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

[CocoM2017]

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?

We paid 1.5k for ours and so glad we did. He did reportage photography, only one staged shot. He was such a wonderful presence to have with us we really felt like he was a great pal coming along with us for the day. The photos are astounding and my mum and grandma have since passed away so they have become even more important to us.

Our photographer was one of the best decisions we made about our wedding. We have looked at our photos plenty of times since then, and the ones we most enjoy are the more candid ones of us and our friends and family enjoying ourselves, not the formal poses.

He was amazing - really talented guy, took lots of lovely "reportage" shots as well as posed ones (in fact he managed to get at least one shot of every single guest looking amazing. Even several people who don't normally like themselves in photos asked for a copy!)
He was also really nice, went out of his way to be helpful, and even stayed longer than we initially agreed. He does a lot of wildlife photography as well as the wedding stuff and is seriously talented.

He was actually cheaper than the other photographers we spoke to whose portfolios were (imo) not nearly as good. So its not always the case that more expensive = better.

He is based in NW England and I would happily recommend him if that's where you are!

Definitely check out the portfolios and past work of any photographer you consider, and make sure that the package includes a cd or similar with all the photos on. If you want to save money you can put together your own album rather than pay for one from the photographer.

We didn't have a professional photographer. Our wedding was admittedly tiny and we went planning on having a photographer at all, just going to have crappy phone photos. My dad has a decent camera and once I said he wasn't going to be walking me in and giving me away (we walked in together) dad choose to be the official photographer and videographer. He did a decent job of it. Nobody would pay him hundreds of pounds to do their wedding photos but plenty of family friends have asked him to do their photos and are happy with the results. I'm glad we've got some photos but we're not really photo people so they're not up everywhere.

I think it honestly depends how important photos are to you.

My DH was getting appalled at the cost of photographers so I compromised and went with someone just starting out who was cheaper. It’s he only regret I have of my day and I have no pictures up of my wedding in the house.

She just didn’t have the right eye for all the small details that are so important.

Cut off the bottom of my dress in pictures, didn’t frame things right, didn’t tell me that it might be a good idea to let down or move my bustle as it creates a big bulge in my dress for a series of shots.

In fact I’m so unhappy with the pics my husband has agreed we can have a 10 year vow renewal where I will be hiring a good photographer and basically having a second wedding so I can get some nice pics- a hell of a lot more expensive than if I had just paid for the photographer in he first place.

I had a tiny wedding, no guests but a brilliant photographer. I adore my photos, worth every penny.

I’d have one if you can, mine was inly £140 for a weekday and just an hour of photos as no guests. We got digital images only, about 30 that were edited and the rest just as they were taken.

I’d always have good photos, I look st mine every day.

If professional-looking photographs are important to you, try to save in other, less important areas to fund a good photographer. Everyone must prioritise, especially on a budget.

My own wedding was on a very strict budget and I never even considered hiring a photographer. Instead, my FIL, who is interested in photography and has a very decent camera, was the designated photographer on the day and took some lovely photos. Other guests also tooks photos and were kind enough to send them to us afterwards. I have never regretted not shelling out for a photographer as funds simply wouldn't stretch to both wedding and photographer. Also I don't have and didn't want a wedding album, just a couple of photos to be displayed in our home. Fortunately I lucked out and ended up with some lovely photos.

Do think very carefully about not having a professional photographer.

A professional wedding photographer with a strong portfolio of work will have the attention to detail that will really make your photos special. It could even be something as small as moving your hands to that your flowers don't cover up the detail of your dress.

They'll spend time with you before the wedding to find out what you really want, what your likes and dislikes are and will be able to show you a range of work and styles of photography.

They'll be able to corral your guests together and manage them well in order to get group shots - this is a skill in itself.

They'll be able to arrange pose you and your guests for formal shots to make a balanced and beautiful photo.

They'll be able to take all photos without intruding on or impeding the enjoyment of the day for you and your guests.

They are skilled in making sure that the lighting, flash and exposure is correct. They won't just point and shoot like the rest of us do.

They'll spend time taking photos of things as they happen - they'll be ready with the right equipment to get photos that you wouldn't normally expect.
One of my favourite of my wedding pics is of me and DH laughing at each other with my nieces and nephews playing in the background. It's beautiful, well shot and in focus. An amateur or student wouldn't be able to capture that so perfectly.

They will spend time before the wedding getting to know the venue and considering places they can use for formal photos.

They will carry the right equipment to ensure no interruptions - like spare batteries, lenses, flash, tripod, memory cards; again, an amateur won't have these or won't consider needing them.

They will take hundreds and hundreds of photos - far more than you will ever get to see.

They will spend hours reducing the number of photos, selecting the very best ones for you to view.

They will have access to - and be able to use well - good quality editing equipment to make sure that your photos are perfect.

This kind of time and skill doesn't come cheap and it won't come by grabbing a few photography students from a local college.

I know someone who didn't pay for a photographer but got someone they knew with a fancy camera to do it. She ended up with above-waist photos of most of the formal photos, the lighting was horrendous - sun flare in external and too dark on internal photos - and not one of her full length in her wedding dress. She ended up having to go with her DH to a portrait studio in her wedding dress so that they had at least one decent photo of the dress that she spent a fortune on.

You may not think photos are important right now because of the potential cost, but if you're left with nothing but blurry, poorly shot photos from a drunken guest's iPhone you may feel differently.

Can you approach students but get them to do an hour "engagement" shoot now at the location, that way you'll get a handle on how well they can place pictures and see how imaginative they are.

If you care at all about photos, get a photographer. I’m in the field, and trust me when I say it is obvious when people have paid amateurs to do the photos. There is a lot to wedding photography, there is a lot of prep, and good photogs will bring a full spare kit (just in case) and a second shooter. I would also avoid photogs who say they prefer natural light only and don’t use flash. What they really mean is that they never really learned how to use flash effectively... a lot Of wedding venues are low light so it’s worth getting someone who knows how to use the kit, shoot in low light, and shoot moving people. Trust me when I say there is a real skill in this!

^
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!^

If you want a professional service, then you need to pay for it.

Just to stick up for family members with cameras, I had a family member do my photos and they were superb. Black and white, and colour, all just wonderful. I have one up in my living room and love to look at it. I have seen professional ones that were worse. This person had a great camera and a real eye for it as well. Just luck sometimes, which is what is so frustrating.

We didn't have a photographer, we had a very modest budget and a simple wedding. DH & I don't like our photos taken l, we wouldn't have felt comfortable standing and posing. We don't regret it at all. Everyone has camera phones, a few people brought proper cameras.

I'm surprised at how many people are saying you will regret it. We paid £150 for someone just starting out and we are really happy. They're lovely very relaxed pictures. I agree with one of the other posters though that I hate staged photos that aren't natural.
Personally I'd say don't get yourself into debt or spend money you don't have. So many people will take photos anyway and there's only so many you can frame. You'll still end up with lovely photos whether you pay hundreds or thousands (in my opinion).

We didn't have a photographer and I don't regret it. It was just before the ubiquity of digital photography, so we encouraged people to snap away on their own cameras if they wanted to and provided disposable cameras on every table. We offered to pay for any printing costs but we were gifted all of the photos we wanted.

A friend decided not to use a professional as one of her clients (she's a beautician) offered to take her photos as she had a decent camera. That was as far as it went really, she had a professional camera but she certainly didn't have an eye for photography. She even managed to get the church's large wheelie bins in many of the shots.

Whether or not you go for a professional photographer, this is what I wish I had known for my wedding...

1. Decide well in advance what photographs you want. Even if you have a professional photographer that has a trendy 'street style' or claims to be non-traditional, make sure you get a few set pieces in there that are important to you and your immediate family and friends (will put a suggested list below)

1. Discuss the list of desired photographs with the photographer in advance of the wedding. Make sure that s/he has been given 2 paper copies of the list and email it to him/her as well.

1. Make sure you have a nominated person to help the photographer and bully people into position quickly. This person will need several helpers - one for each set of people at the wedding (so bride's side, groom's side, friends from x, friends from y, etc) who knows everybody, is bossy and when given the nod, will start to round people up so there aren't long waits while everybody is waiting for just one or two people. Make sure that all these people also have copies of the shot list so they know who they need to get and when.

1. Work out a sensible order for the shots - no point getting all of one family together, then the friends, then getting some of the family back for more shots...

1. When the photographer knows where s/he will be taking the main shots, have a 'holding' area to the side/nearby so you can have people ready to walk into position as soon as the next lot of pictures are needed - again, will reduce time waiting around. Will also be somewhere for people involved in some but not all sets of shots to wait so make sure there are some seats in case there are people who can't stand for too long.

1. If you have an order of service and/or a vicar/priest/registrar/lord high poobar/etc doing notices about the day, get a mention about your plans for the photos, (eg during the drinks reception, after the canapes have been finished, during the cricket match or whenever...), apologise for the time taken, say that you're going to try to get them done as quickly as possible so if asked by [names of people you're getting to help round people up] to come for a photo, then please come when asked.

1. Don't bother with disposable cameras on the tables - they're expensive these days and you'll get much better results from people's phones...

1. ...To which end, set up a sharing site for photos from the wedding in advance, try to make sure it has a simple URL (create a bit.ly one or similar to make it short and easy and personalise it with your name) then put it into the order of service (usually at the end but maybe at the beginning if there are notices up front), onto the menu, onto any thank you cards you send out, anything really that you can think of - in order to collect as many photos as you can from the day (I know there are some people that took loads of pictures at my wedding and I haven't seen them years later, and probably never will now).

1. Try to task at least one person from each group at the wedding to take some shots of everybody in that group over the course of the day - both group shots and individual shots, so you get some reportage stuff of what's gone on that you might have missed . Preferably aim for people that like taking pictures and won't forget! It can often be a useful thing to ask a friend/relation's partner to do, particularly if they're feeling a bit of a spare part, and they like taking pictures - to be able to say 'the bride asked me to take a few shots of the things / moments / etc she was missing' as a way of going around, having an ice breaker to talk to other guests they might not know, but then being able to wander off again to take more shots when they need/want to!

10. Think about setting up a DIY photobooth corner/area. The real thing can be very expensive to hire, but it's relatively cheap to get a few props off ebay, maybe see if you can get something like a giant polaroid frame or a banner that you could get some stickers/arty friend to customise with your names and the date on, get it mentioned on the menu and in the best man's speech, again, encourage people to share pictures with you and hopefully you'll end up with lots of fun shots and your guests will have had lots of fun taking them too.

Sorry I haven't answered your actual question but hopefully this list will be useful whoever you use!

When my uncle got remarried, he asked me to be the videographer, because I was 17 and doing Media Studies at college.... I think he gave me an Amazon voucher or something.

That video is shit. I didn't even know how to work the camera properly, and I was so self concious to do it I'm shaking it around all over the place. I felt sick about it. I feel bad that I made it so terrible but....I was not a professional, and they should have paid for one if that was what they wanted.

Wow. Thats alot. I paid £200 a few years ago for all photos on a dvd, none printed off but i owned them outright and they never be used by photographer.

The photos are one of the few things that actually last longer than a day!

We had a budget wedding. We bought the bridesmaids dresses from next, a family friend did the flowers and cake and the reception was in a local village hall. We paid for a professional photographer though because it was the photos and the wedding rings that we would be keeping forever.

I wish we'd paid a professional.

We didn't have a professional photographer. We have my FIL the job of being photographer. He did a fab job, had a good camera and a remote to operate it during the ceremony.

We did have a small wedding so that might make a difference but we have lovely photos. Better than some of my friends who did have a professional.

We had a friend who is a keen amateur photographer do our photos. She was also a guest at the wedding and gave us the photos as a present. They are amazing and as she knows us, she listened to what we wanted ie no formal or posed pictures. We used some of the photos as thank you cards and people have kept them as they were so good.

We went with a £800 photographer- we had some nice shots, nothing earth shattering but a nice memory. But you do get what you pay for. If I did it again I'd have gone for more the £1500 territory. A friend of mine paid 2k and her photos were seriously stunning!!

We had a professional photographer, but he was the "stiff and formal" sort of photog, and looking back, I would have preferred more natural and fly-on-the wall photos. So I kind of regret our wedding photos, but not nearly as much as I would have if we'd asked a mate or a student to do it. We had disposable cameras on each table and ended up with classy pics of mooning guests and suchlike.

Definitely try to find it in the budget for a photographer whose work you have researched and love. It's worth it. You will likely be rushed off your feet all day long and won't get a chance to take everything in - those pictures will be your memories of the day.