Oh dear, there’s something about late night blogging that seems to bring out the controversial topics in us! So… before we begin let’s just be clear; as ever this post is here to help brides and grooms to understand the pros and cons and to do that we’ll present the strongest arguments we can think of for the sides we’ve been charged with fighting for. We’ll also probably write some utter nonsense, but hey if you wanted a completely serious blog you should head over to the Financial Times website. There’s no right and wrong answer and the views expressed don’t necessarily represent our own… unless they’re tea based, I would never misrepresent my feelings about tea! Right, that’s quite enough of that, let’s get things started! 

No matter how fair we all try to make our prices for the level of work involved, weddings are unquestionably an expensive business (just ask the financial times!) and hiring a photographer and/or videographer is always going to be a big part of that cost. You want to find photography and videography that you really connect with (see Tuesday’s post for a few tips!) but sometimes the kind of work you’re after comes at a premium. So if you’re on a tight budget what do you do? Some photographers/videographers will offer cheaper, half day packages which can enable you to still have the person you really want but for only a fraction of the time. So is it better to go over-budget and get the one you want for the full day, go for a cheaper photographer altogether or opt for a half-day package instead?

Let’s take a look at the arguments…

Photography & Videography

Full Day Vs Half Day

In the Red corner, fighting on behalf of the full day package, she’s our resident pro photographer and has an unfair advantage in every Friday Fight-Out because as my wife she assures me she is definitely and unequivocally always right, it’s Dom “The Tog Bride”.

In the Blue corner, protecting the honour of the half day package, he’s our pro videographer and can’t really say much else because he’s blatantly writing his own intro, it’s Matt “The Once Gormless but now hopefully vaguely knowledgable Groom”

FIGHT!

Hang on hang on, quick note: for reasons of being bored of typing it already, photographer/videographer will be abbreviated for the remainder of this post to ‘ographer. I think it may catch on… or not. Where were we? Oh yeah….

FIGHT!!!

Dom: Your wedding day is the most important, magical, memorable day of your lives and you want to record it in full. You want to be able to look back at the full story of your day and relive every moment. With a half-day package you’re going to lack some of the key moments and that may be something you’ll regret further down the line.

Matt: But you have to accept that sometimes price IS an object and that not everyone can afford to have the ‘ographer  they want at the price-tag that comes with a full day package. If you absolutely can’t afford it but really connect with someone and adore the imagery they produce then surely it’s better they capture the most important part of the day in a way you absolutely love rather than have the full story of the day but not really like the images.

Dom: But depending on the individual package you really might miss out on so much! Things like the getting ready shots may not seem as important, but actually those are the moments that brides and grooms often really connect with. It’s the nervous wait before, the anxious expressions of the bride and her bridesmaids and seeing those images again actually brings back those butterflies in your stomach and makes you feel like it’s your wedding day again.

Matt: Half day packages are often very customisable and you can choose which part of the day you want to cover. You might feel that the getting ready shots are extremely important to you but you don’t think photographs of people delivering speeches make as good a shot or vice versa. That way you can make sure you get the portion of the day that’s most important to you.

Dom: For me one of the most important things about your wedding day is the people who were there and seeing everyone happy and enjoying themselves. It’s generally later in the day that people start to loosen up and some of the most magical shots present themselves and you never know when you might share an emotional moment with someone. On a half-day package you miss an awful lot of that.

Matt: Depending on the style of photography you’re after, a half day package may work better or worse for you. If it’s the big epic posed images that matter to you then although it does leave your photographer less time to find the perfect shot, you can probably get some stunning images to hang on your wall in just a half day package. If you’re more about the story-telling photography then you probably want the beginning, middle and end that only a full day can provide.

Dom: As a photographer if you have less time to work then often you have to rush and, under pressure to get the shot, don’t necessarily have the time to be as inventive and creative as you could otherwise be. This sometimes means ‘ographers have to take more control of what’s happening rather than being able to stay mostly out of the couple’s way. It also means that you as the couple have no flexibility in when the photos are taken and have to work to a schedule if you want the shots rather than being able to relax with your guests.

Matt: But sometimes that pressure pays dividends and rather than thinking too much about the shot you have to go with your instincts and make quick-fire decisions. Sometimes that enhances creativity rather than curtailing it.

Dom: With a half-day package some of the moments often have to be heavily staged or done ahead of time in order to get the shot before the photographer has to leave. For example a photographer might be asked to do a fake cutting of the cake shot with just the couple before the actual cutting with the guests later in the day. Whilst you do end up with a photograph of you cutting the cake it it’s never the same because you can’t capture the atmosphere of the moment and for the couple that photograph is really a false memory that might as well have happened the day before in a studio. (oh… and you don’t actually get to cut the cake!!

Matt: A lot of half-day packages still include an engagement shoot, and although it’s not quite the same as having the shots in your wedding gear, you still have the opportunity to use the e-shoot to get some additional stunning images without having to take up lots of time on the wedding day. For some couples those shots can be just as valuable as any taken on the day itself and allows you to make the most of the shorter time you have with your wedding photographer.

Dom: During the day your guests do also take photos and although they’ll never be as good as a professional can achieve, they might be really nice shots of the key moments. At night however people tend to put their cameras down and get on the dance floor and even if they are taking photos only top-quality professional equipment (i.e. not your iPhone) and a high level of skill is going to get you great shots in dark conditions. If your photographer has already left you’re unlikely to end up with many acceptable shots of the late-afternoon/evening at all.

Matt: For couples that don’t really enjoy having their picture taken but want to look good and have something to remember their wedding by a half day package can be a really good option as after a certain point some couples just don’t want to have a camera thrust in their faces anymore, particularly if your photographer isn’t someone who naturally blends into the background.

Dom: The reception is probably where you’ve spent most of your money, and if you’ve planned anything special for it (e.g. a cool band or special first dance routine) it’s one of the things you want to be able to remember most and a little extra investment in your photographer can help with that.

Matt: Hmm… how to sway this argument… Erm… with the extra money you save your groom can afford to buy you something pretty? Like a really really sparkly Xbox or something? (With an even sparklier copy of Fifa!) No?

Ok well Dom’s been giving me the unimpressed face of doom since that last comment so I think we’ll call it the end of the final round and down to the judge’s decision. You can weigh in with your best shot on the full day vs half day debate via the comments section or on our twitter and facebook pages!