How much did you budget/spend on a wedding photographer?

Question

If that's too personal, just give a range of prices quoted while you looked for a photographer. Range in my area was $500-$3000.

Answer 1

We were REALLY careful about who we looked for and the budget.

We found a guy (who still takes family pictures for us) who charged $200/hour. We used him for 3 hours with $200 for pictures, meaning we spent $800 for exactly what we wanted to set in pictures!!

In the end, we were happy we interviewed so many people to find EXACTLY what we were looking for. They were more than happy to work with us.

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

Wedding photographers are as varied as pizza joints. That goes for quality and prices as well. Depending on your city, a metropolitan like Indianapolis would fall in the range of $1800-$2000. There are so many variables that would increase/decrease the estimates. Never accept a deal unless you can see some samples of their work. Cities which have universities that has a photo department or a Fine Arts program will have plenty of students who can do the job pretty decently for a minimal fee. Check out the studios and see the sample work done in them. If you want something of great quality, pick a studio/photographer who only specializes in weddings and portraits. Someone who has a wide array of specialties may not be able to capture the true essense of the bride or her maids.

Feel free to drop me a line and I can answer whatever questions/concerns you may have. =)

Answer 4

I got married in 1993 and we spent $1500 for pictures. That got us 100 proofs, 1 album, 2 folios, and 1 11 x 14 enlargement. You get what you pay for and this is the only permanent part of your wedding. You should hire the best photographer you can afford. Carefully peruse their work. Make sure that the work you are looking at is actually from the photographer you are hiring. Make sure you get the name of the actual photographer who will be shooting your wedding. Don't go to one of those photography mills that sends any photographer that's available that day. I can't stress enough that this is the only permanent part of your wedding. You won't wear the gown again, you won't remember the food, but you will look at the pictures.

Answer 5

In 1998 we spent $1200. 00. This included our engagment pictures, and a beautiful leather wedding album.

But keep in mind with digital cameras now, it can be less expensive if you have a photgrapher friend, and you are willing to make your own album.

We decided that the photos were the most important things to spend $$ on (memories) and so our budget was higher for photos than anything else. We knew what the photos would cost, then based the remaining budget on everything else.

congrats and good luck!

Answer 6

I am also finding a large range... I just posted a question yesterday about this because I was in the same dilemma. I ended up selecting a photographer who charges $2,000 for his service, but you have to pay for any and everything else. That is just for his time. He is a photojournalist (which I really love this style), so to me it is worth the money.

Answer 7

$1800 for my photographer and that was in 2001. My brother and his wife were married in 2005 and paid $4000 plus extra for a wedding album.....but in that cost the wedding photographer used all digital equipment and at the reception we got to actually view the photos as a slide show...it was amazing to see their wedding day from start to finish during the main course!..really special..I guess you get what you pay for.....good luck!

Answer 8

I put an ad on craigs list and found someone who just graduated in photo journalism. he has shot a few weddings before, and we saw pics. He needed more to build up his portfolio. we are paying him $200 and the costs of developing which can get alittle pricy. The quotes you got were right though for a professional.

Answer 9

The usual range for a pro photographer is around 1,500-2,500 .. take a look at www.pictage.com ... it is a site where a lot of pros post their pictures and such. You can browse through the photographers in your area and take a look at their portfolios and/or websites.

Answer 10

I spent $2000 and that also included my videographer. They stayed with me from 10:30a.m. until midnight! I got this big photo album with the BEST work(pic in pic, sepia tones, painted,pics that open into more pics) I have ever seen, 3 smaller albums(in laws etc.), and one more for all the proofs, because you get them all, 3 DVDs, and 2 poster size pics.! LOVE IT. He is Italian and speaks some English, but his work is great! Go to his site-nicolaluceri.it, click gallery,then go to sposa(wedding) and you can see his work(10th pic from right, the bride is my sister-in-law's sis). He also takes great pics of children. He is usually pretty flexable with rates(esp.payment options), but he isn't going to be a push over either.Check it out! But don't be surprised if you pick him and you wait a year for your album, because he does the work himself-it doesn't go out to someone else! I waited over a year for mine and it was breathtaking!