Wedding photographer??'s

16 years ago

My first post here!

DD#2 is getting married October 25 and we are looking for photographers.

What do we need to know for information on getting a photographer for the wedding?

DD and I have searched and she went into shock while I fell off my chair at the prices!

Of course prices are all over the place, but some offer all proofs, some don't. Some offer albums, some don't.

The prices have doubled since the first DD had her first marriage! She handled it all and she can't even remember what was what because that was 9 years ago!

Does anyone have any information we could use to go by while checking all the photographers out?

We live in the boonies and will be paying mileage also, some are reasonable and some are not.

Photographers helper prices are all over the place too. Up here $40 for a high school kid, $100 for an adult to help.

Comments (8)

nodakgal
Original Author
16 years ago
Ooops! The helper prices are those prices stated per hour, not an extra $40 or $100 flat.
imamommy
16 years ago
We got married in 2006 and I don't remember how much we spent exactly but I recall most photographers wanted around 5k, I know we spent less than half of that. We got all of our proofs in an album & negatives. We didn't get a lot of prints but they were not too expensive. We also got disposable cameras and put them on the tables for guests to use and got lots of pictures or our guests that way.
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sweet_pea10
16 years ago
In my area, the northwest, prices start at about $1,500 for 5 hours of coverage and go up to over $3,000 for all day coverage by a husband and wife team. For those prices you get an album. Most photographers today place the proofs on-line so that family and friends from all over the country can order directly without having to wait to see proofs.

If you consider hiring a photographer that works in a studio with others, be sure that you see actual samples of the work of that photographer. The best shots will be on the walls, in sample albums, etc. but they may not have been taken by the person that you are considering hiring. In this area we don't pay extra for photographer's helpers. They are optional. I often fill in as a helper if needed. If a photographer chooses to bring a helper, they usually pay that person out of what you pay them.
nodakgal
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you!
mammavan
16 years ago
Just a suggestion/warning: Make sure you do NOT pay the entire fee before the wedding, even if you're offered a very substantial discount for doing so. DD, as well as hundreds of others in this area, did that and are now left either with no pictures or the option of spending much more money to get their albums. They used a studio that had been in business for 15+ years and had NO BBB complaints against them.

And go with your intuition; I didn't speak up because I didn't want to be the interfering MOB/MIL, and I have regretted it ever since. You don't live long enough to raise a bride/groom without picking up some ideas about who is trustworthy and who is not.
western_pa_luann
16 years ago
Consider what the couple (and you) want to do with the photos too.

With many photographers around here (who do NOT charge more for helpers or mileage), they own ALL rights to the photos. A photo cannot go on Facebook without their approval and a fee. All reprints must be purchased through them. etc....

DD and her now-husband went with a photographer (friend of the groom's sister) who released all rights to the images. We all can do whatever we want with any of they shots....
sheilajoyce_gw
16 years ago
As you talk to other brides and vendors, ask everyone for a photographer recommendation. We had an experienced bakery that suggested the florist and then a friend/bride had used her and suggested her too, so we went with her. They all work with each other and know good ones.
sweet_pea10
16 years ago
Sheilajoyce makes a very good point. We all work with one another and other merchants will see things, including the real personality, of a photographer much faster than a client will see it in an initial meeting. Do ask your coordinator, florist, caterer for recommendations.

As for making the final payment after you get the photos, that rarely happens. In my area it is standard protocol to pay all merchants their final balances two weeks in advance. That is because we have all had at least one client who conveniently kept forgetting their checkbook then refused to pay after the wedding, sometimes taking the album, video, or another item with them. Therefore, if final payment isn't made, the vendor has the right to not show up/provide food/flowers, etc.