Photography

On the day of your wedding, as you walk down the aisle, you plan to remember that very moment forever. But, when old age starts to set in and those images in your mind are no longer quite so sharp, you’re glad you invested heavily in having high quality, professional pictures taken at your wedding to permanently record that moment you can’t quite picture anymore.

However, that investment can run up to 30% of your wedding budget. Since it is easy to tell the difference between low quality and high quality pictures, professional photographers have the leverage to charge up to $40 or $45 per print, a huge jump from the $15 per print an amateur photographer might charge. However, when you skimp on the dough, you skimp on the quality. So, you’re left with quite a conundrum: go with the amateur photographer and forego the expense (and possibly also the memory), or agree to the high prices and bask in the glow of the glossy prints.

There is a happy medium between the two. If you have decided to keep the photography portion of your budget to a minimum, just ask a friend or relative (preferably one with some photography experience) to snap the pictures at the wedding rather than hire an amateur. Not only will your friend/relative be more than happy to do the married-couple-to-be a favor, but he or she will also feel blessed to have been asked to participate in the celebration. Taking the pictures and putting together a photo album can even be this person’s wedding gift to you!

Even if you don’t have a friend or relative with any photography experience, there are still several advantages to having someone close to you take all the pictures.

One, you can trust this person to take pictures of the right people at the right time. This person knows you and knows what to look for, so no time is wasted and no unnecessary pictures are taken that yield unnecessary costs. Guests at your event will be happy to smile for the camera when they know a trusted friend or relative is behind the lens, and the joy your friend feels by being at your wedding will be seen in the pictures he or she takes.

Second, there is a certain intimacy in having a friend or relative take your pictures. This unique memory will truly offset any lagging in the quality of the actual picture. When you take the wedding photos out 25 years later, instead of examining the color or resolution of the print, the quality of the memory is what will be forefront in your mind.

Third, paying an amateur or professional photographer when the pictures aren’t good is incredibly frustrating. However, if a friend or relative took the pictures, you will have not lost any money, since the pictures were taken as a gift or as a favor by your friend or relative.

Last, if you’re still worried about the quality of the pictures, just make sure whomever you asked to take the pictures does so with a digital camera. Having a friend take your pictures with a digital camera really gives you a lot of control over the pictures you will get. This way, you can see every picture taken immediately and can ask for ones to be reshot or deleted. Plus, not only will you have the ability to keep the pictures on your computer and email them to all your friends and family, but you also have the option to print them out at a fraction of the cost a professional photographer would charge.

Hiring a professional photographer to take the pictures at your wedding is one thing; if you want the highest quality pictures, then go with a reputable photographer. However, if you seek quality without a price tag, then ask a friend or relative who will intimately capture the essence of the ceremony but won’t make you pay for crappy reprints.

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When you’re getting married, the cost of wedding pictures and video taping can be expensive. In particular, if you hire a professional photographer or want to have special albums made, the cost can be thousands of dollars. That said, if you start planning early enough, there are several things you can do in order to reduce your costs.

Look for an amateur or hobbyist photographer

Amateur photographers can be very talented, but will likely cost significantly less than professional photographers in your area. However, choose one with as much care as you’d put into choosing a professional photographer. Ask to see portfolios of their work and, if possible, try them out ahead of time. If you’re really on top of it, book an amateur photographer you like to do your engagement pictures. If you aren’t happy with the quality, simply try another photographer until you find someone who will work for your wedding day.

Ask for digital images

Regardless of the level of skill, choose a photographer that offers digital images. Digital photography has come so far in the last few years that any pictures taken with this method will be nearly indistinguishable from traditional film prints. However, the difference is that if you want any type of retouching done to your pictures, it will be much more costly to adjust traditional prints. If you have digital files, you can manually crop and edit them on your own. From there, you can have them printed in almost any department store or pharmacy, instead of paying for film development.

Make use of department store photo services

Walmart and many other department stores offer in-store photo services that you can use for wedding pictures. While they likely won’t be able to come on site on the day of your wedding, you can be photographed in your wedding clothes on several suitable backgrounds in the studio. Because the photographers that work in these studios take thousands of pictures each month, you’ll be getting a professional photographer at an affordable price and you can take as many pictures as you need to until you’re satisfied.

Budget Videos

Unfortunately, wedding videos must be taken on your actual wedding day, so you can’t save money by filming them ahead of time. However, you can still find amateur videographers that will give you a reasonable quality video at a much more realistic price. In some cases, you may even decide that it’s best to rely on friends and family members to capture a wide range of special wedding moments. These people know you best and may have a perfect sense of what to capture during your wedding.

Albums

Strangely enough, assembling photos into albums can be one of the costliest parts of a wedding photo package. That said, if you do some browsing online, you can purchase a wide range of empty photo albums and have them on-hand to fill yourself. Once the photos are printed, you can simply decide for yourself which ones to include, as well as where to place them.

Wedding photos and videos are items that you’ll cherish for years to come. However, there are many other parts of your wedding that deserve your attention and adequate budgeting. By planning ahead and pitching in on the work, you’ll able to get your wedding pictures and videos at a fraction of the expected cost.

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Cheap wedding photographers that are good at what they do are hard to come by these days. Asking the right questions is key to choosing a good wedding photographer, although there are no guarantees. The best photographer in the world may have his or her off-days. Nevertheless, there are vital questions that can help improve your chances of choosing the right photographer:

• Can he provide the style of wedding photography that you desire? - Before you go about shopping for the top guru, you need to ask yourself a few questions. Do you want a more traditional (posed for) style of photos or a more candid style? Some photographers can do both, but some are only geared toward the more “prepared for” type of shots. Ask him what his style of photography is and ask him to provide examples of previous work. Look for patterns. Does he lean to one style or the other?
• Always ask for references!
• How many photos does he shoot? You may not like every photo.
• When will your photos be ready?
• Ask to see the contract - Do they provide negatives after a certain length of time. How about after a year? It is up to you whether you want someone who provides negatives
• Does he come to rehearsals? This has got to be the most vital question to ask next to looking at the contract. It is vital, because in order to get the best shots, he can’t assume what the lighting and the set-up is going to be like. He needs to know exactly what the ceremony locale set-up is like so he is prepared with the right equipment.
• Pay attention to how fast he returns your phone calls. If he takes a week or more to return your call before he is hired, then he doesn’t need your money that bad.
• Does he carry back up batteries and equipment?

In my opinion you should compare at least three of them, no matter how good the first one sounds. After that compare price vs. quality and you should be on your way.
Vicky

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