Did you have a professional photographer at your wedding?

Question

If YES - What was your experience? Would you hire a professional again? Did you feel overcharged or was the price right?

Answer 1

At the end of the day, the only things you will have left are your spouse and your photos. So photography is something that should not be skimped on or left to an amateur/hobbyist since they don't have the same training or skill that a professional does.

Not all photographers are alike. Everyone has different styles, price ranges, and personalities so you need to shop around and find what you like best that fits your budget and someone who you get along with who shares your vision.

A good place to check out for vendor recommendations is the local chat boards at http://talk.theknot.com They can tell you who is good and who to avoid.

Answer 2

To the guy that said "you get what you pay for", that's not always the case, and that's a huge generalisation. I worked as a wedding photographer for a couple of years, and since I was building up my profile, I would do jobs at cost price. the most I charged for one wedding was £300 ($600). It doesn't mean I was any less professional, and it doesn't mean that my work was below the standard of the top photographers; it just meant that I was starting out in the business, and I wanted to attract more clients. And remember that this photographer you've found only has more experience because she's been given the opportunity. It's a catch 22 for your fiance's uncle: He doesn't have the experience because people won't give him the opportunity, yet he won't be given the opportunity until he has experience. A tad unfair, don't you think? _ _ _ You need to do what feels right. I also have an uncle that does photography as a hobby, and he's doing our photography. His work is of a high standard, so we're honoured to have him helping out. But we're also having 2 other friends (who studied photography with me), so that my uncle can be in some of the photos, instead of behind the camera all the time. If you refer to go with the pro photographer, your excuse can be that you want his uncle to relax and feel like a proper guest. He won't be in any of the photos if he's taking them. If you want him to do the photos, then you've saved yourself $1400 (which is a lot of money in anyone's book). But perhaps you will compromise on quality; I don't know what standard his work is. As a photographer, you're forever thinking about composition, lighting etc, there's no time to appreicate what is happening in front of you. I don't remember anything about the weddings I photographed, I only remember it through the images I took, which is quite sad. Therefore in my opinion, it would be nicer for your fiance's uncle to be a regular guest during this time, so he can actually enjoy the service. You could have the pro photographer for the ceremony and formal photos, and then have the uncle doing the photos of the reception, cutting of the cake etc. These are the less important photos, so the dip in standard wouldn't matter so much, and he would still feel like he helped contribute to your special day. Remember that he might not feel like he has much to offer, but by taking the photos at your wedding, he feels like he's doing a huge thing for you. I am the same; I don't have much money, so I buy a gift I can afford, and then I make sure I also take some nice pictures of their wedding; whether they havea professional photographer or not. I send them a CD of the images, and they're always really happy that I do.

Answer 3

We decided to have a professional do our wedding purely 'cos we don't plan on doing this again and we wanted lifetime keepsakes. We were very clear with what we wanted (ie natural - not even knowing he was there kinda thing) and what we didn't want (posing luvvy duvvy - not us at all). We were also clear that we didn't want to spend the whole time being pushed from pillar to post for this, that and the other and 'cos we were up front about it - he was excellent.

We are also getting hold of the 'guests' pictures to make a 'unofficial' album, which has some quite candid ones especially as most professional photographers don't stay for the reception when you can get quite a lot of good shots.

I would say, choose one, but tell them exactly what you want from them - you are paying and (I'm guessing you already know this) their not cheap. Happy wedding.

Answer 4

I have been married 3 times (1st 2 were practice, lol). The 1st two times I hired a photographer who did not specialize in weddings to get a better price. The 3rd wedding I bit the bullet and paid a lot more for a professional. Was the price high? You bet. Was it worth it? Absolutely. The photos (and video) are all you have to look back on in the days, weeks, and years following your wedding. No other item you spend money on is as important IN THE LONG RUN. Eventually everyone forgets about the favors, the food, the centerpieces. The photos are FOREVER.

Answer 5

Yes, but our photographer was more of an arty photographer. She even told us that she does weddings as a money maker! It was great because other than a bunch of family shots, she mostly just took pictures without us posing or anything. They turned out great and are just my style. It was not that expensive for us $1500 and that included ten hours of her time and over 800 pictures.

You can hire a student if you don't have much money, but even a photgraphry student will have a much better understanding of light and angles and all that stuff then anyone who is not a professional.

Answer 6

Yes, he did a wonderful job. He charged us a lower price because he's a family friend. But if I had to pay higher than that, I would probably not have hired one. I cannot remember the total price (he was there for about 6 hours and took hundreds of pictures, but the album (which is just beautiful) was $300, 14 years ago! Realize that this was in the middle of nowhere in PA! Plus I am a cheap skate, I paid only $200 for my wedding gown!

Answer 7

Yes, it was the best investment of the wedding. I felt it was a good price, my pictures turned out great, and it was well worth it because I will ALWAYS have the pictures. My sis in law didn't use a professional photographer, and there's a HUGE difference. Ask for recommendations from friends.

Answer 8

We hired a professional and had a great experience. He was worth every penny, and I would hire him again in a heartbeat. I felt like the price was a bargain, cause we have incredible wedding pictures. Having a friend do it will document the day, but you won't get those pictures that will be jaw-dropping.

Answer 9

We chose an al-a-carte photographer and couldn't be happier. The photographer is actually going to be our family photographer for as long as he is in business! The price was right ($800) and the pictures produced were incredible.

We had to interview a LOT of people though. It took 2 weeks of researching and interviewing to get it down to one person.

Answer 10

Yes we did and he was wonderful. We paid $900 and we retained all rights and proofs. We also received a studio session as part of our deal. Our album looks great. I love the formal studio shots (we did them a few weekes after the honeymoon, but he wore his tux and i wore my dress). He spent 7 or 8 hours at the wedding and reception plus our studio session took about 2 hours. We have over 500 pics and they are all beautiful.

Definitely the way to go.