How to haggle with the photographer

ag19lfc

We have contacted several photographers we like in our local area and most of them are coming back with prices over what we have budgeted for.

What's the best way to haggle with them?

I was thinking of saying how much we admired their work etc etc but unfortunately we are working towards a strict budget and then asking them if they are flexible on their prices at all.

Is it best to reveal what our budget is or wait to see what they come back with in response to the above?

notanewuser

They're not likely to take your booking if you try haggling. I know several photographers - they're professionals. If you like their work, pay for it!

(It's a huge responsibility and a big time commitment to photograph a wedding. Please don't expect them to sell themselves short!)

Ruby_Roo

notanewuser wrote: »

They're not likely to take your booking if you try haggling. I know several photographers - they're professionals. If you like their work, pay for it!

(It's a huge responsibility and a big time commitment to photograph a wedding. Please don't expect them to sell themselves short!)

I'd agree with this. If you're getting married on a weekday or in the dead of winter you could ask if there is any discount for weekdays/off season but I think being any pushier than that and they will think you're gonna be a pain in the !!! and may take the booking.

Our photographer is £1800. It's a huge amount of money - but we've seen the photos from the cheaper photographers, examples of their albums, reviews from local people and that all led us to conclude you get what you pay for. Our photographer wasn't the most expensive out there but he's excellent and for what we're getting I'm happy with the price.

notanewuser

Ruby_Roo wrote: »

I'd agree with this. If you're getting married on a weekday or in the dead of winter you could ask if there is any discount for weekdays/off season but I think being any pushier than that and they will think you're gonna be a pain in the !!! and may take the booking.

Our photographer is £1800. It's a huge amount of money - but we've seen the photos from the cheaper photographers, examples of their albums, reviews from local people and that all led us to conclude you get what you pay for. Our photographer wasn't the most expensive out there but he's excellent and for what we're getting I'm happy with the price.

We paid more than £2k. The photos were worth every penny - even 10 years on!!!

ceh209

I think the only thing you could try is if they offer a standard package, is to negotiate based on all the items in that package. Say if you don't want a particular bit of it, ask them how much it could save if you took it out?

Other than that I don't think photographers can afford to be very flexible at all.

ellesbellesxxx

I echo what everyone else has said. Our photographer has a basic package which we have opted for 3-4 hours 400 pounds... she will meet us at venue. However, we love her photos and we opted for this as we felt that we didn't want hours of photos plus some friends and family members are excellent photographers too so we know we will have more lovely photos.
You can definitely ask for a basic package and see what they say, however they will be offended if you haggle too much.

DomRavioli

Hi OP,

Just to reiterate what has been said - if you like their work, pay their prices - the better photographers can ask for decent money and get it any day of the week.

IF you're really struggling on budget, and you have no way of raising the extra, then you're stuck with either friends and family, a cheaper but possibly lower quality photographer, or maybe even a student.

Photos are one of the things you should pay out for, they are your main reminder of the day you pledged your lives to each other, so don't scrimp because I have heard of some horror stories through bad photography and you can't do it over.

ruby_eskimo

I would also echo what everyone else has said i.e haggle by taking things out of their standard package if you can. However we actually managed to get a discount with our photographer by stalking them a little bit: we found them at a local wedding fair and really liked their style then went to the National Wedding show in London where they were exhibiting and they were giving away vouchers for £200 off if you booked within 4 weeks of the show. So that way we're getting their top price package for the price of the mid-range package that we actually wanted. We didn't go to the wedding show just to see them, but we were more convinced about going because they were there.

ag19lfc

On the photographer's site, he has put:

Q. What if I'm on a budget?
A. Tell me the price you have in mind and I can quote a tailored price to suit your needs

If we could get about 20% off the asking price, we would be near a figure we had in mind.

Just not sure how best to suggest it to them?

gadgeteer_2

I'm a professional wedding photographer so here are my snippets of advice. Hope they help:

1. When is your date? I'm far more open to giving a discount if it is a wedding outside of the peak season or for a wedding that's not on a Saturday. If you are getting married in for example a Saturday in August then most established photographers won't want to discount anything because chances are they can fill that date. This year I've turned away far more bookings for summer dates than I've been able to take on.
2. Give a reason why a discount is a good idea. Going in with "I'm on a budget, can you give me a discount?" isn't going to cut it. Instead going in with "Do you offer shorter coverage? If so how much would that be?" would be better. They work less hours, you get a cheaper price. There's something in it for them. Of course 1) may override that and they could just hold out for a full day couple.
3. What is your budget? There are just so many wedding photographers nowadays that no matter what your budget you can find someone. If you are seriously budget constrained then you could find a less experienced photographer who is still building up their business? If you let me know your budget and area of the UK I can give you a better idea of what is realistic. £1500 in say Nottingham is going to get you a lot more than in London.
4. Drop the album from the package until after your wedding. There's no point in ordering an album now when funds are tight. Get the best photographer you can afford then make an album up after the event. After all, no photographer is ever going to say "Nah....don't want the money."

Hope that helps

ag19lfc

gadgeteer wrote: »

I'm a professional wedding photographer so here are my snippets of advice. Hope they help:

1. When is your date? I'm far more open to giving a discount if it is a wedding outside of the peak season or for a wedding that's not on a Saturday. If you are getting married in for example a Saturday in August then most established photographers won't want to discount anything because chances are they can fill that date. This year I've turned away far more bookings for summer dates than I've been able to take on.
2. Give a reason why a discount is a good idea. Going in with "I'm on a budget, can you give me a discount?" isn't going to cut it. Instead going in with "Do you offer shorter coverage? If so how much would that be?" would be better. They work less hours, you get a cheaper price. There's something in it for them. Of course 1) may override that and they could just hold out for a full day couple.
3. What is your budget? There are just so many wedding photographers nowadays that no matter what your budget you can find someone. If you are seriously budget constrained then you could find a less experienced photographer who is still building up their business? If you let me know your budget and area of the UK I can give you a better idea of what is realistic. £1500 in say Nottingham is going to get you a lot more than in London.
4. Drop the album from the package until after your wedding. There's no point in ordering an album now when funds are tight. Get the best photographer you can afford then make an album up after the event. After all, no photographer is ever going to say "Nah....don't want the money."

Hope that helps

Thanks for this.

We are getting married on a Sunday in April, would this be classed as "off-peak"?

I've asked them for a full breakdown of the package that appeals to us, to see if we can come up with something more tailored to help reduce the costs

We thought £500 would get us someone nice but of the 30 or 40 local photographers I found through Google, only one of them offered something at this price. Having underestimated the cost, we would now be prepared to go up to about £700, which is 20% lower than the price we have found.

We have found other photographers slightly cheaper but we love the style of this photographer.

Here's hoping we can come to an agreement on a bespoke package!