Choosing Your Wedding Photographer – Keeping On Budget

There’s one rather key area of booking your photographer that we’ve never really talked about in this little series, and the reason (apart from the fact we hate talking about money) is that it’s an area that’s been debated a thousand times before. We could talk to you at length about how photographers set their prices; the long hours of work that goes into each wedding long after the day itself, the artistry involved, the amount of incredibly expensive equipment they need to own and the relatively limited amount of opportunity to actually earn a living purely from photographing weddings. The fact is though, that at the end of the day Wedding photographers, just like any other business, charge the amount they feel that they need to charge in order to have a successful business, and an amount that they feel reflects the quality of their work and their level of experience.

As a result you will find quite a variety in prices just as you would in any market place and at the end of the day you’re paying for quality, reputation and experience. Sometimes you’re also paying for location too, though perhaps decreasingly in this age of the internet where photographers can be found wherever they are and are generally willing to travel longer distances.

On a quick search of wedding photographers in your region you’re likely to find full time photographers, part time wedding photographers, long established pros and complete newcomers and their prices are likely to reflect that status. As with any career each individual photographer may effectively be doing the same job, but they’re not necessarily doing it to the same standard.

Think of it this way: a part time, recently graduated lawyer is likely to be considerably cheaper than one of the old, established and well-reputed law firms. Your mate who did law at A level and still has a couple of his old textbooks will probably be even cheaper, but which would you most trust to represent you in court? Experience counts for an awful lot, but then sometimes it’s the freshly graduated young upstart who proves to be the most hungry, the most innovative and to think in the most creative way. Sometimes the greater risk will pay off and you’ll grab yourself a great deal, sometimes it won’t. Only you can make that judgement call, but it’s a decision that should never be based purely on price alone. You need to believe in the person you’re investing in, whether that be because of an established reputation or because you’ve fallen in love with their work.

There are exceptions to every rule and some of the most exciting (and sometimes consequently slightly more expensive) wedding photographers out there right now haven’t been photographing professionally for all that long, but on the whole photographers start with their prices relatively low and, assuming they are reasonably in demand, will slowly grow them year on year in tandem with their growing level of experience. That said, they do still need to make a living, and although there are of course some photographers out there who either really are just starting out or those that perhaps focus on photography more as a business rather than an art-form and are content to fill the gaps at the lower end of the market with reduced prices, generally as a VERY rough guide you need to be budgeting for at least £900 for a full day’s wedding photography, with prices likely to be more around the £1200 – £2000 mark for a more experienced photographer and potentially higher if you’re looking for one of the big name stars and veterans of the industry.

Image by York Place

Bear in mind that some photographers will offer pre-wedding shoots and albums within their prices but this is by no means a rule and may well be an additional expense. When it comes to wedding albums the cost sometimes sounds surprisingly high but do bear in mind these are not the sorts of albums you can purchase over the counter at Wilkinsons and stick your prints in yourself. These are the sorts of luxurious albums that are generally printed directly onto the thick, specially designed pages in only the highest possible quality, with the layout carefully designed at every stage to create the greatest visual impact, all hand-bound in the finest materials and lavish leathers. These are the sorts of albums that are only available through the photographer that took the pictures and the sort that really will last for the rest of your lives. Photographers rarely make a great profit on albums; the price is so high because they take an awful lot of time and effort (and cost a small fortune) to produce. It may seem expensive but your album is the guardian of all those memories and a truly precious memento of your day. That seems to me like something worth saving for.

So the key here really is to know how much you’re happy to/can afford to spend and fully understanding the prices before deciding on the photographer for you. Most are up-front about their prices and publish them openly on their websites, others are more than happy to send you through a price list on request. If they’re only just out of your budget then there’s probably no harm in checking whether they can help, but remember that a wedding photographer can only shoot one wedding a day (and the vast majority of weddings take place on only one day – Saturday) so they can’t afford to discount every wedding they shoot however much they’d like to. In the nicest possible way, the fact it’s “only a small wedding with a few guests” doesn’t necessarily help your photographer – (in fact it just means there’s fewer interesting characters for them to photograph so they have to work harder to get the shot!), and the fact that the wedding and reception are only being held in one place may relieve some of the stress of getting around on the day but doesn’t generally amount to fewer hours either on the day or in the editing suite afterwards. We all wish that budget wasn’t an issue when it comes to weddings, but sadly it has to be considered, and if photography is something that’s hugely important to you then it needs to be properly factored into the budget from the beginning or else somewhere a compromise may have to be made.

But if you can’t afford your dream photographer then just keep on looking. There is a photographer out there for every budget and if you’re clear in your mind not only in what type of photography you want but also in exactly what your budget can afford you then you’ll find them. And after all is said and done and you finally reach the moment when you sit down with them and open your beautiful wedding album for the first time, you’ll know that in the end they’re worth every last penny.

“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.”

– Ansel Adams