Possibillity of a wedding.

[Ausnapper]

DG, thanks for that visual on the monopod. I guess a mono at a wedding is not a great idea after all...

When I first took my 70-200 out, I did feel like a tool, but then when I started taking photos with it, it felt great..

It's one thing to feel like a tool and then its another to produce the results, however if you look like a tool, and can not produce the results guess what !! "You are a TOOL" LOL :)

NB: Not meant at you MD

Aus

[MDSimpson]

Hey, I resemble that remark Aus... ;)

I prefer Propeller Head, to TOOL though...

[Ausnapper]

It's one thing to feel like a tool and then its another to produce the results, however if you look like a tool, and can not produce the results guess what !! "You are a Propeller Head" LOL :)

NB: Just for you MD

Aus

See above

[MDSimpson]

:D:D:D Pffft. Fantastic. Funny..

I love it...:D:D:D

[DG77]

re: what to charge?

This highly depends on your skill and time. Since your asking what to charge im assuming here that you havent done a wedding before. In my search to find a wedding photog myself ive come across varying prices but there is a pattern:

For pre ceremony shots, ceremony, 1-2 location shoots after ceremony, and the first hour of the reception all together it equated that its about 5-6 hours of your time. Most photogs average about 100 photos per hour with weddings. And with about 100 prints and a small album the pattern cost is about $1600-$2000 not including travel or accomodation if your coming from a distance.

That said if your new to the wedding game but are experienced and skilled in other forms of photography id advise not to charge quite that much, maybe something like $1400 - $1500 for the same package.

IMO nobody in business should be working for less than $100 per hour, and that includes the weekend warriors out there just doing it for a hobby.
You also need to ensure you charge your time for all the time you spend before and after the wedding also, not just for the time on the day. (You'd be surprised how many people don't do this) Then on top of this you have to add printing costs e.t.c.
If your good you should charge much more, but $100 p/hour should be the starting point.

No point offering bargain basement prices to try and get work either, it does a lot more damage to the industry than good. Put yourself in the shoes of somebody who's been doing wedding photography for years and charges a reasonable price for his/her services, only to lose work from start ups charging unsustainable prices.
If you don't think you're good enough to be charging sustainable prices then you shouldn't be photographing weddings.
We lose work all the time from people charging as little as a tenth of what we charge, but I don't lose amy sleep over it because I know that the client always regrets it in the end.

[lewvanbommel]

Thanks everyone. I tend to shy away from using monopods and tripods. IMO they just take up too much room and tend to limit your movements and positioning. I just like the freedom of being able to move anywhere at any angle at any time.