"I'm having a wedding. Can you be my photographer?”
Let's get one thing straight. I am an amateur photographer. I started photography as a hobby and it is still a hobby. I have a full-time job that is nothing to do with photography. I do it for love, not money.
You want someone to do some cheap photos for you, don't you? As you know me, you have come expecting that I'll do the job at little expense to you, perhaps even free.
Well I won't.
I can't guarantee that the results will be to your liking. I have no insurance against failures. I have no experience in wedding photography. I can't do it.
It is YOUR special day. If you want good images and a professional organiser, then you have to pay for this sort of thing. If I do it, it will be a sham and I will lose the confidence of you and your guests. I may even lose your friendship.
I am happy to take some snaps of your cat.
Get a professional wedding photographer. Don't ask me to do it as refusal often offends.
Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com