In other blogs, I have ranted a bit about people who charge too little for their wedding photography services, and I have equated cheap prices with the the kind of photographer most likely to fail to turn up, or to cancel at the last minute. But to be fair, everyone starts somewhere, and many absolutely reputable people are willing to accept less money while they establish their businesses... even if they operate at a loss.
I don't think it's a great idea: it is very much harder to raise your prices once you have established a base-line. Most photographers get the bulk of their new business from satisfied customers, but they don't just tell their friends your name: they tell them how much it cost, too. The next person on your referral list will naturally expect a similar deal.
But how much should you expect to pay as a client? Realistically? The simplest answer is probably about 20% of your overall wedding budget. If that's all you need to know, read no further.
Of course, if you haven't got a detailed budget, or if that seems too much, think about what some recently-weds have been telling me about their experiences with photographers. Most of these comments haven't come from my own clients: friends in OZ and overseas, my own children and other photographers...we all love to talk photography, and it's all grist for the mill.
It comes down to this:
- nobody who has been disappointed by their wedding photography ever brags about how much money they saved.
- when the photography was cheap but poor, the person who hired the photographer is just as likely to get the blame as the photographer - and a lot of self-blaming goes on, too
- Saving a lot of money on photos you are embarrassed to share with your friends isn't good economy: better to save the lot and hoped a guest at the wedding will take a nice photo
Whoever pretends money is not an important consideration has a lot more of it than I do, that's for sure! But paying a lot of money does not guarantees you will be happy with your photos, and doing it "on the cheap" isn't wise, either. So how do you get the balance right?
The Internet is still a good starting point but after a you have seen dozen or so they tend to blur into one another,
Look, but ignore what the owners claim about their skills, dedication, awards. Skip the "about us" pages for now (their passion and commitment and experience: it is all just words) : and don't worry about the prices just yet, unless they don't reveal their prices at all... that's a warning sign that you may finish up dealing with a salesman instead of a photographer.
Don't let yourself be influenced by a beautiful web design, either: that isn't what you are going to be paying for, and it was probably done by a professional web designer, not by the photographer.
No, just look at a few gallery pictures and at the photos scattered around the site. If they appeal to you, bookmark the site; if not, move on.
Bridal Sites and Wedding Directories are places where people like me place paid advertisments and pay extra to be featured. We are paying to catch your eye and to look good (which doesn't mean we aren't!), so be cynical! Have a look at our own sites, and do not rely too much on our ads.
To a degree, that is true of web searches: like others, I pay to be found in Google and Yahoo and Bing and Ask. Photographers with a big advertising budget are ranked higher in the searches, and of course, all those fees have to be paid by someone....
Get your short list down to about 5, then stop looking. In the meantime, whenever you talk to anyone about your wedding plans, ask them if they have heard any stories about photographers; you are sure to get a few scary stories (we humans like to tell tales of horror), but you will get some good recommendations, too. Ask to see friends' wedding albums and when you see pictures you like, get the photographer's details and follow them up. Add them to your short list.
When I was talking about this with friends, my suggestion was that you should find out how much the people whose photos you liked paid their photographers, but you know what? No-one could remember! Oh, folk remembered how much the cowboys cost, but not the good photographers.
Now you have a list of maybe 7 potential photographers and soon we can start thinking about the cost: but not just yet. Yes, you like some of the work you have seen on line, in an ad, or in someone's album; but whose work was it?
There are basically two groups of Wedding Photographers out there: freelance/sole traders and studios. If you deal with a sole trader, family business or freelancer, it is clear who took the pictures. But a studio is typically an employer or an agent for a number of photographers.
So let's say you decide to go with Fred-down-the-road Photography. You like Fred's style, you meet Fred and you trust him; he understands what you want and you come to an arrangement re fees and what he will deliver and when. Problem: if Fred is a small business, he works pretty much alone. If Fred is taken ill, who will stand in for him? We'll come to that later.
But what if you go to Grande-us-Studio? A Studio or Wedding Photography business will represent or employ a number of photographers, and the person you speak with may be one of the photographers, a receptionist or salesperson (often on commission). You need to go to some trouble to ensure that the work that attracted you to this business was the work of the photographer you meet; and that that photographer will be available and be YOUR photographer on your wedding day. A replacement photographer is usually no problem for the Studio, but who it will be is down to chance (although they should have been vetted for competence).
Sole traders may have colleagues and associates who can fill in for them at short notice if necessary, but don't take it for granted. Ask, and ask to see examples of their work. Small businesses tend to strictly limit the number of weddings they handle, so their contingency plans are simple and should be effective...but DO ask, and make sure it is spelled out in the Contract.
Studios, on the other hand, have a vested interest in multiple bookings to keep their stable of photographers working and to meet overheads. Be prepared to accept that people who have booked a popular date before you will get their more popular photographers, and later bookings will be assigned to their back-up photographers; the back-up pool is usually made up of freelancers who are also more likely to be engaged independently on popular dates, so be quite sure who will be your photographer if you go down this route. You don't want a stranger to turn up on the day!
All this supposes any (good) photographer will do. They may not. Personality, relationship, attitude... they are as important as technical ability.
The photographer will be involved with more aspects of your wedding on the day than you are: really. He will have spent time before the wedding with the bride and the groom, helped and supported the Best Man and the Bridesmaid, organised details with the Hairdresser and Make-up artist, dealt with the wedding cars and their drivers and sorted out various arrangements with the Celebrant, the Wedding Organiser and the Reception Centre. He will have travelled further on the day than most guests, travelling between the bride's the groom's the Church, the photo locations... he will have started several hours earlier than the Mother of The Bride and will still be working after the Newlyweds leave on their honeymoon.
You really want someone who wants to be there, not someone who is just going through the motions!
I seem to have drifted away from the question of price: planning for a wedding takes, what? A year, maybe? Then comes the Day: 12 hours of joy and madness and solemnity and the next day, what is left?
Memories, a ring, some gifts... the ring will endure, perhaps even be passed down to one of your children or grandchildren. But only your photographs will last as long as your marriage and continue to have meaning to your children, their grandchildren and to generations to follow.
What is that worth? In dollars and cents? Perhaps more than you budgeted for, but not by a lot. I was just looking over the caterer's account from a recent wedding: the difference between a buffet and a served meal would have fully paid for my services on the day; and the cost of the desert course would have paid for a substantial upgrade from basic photography a Black Label package: and there was wedding cake after the desert, anyway.
This particular client didn't need to upgrade (their package was quite comprehensive anyway), but if someone had to choose between great photography and giving their guests a bowl of strawberries - who would remember what they had for desert in a years time...or even care.
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