February 20, 2010

I did the Corliss wedding today. What a treat! She was referred by her two aunts. I did both of their weddings. It was fun to see them and think back to their weddings. It was fun to almost feel like a celebrity at the wedding and get a lot of positive feedback from so many old friends. That is the weird thing about wedding photography. No one really knows what you did for them that day. It may be a long time before everyone really comprehends what was created for them. It makes a day like today so rewarding to see so many folks that have enjoyed our work. It was like old home week!

February 10, 2010

The rewards of my life-long work as a photographer have been many. Of late, I have had two delightful experiences.

I was doing a recent wedding, and when it came to doing a portrait of the bride's mom and dad, I could not help but recognize them. I asked if they were married in a small church in Padua , MN and they said yes....! It was my couple from 1979! Their daughter had hired me on her own without any knowledge of her parents' photographer. We were all thrilled!

Sure enough, at the reception, there was the "young couple" at the altar in their formal wedding portrait … and I took the picture! This was the buzz of the wedding!

The other day, I did an amazing bridal portrait. The bride came in with her mom. The mom looked at me as we were introduced and exclaimed... “You did my wedding in 1982!” We had so much fun recalling her day and details from the past.

Oh, what a feeling of doing something very important for people! In both cases, I know the parents were shocked at how much I have improved as a photographer in the last 30 years! It was fun to bring 30 years of practice to enhance their daughters' lives!

February 6, 2010

The time has come to address a problem which has plagued us for several months now. Please allow me to explain.

In the course of perfecting my photography and service to my wedding clients I have had to do constant soul searching. I was brought up in a studio system where there were many photographers. As a young wedding photographer I did not have a clue what I was doing but was sent out to photograph weddings anyway. I was greatful to learn and I am sure the owner was happy to make a lot of money doing things that way. But I did not feel it was ethical. I was basically learning photography at some poor couple's wedding while they paid for it! I decided that even though I would not be making a ton of money I would not run my studio that way. I decided to just work with one other seasoned photographer, pay close attention to each client, and give the ultimate effort on each wedding. This system does have one draw back. If we are retained by a client we have to turn down many other potentially lucrative weddings because we don't take the puppy mill approach. We may have a date held for a year or more and turn many other potential clients away ... but that is what it takes to do what I consider the right thing.

I had a recent incident where I held a date for a couple for a year. Right before their wedding they decided to work with a friend. They had a very popular date and we turned many other potential clients down. I assume the issue was budget with them. We have a policy of giving credit for retainers that clients use as a deposit, as opposed to simply keeping their money if they cancel.

Most vendors in the wedding industry keep retainers if you cancel. I do not believe in that. In this case the bride was very, very unhappy with that policy. I tried to explain the loss of business and the cost of doing business to no avail. This bride has put me thru the ringer on this decision in spite of giving her full credit for her retainer. She has posed as different brides, wedding party members, family members, and friends of brides, and made up stories all over the internet. This has been so ugly and awful for us. I have worked hard for decades to create a great reputation. She is trying to single-handedly put me out of business. You can see from the writing style and comments in these reviews this is the same person. She posted different reviews on one site in particular, but they all originated from the same e-mail address.

It would be easier in many respects to have many photographers and not care if someone cancels. We would be disappointing many clients with our product and service but we would be making so much money that a cancellation would mean nothing to us.

I refuse to run my business this way. I still offer "a random date referral" for anyone considering my service. That means the potential client would pick any past date and ask to speak with that past client from a date they pick. That is how confident we are of our quality and client care.

So, how do I deal with this? This "renegade reviewer" may never stop but I thought I would clear the air on the situation. Review sites serve a purpose but they don't check their sources and this could happen to any business out there. I still remain the most recommended photographer in major independent bridal shops for the past 30 years. I know they would not have me be their primary photographer if I caused any trouble, was shady, or unprofessional. I am grateful to a huge client base that keeps us busy with great referrals.

Thanks for listening to my story! ~Steve