Javier & Valerie In Carna, Co. Galway.
Laura & Seamus in Menlo Church
David & Kathleen in Fahy Church, Westport, Co. Mayo.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
It's happened again ! ........... Be very careful !
For the sixth time in the last year I've got that telephone call again today. A girl in tears telling me she is getting married next week and she can't locate the photographer she booked almost a year ago.
Yes ..... the website is still up and the mobile phone number is there but it can't be reached. Yes ...... she paid a deposit at the booking but no contract was signed and given to her.
Yes ......... she knows where the photographer lives, she has called there but there is nobody at home and the place looks like it has been vacent for some time.
No .......... the address is not on the website. No ......... there is no landline number on the website.
Yes ......... she had viewed some work that was shown to her at the booking stage and she was happy enough at the time of booking. Yes ......... she booked the photographer because the price was cheap and it looked like a good deal. No ........ the photographer was not a member of the regulatory bodies (IPPA or MPA)................ "did this matter" she asked.
On checking up later I found that the photographer was not registered and the business was not registered either. She now has no photographer for her wedding and is desperate and panicing !
What can she do ?
The long and the short of all this is that the photographer has gone out of business or "done a runner" to some other location and is doing the same thing there and will not be back. She has been had and will unlikely get any of her deposit back. She knows this now and is just trying desperately to get another photographer to cover the wedding.
The only advice I could offer was to report this to her local Gardai but beyond this there is little she can do but write it off and move forward. The photographer is unlikely to have insurance or bonding of any kind and as no contact can be made it would be difficult to do anything about this mess that she finds herself in.
She will be really lucky to get anyone at this stage to cover her wedding as its a prime date and everyone worth their salt will be booked long ago. Its a sad situation and the worst of all is that it reflects on the industry and gives it a bad reputation. We all suffer as a result.
What can you do to prevent this happening to you ?
(1) Only book a registered, qualified and insured Photographer for your wedding.
(2) If you use the net then be sure that the site you are looking at has a business address, a
landline number and a business registration number.
(3) Make sure that the photographer is qualified ie. holds the distinction of LIPPA or LMPA
(4) Ensure that the photographer is insured as you can no longer take photographs at any OPW
scenic location (Parks, Castles, Woodlands, Old Abbeys, etc.) without your photographer
having the appropriate amount of Public Liability Insurance. (All members of the IPPA
must, as part of their membership, carry €6.5 million public liability cover).
(5) When you make a booking and pay a deposit ensure you get a signed contract. Remember
that unless a deposit is paid then no booking exists.
(6) Always use a business that has a reputation and history record.
(7) Remember ........ if the price is too good to be true then it probably is !
(8) A good idea is take all the prices you get and work somewhere in the average of this. The cheapest is never the best unless you dont mind poor quality, poor service, corners cut,
no after sales service, no backup, etc. etc.
Don't get caught out ................... it's now more common than you think ! !
This is not unique to the photographic industry ........... it's in every industry across the
board ...... EVERYWHERE !
So ....... be careful and then be extra careful !
Yes ..... the website is still up and the mobile phone number is there but it can't be reached. Yes ...... she paid a deposit at the booking but no contract was signed and given to her.
Yes ......... she knows where the photographer lives, she has called there but there is nobody at home and the place looks like it has been vacent for some time.
No .......... the address is not on the website. No ......... there is no landline number on the website.
Yes ......... she had viewed some work that was shown to her at the booking stage and she was happy enough at the time of booking. Yes ......... she booked the photographer because the price was cheap and it looked like a good deal. No ........ the photographer was not a member of the regulatory bodies (IPPA or MPA)................ "did this matter" she asked.
On checking up later I found that the photographer was not registered and the business was not registered either. She now has no photographer for her wedding and is desperate and panicing !
What can she do ?
The long and the short of all this is that the photographer has gone out of business or "done a runner" to some other location and is doing the same thing there and will not be back. She has been had and will unlikely get any of her deposit back. She knows this now and is just trying desperately to get another photographer to cover the wedding.
The only advice I could offer was to report this to her local Gardai but beyond this there is little she can do but write it off and move forward. The photographer is unlikely to have insurance or bonding of any kind and as no contact can be made it would be difficult to do anything about this mess that she finds herself in.
She will be really lucky to get anyone at this stage to cover her wedding as its a prime date and everyone worth their salt will be booked long ago. Its a sad situation and the worst of all is that it reflects on the industry and gives it a bad reputation. We all suffer as a result.
What can you do to prevent this happening to you ?
(1) Only book a registered, qualified and insured Photographer for your wedding.
(2) If you use the net then be sure that the site you are looking at has a business address, a
landline number and a business registration number.
(3) Make sure that the photographer is qualified ie. holds the distinction of LIPPA or LMPA
(4) Ensure that the photographer is insured as you can no longer take photographs at any OPW
scenic location (Parks, Castles, Woodlands, Old Abbeys, etc.) without your photographer
having the appropriate amount of Public Liability Insurance. (All members of the IPPA
must, as part of their membership, carry €6.5 million public liability cover).
(5) When you make a booking and pay a deposit ensure you get a signed contract. Remember
that unless a deposit is paid then no booking exists.
(6) Always use a business that has a reputation and history record.
(7) Remember ........ if the price is too good to be true then it probably is !
(8) A good idea is take all the prices you get and work somewhere in the average of this. The cheapest is never the best unless you dont mind poor quality, poor service, corners cut,
no after sales service, no backup, etc. etc.
Don't get caught out ................... it's now more common than you think ! !
This is not unique to the photographic industry ........... it's in every industry across the
board ...... EVERYWHERE !
So ....... be careful and then be extra careful !
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Jonathan & Aisling
Jonathan & Aisling at the Claregalway Hotel following their wedding ceromony at Ryehill Church.
The Bridesmaid in natural green !
Friday, July 24, 2009
Recession "bottoming out"
Its begining at last to seem that the recession that we've really seen here since the second quarter of 2008 is hitting the rocks and certainly for the smaller business its beginning to look a little better. It will, no doubt, be ages for a reasonable recovery to take place but things seem to be on the way back.
2010 will still be a great time to do anything (if you have the money!) as prices are now at a low and good value is to be had on all goods and services. Its worth thinking about !!!
However ....... remember that the cheap price is not always good value and its much better to hit somewhere in the mid point between expensive and cheap. The pointer still holds true that "you can have it GOOD, FAST, CHEAP, ................ Pick any two !
2010 will still be a great time to do anything (if you have the money!) as prices are now at a low and good value is to be had on all goods and services. Its worth thinking about !!!
However ....... remember that the cheap price is not always good value and its much better to hit somewhere in the mid point between expensive and cheap. The pointer still holds true that "you can have it GOOD, FAST, CHEAP, ................ Pick any two !
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Horse & Carriage
Recently had this delightful Horse & Carriage at a wedding I was photographing. It was a really nice touch and the combination of horse, carriage and driver was superb. If you are into this kind of travel on your wedding day then this is worth taking a look at.
Contact Tony McKeigue at (090) 9685708
Friday, July 17, 2009
Tomás & Louise at the Abbey in Claregalway
Relaxing after the Ceremony in Ryehill Church and just "stopping off" at the Old Abbey on their way to the Clayton Hotel.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Cold Sales Calls
If you have been one of the "poor sods" that have been calling me on my business line trying to get me to subscribe to some advertising pitch or to get me on the "top of Google" or if you were flooding my email account with "special offers" for "God knows what" then you've been wasting your time and energy. Sorry for being the bearer of such bad news.
During the best of times I am a pretty bad customer for cold calls and certainly since the present economic crisis began I'm as strapped for cash as the next and there is simply no way I can even afford any extra outlay ............ on ANYTHING !
Anyway ....... how many can fit on the top of Google ? Used to be one when I went to school a long time back so I cant understand how roughly 400 odd photographers can get to be on top of the list.
I did allow one guy to explain to me one day for almost an hour how it would be done. I put the phone on speaker and just continued working away at the desk just giving the odd "Yea" and "what was that?" and "Aye" ................... but I still did not figure out how he would get us all up there on the top ................ but he certainly assured me it was possible.
Needless to say I had no intention of "buying" anything and as he was paying for the call and since he seemed to love to talk I felt it was no skin off my nose. " Let him off" ..... "Bring it on !".
"HEARTLESS !!!" ..... you may say.
Well not really ........................ I felt that while I kept him on the line I was saving some other photographer, with a lot of work to get out, the bother of insulting him by telling him to "bog off!". I was thinking ............"while the burgler was trying to raid my premises then he could not be down the road trying to raid a neighbours premises".
Anyway ........ I love to watch an artist at work and this guy was a fine artist ........and I wanted to make sure he had finished the canvas but still have the paint wet before I allowed to birds to fly over it.
During the best of times I am a pretty bad customer for cold calls and certainly since the present economic crisis began I'm as strapped for cash as the next and there is simply no way I can even afford any extra outlay ............ on ANYTHING !
Anyway ....... how many can fit on the top of Google ? Used to be one when I went to school a long time back so I cant understand how roughly 400 odd photographers can get to be on top of the list.
I did allow one guy to explain to me one day for almost an hour how it would be done. I put the phone on speaker and just continued working away at the desk just giving the odd "Yea" and "what was that?" and "Aye" ................... but I still did not figure out how he would get us all up there on the top ................ but he certainly assured me it was possible.
Needless to say I had no intention of "buying" anything and as he was paying for the call and since he seemed to love to talk I felt it was no skin off my nose. " Let him off" ..... "Bring it on !".
"HEARTLESS !!!" ..... you may say.
Well not really ........................ I felt that while I kept him on the line I was saving some other photographer, with a lot of work to get out, the bother of insulting him by telling him to "bog off!". I was thinking ............"while the burgler was trying to raid my premises then he could not be down the road trying to raid a neighbours premises".
Anyway ........ I love to watch an artist at work and this guy was a fine artist ........and I wanted to make sure he had finished the canvas but still have the paint wet before I allowed to birds to fly over it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)