Comments on: R.L. Morris Weddings: A Quick Interview

By: Chris Campbell

Chris Campbell — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:58:00 +0000

This was a really good video, I feel so inspired to start working more with people like a weddings and other celebrations.

By: Varun Suresh

Varun Suresh — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 03:41:47 +0000

Thanks for making this video and reinforcing my belief in wedding photography, i have always stood by the fact that, wedding photography can be amazing if you believe that you are giving two strangers one of the best gifts they can ever get! That happiness is unlike any other. Not many pro photographers vouch for wedding photography a lot. Good to know you do, and through fstoppers you are letting others know that too. This website is absolutely brilliant, keep up the great work. Thanks once again.

By: Markus Hofstätter

Markus Hofstätter — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:12:41 +0000

Thanks for your website and this video….
Last week a similar story happened to me….I am just shooting sports…..and a friend ask me if I would should his wedding…I was nervous but @ the end we had a great day and a lot of fun.

I also did what you suggested me to do….I documented my last trip to a big tournament in China….working on it right now;-)

Thanks again for hosting this great website with a lot of good stuff in it ;-)

By: Tulaga Whitcombe

Tulaga Whitcombe — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 07:33:40 +0000

You the man Lee… You the man
Have to say this post was quite inspiring.
I’ve learnt so much from your site.

By: Wedding Ireland

Wedding Ireland — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:36:01 +0000

Yes, I normally dont get into the “ring” online, perhaps because im normally busy pushing HP5:) but I was thinking about this a little and it occurred to me that you should not downrate the role of your own excellent photographic skills as being a major contributor to your success. I know when I started out I always wanted to be better and saw the things I didnt like about my own work and perhaps I even underrated it. Its just a thought.

By: Lee

Lee — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:07:11 +0000

I think we see eye to eye, just using different language :)

By: Wedding Ireland

Wedding Ireland — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:02:26 +0000

Heres an accecdote. CEO took over a small jam factory producing cheap jam whose sales were slipping. He fired the marketing manager and rebranded the jam to an upmarket one and tripled the price. Jam selling better than ever now and much more profitable..so I get your point in the first place.. my point however is that the photography itself MUST be good if not Great before that jump can be made for the vast majority of photographers ( yes there are exceptions I know ). I continually see this debate with the same answer ( here ) , its all about marketing. Heres the thing I dont do ANY online or magazine marketing, my work speaks for itself. No website , gmail account and a mobile phone. Just booked my 42nd wedding of the year with a price tag of 6000euros to be shot in about 6 weeks time. I dont care how good a crap photographers wedding ” snaps ” are I will always be busy. My point is not the percieved quality but the perceived value… two different things.

I do understand in the middle and lower end of the market in particular , photography is seen as commodity by both the photographer and the client and in that sense marketing is the key factor, I am not disagreeing with you, simply stating that a bad photographer will only ever be stuck in the low end of the market if hes not a good photographer to begin with. We are in agreement on photojournalism though, basically any tom Dick and harry calls themselves a photojournalist because all they can do is take ” snaps ” , they say ” we dont force you to pose ” ..they really should say ” we dont know how to help you pose so we will pretend its something you dont want “. These are the “type ” coming in with good marketing skills are doomed to the village brides at 800 euros a pop.

By: Wedding Ireland

Wedding Ireland — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:31:37 +0000

My comments dissapeared but basically most people who spend a lot of money on high ticket items dont percieve only quality they percieve a way to feel good about themselves, feel rich and show others their wealth. Quality is an assumption essentially not a criteria.

By: Lee

Lee — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:00:56 +0000

I do buy the new cameras when the come out. Sometimes it is because I like new toys but most of the time they are big jumps in technology. If I wanted to impress others I would have all D3s cameras. I could afford it but it would not be a good use of money because right now my D300s cameras work fine for weddings. I actually just sold my “better” D700 because it couldn’t shoot video. I am excited for the D400 and D800 because hopefully they will have better high ISO performance and better video options (both of which I will use).

I am familiar with the hierarchy of needs and that is exactly my point. The reason we buy the things we buy are because of our perceived value of that object and not the true value in many cases. Marketing plays a bigger role in photography than most will ever realize. That was my only point, and I will create videos that expand on this in the near future.

By: Wedding Ireland

Wedding Ireland — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 19:52:44 +0000

Lee,

Im pretty sure it was you who said you always like to have the lastest gear. That sets you up for buying stuff that in reality is not a lot better , but is the most expensive. Does the latest Nikon really do much different than the last one in terms of how YOU use it or how most people use it.. I would wager absolutley not. Yet that is what the marketing departments want you to think .. and you will manage to tell yourself. FWIW i dont shoot Nikon or Canon

I may be confusing brands but I think people buy the sports car because it allows them show off their wealth and feel rich and good about themselves.. visions of grandour abound with a lot of self congratulation. If your suggestion is that people should buy the cheaper car because its better quality instead of the sports car.. then how are you managing to market yourself to the people who pay 20K or more for a wedding photograhper? I think some reading on Maslovs Heircarchy of needs would help you.