mrs rex is a wedding photographer…this link pretty much hits the mark 😀 :

TBH, it’s the choosing to get married bit where you’ve all gone wrong….

http://www.mirrorboxphotography.com/

If you’re after something with a little flair! Very nice people too.

IMO just go for someone half sensible and mid-range. Things like this that seem so important at the time have very little relevance 20 years into your marriage, you don’t really care whether the photographer got the light balance spot-on.

And if you don’t last 20 years – it’ll end up in the bin with all the other photos when you clear out after the divorce!

With wedding photography, what you’re paying for is not just the time that someone spends at your venue firing off pictures…it’s everything else that a good photographer offers;
[list]
Meeting you to see what you want (traditional/reportage, group shots etc)
Going to venue the week before (usually close to the day so that the weather is similar) to check out good shooting locations, the lighting etc
Professional photographers will shoot in RAW, these need significant post-processing to give you the good pictures you want. This takes significant time, if you go the cheaper route you’ll most likely get someone shooting direct to jpg and they’ll give you the images straight off the card. You might be lucky and get some good pictures, but chances are a large percentage will be cr@p.
Professional level gear – although you can shoot good photographs with any old camera if you’re skilled enough, what you need for weddings are fast lenses (f2.8), these mean you can get well exposed pictures even in low light conditions. A cheaper photographer will need to use a flash pretty much all day, so you could get blown out highlights (a problem with a big white dress), plus they’ll be stood right next to you while you say your vows which could be a little irritating!
A good wedding album printed and delivered to your door – most have various packages depending on the price. Most will also give you a DVD/CD of all the images – some might not do this or you might have to pay extra.
A back up, most good wedding photographers will have a back up photographer who will step in should they be unable to do your wedding (through illness or accident for example). You won’t need to pay extra for this, they’ll just pass on the business (whilst probably shaving a finders fee off what you pay).
A second photographer, usually the pro will come with a second who’ll take candid/reportage photographs while the main guy is working his way through the enormous list of family shots you’ve requested (seriously if you value your guests sanity, try to keep this list`sensible!).
A pro might also provide an online gallery so your friends and family can see the pictures (especially helpful if you’ve got family abroad who couldn’t make it).[/list]

One thing you should not expect is that they will hand over copyright, no self respecting professional will do this, nor should you expect them to.

If you’ve found someone who will do it for £100 you’ll quite likely be disappointed. If you go this route, my advice would be to never look at anyone elses wedding photographs, especially if they went with a pro…you’ll only end up kicking yourself for being a tight a$$ on what most people feel is the most important day of their life. Although you might be lucky…but why take the gamble?

Although if money’s tight and you don’t have a choice, you could look for an new photographer trying to build up their wedding photography business. They’ll probably offer you a good deal, although possibly not £100, that will only just cover petrol for driving to and from the venue!

You could try asking on photographers.co.uk, or GumTree. But make sure you meet them before the big day.

Regarding the price, £1000 for pro is average, although I live in London so it might be a litte cheaper up North. The best thing to do is search for local wedding photographers online and check out their galleries, some might even let you speak to previous customers.

You don’t need a guy like this;

But you certainly don’t want to end up with this;

I’ve done a couple of weddings and it’s bloody hard work and a lot of stress as you only get one chance for a lot of the shots. I think £1k is fair for a skilled photographer.

What a load of cr** how often do you lot look at your £2000 a piece pictures? Wonder what you do with them when you get divorced?? Getting friends to take snaps you will end up with far nicer photos than cheesy professional pics and guests will be happy they don’t have to hang around for hours posing and starving. Sorry but IMO they are a horrific rip off, but each to their own.

Think its got a lot to do with not being the odd one out and an element of showing off.

People are very worried what others think and wouldn’t want to be seen as having a cut price wedding. Too much pressure with all the social networking sites, soon as they get the pics they are on Facebook to show/show off to their friends
The whole wedding business has got out of hand, more about what friends and family will think than enjoying the day because its what the couple want. Pure hypocrisy to get married in church when you never step foot in the place, church themselves are just as bad by taking the money.

Did you enjoy a holiday any less because the pics were crap, of course not because its the memories that matters.

Can’t blame the wedding photographers for charging what they do if they can get it, but a competent amateur can take photos that are more than adequate to keep as a reminder of the happy day

Everything to do with weddings is a rip off

Try getting a quote for a birthday party at a hotel & then try a quote for a wedding with the same food etc.

Uplink yup I agree! that’s probably why I’m too pi**y to get married plus what is going to change? (agree possibly different if kids are in the picture)

I wouldn’t waste money on a wedding photographer. Your mates must be able to take enough decent photos between them.Anyway most marriages don’t last anyway so spend the money you save on a new bike!!

but a competent amateur can take photos that are more than adequate to keep as a reminder of the happy day

a cake from greggs will be more than adequate as a wedding cake.
cans of that cheap lager from aldi and some asti-spumante will be more than adequate to get people pissed on the wedding day.
a people carrier from the local taxi firm will be more than adequate as a wedding car (and you fit more people in)
the scout hut will be more than adequate as a venue on your happy day.
a word doc printed out at work will be more than adequate as an invitation to your wedding.
an ipod and your stereo is more than adequate to dance to in the evening.
frozen sausage rolls from iceland and a catering tub of houmous and some pitta bread is more than adequate to feed your wedding guests.

a cake from greggs will be more than adequate as a wedding cake.
cans of that cheap lager from aldi and some asti-spumante will be more than adequate to get people pissed on the wedding day.
a people carrier from the local taxi firm will be more than adequate as a wedding car (and you fit more people in)
the scout hut will be more than adequate as a venue on your happy day.
a word doc printed out at work will be more than adequate as an invitation to your wedding.
an ipod and your stereo is more than adequate to dance to in the evening.
frozen sausage rolls from iceland and a catering tub of houmous and some pitta bread is more than adequate to feed your wedding guests.

The only important thing is that you are in love with each other. The rest is just window dressing.

a cake from greggs will be more than adequate as a wedding cake.
cans of that cheap lager from aldi and some asti-spumante will be more than adequate to get people pissed on the wedding day.
a people carrier from the local taxi firm will be more than adequate as a wedding car (and you fit more people in)
the scout hut will be more than adequate as a venue on your happy day.
a word doc printed out at work will be more than adequate as an invitation to your wedding.
an ipod and your stereo is more than adequate to dance to in the evening.
frozen sausage rolls from iceland and a catering tub of houmous and some pitta bread is more than adequate to feed your wedding guests.

🙂

To all those who think £1000 is a rip off for a good wedding photographer…wake up and don’t be so chuffin tight.

As has already been said, there is way more to it than turning up on the day, taking a load of shots and then uploading them onto a CD. Anyone who thinks that’s what a decent pro photographer does is a complete plum. It’s usually about 3 days work, has a fair few costs involved and is very high risk/stressful.

If you don’t care about the pictures from the day and would honestly be happy with shots taken by relatives etc then fine, £1000 is going to seem like a lot so don’t bother. If you want some good pro quality shots then don’t ever think that an amateur could do a good job unless you know for sure they have done plenty of weddings before and their work is top notch. Wedding photography is not like shooting in a controlled environment and this is where an inexperienced amateur will fall (very) short.

Always go for a photographer based on recommendation, that way you know what you’ll get in terms of the whole package/experience. Don’t go on website pics alone, they would have put their best pics up which could be 10 out of a 1000 absolute shockers.

The only important thing is that you are in love with each other. The rest is just window dressing.

don’t bother with getting married then.

I’ve shot a few weddings for friends, as they’ve liked my style. Its amazing how those who dont want group photos suddenly do on the day (pressure from parents and family being the reason), and how difficult it is to round up a group for a picture (there are ways and means around this).

If you want candid shots, then any decent amateur can make a good go of these. More formal, well lit, posed portraits that are well composed and executed are where a pro will earn their money.

And the fee is not just for what you see on the day. I meet my clients before hand, discuss their wants and get across how I do things to see if we will work together. I also stay well into the evening do to get pics of the party atmosphere, and then there is the post processing which can take from hours to days.

Pictures I take of my clients are always given to them, they can then print as many as they like, or use them as they will. Copywrite will remain mine though.

So for you Mr Smith, a wedding is about cake, booze, cars, paperwork, music and food. Fair enough.

So for you Mr Smith, a wedding is about cake, booze, cars, paperwork, music and food. Fair enough.

No. people/wine/food in that order. couldn’t give a toss about the other stuff.