Comments for Smetona Photo - Orange County and Inland Empire Wedding and Portrait Photographers http://blog.smetonaphoto.com Orange County Wedding and Portrait Photography Thu, 22 Mar 2012 02:52:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Comment on What’s for Dinner tonight? Mr. Dennis is coming over! by kendra http://blog.smetonaphoto.com/2012/03/20/whats-for-dinner-mr-dennis/#comment-3416 kendra Thu, 22 Mar 2012 02:52:26 +0000 http://blog.smetonaphoto.com/?p=3953#comment-3416 soooo.... yummy. soooo…. yummy.

]]> Comment on Brandi and Stephen are engaged! | Disneyland Proposal by Krissy G http://blog.smetonaphoto.com/2012/03/21/brandi-and-stephen-are-engaged-disneyland-proposal/#comment-3412 Krissy G Wed, 21 Mar 2012 22:53:49 +0000 http://blog.smetonaphoto.com/?p=3958#comment-3412 A huge congratulations to the beautiful couple! These pictures just got me all teary eyed! :) My husband and I had our very first date at Disneyland over 7 years ago, and it's still one of our fave places ever. Wishing this couple a beautiful and magical life together - awesome pictures, they will cherish these forever! :) A huge congratulations to the beautiful couple! These pictures just got me all teary eyed! :) My husband and I had our very first date at Disneyland over 7 years ago, and it’s still one of our fave places ever. Wishing this couple a beautiful and magical life together – awesome pictures, they will cherish these forever! :)

]]> Comment on “Friend Photography Faux pas” by Mrs. H by Patricia Knight http://blog.smetonaphoto.com/2012/03/15/friend-photography-faux-pas-by-mrs-h/#comment-3348 Patricia Knight Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:03:49 +0000 http://blog.smetonaphoto.com/?p=3862#comment-3348 My heart aches for this bride. I know all too well that sometimes in life you don't get a second chance to capture those precious memories. My heart aches for this bride. I know all too well that sometimes in life you don’t get a second chance to capture those precious memories.

]]> Comment on “Friend Photography Faux pas” by Mrs. H by Matthew Saville http://blog.smetonaphoto.com/2012/03/15/friend-photography-faux-pas-by-mrs-h/#comment-3347 Matthew Saville Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:16:43 +0000 http://blog.smetonaphoto.com/?p=3862#comment-3347 I am quite torn by this story. On the one hand, I'd love to see every bride out there hire a high-end photographer who knows their gear, acts professional, and is a stunning visual artist of course. On the other hand, I also know that the studio I work for STARTS at $5200 for that quality of product, and photo turn-around time of just a few weeks. And obviously as much as every budget bride regrets hiring a $300 friend, they probably still couldn't have afforded a $3000 photographer even if they had known better. Sure, maybe some, but not nearly close to all. The bottom line is that there will always be a budget market. So who shoots those photos? Would you rather have a friend for $300, or a complete stranger for $1000-$2000? To be quite honest, as horrific as stories like this are, a $1000-$2000 "complete stranger" is almost a GREATER risk. Of course it depends on your area, but around here a $1000 price tag still just screams "Even though I cost a little more, I'm STILL just starting out and I STILL don't know how to run a business, I'm STILL not very confident in my ability to light or pose. You're STILL at moderate risk of getting terrible photos..." And to be perfectly honest, I've been that friend before. The one who is so dang tight on money that he needs a ride from the airport. The one who takes months instead of weeks to deliver photos. But you know what? I delivered gorgeous photos, in my opinion. The clients were on a tight budget, and asking them to spend $2000 instead of $300 might have helped me afford the time to process the photos a little faster, ...but it wouldn't have made the photos any better. Okay so my point is, it REALLY just comes down to the skill of the photographer. If you just don't have $5200 to spend on photography, don't freak out or assume your photos are going to be complete crap. You just have to pay VERY close attention to who you do hire. For every two or three horrible photographer "hack" out there calling themselves "just starting out", there is at least one other truly talented friend / family who can do the job RIGHT, for very little or even as a gift. The bottom line is, awareness and doing your homework. You can't just throw money at the problem. There are also plenty of $3-5K photographers who deliver bad photos or dodge your calls after the wedding. So, like Kristin's blog post says, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Yelp reviews? Past clients? See an entire edited wedding? And of course, get things in writing, in a contract. That is my opinion on the matter. Grains of salt, pass 'em around! =Matt= I am quite torn by this story. On the one hand, I’d love to see every bride out there hire a high-end photographer who knows their gear, acts professional, and is a stunning visual artist of course. On the other hand, I also know that the studio I work for STARTS at $5200 for that quality of product, and photo turn-around time of just a few weeks. And obviously as much as every budget bride regrets hiring a $300 friend, they probably still couldn’t have afforded a $3000 photographer even if they had known better. Sure, maybe some, but not nearly close to all. The bottom line is that there will always be a budget market. So who shoots those photos? Would you rather have a friend for $300, or a complete stranger for $1000-$2000? To be quite honest, as horrific as stories like this are, a $1000-$2000 “complete stranger” is almost a GREATER risk. Of course it depends on your area, but around here a $1000 price tag still just screams “Even though I cost a little more, I’m STILL just starting out and I STILL don’t know how to run a business, I’m STILL not very confident in my ability to light or pose. You’re STILL at moderate risk of getting terrible photos…” And to be perfectly honest, I’ve been that friend before. The one who is so dang tight on money that he needs a ride from the airport. The one who takes months instead of weeks to deliver photos. But you know what? I delivered gorgeous photos, in my opinion. The clients were on a tight budget, and asking them to spend $2000 instead of $300 might have helped me afford the time to process the photos a little faster, …but it wouldn’t have made the photos any better.

Okay so my point is, it REALLY just comes down to the skill of the photographer. If you just don’t have $5200 to spend on photography, don’t freak out or assume your photos are going to be complete crap. You just have to pay VERY close attention to who you do hire. For every two or three horrible photographer “hack” out there calling themselves “just starting out”, there is at least one other truly talented friend / family who can do the job RIGHT, for very little or even as a gift.

The bottom line is, awareness and doing your homework. You can’t just throw money at the problem. There are also plenty of $3-5K photographers who deliver bad photos or dodge your calls after the wedding. So, like Kristin’s blog post says, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Yelp reviews? Past clients? See an entire edited wedding? And of course, get things in writing, in a contract.

That is my opinion on the matter. Grains of salt, pass ‘em around!
=Matt=

]]> Comment on “Friend Photography Faux pas” by Mrs. H by wedding photographer San Diego http://blog.smetonaphoto.com/2012/03/15/friend-photography-faux-pas-by-mrs-h/#comment-3341 wedding photographer San Diego Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:17:41 +0000 http://blog.smetonaphoto.com/?p=3862#comment-3341 Good post. I like your style. If you want I could post an article about your blog in my blog. Good post. I like your style. If you want I could post an article about your blog in my blog.

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