We've seen several cases this past year where couples have expected wedding photographers to work for free in return for the highly valuable exposure bills, but this time a bride is raising the bar by asking a photographer to pay her for the privilege of shooting her wedding. What can go wrong?
This story begins on Reddit, where one user posted their account of what happened. A bride-to-be, who was also their friend, approached the photographer with a proposition. It entailed the photographer paying the bride $50, which would allow the photographer to take photos throughout the wedding day and then sell them to people who may want to purchase them. The bride's attempt to justify this working arrangement came down to "that way we can use the money for the wedding and you still might get paid".
The photographer refused, but kindly offered to cover the wedding for just $50. This led to bride being upset and crying, and going as far as calling the photographer a "bad friend" and that she would do the same for the photographer if roles were reversed. Unfortunately, the story doesn't simply end here but continued with the bride and her friends and family harassing the photographer by leaving angry messages. Even when the photographer offered to do the wedding for free after all, the bride refused and requested to be paid for this privilege.
A few nasty messages turned into several dozen calls in one day, several hundred texts, and even visits which became more threatening. To stop this, the photographer agreed to pay the bride and shoot the wedding without any intentions of actually showing up for the job. Next time the photographer heard from the bride was on the day of the wedding, when no one had arrived up to do the photography. After a flurry of text messages, phone calls, and voicemails, the bride's dad showed up at the photographer's house and started beating on the door, yelling for the photographer to answer the door.
Allegedly, the situation didn't defuse after the wedding either, which forced the photographer to contact the authorities, who arrested the bride and her dad, using the evidence collected from social media and the messages submitted by the photographer. Currently, the photographer explains they don't know what is happening next but they are glad that action is at least being taken, and that the phone calls, messages, and stop-ins have stopped.
Even in this bizarre case not everyone was on photographer's side due to them agreeing to cover the wedding without the intention of actually doing the job, however, harassment and abuse from clients is unacceptable in any shape or form. People working in wedding industry will likely come across situations where emotions and tensions are running high for some clients, so to survive it's crucial to have thick skin and be clear headed when it comes to reacting to moments like these.
Have you ever had a wedding client from hell?
Her usual $50 rate. Why should he get a discount?
The Emily Post Institute has something to say:
https://emilypost.com/advice/how-to-say-no-graciously/
You might save yourself untold grief.
Nothing wrong with paying for a privilege, then not taking it. If I paid to go to a Play at the Arsht Center, then not show up, the lead actor is not going to come knocking on my door, demanding me to come.
I can pay for any privilege I want, and not show. My choice. The person selling the privilege has no say.
If I showed up, and the wedding was called off, that would be different. “You promised me a wedding, and took my money. Dagnamit, you are getting married today to someone! Not me, though, but someone! I paid for a service, you better deliver.”
That's nonsense in this particular situation. Paying the bride was part of an agreement in which the photographer agreed and committed to taking pictures. As bride, you should be able to trust a pohotographer. If anything, the photographer did all wedding photographers not a very big favour by not showing up.
If you want an analogy with a play, then what the photographer did amounts to paying to play a part in a play and than not showing up. Which would be very, very bad for your career.
You must not shoot weddings. The photographer did us all a favor by doing exactly what we have all thought about but wouldnt do. And he is 100 percent right. Especially if he really did pay her. He is now the client, not her. He did not commit to anything. He paid for it. If you pay for a plane ticket and dont use it, the air lines dont come to your house to harass you.
And this would be like he payed money to be apart of the play. It would be like if he payed money to see the play and write a review, and then didnt write the review.
But honestly, it seems like a fake story to me.
He paid for the privileged to shoot. Perhaps, even the right to shoot, but he did not pay for the obligation to shoot.
A contract has an exchange of valuable consideration. She got her money, he got his privileged. Contract fulfilled. He did the payment, she was under the obligation to deliver. His only obligation, if any, was to allow people to buy any photographs he had taken. He has not failed on that count. They can still buy all the images he took.
"Even in this bizarre case not everyone was on photographer's side due to them agreeing to cover the wedding without the intention of actually doing the job"
Pretty sure those people are ok with pressuring someone into sex then calling it consensual.
What the actual fuck.
I would have accepted the job, taking along my trusty 10mm fisheye lens. Would have been fun seeing the horror on the brides face upon delivery of the photos.
And with LOTS of closeups!
I just ask if anyone else is getting them a $2000.00 gift. Shuts them up.
With a clear view in the rear view mirror.... The Photog should have declined "due to other commitments"..with NO further discussion. I give a nod to the bride and her narcissism on steroids ... She and agent Orange are on to something big, really big...
So when the bat-shit crazy stuff really starts, no one should act surprised....and only $50? What professional even gets our of bed for that??
Learn to say no, she wasn't a friend and he was better off not being around her.
Well, all he had to do was to say that he was not doing it. To say he would, then not showing up makes him part of the pronlem.
And yes, the father and the bride are nuts.
Yeah, when was just starting my carreer I worked with a couple who weren't ready to spend any extra cent, but wanted to take pics in several locations around the town and in suburbs, but they didn't want to pay for me to go with them, so I had to take a taxi and spend pretty much just for commuting. As far as I know they are geting a divorce with https://cheap-divorce-online.com . I tried to act surprised, when ex-bride texted me to ask for another shooting and shared that with me, but who could ever think their marriage would end up like that, huh?