Photographers Beware of Scams {New Braunfels Wedding Photography}

Nobody is safe from the scammer. Once upon a time a con artist was a smooth talker who played on trusting older ladies. He or she hung out at casinos, gas stations, bus stations. They had a story to tell and needed your help. And they were in your face, looking pitiful and in need of help.

Then along came the internet and the life of the con artist became a whole lot easier. Now the sky is the limit. They can send e-mails out all over and reach thousands of potential marks in one day.

I consider myself pretty savvy at spotting them. I delete e-mails every day from people claiming to represent some millionaire in a foreign country who wants to send me lots of money. A few years ago I took up selling Avon for the fun of it and it wasn't long before I got an e-mail from someone wanting to buy large quantities of products from me and give me a check for the total. The catch was they were in the UK and needed me to send them to an address in California where they would pick them up in the future. I didn't fall for it.

Avon reps aren't safe from con artists. And now it seems photographers aren't safe from con artists either.

I'm going to share with you the exact e-mail exchange I got from a potential con artist in the hopes that others won't fall for this. I didn't pursue this "client" after a Google search turned up the exact same story played on another photographer.

The first e-mail was simple enough:
"Hi, I'm Melissa Brown . Joe & I will be getting married in less than 2 months . We're asking for a package list which includes 6-8 hours of shooting time amongst a few other items . Package to exclude the Wedding engagement/ bridal sessions. Please let us know if you will be available for Saturday, September 15th, 2012 . And get back with your package pricing information. Thank you, Melissa Brown"

It sounds just like any other inquiry I get almost every day. A bride looking to book a photographer for a wedding. So I responded with my usual prompt reply pointing her to my packages and offering to meet with her over coffee to discuss photography.

Then I get this reply and my spidey senses started to tingle:
"Hello Lisa,
I trust you are currently having a great weekend over there. . > However, the Seriously In Love Package with an unlimited wedding day > coverage for- $2,900 works fine with us at this time. I was just going > to be sure you got this right. Ps: Wedding is September 15, 2012...And > in New York, NY. You see, you probably wont understand how hard it is > finding some one locally for the shooting of our wedding . They are > either booked up or not good enough so we decided to check online a > few websites including ppa, photolinks, etc. So we definitely hate for > this to be a waste of time.
> > I will let you know an exact address in the coming week(s) . I will > let you know asap when something has been booked. So the tentative > Wedding address is" The Central Park Boathouse. East 72nd St. New > York, NY 10021. We are expecting about 100-150 guests over . Both in > and outdoor shooting . Meaning we simply want an event coverage of our > preparation, ceremony, and reception.
> > It has been hard finding the perfect photographer for the shooting. > But following your response to my introductory email . I'm optimistic > about this arrangement working. We are currently in Manchester, UK for > an important visit ahead of my seminar. So I hope to work out an > arrangement ahead of my arrival back to the states.
> > You see, I am physically impaired (Hearing). So e-mail works fine > for now . We can work out all of the details ( via email) .A quick > question though, Will you be emailing us something like a standard > contract ( to be signed online ) knowing for sure you will be > available for the 15th?Get back to me soon.

Several things about this letter had me highly suspicious. First, note the really bad English. It's worded like someone doesn't have such a firm grasp of the English language. That's not such a bad thing, really and that by itself wouldn't indicate anything fishy. I've worked with multi-cultural couples in the past and they never gave me this fishy feeling.

Second, the bride conveniently can't talk to me over the phone. She's hearing impaired, or so she says. I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of traveling across the country to a wedding without ever having at least talked to the bride over the phone.

Third, they don't have a venue booked for sure. My first step at confirming if a wedding was to actually take place by these people would be to call the venue for verification but, oops, the venue is not booked yet. Something tells me they would withhold that piece of information off as long as possible.

Fourth, they mention that all the good New York photographers are all booked. I find that a bit hard to believe. New York is the heart of photography. There are so many wonderful photographers in that city that you couldn't throw a flash card without hitting one. Surely, there's someone local who can fill that need.

And finally, the last hint that something was off was the mention that they are not in the country at this time. They are setting it up for a foreign transaction to take place. My assumption is that they are hoping to pay with a foreign check written over the amount of my charges and then ask me to forward the change to them or to another party.

So at this time a part of me is thinking -- cool, a wedding in New York would be lovely. And the other part of me is thinking -- walk away it's a trick.

So I reply once again, just to make sure I'm not turning away a potentially wonderful wedding. I give them my travel fees, ask for information on the hotel they will be staying with and asking which method of payment they would be using. in the meantime I do a quick Google search for "deaf Melissa Brown" and "hearing impaired Melissa Brown" and come up with a few hits for a writer who does book reviews and tends to review books on the topic of hearing impairment. And I'm thinking, if this is her, why is a writer having such a hard time writing the English language. I know that not every person is going to have hits on Google. And if I were to enter just "Melissa Brown" into the search engine I would get many hits because it's such a common name. The con artist is banking on that common name. So I quickly hear back from my sweet con artist.

Here is their response:
"Hello Lisa,
Thank you for your email. Yes, we'll send out the money for your travels along with the deposit check. Everything sounds good to me. I believe we are not too far as it is such a fast approaching wedding. We are currently looking at having something like a phone consultation at the time of our arrival back to the states to be accomplished through a friend, family member, maid of honor, etc. This is because of my disability problems. I hope this is all Ok with you?
I trust the amount you're requesting for your services is in total $2,900.00. That works fine with us as long as you're able to do a neat, creative and a perfect job for us. We're going to be needing this solely for the memory of our children and families. Please reply back with the requested information below . I'm going to have to make an arrangement for at least 50% of your total payment up front ( by check ). And the remaining funds due on the wedding day which ever works best for you . Just let us know ...
We're hoping to find someone that has experience with different nationalities ( skin colors) as we're having about 150 guests coming over for the ceremony...I hope you know where am coming from? Please get back to me with your -;
* Full names to appear on the check payment ;
* Mailing address ;
* Phone number ;
Thank you,
Melissa Brown."

At this point in the exchange I hang up. Or rather stop responding. The English is getting more and more broken and unnatural, they are not answering my questions, and they seem eager to throw money at me without any further photography related discussions.

I do another Google search for "photography scams" and instantly find a forum where photographers are discussing this exact same scam. Sometimes the details are changed. The wedding is to take place in Cancun/California/New York and the bride is currently in the UK or some other foreign country but will be returning for the wedding.

Photographers who have gone through with the scam have received a foreign check for over the amount due to them. Then the "bride" requests that they send the change to the caterer/the DJ/the videographer/etc at a given address. The photographer's bank clears the check temporarily and gives the photographer the face amount. The photographer then sends a money order to the address requested. Seven to 10 days later, the bank returns the check and debits the photographers account for the amount of the check plus fees. Uh-oh, now the photographer is out those fees, plus the amount they just sent on to the "caterer/DJ/videographer" who is actually the con artist himself.

No thank you Ms. Brown, or whoever you are. At this point in time I am no longer available for your wedding in New York. Nice try.

Lisa On Location Photography

Missing: Fly By Night Photographer Leaves Client Hurt and Hardened {New Braunfels Photography}

I got a heart wrenching call today. And you know how I like to share my heart-wrenching calls from clients with you.

Today's call came from a very sweet lady, in her 50s, who hates having her photograph taken. "I was the one who always ran and hid from the camera as a child," she told me. So it was really hard for her to make this call. She had her portrait taken a few months ago by another local photographer (I'll leave her name off here because I'm not going to go there). The photographer gave her a little sneak peek of one of those images and it turned out beautifully. She couldn't wait to give it to her husband.

Then that photographer went silent. No more e-mails, no more phone calls. She didn't put up a gallery for this lady. Wouldn't return her calls. Silence. For months.

So today she decided to look for another photographer. She'd been burned. She wasn't sure if she wanted to try again. She was out money for the fee she paid the other lady. She was out confidence. She was out time. It had taken her years to work up the confidence to schedule that session in the first place. She was apprehensive to say the least.

So she called me. She loved what she saw on my website and wanted me to assure her that if she went through this again, she wouldn't be burned again. I told her that I've never shot a session for a client and then disappeared. That I'm in this for the long haul. This is my life. This is my career.

By the end of our conversation, this lovely lady decided to send me the one photo she got from the other photographer so I can see the type of image she was looking for. I won't duplicate it. That's not my style. I'll better it, no doubt. This lady deserves to be blown away by her next session. She deserves to be pampered and reassured.

And to the photographer who ditched her and to other photographers who set up shop and then bail on their clients, shame on you. You give us all a bad name. And to anyone who's been burned in the past. I promise you, that's not the norm. I can give you a list of photographers who are dedicated to their clients and to the profession. Who won't leave you when you need them.

It's too easy for anyone to pick up a nice camera and hang out a shingle and declare themselves a photographer. I see it every day, it seems they pop out of the woodwork constantly. Most of them are out of business within a year or two. They realize it's not a get rich quick business and it's not all glamour and baby smiles. It takes more than photography talent to run a photography business. Those of us who stick with it are here for you. Even if you don't decide to hire me, I'd be happy to refer you to others who are serious about photography and won't run and hide when they get bored. Call me.

Lisa On Location Photography

Fabulous Wedding Send-offs {New Braunfels Wedding Photography}

When I was a child the old tradition of sending off a bride and groom at the end of their wedding reception was rice. I remember getting the rice bags and throwing it and having a great time of it. It was supposed to represent a new beginning with a wish for good luck and good crops. Then the rumor about what that rice can do to birds who eat it got out and pretty soon bird seed became the norm for sending off a bride and groom. Although, before writing this blog, I Googled it and it turns out that the whole "rice making birds explode" rumor may be just that -- a rumor. Birds eat wild rice from fields all the time, and there have not been any big bird explosion epidemics that we're aware of. It turns out that, in reality, the trend away from rice throwing is most likely traced to massive lawsuits against venues brought on by guests who slipped on the rice and hurt themselves. In response, venues prohibited the throwing of rice and often, they've prohibited the throwing of birdseed as well. In fact, many of them say, just don't throw anything please.

I'm reminded of the wedding I witnessed years ago where the bride and groom thought it would be fun to have Mardi Gras beads tossed at them. They weren't laughing when they slipped on the beads and got themselves on America's Funniest Home Videos. Or maybe they were laughing. They didn't win the big one though.

I've seen a few brides choose flower petals to send off and those seem innocent enough -- although not for the one who has to come through and pick them all up. Venues frown upon you leaving those things behind.

Right now the most popular trend is bubbles. Bridal supply stores are making out like bandits selling little plastic bottles of bubbles.

The bubbles seem safe on the surface. They tend to make the dance floor a bit slippery when little children get ahold of them and blow to their hearts content, often spilling the slippery stuff all over. I have yet to see anyone slip and fall, however. But I have seen jokester groomsmen pour the bottles of the soapy stuff all over the head of the departing groom.

Many brides are opting for send-offs that don't involve throwing anything. Sometimes the guests will receive a noise-maker of some sort -- horns, bells, spinning things -- and send the couple away with enough noise to wake the neighborhood. I've yet to hear of any noise-related injuries from this technique.

Another popular send off technique that I'd like to touch on and preach against at this time is the sparkler. A lot of my brides have chosen this beautiful send off technique. And it is beautiful. And most of the time, the send off goes off without a hitch. But I predict this will soon be a forbidden send off for many venues, soon to go the way of the rice.

I've seen a bride get a hole burned in dress thanks to a sparkler. I've seen children burn their fingers on sparklers -- one of them a quite nasty burn. And now I've seen the gift table caught on fire thanks to sparklers. Fortunately, the fire didn't spread beyond the gift table and only a few gifts were lost, but the potential for disaster was really high.

Sparklers can be lovely, but put together with large groups of people, small children, and often large consumption of alcohol and accidents can happen. An alternative to the sparkler that's just as lovely and not nearly so dangerous is glow sticks.

They come in a variety of colors, they last for hours, children love them, nobody slips on them and they are pretty inexpensive.

Whatever you decide to send you off on your wedding day, make it special and make it safe. And call me to record all the details of it!

Lisa On Location Photography

Peacocks are Hell on Heels {New Braunfels Boudoir Photography}

New Braunfels has a new girl in town in the Perky Peacock, and she's already the most popular store on the block.

I got a call a few months ago from one of the ladies of the Peacock interested in setting up some kind of Pin-up day at the store. So began our discussion of a collaboration between the Perky Peacock and Lisa on Location. I'm a huge fan of boudoir photography and pin-up photography as most of you know, so when they called a couple of weeks ago again asking for some help with their fashion show "Hell on Heels" of course I was happy to step up.

The lovely ladies at the Perky Peacock recruited real life, normal women of all shapes and sizes from their customer base and put on a fun fashion show at the Phoenix Saloon on San Antonio Street in New Braunfels the other night. And I was happy to co-sponsor the event providing images for pre-event publicity as well as photographing the event on the night of.

I was greeted with a room full of nervous yet beautiful women getting dressed in fine new clothes and preparing to step on stage in front of hundreds of people. They were feeling good because they'd just had their hair and makeup done by Lauren Simon of David Troy Salon, Bodacious Hair and Skin Benefit and Nail Solution. But these women were not professional models. They were wives and moms; there was a chef, a couple of students, a stay-at-home mom, an executive, a stylist among others. Most had never done anything like this before, but by the end of the evening, they were feeling like rock stars.

I made some new friends during the course of the evening and I'm looking forward to collaborating again with the Perky Peacock -- we already have a few ideas spinning in our heads. You'll be the first to know when that gets under way!

Lisa On Location Photography

How to Dunk a Photographer {New Braunfels Trash the Dress Wedding Photography}

Step right up everyone, now's your chance to dunk a photographer. Watch her get wet and drop her camera in the water. It's okay, she doesn't mind. Seriously.

Jayme had touched on the topic of underwater photography with me in the past. He suggested it and I considered it time and time again. He bought me big books of gorgeous underwater images and we talked about getting scuba certified and taking our gear on scuba dives. But it wasn't until one of my favorite former brides e-mailed me a photo of a bride at the bottom of a pool that she saw on Pinterest that I finally jumped on the chance to try it out. I finally had a client who was interested in the art and that's all it took to get me to invest in the gear I needed.

I'll admit I was nervous the first time I tried out my camera in that gear. The day I got it I put some tissue inside, sealed it up, then dunked it in a bathtub full of water. The tissue came out dry. But I was still nervous. So I put my old back-up camera in the casing and went for a swim. It survived. Not a drop of moisture on it. Okay, this was great! I gathered up the kids and took my gear to my friend, Teresa's house for a little impromptu pool party. The kids swam and cheesed for the camera. I took frame after frame after frame. We spent hours underwater and got maybe a handful of images that I considered halfway decent. This was harder than it seemed!

I took the gear out again a few times with the swim team and practiced some more on my own kids. Finally it was time for my trash the dress session with a beautiful bride who was ready to jump in.

The water was perfect that morning. It was crystal clear -- at least it was once we removed a dead scorpion -- and the happy couple had a great time swimming in their fine evening wear. We discovered that it was harder than it looks to swim without scrunching up your face while you hold your breath. And blowing bubbles wasn't such a good idea -- they obstruct the view of your face.

We spent a good long time and by the end of that session, they'd had quite a workout. After she'd changed out of her wet dress she decided she'd trash it quite definitely and throw it out. But I convinced her to give it to me. A lot of my lovely brides would love to trash a dress, but are hesitant about using their own. Thus I've accumulated quite a collection of formal wear for just such an occasion.

I can't wait to get swimming again. When you're ready to trash your dress -- or just go for a dive and capture the moment -- give me a call!

Lisa On Location Photography

Here's to Summer! Thank goodness it's almost over!

I love summer. I really do. I love hanging out at the pool or Schlitterbahn, I love being able to sleep late and having endless hours of daylight to do all the fun things I can't fit into the day when it's winter.

But as much as I love summer, I love the end of summer even more. My kids groan and complain when we go into a store at the end of July and see back to school gear. And I moan and complain with them to assure them that I'm sorry to see our freedom slipping away, (but I'm secretly pumping my fist and saying "yes").

You see, I'm a fan of summer, but I believe there is too much of a good thing and summer is just that.

A lot of people get married in summertime. A lot of them. So I continue to work in the summertime, but I no longer have the quiet hours of 7:30 to 2:30 Monday through Friday like I do during the school year. There are no quiet hours at my house right now. I get to hear the sounds of children squabbling over the Wii. The sounds of children playing the Wii. The sounds of children watching "My Little Pony" or that mermaid show from Australia that I've memorized every line of every episode yet the name of the series escapes me.

I get to feel the mommy guilt that creeps in after several hours of watching my children turn into zombies in front of a television/laptop/Nintendo DS screen. That's when I grab the towels and head to the pool. Or grab the bowling passes and head to the lanes, or the mini golf course, or the jumpy place, or the playground, assuring myself that I'll finish the job after they're in bed but I'll be damned if they're going to turn into couch potatoes.

As a result, the midnight hour has become my friend. I've never really been a night owl -- nor a morning person for that matter. I prefer to call myself a "sleep person". Yet I've grown quite accustomed to working late into the night to do my editing so that I can spend the days with my darling children.

We've had a blast this summer so far. We made a trip to Florida and Universal Orlando, visited with friends, spent some time at the beach, lots of time at Schlitterban thanks to our season passes, the kids have enjoyed several summer camps. The girls enjoyed their time with the swim team again this year and the boy tells me he got to the highest level on the Ben 10 PS2 game (I'm so proud). But now I find myself counting down the days until school starts again. Summertime, I love you, but you're days are numbered.
Lisa On Location Photography

How I Paid J.K. Rowling's Electric Bill for a Month

You may have noticed my absence from the world of blogging as of the past few weeks. Or perhaps you're thinking "oh, you went missing?" Yes, I was missing from the world of Blogger because I battled a tropical storm, throngs of people (and a dragon or two), took a wrong turn in backwoods Alabama during a flood and got to know the smells of my children a bit too well. The 2012 Blaschke road trip is now a thing of the past. It's one for the photo albums for sure.

If you've been reading up on it, you know that our destination was a surprise from the kids. It drove them crazy for months guessing and wondering. I didn't tell them at the time but they did guess it once or twice. When I first told my middle child about the surprise, the first thing out of her mouth was "is it the Wizarding World of Harry Potter?" I was hoping the surprise in my voice was contained as I answered her "I'm not telling you if it is or not."

But, yes, darling girl, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was one of our destinations on this family vacation. We also dropped in on some very good friends of ours who moved to Slidell, LA and got to catch up and stay the night not just once but twice. We were worried along the way about Tropical Storm Debby that was dropping throngs of water on the entire state of Florida the day before we left. Mostly the skies were clear along the way until we hit Lake City, where a cloudburst left us stuck in one spot on the interstate for 2 hours. I had to piddle quite urgently at this time and noticed many of my traffic jam neighbors getting out of their cars, opening their umbrellas to shield their rear ends as they squatted on the road to relieve themselves but I never got the nerve to do it myself. I managed to hold my bladder until traffic moved again and we made it to the nastiest Cracker Barrel I'd ever seen in my life.

We arrived at our hotel late that night -- sadly the contents of the diaper truck and the zuchinni truck that collided on the interstate along the way can't say the same.

We didn't see another drop of rain for several days and the theme park was quite crowded while we were there. But the Harry Potter rides were worth the wait. The kids were thrilled when they weren't squabbling.

We were a bit annoyed at their "Express Pass" method in which if we were willing to pay an additional $300 per day for our family, we could get moved to the front of the line. They failed to mention that, in theory, you could stand in the regular line all day while they let all their Express Pass holders through time and time again. But I'm not bitter about it. Nope not me. And I'm not bitter about the overpriced T-shirts that I purchased or the large quantities of butter beer that my family requested only to take two sips and leave because it was too sweet. J.K. Rowling is a fine woman who deserves my money for blessing us with Harry Potter. It takes quite a bit to pay the electric bill of that huge mansion she lives in and I wouldn't want her to have to sit in the dark for one moment!

After three days of theme park madness and massive commercialism, we hit Kennedy Space Center, a special treat for Jayme, but The Boy loved the place as well. Especially the part where he got soaked in the decorative fountain near the missile garden. Jayme was disappointed that a launch wasn't scheduled for the day we were there, maybe next time.

The next day we made our way up to Savannah, GA. I couldn't pass so close to the birthplace of Juliette Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts without making a stop! It was amazing being in a house that was almost 200 years old. If the walls of this place could talk!

We made our way home from Savannah too soon. It's on our list of places to return when we can spend a few days. We stayed one final night with our friends in Slidell and then ventured into New Orleans for the day before the long stretch home. We avoided Bourbon Street with the little one (if you'll remember my blog from our last visit there you'll understand why.

Before long we were home from the Great Blaschke Southern Adventure of 2012, as it will be known. As much as we love traveling, it's always nice to return home. Now I need a vacation.

Lisa On Location Photography