Each photographer or photography team got up and spoke masterfully in each of their own unique styles.  They poured their heart and message through the microphone and splashed amazing images upon the silver screen (and for those of you who were there, the HDTV’s   I listened, I agreed with a lot of things and disagreed with a few, too.  I learned a tremendous amount about off camera flash, fearless available light photography and gizmos that can save time and money.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that there was a message being put out by every voice.  A simple message that, were you not listening with your heart, you may have missed it.  I have a theory about shows like Mystic 5.  If you go to a show of that ilk, whatever the trade or service you provide, over the three or four days of the seminar, you should shoot to walk away with at least 3 or 4 great ideas or inspirations.  I may have gotten those from this event, but I am still processing the data so the verdict is still out.  But I will say, those ideas or inspirations are vastly overshadowed by the ONE message I know I received.  Here it is, the simple message, the one that I hope know will change my outlook on Jennie and my business… be brave.

My last blog post was honest, it was real… and it caused a firestorm of debate.  After going to Mystic 5 I no longer have any trepidations about that post.  I wrote from the heart, the same way Jennie and I make images.  We believe in what we do and we believe that our customers are smart, savvy and when they read a post like that from us, they know that their wedding photographers are honest.  You see, every photographer that was standing on that stage was able to convey their message about their art and business because they believed in their work.  By the end of the conference having seen all the presenters it dawned on me that for them to get there, they didn’t just have to be great photographers.  For a long time they were just photographers.  How did they get there… by being brave.  They took that leap of belief in themselves that helped them transcend mediocrity and become someone that hundreds of us would want to hear from.  So that’s it, I’m being brave…  Walter, you can save Jennie and me a slot for Mystic 7

In this economy everybody is looking for two things, a deal, and a paycheck.  I was talking with a fellow photographer recently.  We were going over the ins and outs of the sales process and he said, “you know what makes the whole sales process really hard,” about fifty thoughts leapt to mind and after his pensive pause he said, “I put my prices on the web, and customers will call me having seen them and their first or second question is always, ‘can you do it for less?”  I know the feeling all too well.  Here’s the deal: I don’t have a problem with reducing services in return for lower prices, that makes sense, its reasonable.  Where I, and a lot of my fellow photographers have a problem, is the customer that wants ten to twelve hours of wedding coverage with two shooters, an engagement shoot, an album and great images for less than a photographer thinks knows they are worth.

I can’t blame a bride and groom for wanting the best value for their dollar.  In fact, I’d be surprised if they didn’t.  Here’s where some education as to how the process works might make it easier for a couple to understand just what they’re paying for.  In this digital age, we all know that with the click of a shutter and an upload to the computer we can have images ready to go and fired off to social networking sites, friends, family, blogs, etc. in a matter of moments.  I think that mindset has distorted the worth of the photographer to the wedding photography consumer.  Photographers will often have images posted to facebook and up on their blog before the bride and groom wake the morning following the wedding.  Images will be up for preview in proofing catalogs by the end of the week and albums are being turned around at blazing speeds compared to even 5 years ago.

In the wedding photography industry we photographers are a little bit of everything.  We’re sales people, IT specialists, bookkeepers, digital archivers, advertising specialists, and…photographers.  Most of us do it because we love photography and people.  If you love those two things then what better way to combine them than by doing wedding photography.  The downside is we are being pushed harder and harder to offer more service for less money.  There are plenty of photographers out there.  Some cheap, some expensive.  Some of the cheap ones are fantastic and some of the expensive ones aren’t.  A lot of it boils down to your taste in photography and how much you like the actual photographer.

Jennie and I have taken the line at Strawberry Road that our price is our price.  Not only do we think we’re worth it, but we know what our time is worth.  That’s not to say we won’t work with a customer to find a product we’re happy to deliver and they are happy to receive!  But I can’t put a value on weekend time spent away from my kids.  I’m not going to lie, I love working weddings so it would be hypocritical of me to say that the work is drudgery.  But I can’t in good conscience leave my family to struggle to break even as a photographer.  I’ve seen plenty of wedding photographers that will do that and I’ve seen plenty that will burn out before the wedding day is over simply because they aren’t being compensated.  By the end of the wedding day they’re bitter for having to agreed to a price that will probably end up costing them money in the end.

In closing, we love our customers, we love our job but we’re not going to forget that we need to eat…

written by:
Dave Field
Co-Owner
www.strawberryrd.com