Wedding photography on a budget?

My fiance has given me the job of researching our wedding photographer. I figure I should cover all the bases by starting with photography schools because I'm sure there are budding professional photographers that would want to build up their portfolio with a wedding shoot. I've a budget of $3000 but would rather allocate a good portion of that to other wedding aspects.

like the kid's flashlight fund *cough cough*

Is it worth hiring a photography student(s) for our wedding? Or is this a gamble?

Powernoodle says find an established wedding photographer with lots of experience and pay whatever it takes.

Powernoodle and Mrs. Powernoodle payed out the wazoo for high-end wedding pics, and thats what we got. Powernoodle's bro-in-law went low-end, and they got crappy pics. The pricey photographer will use 2 cameras, so you still get pics when one of his cameras breaks. Mr. Crappy will use one camera, and when it breaks you get no wedding pics.

There are exceptions, but its best to play the odds.

10 years from now, assuming Mrs. Arkayne hasn't dumped you because of your flashlight addiction, you won't remember what you paid. Cry once when you pay, or cry over and over every time you look at those crappy pics.

cheers!

I do a lot of photgraphy, amateur, but serious. I have done a few weddings over the years for friends and relatives. Personally - I would not use someone who had never done a wedding before. There is a lot involved, are you going to be a using digital camera, or a film camera. Decent digital cameras can cost over $1,000 and much higher, I would think this to be out of the range of most students. you really need to see samples of the work, Also - there are different styles - formal - informal - journalist

you might try to find someone who is not a professional, ( professional = earns his living in photography,) but some one who is part time.

The other aspect - the finished product - the wedding albums, dvds whatever. a student may not have the ability to get these items.

The word here is experience - you can't go back and do it again.

Also, inquire about the photography rules with the place you'll be having the wedding. Some photographer friends took pics at a wedding, and they were not allowed to get near the altar, or use flash... kinda hard to take good pics like that...

I'm with powernoodle. The wife and I went the cheap route during our wedding and have regretted it ever since. (To cap it off, at the time I was a pro photographer... didn't want to work on that day though!!)

I've seen plenty of budget wedding photo pros with inferior gear, which leads to inferior photos. Good pics are a combination of skill and good gear. Personally if I saw a wedding photo pro using Canon equipment, which I'm familiar with, I'd expect that he's using at least a 10D camera (pref. 20D and up) with "L" series lenses.

Some guys tend to use poor flash photography techniques, which can make all the difference too. Bigger flashes are usually better, because with more power they can diffuse the light better to reduce glare and shadows.

check out your local craigslist for photographers, ask friends and family, and take the time to visit the photographers beforehand... to review their porfolios.

also double check to see who will be your photographers for the big day. one place we went to had an album of absolutely stunning shots, but the individual had already left the company. we could have gotten stuck with any hack they chose for us.

oh, and DO try and find a place that is willing to give you the original film, or a digital copy of the big day.

good luck!

Review the photographer's portfolio, ask for references, ask friends for recommendations from anyone that you hire to do a wedding. It's a field that has more rank amateurs than any of the other photographic disciplines, and it's not exactly an event that can be re-photographed later. On the other side of the coin, even though someone has a shop and photography may be their full time occupation, it doesn't mean that someone who does wedding photography as a part-time job/hobby. Another place that you might want to check with for a listing is your local chapter of the Professional Photographers of America for a listing of professionals or aspiring professionals (part-timers) in your area; they should be listed by their areas of specialization.

Unfortunately, it's also an area where many accomplished photographers do not want to have any part of. Wedding photography tends to be a combination of portraiture and photo-journalism, and can be a real headache, with clients on limited budgets; many pros find that they can make as much if not more money doing portraiture or commercial photography.

we're flahslight guys... We all know we get what we pay for..


Would anyone explore a cave with a miniMag?? Not a chance!!!


Go with the pro... not a Joe schmo!

I'm getting the feeling that it's either the Pro-way or No-way. We've only 1 shot at these photos so it better be right the first time. There goes my kid's flashlight fund.

I appreciate the info guys! I'll check out a few amateurs just to educate myself but the lesser gamble seems to be with the photogs who do it for a living.

Best deal is if you have a pro photographer friend who does these...

First order of business, CONGRATULATIONS!!! I shall turn on my best light tonight in your honor!

One of my wife's co-workers does wedding photo's as a second job and did a great job cheap as his wedding gift to us. But I agree with the others, don't go cheap on the photos. You will be reminded of it "until death do us part."

Maybe hire the professional to do the ceremony and the group pics, and then place disposable camera's on the tables of the reception? Candid shots are very entertaining. Just keep the cameras away from the heavy drinkers and kids. Also have all the folks taking digital photos burn you a DVD to augment your album. Costco, 19 cents a print.

kelmo

just a couple of additional thoughts here.

those disposable cameras - DON"T even consider them as a source for decent pictures. they yield pictures that look like they were taken with a $10. camera.

While I agree that with digital cameras you can take hundreds of pictures and pick the best from the larger number. Pictures taken by an 'Amateur' are still going to look like - well - pictures taken by an amateur. Most digital cameres do not have enough flash power and do not allow for a separate flash. You can get a remote unit that will fire when it sees the primary fire, but an amateur is not going to have one of these.

Then there is the 'art' end of it. I spoke to some one years back about wedding pictures. In her wedding - there was not one picture that showed her feet. all the pictures were centered around her face, that 's just the composition end of it. From the technical end - a lot has to do with proper lighting.

You should also meet with the person who will be taking the pictures that day. A lot of shops bring in part timers for the Saturday and Sunday weddings.

Equipment - the person should have at least 2 cameras available. lots of spare batteries, extra flashes.

There are very good part-timers out there, retired people who do it because they still enjoy it. by the same token - there are plenty of professional 'thieves' out there. I got an email from a pro with digital pictures of a wedding I went to - you know the kind - with S A M P L E printed diagonally across. His price was $20 for a 5x7 print.

Make sure you see samples before you hire anyone. See about talking to customers of the photographer.

and don't forget - there are different styles out there

best of luck to you and yours....

I work with two photographers on a daily basis. I've seen awesome pictures taken with goofy little cheepie cameras, and, well, I've taken some bummers myself. Some people have the eye for it and some don't, IMO.. One of the guys has a Canon Rebel XT that shoots in 8 or 9 megapixel resolution, the kind that take 4 gig micro drives - He takes pictures that look like works of art, I pick it up and will show you the blurriest picture you've ever seen.. the other young man did an improv shoot of a wedding with a $150 dollar 3 megapixel digital and the shots look quite professional. He's upgraded equipment since then, as well, and he'll be doing my wedding shots in September.

Long story short - check out portfolios, talk with others, and don't get talked into anything bad like what Will is talking about.. Heck, I wouldn't care if I had to have all of the photos printed myself, if I could just get them all on a DVD (with several backup copies, of course) I'd be happy..

Remember, the wedding is all about the bride. Whatever she wants. If she wants you to spend $3000, then spend $5000 to make sure it has the impact she wants.

If you decide to do the wrong thing since 99.9% of brides will probably not approve of this. I got a pro who has been shooting weddings at the site we got married for over 20yrs. I asked him what he would charge to come out with his 35mm, shoot for an hour or two and hand me the rolls. Let's just say I could buy a lot of really nice Surefires on your budget as well, maybe even a PD or two.

The pictures turned out better than great and we had control of what we wanted to print and how big and how many and where they would get printed and the savings keep coming, even to this day. We even made a really nice artsy calendar online which people really loved.

It was definately the best decision I was allowed to make on the big day. But again, this is not the way to do it with a new young first-time bride and her dream big day.

BTW Congrats on the big proposal. You guys look cute together.

T

I agree with Powernoodle, a professional has all the proper equipment. I have a dear friend that has occasionally done wedding photo work. I did not hire him after he told me about completely dissapointing a bride when his equipment broke down during the wedding.

He was shooting on a budget and did not own any spare equipment; when his camera broke (this was many years ago prior to digital) he was out of luck and so were the people who hired him. He refunded their money but...so what, they had only a very few wedding pictures and wanted to sue him (they didn't).

Go with a pro and don't be afraid to check his portfolio and ask for references.

Cliff

I agree...get a real pro.

However...there has been a trend, and this is what I did when I got married in November.

If you live in a reasonably large city and search, you should be able to find a quality pro who will shoot your wedding and provide you with just a CD with your pictures on it...no prints, no albums.

Having shot a number of weddings to help get through college, I can tell you the real work is assembling albums, tracking down proof books, collecting on orders from family members, etc. It takes 10 times as long (or more) as the wedding itself. Thus, the photographer can often make a lot more per hour selling this way than the tradition prints and albums. Then you and your wife get to do the time consuming work of printing and assembling, but you will save money.

The suggestion for craigslist is a good one too.

Magic: Good points. We discussed it and are leaning towards just getting the CD make the prints/albums ourselves. But, hiring someone for the whole shebang is still an option. I still have lots of time so I'll try Craigslist to see what kind of response I get.

will said:

just a couple of additional thoughts here.

those disposable cameras - DON"T even consider them as a source for decent pictures. they yield pictures that look like they were taken with a $10. camera.

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Just to prove a point to someone who was equipment focused, I did something along those lines once. Showed him some 5x5" prints and asked for an opinion. The response was "of course they're good, you used a Hasselblad". I then showed him the 35mm negatives that came from the 126 cartridge camera (sorry, don't remember how much those cost)

will said:

Equipment - the person should have at least 2 cameras available. lots of spare batteries, extra flashes.

Click to expand...

Having equipment is nice and impressive, but at the end of the day, it's the composition and the ability to compose that tells the story.

will said:

There are very good part-timers out there, retired people who do it because they still enjoy it. by the same token - there are plenty of professional 'thieves' out there. I got an email from a pro with digital pictures of a wedding I went to - you know the kind - with S A M P L E printed diagonally across. His price was $20 for a 5x7 print.

Click to expand...

Why did you think that $20 was out of line for a 5x7 print? Did you expect it for 79¢ or whatever it costs to have a copy of a snapshot made at the drugstore? Of course the pricing would be dependent upon the market as well. If the photographer works mainly with lower economic clients in a financially deprived area, they can't very well charge what a photographer might charge a client in NY's upper East Side, or Beverly Hills, but $20 is not entirely out of line if it's from a carriage-trade photographer.

Brighteyez said:

Just to prove a point to someone who was equipment focused, I did something along those lines once. Showed him some 5x5" prints and asked for an opinion. The response was "of course they're good, you used a Hasselblad". I then showed him the 35mm negatives that came from the 126 cartridge camera (sorry, don't remember how much those cost)



Having equipment is nice and impressive, but at the end of the day, it's the composition and the ability to compose that tells the story..

Click to expand...

AH - Sometimes I just don't give enough information, so, let me clarify a bit.
I have used disposable cameras in the past and I have gotten good results, But - everything was correct for the type of disposable I had , there was enough ambient light, not a real bright background, the subject was in the focus range of the camera.

And - on the other side - I was at a wedding and they left disposables for every one. These were for indoors, they had a flash. The only pictures that came out decent were the ones where the subject was within the 6 foot flash range. Pictures taken outside were at best - bad. My point earlier was not to use these as the main source of wedding pictures. Some one earlier also stated that folks will have a drink or three and - well - nuff said there.

Regarding equipment - The wedding photograher should have what is needed to take close up pictures, mild telephoto pictures and one for normal focal length. Some of the newer zoom lens cover these and are quite good. There should be a flash capable of lighting up whatever the subject is - You don't need lots and lots, but there should be backup cameras, flashes, batteries, lens etc. on site. We all have heard stories of the Photographer - Friend - who was doing them a favor only brought one camera and it broke.

I agree completely the composition and the 'story' is what is important.

Brighteyez said:

Why did you think that $20 was out of line for a 5x7 print? Did you expect it for 79¢ or whatever it costs to have a copy of a snapshot made at the drugstore? Of course the pricing would be dependent upon the market as well. If the photographer works mainly with lower economic clients in a financially deprived area, they can't very well charge what a photographer might charge a client in NY's upper East Side, or Beverly Hills, but $20 is not entirely out of line if it's from a carriage-trade photographer.

Click to expand...

Here again - I agree - but only up to a point . I did not expect to see a pro offer $.79 5x7 enlargements. I expected, and so did every else in my family something along the lines of $10 or so. Now if it were and 8x10 or 11x14 - then maybe $20. We don't live in Beverly Hills, pure middle class here. I also expected some kind of discount for multiples, none offered. To the best of my knowledge, no one bought any pictures. Clear case of him pricing himself out of the market.

But we are getting out of the idea of this thread .

There is plenty of great information listed here, plenty of good suggestions. and enough - 'watch out for this ' items