Photographer

Shoshannah

Just starting with the wedding plans, being told I need to get things like the photographer booked. What is the rough cost of hiring a photographer? Being on a budget, I'm wondering if it's even necessary to have a professional photographer. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks muchly.

joolesw1972

We origionaly weren't going to have a photographer, just get friends to take photos but a couple of friends said we might regret it if we didn't get some of the photos we wanted, so we've booked one for just 2 hours, we want 10 'posed' photos, then general ones of us & guests it's costing £200 no album, we get the pics on cd to print ourselves.
We emailed a number of photographers and asked for quotes for a couple of hours and outlined what we wanted, some didn't reply, some had a minimum package and two could do what we wanted so met them and chose the one we wanted who is a little quirky and local to us.
It all depends what you want and what you can afford, some packages can cost a lot of money but you would have coverage of the full day plus a proffessional album etc.

lindaatno9

Get the best you can afford. Photographs are the history of your day.

purplesmiler82

We are in the process of planning our wedding and were horrified when we went to a wedding fayre the other weekend to find out how much some photographer were charging (there were 7 or 8 of them there and all of their prices were around £1000 - £1500!!!)

Since then I have searched wedding forums etc and came across this website ....

http://www.weddingquotes2u.co.uk/

I recieved quite a few responses and managed to find a photographer that charges £399 for a package that includes:

formal and contempory photography (including wedding preparations and until speeches)

copyright given with all images

60 7x5 prints of your choice

a high resolution disk containing all of your images

all images placed on website for all your guests to enjoy


I was considering just asking friends and family to take photos but like the idea of having some done professionally and now i've managed to find some at what I think is a reasonable price and also includes the disk so we can print of more, print for relatives etc i'm happy

Purplesmiler x

bigmomma051204

where abouts in mids are you?? I am having this lady - www.suelloyd-weddings.co.uk (she covers most of Mids - i am very near her in Pershore,Worcs) i am paying i think about £700 for all day - this includes a dvd/cd of the pics AND an albumn if i remember correctly, her and her hubby both take pics so can get lots of different ones.... she is really nice and down to earth.....most of the others round here charged about £1200 for the same service!! :eek:

We are also on a budget - i HATE having my photo taken so it was either get a GOOD photographer who will be able to make it relatively painless and put me at ease OR have just photos by friends etc. I went for the professional in the end as i just worried that friends, family etc might not get pics of people i would like pics of...also we have a stunning venue that i would like to have beautiful photos of us in grounds etc etc.....so bit the bullet LOL

frannyann

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1471661

Have a wander though this thread, many recommendations there.

aimee21j

Totally recommend the photographer who did the photos for our wedding. She is so flexible and her work is fabulous. She is based in Lichfield and will travel.
http://www.helenhowardphotography.co.uk/

ians5

Hi Shoshannah
You are out of my area but the advice in my footer still applies. Whomever you select to be your photographer, whatever their price, meet them first, make sure you get on and have a look at their work in print (online images can mask poor quality). As others have said, photographs are one of the few things you will still have after your wedding day has drawn to a close.

DKLS

Through a mate I found a photographer, who is costing £600, a big discount based on his usual £1200!.

He specialises in asian wedding photography and wanted to branch out into western weddings, so in return for him using our pics for his portfolio we get a decent discount.

karen_newcastle

I am a wedding photographer and agree with what the others have said about it being the only record of the day.

Guests can take snaps but that's all they will ever be. They dont know about good composition, about poses that flatter the bride, about using the light and making the photos look great even in tricky lighting like bright sunshine or dark churches.

So I would decide on what you want and be realistic. For example just having the photographer cover the ceremony and some formal shots afterwards will be cheaper than all day. Creating your own photobook will work out cheaper than an album from a photographer (you will compromise on the quality of course). Then get searching.....ask for recommendations for your area on wedding forums and make an appointment to see the ones who can work to your budget. Make sure you see examples of whole weddings and not just a small selection. This will show you how versatile they are.

Good luck, there are some very talented up and coming photographers out there who are happy to take on weddings at reduced costs but please so watch out for the duds. There are MANY more of them out there unfortunately.

alenax

Do you have any friends that are doing a photography course, preferably at the end of it? That's who we're getting to do our photos. You could also find a local art college (there's UCA - University of the Creative Arts - near us) and ask some of the 3rd year photography students if they want to do it? It may be a bit of a risk but there are plenty of talented photographers who would love to do your wedding photos so that they get the experience and some portfolio shoots!