Advise from the wedding togs...

TheNissanMan

TheNissanMan

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Ryan
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I've started this thread seperately as from starting to read other threads before I ask my questinos I would like to make a few things extremely clear.

1) I know I do not have enough experience/no how to attempt to cover the day myself.

2) A pro tog will be hired for the event

3) I want some help and advise so as not to step on anyones toes...

________________________________________________________________

Right then...

A very good friend of mine has just asked me to be his best man, apart from the fact that scares the [enter what you want here] out of me I do have a couple of questions regarding the togging side of things.

Obviously a pro tog will be required for the day, I'll be posting a request up closer to the date I'm sure but I have a few questions...

1) What sort of price ranges do you guys charge on average? I know this is like asking how much is a piece of string but could anyone give some examples of example package/prices etc

2) General question, what would you look for in a tog who was lokoing after your big day, personal presentation, demeanour and how approachable some is will of course be important, other things such as artistic talent and experience will be essential, but what am I missing off that list...

3) During the day I'm hoping to grab some candids myself although having never really attempted portraiture and candids what should I be looking for, assuming of course other responsibilities (never been a best man) allow...

4) What am I missing off this list...
 
ditch the camera as far as I've seen best men get busy

pick someone for having a style you like and a personality you get on with (by you I mean they)

money depends on how good you want the shots and how experienced the tog is, I will be pretty cheap as I'm new but not for long as I want to be in the big money weddings
 
I am not a pro wedding tog but I am getting married next year and have booked our tog a few months ago.

We are paying £1200 for our guy and having been round 6 I can say the prices range from £800 - £1500, in our area anyway. The thing that sold us was how nice and easy to get on with our guy was, he will be meeting us 3 times before the wedding and obviously cares about his product. A few of the togs we met were complete %*&$! and after about 3 minutes I knew they werent for us. They stipulates times in which things had to be done and there was little room for any negotiation which is somethign I for one dont want on my mind on my wedding day.

Just my thoughts.
 
I'll just put my 2pth into the bit about you taking photos...

I was in a similar situation last summer.

I had the honour of giving my sister away at her wedding. I was under strict instructions not to let any photography get in the way of my 'father of the bride' duties as it were.

I enjoy candid people photography. So that was what I wanted to shoot. My sis had hired a pro wedding tog as well to do all the usual stuff. My brief to myself was just to capture the stuff the pro didn't get and that my sister and her hubby wouldn't have seen. As that was what we really enjoyed looking at when my wife and I saw friend's / family photos of my own wedding a few years back.

I stayed relatively sober until I got my speech out of the way (although I needed a little nerve easer I didn't want to speak drunk). I then had a fair bit of catching up to do on the booze side and looking at the results my photography went downhill from that point!

What I would say to you is if you don't do the people / portrait / candid thing get out and practice. Finding out on the day it isn't really your bag or you're not getting the results you want could spoil the day or add to your stress. Don't put undue pressure on yourself. You'll have a lot to worry about anyhow and will probably end up running for the pro tog anyway unless you can delegate to the ushers!
 
Just from personal experience, of both getting married and being a best man, I would leave the camera until the evening do when your speech is out of the way. I found when I was best man, I was on 'rounding up' duties a lot, and trying to help organise things. My best man had a similar role. I don't think either of us would have had time to even think about pictures until the evening.

That being said, no reason you can't get some decent shots at the reception - just prepare for low light. And if you have time to sneek in a few candids in the day, then great! You'll probably need a willing partner to hold your gear though, you'll be needed a lot and you can't exactly have it with you at the alter :)
 
The piece of string you are looking at could range from free to about £4,000.

If your friend is getting married on a very tight budget then finding an amateur tog off here who wants a go at shooting their first wedding should be fairly easy. I’m sure you’ll get plenty volunteering to do it for free and I’m even more sure that they’ll get plenty of grief for it and told that they can’t do it.

If they have a moderate budget and a few hundred to go towards a photographer then you could go for a weekend warrior. Someone who has a full time job that pays the bills but also has a side line in wedding photography so they’ll have some of the skills required and some of the experience to prove they can do it.

On a decent budget you could get your mainstream full time pro to do it who will come with more experience, more of a creative eye for a good shot and more of a guarantee that you’ll get results you’ll be happy with. For that you are likely to pay around £800 to £1,500.

The at the higher end you have the likes of Colin (Hacker) on here who produce outstanding results every time, guaranteed. I have no idea what he charges for his services but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of his weddings cost in excess of £2,000.

Each option has it’s pros and cons so it’s down to the bride and groom to set their budget and try to maximise their return for the money they have to spend.

As for you being the best man and taking a camera with you, forget about it. It’s not even an option you should consider.
 
I got married last August and I shopped around quite a lot for pro wedding photographers, they ranged from £800 up until around £2000. The main thing is looking at albums that the photographers have produced as each photographer has their own unique way. Some prefer the natural look at some prefer the heavily processed looking photos. I ended up going for a happy medium, photographer who had 20 years experience, done quite a bit of PP but not too much so it didn't look real, he cost me £1,200 which was for a story book style album.

Clarke
 
One tip that I read on here (can't remember who posted it - sorry :( ) was to ensure that when choosing a photographer you see the whole shoot from a single wedding. That way you know that they can cover all the shots on a particular day and are not just showing the best shots from loads of different weddings.
 
The disadvantage of that being of course that by showing photos from one Wedding only, who is to say the photographer hasn't only photographed one Wedding?


Suvv said:
One tip that I read on here (can't remember who posted it - sorry :( ) was to ensure that when choosing a photographer you see the whole shoot from a single wedding. That way you know that they can cover all the shots on a particular day and are not just showing the best shots from loads of different weddings.
Click to expand...
 
Sophotogenic said:
The disadvantage of that being of course that by showing photos from one Wedding only, who is to say the photographer hasn't only photographed one Wedding?
Click to expand...

Who mentioned one wedding only?
Obviously you need to see shots from a selection of weddings. Just ensure that you get enough shots from a single wedding, as well!
 
The idea is to see at least one complete wedding PLUS a range of other images from other weddings. Not just one in isolation :)

Ask how they deal with things going wrong and how they shoot a wet wedding. Make sure they know how to run with plan B.

Ask for insurance, not just for kit but public liability AND professional indemnity.

I always use the phrase that we plan for the worst and hope for the best but we are always prepared.

pricing is mostly as above. The top pros in my area are £5K and above, the good ones are around £2K. I'm around £1200 as I'm now in my second year of doing it professionally and startups are around £600.

For the £5K you should get the red carpet treatment with top album (Queensbury)
For £2K a decent traditional or storybook album
For £1200 the same but from a less experienced photographer
for £600 a cheap and cheerful album that should do you ok and a startup business.

Those are generally the prices around me (Cheshire/Manchester)
 
I would add a couple hundred quid-ish onto Ali's prices for your more southerly location - you will find cheaper, but generally speaking....

In terms of doing candids yourself, you WILL be busy a LOT of the day - I have just assisted at 6 weddings on the trot and not yet seen a best man that could have managed more than the odd grab shot prior to the evening stuff. Especially as your hands will be too shaky pre-speech anyway :lol:

However, you will probably need someone to keep hold of your camera during the ceremony and again during the 'formals' in which you feature, but otherwise, in your shoes, something like a single body and a zoom, 24-70 range perhaps, would be ideal. Maybe some flash for the evening [ I wouldnt go loading yourself down with kit tbh, you wil have too many other duties] Learn how to use flash as fill in if you can, but I wouldnt be stressing on it for what you wil do. For some funky mad shots at the reception, have aplay with rear curtain synch flash. :thumbs:

Have a whale of a time as a best man, and as one of those 'start ups' [edit to add: and fellow motor trade :lol: ] Ali mentions, happy to chat to you and/or your friend anytime ;)
 
Leave your camera at home. Be a participant, not an observer.

As far as the photographer goes, for the sake of argument assume that they're all insured, experienced etc. Then it comes down to:

1. Do you LOVE their photography and what they offer in terms of products
2. Is he/she within budget
3. Are you going to get on with him/her on the day

The rest is fluff.
 
1) I'm £600 all day, all images and more than happy to do the day for you. I'm not the best photographer but I shoot from the heart and have 8 years worth of photoshop experience. www.brightonphotographic.co.uk

2) You'll know when you meet them. Their attitude, approach, how they talk and interact with your kids or pets. Their camera. Do they talk with a passion, do they display their knowledge. I'm often told that I'm so much more enthusiastic than other photographers. It suprises me when I'm told that because I don't know any other way. But on reflection I have met some 'stare at the floor and shuffle their feet' types.

3) You can do, just remember your real reason for being there :D

4) Look at their work, do they show everything or just what they want you to see. Don't be fooled by people hiding behind qualifications. Some places can be bought into and others just suck. I worked with someone recently who had been to uni and was a teacher of photography but in the studio they were using a D70, manual focus (the modelling lights were bright enough) and didn't know how to set their white balance manually. (Had a photography degree and been shooting almost 6 years).
 
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