GCP
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GCPParticipantA good call I recon. 35 years taught me a lot and the gut feeling was always to be relied on.
GCPParticipantJust a few items left that I want to sell. Prices revised for quick sale
1 x Metz 70MZ4 Flash Gun + Control Unit €95.00
2 x Bowens Prolite 60 studio Flash Heads €170.00 each
2 x MK220 Studio Flash Heads €120.00 each
1 x Studio backdrop roller system with pulleys €250.00
1 x Painted Canvas “bookcase” backdrop €140.00GCPParticipantSteve,
just happen to be browsing here and came across your post. As I have retired I do not come in here too often. I really sympathise with your situation but it is one of the downsides of wedding photography. They do what they like on the day and expect you to perform miracles and pick up the pieces. Thankfully, I was never in the situation that I ever had a problem like yours. From a legal stand point, if you refund anything or make any offer in that regard then you are legally admitting that your work was sub-standard and you may be legally liable for further compensation. Just keep that in mind. I remember some twenty five years ago a colleague of mine had to pay out £11,000.00 in compensation when he failed to take four specified photographs that were on a list that he accepted.In this case I would stand firm. They have probably overspent and are trying ways to re-coup some money.
Going forward you must use a contract that will cover you in such events as bad weather, non co-operation and poor timing of people involved, act of God, accident, illness, etc. If you do not already have it, Insurance is a must and make sure you are fully covered.
I am no longer doing general photography but work as a consultant to the business. Give me a shout if you need adviceGerry
GCPParticipantThis equipment is now sold and has found a new home. Sold on Adverts .ie
GCPParticipantI think photographers are not the only ones caught up in the commercial vehicle insurance thing. I gave up on the commercial vehicle in 2011 when I was informed by the Gardai in Ballinasloe that I could not use it for anything except for the express purposes of what I had declared it for on the papers that I had to get signed there when the new law amendments on Commercial Vehicle road Tax came in.
I was using it in my capacity as a Photographer and declared it so, which was not a problem. The Garda on duty told me that they were now required to inform me – and everybody else – that I could be prosecuted under some act or other if I used the vehicle for any purpose other than that declared on the form and that my insurance would be void if I had an accident while using it for additional purposes and particularly as a private car. He used the example of picking up some shopping on the way home from a job or taking the child to school.
I thought that this it it ! ………….. back to a car and got rid of the commercial jeep in 2012.
Now they are at it again and seem to want less vans on the road. This will, of course, increase VRT for the state. The Government are using every way to increase tax takes.
GCPParticipantI pay the monthly sub as I use it a a few devices. I am really not using it to it’s fullest potential
but it produces invoices, quotes etc and will email them to clients. It will track and record purchases,
keep an appointments diary, track inquiries, will create to do lists for jobs, etc. It also keeps your
data safe on their servers should you have an accident.Why not download the trial version and do not be shy in talking to Hamish or Tom as they are most helpful
and will answer questions much better than I can.Another one that is there is Studio Cloud and again you can download it to try it out, but I never really tried it
out even though I have it downloaded.Gerry
GCPParticipantI’m using Lightblue for a number of years now. Have a look at it and even try it out.
Let them know I recommended it.
http://www.lightbluesoftware.com” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;Gerry
GCPParticipantJustExposin’ wrote:
You say shooting weddings is “the field of photography that commands the most dissatisfaction and the most customer complaints “
What are the complaints of? The standard or the style of the photographer or his personality or what.?
Here is an unhappy person but it was not a pro http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/very-unhappy-with-our-wedding-photographer/” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
There are other stories like that but any I have seen are not pros though one called themselves a proWhat are people unhappy with in terms of having the wedding shot by a professional photographer?
Sorry for being a bit late in replying but I was out of the country for the past ten days. I just read the link on the unhappy bride and yes ……. she was an unhappy person. I do think she thought that the photographer had only one job to contend with …… hers !. I really have to agree with kwynn’s Posts. She wanted the earth but did not want to pay for it. She was totally unreasonable in some of the things she expected. If her venue was not up to scratch it is not the job of the photographer to ” clean it up” with software. If the MOH had a “sour puss” walking up the aisle and one of the guests “looked bored” it’s not the photographers fault ……… and the grooms man thought it was to begin an hour later and was late ! ………… this is the kind of thing that puts pressure on everybody, builds up tension in the people around waiting. An hour late puts everything out of sync it today’s weddings. The reception venue will always blame the photographer first.
I was asked last year by a bride if I would “photoshop all shots taken on the day” for her for that price I quoted. Another asked could I “take off her husbands beard in about thirty of them snaps” as she “never liked it anyway” and “she may be able convince him to take it off altogether when he sees himself”. Once I heard this “Sure you’ll make me much thinner in the photos because I intend to get all this weight off after the wedding”. I was once asked also at the booking stage ” What happens if I don’t like the photographs ………. I’m very fussy and nobody ever took a good picture of me yet and I’m sure you’ll be no different”. Needless to say, I sent her on her way. I also find a lot of brides after the event are now trying to re-negotiate what they are getting and will look for free extras, or look for free redesigning of album pages. It’s just getting too much work for the price one can get.
Thankfully since I wrote the original post in 2013 My work load has shifted from being around 83% wedding work to less than 27% wedding work and I am interested in decreasing that further. I have filled the gaps with more Commercial work in Rotational Photography, High View and Air Photography and Virtual Tour Photography for the web and also I’m doing more instruction and consultancy work also. It’s a beautiful change, a breath of fresh air and much more rewarding.
GCPParticipantIf you are running a studio with overheads and paying tax, insurance, etc. then you will need to make it 3 instead of 2.5. All framers and framing suppliers tell me this and they say that many framers in the large urban areas have to do up to 3.5 for survival. Remember insurance is important in case it comes off a customers wall and injury occurs, one may be sued for some sort of liability or shared liability. It is rare I’m sure but worth the peace of mind in today’s claim culture, but don’t lose sleep over it though.
GCPParticipantAshley,
absolutely fantastic results here as I know the location very well and I know the amount of work and effort that went into this superb composition and creation. Being a long time fan of your work through your website and blog I would have jumped at the chance to work with, and assist you on this when I saw your post here but was already booked to cover some press work for a mart and some work for Galway County Council on the days you required. As the work is something I am interested in and as my experience is limited I would value the opportunity to meet up sometime and, if possible, assist on a shoot for the experience.Keep up the excellent work and best regards always.
Gerry
GCPParticipantGCPParticipantBeing employed by you also means you are responsible for their PAYE and PRSI returns. Your Public Liability insurance usually includes Employee Liability but your Professional Indemnity only covers yourself I believe. Copyright could be a nightmare if the second shooter is not employed by the Photographer and fulfilment of the proper conditions of employment are not adhered to. If the second shooter is only hired on an informal basis then copyright stays firmly with the second shooter.
With regard to copyright, section 23 of the Copyright Act 2000 states the following;
(1) The author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright unless—
(a) the work is made by an employee in the course of employment, in which case the employer is the first owner of any copyright in the work, subject to any agreement to the contrary,
(b) the work is the subject of Government or Oireachtas copyright,
(c) the work is the subject of the copyright of a prescribed international organisation, or
(d) the copyright in the work is conferred on some other person by an enactment.
(2) Where a work, other than a computer program, is made by an author in the course of employment by the proprietor of a newspaper or periodical, the author may use the work for any purpose, other than for the purposes of making available that work to newspapers or periodicals, without infringing the copyright in the work.
Section 21 defines the Author as follows;
21.—In this Act, “author” means the person who creates a work and includes:
(a) in the case of a sound recording, the producer;
(b) in the case of a film, the producer and the principal director;
(c) in the case of a broadcast, the person making the broadcast or in the case of a broadcast which relays another broadcast by reception and immediate retransmission, without alteration, the person making that other broadcast;
(d) in the case of a cable programme, the person providing the cable programme service in which the programme is included;
(e) in the case of a typographical arrangement of a published edition, the publisher;
(f) in the case of a work which is computer-generated, the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken;
(g) in the case of an original database, the individual or group of individuals who made the database; and
(h) in the case of a photograph, the photographer.
GCPParticipantWhat is the difference between the US model and, say, European or Irish version?
GCPParticipantManaged to buy the unit in the UK (got it down another £420) and it arrived in yesterday. Installed now and working like a dream.
GCPParticipantHaving just bought one I’m really happy with it. The fact you can use the Iphone and Ipad as a remote shooting device is great and the price is pretty reasonable for what the camera is. You’ll love it !
