I wouldn't discount Uncle Tom's photos. When I married my first wife we were both very young. (to young really) With a few hundred dollars in my pocket many of the pictures we have were taken with the old instamatic camera. The pictures are no less treasured than if an expensive pro photographer took them. The media itself tells as much of the story as the picture itself. Two kids starting out with nothing.

Since you do not know these people, you do not know if they are asking this to save money or if they truly cannot afford much. I would be inclined to help them if it was the latter and they were starting out with not much at all. I would let them know my skill level and probably not charge, after all you help them and you get to practice as well.

If they are just out shopping and have a bit of money to blow on a photographer, I would just walk away from it. Let them go shop against the guys doing this as a living. You will have to decide which situation it is. From their tone of the response you got, I think this will actually be the situation. They already have a “list” of things they want.