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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not want to pay a professional photographer for my wedding photos?!

198 replies

CocoM2017 · 05/06/2018 20:08

We are getting married next Spring and have quite a strict budget for our wedding. The one thing we haven’t sorted yet is a photographer. I have contacted a few and have had quotes from all, the most expensive being £1,900 and the cheapest coming in at £850. I only want them for the ceremony and a few hours at the reception.

This is a massive chunk out of what’s left of our already fairly modest budget (compared to a lot of weddings!) and I’m sat here tonight wondering if there’s another way to go about it.

I would really like some ‘professional’ photos from the ceremony and some at the reception venue etc but the thought of shelling out at the very least, £1k for these when they’ll probably just sit there unlocked at for the next 50 years after the initial novelty has worn off.

I was thinking about getting in touch with the local art college and seeing if any photography students would like to earn a few hundred quid? But then worry that they won’t take it seriously and will go out, get drunk the night before and not turn up, argh!

AIB tight? Should I just try and find the grand from somewhere? If you had a pro photographer, do you regret it or are you glad you forked out?

OP posts:
dusking · 05/06/2018 20:13

From my own wedding I would say photography was one of the most important things. Everything else fades and you forget about it but you’ll have the photos forever and they become very cherished as years pass by. Photography students is a great idea if you really have to and I’m sure they’ll do a good job but it definitely won’t be the same. If it was me I would probably scale back the cost on some other stuff and pay for a photographer. I paid mine £1500 (DH wasn’t very happy!) but did a lot of DIY and saved loads in other placesSmile

GinIsIn · 05/06/2018 20:15

This really is one of those things where you get what you pay for....

lilyboleyn · 05/06/2018 20:17

We didn’t have a professional photographer and I regret it deeply. Our pictures are blurry and we don’t have nice photos of the day. If I had the time again I’d cut corners elsewhere and have a proper photographer come.

user1471459936 · 05/06/2018 20:17

If there was ONE thing I could change from my wedding it would have been to have paid for a proper photographer. I'm a bit "give the underdog a chance" and so we used a photographer who was trying to establish himself. He was cheaper (think £400) but I had agreed with my husband that, of the photos were good, we would give him a bonus. The photos were absolutely fucking terrible. I cried. Luckily some guests took some photos. But I really wish I had some proper, decent photos of what was an amazing day.

Mirrorwriting · 05/06/2018 20:17

If you pay three different photography students £100 each for some photos, you should get one or two decent shots, but without breaking the bank,

happymummy12345 · 05/06/2018 20:17

I'd say defo find the money if you can. We were very lucky, my dh does photography as a sideline, he's not professional. He has a very good friend who also does photography as a sideline, again not pro, and who taught him a lot of what he knows.
His friend photographed the whole day from dh getting ready in the morning until during the reception, he'd taken every photo we wanted and both him and his wife were also there as guests, so dh and i insisted he put his camera away and have a few drinks and enjoy the rest of the evening as a guest. He also edited them all and gave us them on a usb. Both him and his wife insisted that was our wedding present from them both and refused to take a penny from us (we did try several times). So we got our pictures for free literally.
But if we hadn't of been so lucky we would have paid for a professional. You can't beat professional wedding photographs I don't think.

happymummy12345 · 05/06/2018 20:19

By not pro I mean he doesn't consider himself a professional wedding photographer. I think he should be though. He's got years of experience of doing photography.

Cathena · 05/06/2018 20:20

My friend got a family friend to do hers and they came out really badly. She’s been devastated by it. It’s so worth spending money as it’s the only thing from the wedding that you keep.

I’ve spent just over 2k on 2 photographers for mine, really top shelf ones. It’s the one thing I really care about.

ReggaetonLente · 05/06/2018 20:20

EVERYONE I know who didn’t get a professional photographer regrets it.

My dad died unexpectedly 6 months after we got married, I will forever be thankful that I have so many beautiful pictures of him at our wedding. I really would say they are priceless.

GemmaB78 · 05/06/2018 20:21

Going against the grain here, but we didn't have an "official" photographer and don't regret it at all. I have a dear friend who takes photos in her spare time and she took some on the day as a gift to us and they are lovely. Equally lovely are the grainy candid shots taken by other guests. We still haven't got around to printing any off yet, so clearly not that important to us!

user1471459936 · 05/06/2018 20:23

Oh. An example of the crap photos: the photographer arranged me and my husband looking at each other. Fine. But I had my hair in a sort of side parting with a beautiful head band thing positioned on the other side. The photographer had my parting towards the camera rather than the headpiece. And he seemed to do this in most of the photos. A professional would notice this! We thought he would take photos of our guests but he didn't. He didn't even take photos of the venue until we mentioned it and he went back and took photos a week later! Please please please get a professional!

TillyTheTiger · 05/06/2018 20:23

We had a very inexpensive wedding but the photographer was the one thing I refused to skimp on. We have our wedding photos all over the house, our wedding album is absolutely gorgeous and seeing the pictures makes me happy every day. I am so glad I insisted on a professional rather than just getting family and friends to send the odd snap to us afterwards

HarrietKettleWasHere · 05/06/2018 20:24

Our photographer will be a huge chunk of budget- £2000

I believe it'll be worth every penny, she's done some fab work.

It wasn't something we were adamant about having- until DP's sister's wedding, where she had a friend do the pictures who was doing a college photography course and has a fancy camera.

It's not just that the photos are terrible, it's that she was totally crap at organising anyone into group shots. She'd just sort of snap people randomly as they stood talking to each other (and no that wasn't a style or anything!) I had to shove DP into the family shots or he'd have been missing from them.

DP and I are not great at having our picture taken, don't love it at all, but I'd be gutted if I didn't have good, clear professional pictures to look at from the day.

greendale17 · 05/06/2018 20:27

My friend didn’t bother with a professional photographer either. Her photos were awful and it is the only thing she regrets

Starlight2345 · 05/06/2018 20:27

I didn't pay for a photographer at my wedding..I now do regret that. I would cut many more things before photographer if I did it again.

PorkyPortia · 05/06/2018 20:27

If you do pay for a professional check who you are getting . We went with an established wedding photographer and they sent a trainee but didn’t tell us in advance

Beerandpancakes · 05/06/2018 20:29

I really treasure my photos and have them up in the house and still look at the album years later. But I'm like that with all photos - we always have ones with nice memories dotted around. How do you feel about pictures generally - especially ones of yourself? How would you feel if the majority were rubbish?

It's also worth thinking about how much time on the wedding day you're willing to devote to pictures. Even a great pro can only do so much if you're not willing to spend a bit of time being photographed (candid shots are great but I know someone who didn't allow any time for group shots and was then really annoyed not having any pictures of certain family members - in fairness to the photographer he probably didn't know who they were).

HyacinthsBucket70 · 05/06/2018 20:30

Photographers charge a lot because they use expensive equipment, and are very good at getting shots quickly without intruding upon the day. They also adequately back up their images, and can use photoshop well. There is a real art to a good wedding photo, and that is why they charge for it. There is a lot more to it than whipping a camera out of a bag and shouting "cheese".

A student will not have been taught to do wedding photos. They will have done studies, landscapes, studio and marketing shots. (I know this as I did a course myself). It depends if you want the memories for years to come, or you're happy to rely on slightly out of focus iphone shots from your guests.

louharrisismyhero · 05/06/2018 20:31

sorry OP but you get what you pay for.

there's a vast difference between a professional photographer who's experienced in these sort of events (even for seemingly simple things like controlling guests, being friendly, and capturing key moments unobtrusively - much harder than your average adult and certainly student will be able to do). and who has professional insurance. and high quality kit. and a reputation to lose.

vs

a student who you've given some cash to who has a vague interest in studying a creative subject at a local college.

I'm not saying there aren't the rare gems of really talented individuals who then go on to do amazing photography.. but most of them will not.

do you really want to risk that on your wedding day?

Aragog · 05/06/2018 20:32

We didn't have a professional photographer at our blessing in the UK. My dad's friend was a very good amateur photography, plus several guests took photographs. This was pre digital - they sent us copies. We have some lovely natural photographs.

I do have some professional ones from my actual ceremony abroad. They are nice, but tbh the friend would have been more than capable of taking the same quality of shots.

So to me, it was no problem - and save us a small fortune. I don't regret it. However, I absolutely hate having my photograph taken. I love taking photographs and do so a lot, with my big camera, but being on the other side of the lens fills me with dread. I didn't enjoy that aspect at all! So, that side of things wasn't so important to me in many ways.

Photographers vary a lot. So, if spending a lot, you must have a look at a range of their examples and have a good talk with them about what you want to achieve with the photography. Just because someone sets themselves up as professional doesn't mean they are really good.

Flowersonthewall · 05/06/2018 20:33

Getting a professional is worth it and they do deserve to be paid for the amount of work that goes into it
Don't be tight

breadwidow · 05/06/2018 20:33

Also going against the grain of responses, we didn't have a professional photographer & have no regrets about it. I asked a friend who is a very good photographer to take a few pics - he did & they were great (and sorted prints for me, though I paid). A couple of other friends also took some lovely shots and so I got the hi res digital files to get prints ordered. I would caveat this by the fact DH & I were really not that into having posed pics and I think no photographer suited this. If you want some posed pics then a photographer is probably important.

Friskyandhustley · 05/06/2018 20:34

We got someone from a local degree course. She was brilliant. We have great photographs and she went on to run a very successful business. I think she tried really hard because she wanted some good shots for her website. This was a very long time ago though, and we were really after
an informal ‘reportage’ style at a time when the norm was lots of family groups lined up.
I get what others are saying about the risk but PP makes a good suggestion about employing more than one as a back up. I also researched to find the good degree courses and contacted the course leader to find someone talented. I also think you get a good sense from looking at someone’s work and talking to them about what you want (both professional or student). I’ve known people very disappointed with ‘professionals’ too.
I suppose it ultimately depends on whether you want to capture happy memories, or end up with some really good professional photography. You’re bound to get the former as everyone there will be snapping away and there’ll be bound to be plenty of nice pictures even if your photographer doesn’t deliver. If you want to guarantee a fabulous album then you might need to go to someone with a track record.
Hope you get what you want and have a lovely day.

lucy101101 · 05/06/2018 20:35

I do not regret not having a photographer!!! I told all the guests in advance that I would love to have any photos they had taken... and we were sent loads of amazing ones. However... lots of our friends are in creative fields and some were actually photographers... and I didn't want any formal/staged photographs more reportage style images. Interestingly the very best photographs, in one case multiple amazing photographs, were from people who weren't photographers... or ostensibly 'creative'.....

shinycat · 05/06/2018 20:35

@cocom2017

Yeah DO get a professional photographer. You will regret it so much if you don't. We did, and it cost around 15% of our wedding budget, but the pics are wonderful, and I love them, even over 20 years later, and have 5 of the pics in frames, dotted around the house. (1 of them in a 12 x 16 frame and 1 in a 20 x 24 frame!) Some family members of mine and DH's have one or two each too. (of our wedding.)

To be fair, £800 doesn't sound TOOOOO bad if you think some people spend £20K-25K on their wedding. I know you probably aren't, but I would push the boat out for your photographs OP. Don't risk having shit photos of a day you can NEVER get back, just to save 3 or 4 hundred pounds. Just don't!