Payments

[Steve Bleasdale]

Cheers guys, jeez Pete they are ridiculously cheap...
Dave maybe your right if its a blip in payments then hope fully back to normal soon..
Will see what pans out, thank guys for your input, cheers all the best

[Nigel Barker]

£400 is a nice chunk of beer money for a Weekend Warrior especially if they deal in cash only & don't pay tax. That's about 10 days work on minimum wage.

At least for video there is a certain degree of technical competence required to edit & create the DVD that will be a barrier to entry but for photography even the most inexperienced snapper can produce OK-ish work using modern equipment. Is it any wonder that there are part-timers prepared to photograph a wedding for £250 or even less? For many it's a pretty good rate of pay for a day at the wedding & a day in post.

[Peter Rush]

I'm pretty sure this guy is not a weekend warrior - for every Google search in my area (around a 40 mile radius) he comes top of the page with his pay-per-click advert offering full day Bu-Ray for £550 - plus at the moment he's offering £50 off! - He seems to do everything from photography to Marryoke! I notice he uses copyrighted music on his online samples though - naughty!!!!

I couldn't make ends meet at that price - it makes it harder to sell yourself though to budget concious brides!

Pete

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by Peter Rush

I'm pretty sure this guy is not a weekend warrior - for every Google search in my area (around a 40 mile radius) he comes top of the page with his pay-per-click advert offering full day Bu-Ray for £550 - plus at the moment he's offering £50 off! - He seems to do everything from photography to Marryoke! I notice he uses copyrighted music on his online samples though - naughty!!!!

I couldn't make ends meet at that price - it makes it harder to sell yourself though to budget concious brides!

Pete

I know exactly who you mean ....

[James Manford]

I think there is plenty of work to go around ...

If you look at it as a job you won't be in it for long ... it really does need to be a passion, where you strive to create a fantastic film/video for each and every client despite the circumstances. I think some of the fully established companies are in the game from just word of mouth alone and because they consistently come out with top quality work.

I recently attended a wedding as a guest of an indian friend, they had a 4 man team that they paid £4500 for. One chap with a full on steadicam vest with a 5D mk3 attached, another operating nothing but a cinevate slider, again with a 5D mk2 or 3 and two guys just running and gunning on monopods with old school Sony HDV camcorders.

These guys don't even have a facebook page. Just a website, with 5 sample videos, which 2 of don't even work. They're asian as well, so it's definitely a cultural thing and they're only in the business due to word of mouth as I can't see how they would generate new business from just a website alone.

[Tim Bakland]

Originally Posted by Danny O'Neill

I think our problems when we were £995.

Agreed: The higher prices separate out the more serious folks.

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by Tim Bakland

Agreed: The higher prices separate out the more serious folks.

And in this area at least also dramatically reduces the number of people willing to pay it.

[Tim Bakland]

Originally Posted by Dave Partington

I'm standing my ground when people ask for all day for < insert silly price here >, which there appears to be offerings from Newcastle to Derby and Scarborough to Manchester all trying to get in on the local area.

I tell people who say something like that in the shopping process (and there's fewer the more I raise prices who would be so ignorant) that, if they can get those prices and they like the work, then hire that company!

[Tim Bakland]

Originally Posted by Dave Partington

And in this area at least also dramatically reduces the number of people willing to pay it.

Yes -- agreed, no question. In every area, you'll get that effect.