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 used a professional photographer against my instincts and I do regret it. We did research and got one with a good reputation but the pictures are nothing special, the fancy album sits on a shelf gathering dust and some of the snapshots taken by guests are far more reflective of the day than the staged ones.
I wish I'd not bothered but that might be just me.

If you want snapshots get mates to do it on their iPhones. If you want a photo album to show the grandkids get a photographer. Simple.

I've been happily married for coming up to 20 years this year, before iPhones and cheaper Digital cameras. I can't remember when the last time I looked at my wedding album was. I've watched the wedding video twice. I did have disposable cameras on the table and I can't remember the last time I looked at that album either! If it's something you're not that bothered about, don't even worry about it! Send a message out to your friends and get them to take photos instead.

The one negative memory I have of my wedding day is when the photographer was trying to get a cheesy "newly married couple on the bed" photo and I was like, "Ok, I'm done. I want to hang out with my family and friends now". He was pissed off and I felt like I'd wasted 2 hours of my special day on shit.

We paid 650 for our 'professional' photographer to do a few of us getting ready, then a few at the churck, then some posed ones afterwards and cake cutting. I hated the photos when I saw them. Hated them so much I never ordered the already paid for photo album or the three parent albums. I only had the tiny thumbnail sized copies on a viewing book he made us - and two years went by before I could even consider ordering the albums. But by then he had deleted all my photos. No attempt to contact me warning he wouldn't keep them - just gone. So I would say pay the most you can for the photos because otherwise you have nothing to look back on in 10, 15 years time or show people who ask what your dress looked like. I only have these non professional shots of mine. It makes me sad when I think how foolish I was not to really get picky with photographer.

My friend's husband who is an enthusiastic amateur photographer did our wedding photos in lieu of a wedding present. The came out wonderfully. We had a mix of casual and formal ones and a mix of colour and black and white. They are much nicer than the professional ones from my first wedding. I did know he was good though as I had seen some of his photos and really liked them.

DH's only input to our day was to insist on a professional photographer. I hate photos of myself but was delighted with the photos of the wedding. It was my first experience of reportage style, we ended up with pictures of each family/couple/group as they arrived and lots of candid pictures throughout the day.

The day itself went by in a flash for me, the pictures showed me lots of things i would otherwise have missed. Anyone who asked to see the photos, we had one picture of us, looking at each other, one of the group photo and the;, the pictures of the people themselves arriving. Nowadays, with Digital pictures, I would use the pictures of them as a thank you card, easy enough with Moonpig et al.

We have had the same photographer back for a couple if family events since our wedding. Including m6 mothers 90th birthday. Its lovely to have pictures of the people in the family who usually take the pictures...

1 it's the one part of the wedding (apart from the marriage of course) that lasts beyond the wedding day. I used to work in the industry, I've met plenty of brides/couples who regretted NOT getting a professional photographer and none that regretted that they did.

2 you are being very dismissive of the profession. It's NOT just the few hours at the actual wedding you're paying for its

A the training and skills of the photographer (developed over many years) not only in photography but interpersonal skills (see all the in-laws threads on mn and imagine how tricky it must be for photographers to negotiate all the family politics)

B the equipment - honestly do a quick Google and see the price of even just 1 fairly basic DSLR camera is. They need more than one, lenses, tripods, lighting, cleaning and maintenance tools...

C the software they will use to produce both the printed photographs and probably a digital album for you - and again the skills to use this

D the time in prepping, editing and collating all the shots taken

E basic overheads - travel, insurance etc plus it's a self employed largely seasonal role.

Now see where the money goes?

There are many fripperies people have in a wedding I'd suggest were cut LONG before they decided to not have a photographer.

Church flowers, table centrepieces, favours, some of the bespoke stationery, unnecessary reception venue decorations, buttonholes for anyone but the groom... A lot of it you don't really need.

I married over 20 years ago and am now divorced but I'm so glad to have photos to show dd that her dad and I WERE happy together at one point, and to have lovely photos of now departed but much loved relatives.

Just don’t have a photographer if the photos aren’t a priority for you. I wish we hadn’t bothered. They are nice photos, but I’m not someone who ever sits down to look at photos and reminisce.

Not every photographer is a good wedding photographer.
I work with some award-winning professional snappers and only one or two are capable of doing a good job on weddings.
Remember you are not just paying for their time on the day, you are paying for expertise, equipment and editing time.
Get a student and you may get lucky - but you may regret it if you don't. You only get one shot at doing wedding photos and it's one of the few things that you carry forward from the day (others being the rings) - which is why it's worth paying for a professional IMO.

Been a bridesmaid 4 times. Turned down six full on proposals.

Oops Cat sat onhand. It’s a day. A party. Spend a couple of grand onthe best

We went with professional photographers when we got married 15 years ago. We went to the shop two days after our wedding and chose the pictures we wanted and he mounted them in a huge album (that is so heavy it has now fallen apart). We went back to get our portrait (a big blown up picture that was part of the original package) and he told me that he had managed to lose our
Pictures, so we never got that. Our photos are stiff, unedited and generally a mess-we got much better photos from guests who attended with their point and shoot cameras. Just to say that whoever you end up
Goingwith, look at precious work so you have an idea of their style,and also make sure they have a list of shots that are important to you.

Why should something like photographywhich still costs a lot to get intobe discounted just because it's a student shooting?

I didn’t think it needed explaining but okay Professional photographers that have been doing it for years deserve to be paid more because they have experience and years of honing their technique on their side. Their photos are likely to be of an exceptionally high quality due to this.

Students, who may well be semi-professional photographers, are learning. Therefore they don’t have the necessary experience or years of technical training that warrants a high pay, and their photos will not be as good quality due to those aspects.

Hence they should charge a much lower price.

Your comparisons are absolutely ridiculous. A student waiter isn’t going to differ that much from one who has been doing it years, and it’s pretty standard stuff that if you’ve been doing something for years as opposed to studying about it and learning it, you get to charge more.

I'm pro professional photographer for all the reasons already stated.

Just wanted to point out that you aren't just paying them to come for a few hours on the day. The proper professional editing will take them many more hours than they spent at your event!!

If you can't afford it, you can't afford it & need to come up with a plan B. We didn't have one just asked my Dad and BIL if they could bring their cameras & take a few photos and then asked anyone who took photos on their phones to send them to us. The Registrar happily took a few photos of all of us - having volunteered to do so - and so did the waitress in the restaurant. We ended up with half a dozen really nice photos which is more than enough to have scattered around the house. I'm not sure what I'd do with 800! I also couldn't have been bothered with all of the posing involved.
It may be trite but a wedding is about the marriage not the day. Wouldn't you rather have £1800 to spend on a holiday next year or a new sofa or boiler when you need one?

My dsil used a friend who enjoyed photography for her wedding photos & picked the cheapest videographer she would for their wedding a few years ago. The majority of their wedding photos didn’t turn out due to lighting issues as they got married in evening in an outdoor location & in a section of the video it looks like a foreign kungfu film as the voices don’t match the mouths speaking. Needless to say cheap isn’t always the best option!

A photography student from the local art college is doing ours. My parents are good friends with several (acclaimed) professional photographers who also lecture so they were able to reccomend some good quality candidates.

Our photos cost £1,000, which was less than the photographer's usual rate, but our wedding didn't start until 4pm and we agreed he'd leave after the first few dances, plus it was quite close to home for him (he's got a very distinctive style and gets booked for weddings all over the UK and a few overseas). The photos were absolutely incredible and worth every penny.

Go with your plan and offer the job to a photography student OP. I am professionally involved with the photography sector and offered the job to new graduates from an art school - I got two people for eight hours for £500. I didn’t want prints, just digital copies of everything. I got absolutely stunning shots. I didn’t want schmaltzy, cliched wedding images and I was not disappointed - our photos are stunning and both photographers did an absolutely amazing job. They’ve both generated an awful lot more work out of doing this for us too, so it worked out really well. It’s not taking a risk as you can look at someone’s portfolio beforehand... you really do not have to spend thousands on photos to get something quite special.

If you are spending a lot of money on a beautiful dress and a lovely venue, why wouldn't you go the extra mile and pay a professional to capture it for posterity? I eloped, but still booked a photographer - in fact he doubled as a witness!

Everyone I know who has used an enthusiastic 'family friend' with a decent camera has regretted it...Blurred shots, rubbish angles, closed eyes, ugly objects in the background that can't be cropped out (e.g. Scaffolding) and not knowing the best line ups so certain family/friends got left out of official pics. It's a false economy.

If you ask a photography student to do it, hire more than one that way you've hedged your bets a bit!

Also, pay them a reasonable amount (will still be cheaper than an experienced professional) and although it should go without saying, be respectful and nice when dealing with them (no asking for free engagement shots!)

I do think you have a better chance of getting a quality service from people you have treated fairly.

Also, manage your expectations if you go down this route; You can't assume that the shots will turn out as well as a more expensive photographer, but you might get lucky!

@flyingspaghettimonster Gorgeous dress!!!

Whereabouts are you op? I can do it? Not full professional degree level and experienced and have shot a few weddings. I’ll charge you less than £850 :-)

Whoops! Editing fail. I’m not a full professional but am degree level, experienced and have shot weddings.

How about some disposable cameras on the tables for guest snaps too?

We also did the "give the underdog
A chance" as we were on a very tight budget and friends recommended this pair. When I received the awfully, awfully edited photos I requested the master copies and he argued artistic license.

In fact, I've been contemplating just dressing up for a few snaps just of me and my husband, so we have some photos which are good.