Help with cheap but GOOD wedding photographer for our summer wedding.

bongo73

Bride & groom on a budget please help.

We are looking for a good photographer but at a reasonable cost due to our wedding budget. I have come across this website Guides for Brides has anyone heard of them?

We would really appreciate your feedback as want to get a good deal but not skimp on quality.

Does anyone know what would be the best questions to ask? is it better to have an inexperienced cheaper photographer or one that just cheap packages?

Anyone that is booking their suppliers now or had a recent wedding, did you go for half a day photographer rather than full day as this looks like a cheaper option?

Any advice would really help. 

Exodi

I think you'll have to give us an idea of your location if you want specific recommendations, because it's unlikely a nationwide photographer will be the cheapest.

Regarding the more general questions (who doesn't want a good deal), I'll add my experience (I got married last year).

As background, we did our wedding very cost effectively (we hired a village hall for the weekend, we personally decorated it all the day before and held the ceremony in the small hall and the reception in the large hall - it actually came out looking incredible, though I was there until nearly midnight the day before and had to take it all down the day after!). We wanted to get married but we didn't want to spend a house deposit on it in the process. In the end (after selling our decorations, we spent £6k in total (plus we received about £1.5k in cash and vouchers so you could say it cost us £4.5k). We didn't mention the cost (as it may cause people to pre-judge, but everyone attending said it was perfect).

The photographer arrived at 2:00pm for some nice shots before the ceremony at 3.30pm (to reduce the down period for guests between the reception), did a load of group shots after the ceremony and then took photos off her own accord the rest of the afternoon. They stayed till just after our first dance at 7:00pm... so 5-6 hours/half day.

We chose our photographer based on their portfolio (though price was a factor). I do a lot of graphic design at work so I have a relatively keen eye and I liked the particular style of post processing they did. Which paid dividends as my wife ruined the bottom of her white dress during a photoshoot after the ceremony (we ventured into the woods for a couple photos!) but it was magically sparkling white in our first dance images  

I'd say it depends on your timings on whether you can do a half day because obviously if your ceremony is at 11am and your first dance is at 8pm then you'll have to choose which you miss in photos!

easyasonetwothree

I wouldn't skimp on the photographer, that's going to be your lasting memories of the big day. Look at their previous work and decide if you like their style and how they edit their photos. I came across some awful photographers which didn't charge much, but I would have been so disappointed with the photos. 
If you haven't already, having your wedding on a weekday will likely lower the cost of the photographer, and they'll charge less for less hours. 
Remember to strike a deal with them too! Also, some charge for deals like albums or prints, which you could do yourself for less.

Emmia

And... When are you getting married? The good photographers are often booked up to 2 years in advance.

I got married on a Friday, 10 months after engagement and it was an issue finding a photographer.

Gavin83

bongo73 said:

Bride & groom on a budget please help.

We are looking for a good photographer but at a reasonable cost due to our wedding budget. I have come across this website Guides for Brides has anyone heard of them?

We would really appreciate your feedback as want to get a good deal but not skimp on quality.

Does anyone know what would be the best questions to ask? is it better to have an inexperienced cheaper photographer or one that just cheap packages?

Anyone that is booking their suppliers now or had a recent wedding, did you go for half a day photographer rather than full day as this looks like a cheaper option?

Any advice would really help. 

What do you consider a reasonable cost to be?

Unfortunately like a lot of things good and cheap doesn’t really exist. You can get average (at best) for cheap or excellent but expensive. If wedding photographers are great they’ll be in demand and will charge accordingly.

If you’re on a budget then I’d suggest one of two options:

1) Find yourself a photographer that’s new to the market and needs to build that reputation. However this is a gamble as there’s probably more chance than not that they won’t be very good. After all inexperience generally isn’t a positive thing in any industry. However you could get lucky and bag yourself what is essentially an excellent amateur.

2) Get the most basic photography package you can find. I strongly suspect except for that main photo you put on the wall you’ll barely ever look at any of the photos. I can’t remember the last time I looked at my wedding album. Keeping it minimal might save you some money.

missimaxo

There are a lot of people out there advertising as wedding photographers who have just bought a dslr and shoot on automatic. One way of Weeding out these real beginners and to reduce the risk to you, I'd ask the following questions...

How many cameras do they bring, you want at least 2 for a single photographer in case of equipment fail.

Do they have insurance (public liability/ professional indemnity).

What is written into the contract in case of photographer illness. A good photographer may have someone else they can contract to.

How many photographers on the day? If there's two it can mean one with the bride getting ready, one with the groom and two points of view in the ceremony.  One way to cut down is to have just one person, so how will they deal with being with each party beforehand, where will they aim to stand in the ceremony (some venues, churches in particular, can be very funny about where photographers stand. Some say at the back only, some are happy to be up front.

Then I'd ask them experience of your venue(s). Does it have any tricky things to deal with eg. Low level light and not allowed to use flash, do they know how to work in these conditions. You'd be surprised as some 'professionals' don't know what to do.

What will they do if its raining, I've seen some appalling indoor shots from photographers when the weather was poor outside, particularly with lighting large groups (will they bring lights/ extra flashes) and in Positioning people in sometimes limited space.

Make sure you see lots of photos from each wedding they've done before, not just a small sample of the best shots.  Even the worst photographer can have one or two amazing photos.

How much or little do they do in post processing?

What ultimately do you want to receive. Some photographers will give you a lot of digital photos with permission to print as a package, some will charge extra for this. Some offer an album, which there's a wide variety of, some just offer limited prints and everything extra you have to buy.

When thinking of how long you want them there, think about your day. You don't have to have getting ready shots but they can be nice and give the other person  an idea of what their partner was up to. When you get to your meal, do you want the speeches photographing or not? Do you want first dance or not? Something like the cake cutting can be mocked up earlier in the day rather than taking the actual one in the evening of you've booked for less time. 

missimaxo

Oh and one last thing, whatever your budget buy wedding insurance. It's not usually that expensive but can cover you for supplier failure, sometimes a reshoot of photos if the photographer failed to deliver or loses the shots.  It's definitely worth it

GDB2222

I remember phoning a photographer when my wife and I were getting married. The photographer's response:

"Sorry, I am busy, as I'm getting married this afternoon."

Slinky

If you have a photographer with experience of your venue that could be invaluable. After we married, we took our guests on a coach trip around the safari park attached to our wedding venue. We followed the correct route which took us to a side exit, accessed by a long track across the park, but the safari park people had forgotten to open a locked gate for us to exit. Backing the coach back up a half mile of track didn't seem a good option. We'd still be there now if it hadn't been for the photographer having a mobile phone, in the days before everybody had them, with the telephone number of the right people to contact for them to remotely open the gate.

Zoe02

Depends on your location. 

Speak with family and friends if they have recommendations. 

Check their work, Instagram a good place but they can be pricy. 

bongo73

Thank you all for your comments they have been really helpful.

We are in South East England bordering a few counties, only an hr from London. 

We hadn't thought of wedding insurance, any recommendations of companies to use?

It is all very daunting and your posts have helped give us some ideas of questions to ask, we have allocated around £1500 - £2k max for a photographer.