Budget photographer South Queensferry/Edinburgh area - where to look, how much

[NinaMimi]

We’re having a small wedding at a registrars next year and would like a photographer to take some nice photos during and after ceremony as it’s in a nice location. So really only needed for 2-3 hours.

I’d only need them for a few hours.
How much would be normal to pay and where is a good place to look?
I thought about students but maybe that could be unreliable and unlikely to book so far in advance?

I tried online but came across some really expensive photographers that didn’t seem to do just a few hours more like half or whole day packages which were much more than we want. Any advice of websites etc?

Any advice appreciated as I’ve just started to prepare for things.

You need to keep in mind you’re not just paying for their time on the day. They will take all your photos back and then spend time editing and compiling them. The rates you’re seeing won’t just be for their time on the day, but will allow for this as well.

I know our photographer spent at least another full day editing ours, for example.

We're having a small wedding and noticed that quite a few photographers and videographers offer bespoke micro wedding and elopement packages if you only need them for a few hours. They don't put prices on their website as they'd need to tailor the price so you'd need to get in touch to ask. Our videographer is also relatively new to the business so her rates are less than if we'd opted for someone more experienced.

My Google searches for photographers weren't helpful as they just threw up the most expensive out there and I didn't love their style. I found our photographer unexpectedly after googling the venue to see photos of other weddings and her website came up. I found the videographer after falling down a bit of an Instagram hole. Both offer bespoke elopement packages (although we opted for whole day). So many photographers and videographers post their work on Instagram so looking at one tends to lead to another recommended page. Many wedding suppliers (celebrants, florists, cakes, makeup/hair etc) also post and share photos and give credit to other suppliers so if you've got the time or inclination, it's a great way to get a feel for what's out there or the style of their work before you get in touch. That's how I've found all our suppliers.

There are also Instagram accounts like WFIL and MyScotlandWedding that post recommendations so maybe worth looking at wedding blogs like that too.

Thanks for replies.

I’m aware there’s time before and after for the photographer and don’t want to rip anyone off but the prices I came across still seemed out of my budget. It just seemed too much to be spending over 50% of whole wedding budget on it.

Thanks for tips @Coffeecakee I’ll look into those.

Realistically, for 3h you might find someone around £250-300 on the low end of the spectrum. It’s not just about time, but insurance and equipment + data storage costs. The margins for a £250 photographer will be almost non-existent but (sadly for photographers) you are still likely to find someone at that price.

I'll PM you