This has been discussed before on this forum but then again, what hasn't?

The wedding planner who shows my demo DVD to prospective clients recently said that more people these days are going for the relative with a camcorder to save a few pennies plus it's easier to arrange etc.
As I understand it, the same, if not to a greater extent is happening in the still photography wedding area too. Everybody these days owns a digital SLR (myself included).

Is this your perception of the market? From my limited experience there seem to be two types of client.

A) The client who would like a proffesional DVD but doesnt really hold it as important or want to pay for it. If client (A) does hire you, they want the earth for sweet FA.

B) The client who has decided they want a proffessional DVD and are quite prepared to pay for it. This client understands that a wedding DVD is a product \ service just like anything else they may care to purchase.

Obviously (B)'s are the ones we all want but are they a dying breed???

As DSLRs and easy to use editing programs become more and more popular, I do find that more and more people are having friends or relatives provide part or all of a service. With that being said, I think that just makes the quality of the product that much more important. If the quality is so far beyond anything they could have imagined, I think you can make the decision an easy one for them.

As we raise our prices closer to the quality of our product, we get more and more couples who really appreciate what we offer and it seems as though we are turning more and more people away because we cannot take everything on.

Patrick

As we raise our prices closer to the quality of our product, we get more and more couples who really appreciate what we offer and it seems as though we are turning more and more people away because we cannot take everything on.

If you offer a quality product, they will want that and know that Uncle Ted just isn't going to get it done for them the way you can. Keep focusing on the end result and honing your skills -- it will pay off in the long run.

Regards,
-Michael

Simply show the difference:

I received hobby wedding films (shaky cheap cam) where the footage is really bad, you hear comments of the filmer etc etc.

Meanwhile I use sequences of that to show the HUGE difference to my TV-like footage - if you A/B it, people see what a professional wedding videographer is about. Show them footage with a story (nearly no amateur shooter does use insert cuts or tells a story).

Suprise them. I live in germany - most couples hire a singer for the ceremony. Meanwhile I meet them one hour before and make closeup shots while they´re singing - WOW , this gives great footage to intercut.
When I show a "BEST OF" a ceremony to convince customers, I can say that most of them are happy when they see my footage.

However, another method could be to make a financial agreement with wedding planners and give them a fee for selling your work.

ULi