ajax_andy

That's contractually binding you know

Considering you've never used David Bailey (as far as I know) that's actually an amazing compliment

No mate, I give the couple the images from the day on DVD's... they get a low res disk and a high res disk. They can then do what ever they want with them. They can buy prints from me but equally can just bung the disk in Boots' machines and print them all off that way. The prints I do are of a much higher quality than Boots but obviously cost more, so I always say to couples that if they want a few special pics to frame get them off me, but if they want to print off 50 or more for example just get them from boots or the internet. Albums are either £300 or if they book my top package they get the album thrown in too. All my packages give the disk of images as standard. I absolutely hate the business model you've mentioned... loads of photographers do it. I've always gone with the 'no hidden costs' ethos.

Haha I think that's even more impressive seeing as your not even looking for a photographer! Can I put that as a testimonial on my site? " We weren't looking for a photographer but we were so impressed with Andy that we put him through the stage 2 anyway. We plan to meet him soon and if he continues to impress we will book him regardless - mr & mrs trophyshy"

Haha I'm mega laid back but get the job done well none the less... although some of the characters on here might test my patience

Haha are you looking for a photographer like?

Yeah I hate the 'Mum, sister and auntie, ok now Mum sister and other auntie, ok now mum, sister, both aunties and the cousins' ARRRGHHH!!!!! Do you really need all these different variations?!

Haha that's ok I wouldn't have thought you were implying that Yeah I get on really well with all my clients and we have a laugh and it's all really laid back and fun... I think it's probably one of my better skills tbh as I'm not stuffy or rude to anyone and I even get on well with the guests and family members which makes the job a lot easier.

At the end of the day if he asked and you said 'just the pics of us, not the guests' he should have gone with what you said. He;s made a rod for his own back really by asking you in the 1st place. I can see what you're saying about a portrait in a window on Clayton Street due to how many people walk by there, but on a photographer's website? How many people are going to be snooping on there that you know? Like I said just seems a bit OTT to me, but they are your wishes so he should have respected them. On his side of things you should have asked for an ammendment in the contract at the start though so this issue was avoided from the outset. I actually take an image from the pre-wedding shoot, make 60 business cards out of it with the URL of where the couple's images will be once they have their own copy and then hand these out to every day guest. Seems to get a good reaction as everyone wants to see the pics of the day and it means the couple don't have to e-mail them to everyone or post them all on facebook

I do minimal group shots for this reason. I ask the bride and groom for 8 as a max and then just quickly rattle these off and let everyone get back to their drinking and having fun... the group shots are largely pointless except maybe one or 2, but the candid shots of people drinking, laughing and enjoying themselves are what tells the story of the day. It's those that I want to get so as I said I get the couple to give me a very short list and it gets done quickly and without fuss. I once had a bride send me a list of 60 odd group shots. I sent it back and said 'try again'. I reckon 8 group shots takes about 15 mins... anymore than that and it's just wasting the time the couple have to enjoy their wedding.

It doesn't work for a photographer to hire models to advertise his business as it doesn't give a true reflection of a real wedding... honestly using models, taking your time to set up your shots and mocking everything up isn't how a wedding works. Personally if I were looking for a photographer I'd not go near someone who's used staged shots instead of real weddings. I still don't really understand your stance on this tbh... I think you need to elaborate as all it seems your reasons are based on so far is that you think it's normal to ask this and you want money for them using your pics edit - they aren't your pics BTW... the photographer owns the copyright and in their contract will be a model release allowing them to use the images however they like... a contract your read and signed

I think when hiring a photographer you have to understand that their CV is basically their photos and portfolio... if they can't show people the images they've taken it hampers their chance of future business. I also find it hard to understand why people would wish their wedding photos to be kept private... it's not like hundreds of people are going to log on to the site and start slagging off the wedding, perving on the kids or grassing the people up to the government as spies... honestly can't really understand it tbh. I don't mean to be rude, I appreciate it's a special day and private in that it's a very emotional and special day, but (hopefully) the pics should capture what a lovely day it was and so it shows everyone in a good light. I realise I'm probably coming across a little arsey here which I apologise for if so... I just don't understand why someone would be against having their wedding photos on the photographer's site. Might be interesting to hear a bit more about why tbh as I will probably come across this at some point and if I have a better understanding I'll be less narked by it

Ok well just change it to event then... same law applies.

Seems a bit odd that someone would make this request tbh... not heard of this before (no offence like but seems really OTT). There was a discussion on one of the photography forums about this the other day and the long and short is that if you go to a public event you can expect to be photographed, that's what the law states, so basically tough titties on toast. However if someone really made that request to me and were serious about it i'd obviously accomodate their request and not post any pics other than those of the bride and groom. I'd be a bit miffed about it as my site is very blog like so it would ruin my whole set up of showing off my work, but at the end of the day you want to keep your clients happy as that then leads to word of mouth recommendation and ultimitely more bookings. Out of interest who was your photographer? Feel free to PM me it instead of posting it in the public domain. I'll obviously not do anything with the name I'm just curious who would ignore their clients requests like that

Not heard of David West but his brother does nice tinned fish. Had a look at his site and his work seems good though... more expensive than me so you missed a trick there Don't get a Palladium ring... I got one and with 2 weeks it was fucked... it's a really soft metal despite what they tell you and scratches like you wouldn't believe. Honestly after the honeymoon I had to take it back and get a refund as it was just appauling to look at. Got a 18ct white gold one instead from another shop and it's looking better 3 years on that the Palladium one did after 2 weeks

Watched 'Searching for Sugar Man' last night... it's a documentry about a forgotten musician dubbed the new Bob Dylan back in the early 70's. Pretty amazing story and well worth a watch. Gets a 96% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is well worthy of that rating. It's available on Love Film instant if anyone has that.

Watched 'Adventureland' for the 2nd time at the weekend... outstanding coming of age film set in a theme park. Sounds crap but is absolutely mint

Not sure yet, just had to send back a form stating it was me driving... hopefully I'll get to do the course though

Aye it's annoying like, but I know it's a 30 so really only have myself to blame. More annoying is that the van was parked somewhere completely hidden so I had no idea it was there... pretty sneaky

No idea where the speed van was as didn't see anything when driving down the road but got a letter through stating I was doing 35 in a 30 zone. A few people have mentioned they've also been caught there too so just giving people a head's up that the police are clearly hiding in a sneaky spot to catch people out... so watch your speed

2 Girls 1 Cup Part 2 - Quentin Tarantino

I didn't even understand the significance on the cliffs coming to life and smacking the shit out of each other... there was just no point to it other than for nice special effect purposes. Really stupid and pointless

All of them are quality