Is it possible to get a cheap wedding photographer?

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Emily H

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Emily Hutchinson
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Hi,

I'm looking for a little advice as Google is failing me at the moment! I'm getting married on August 13th in Harrogate and it would be nice to have a few photos taken, however, once you mention the word wedding to anyone the price is huge. All the local wedding photographers seem to have packages, they're there for the day and will do lovely group shots of various sides of your family etc etc. The thing is, we are having 6 guests, it's at a registry office, then we're heading to the pub! It's not a grand affair, we don't need all the extras, I'm not bothered about prints and lovely albums. All I want is an hour or two of someone's time to get some pics that are a bit better than those we'd get on on our mobile phone cameras.

I thought there'd be some sort of website to find student photographers who would want extra experience and a bit of extra cash, but I just can't find anything. So I'm hoping there may be someone here who can point me in the right direction, but it seems impossible. I want to spend about £50-£100 max. Is this just way too low to ever find anyone do you think?

Thanks!

Emily
 
Hefferzzzz said:
You probably want to put on a tin hat and dig in while you wait for replies.

Your best bet is to pproach the local colleges / uni and get in touch with their photographic department who should be able to help you out.
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Or read the on going topic on wanting a cheap photographer.
 
Oh, are you plagued with people asking for cheap photographers? Can't spot another thread. Sorry.
 
Emily H said:
Oh, are you plagued with people asking for cheap photographers? Can't spot another thread. Sorry.
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No problem Emily. There is another topic on the go where some had a budget of £100, now upped to £200. Just thought I would bring it to your attention.
It`s in `Talk people and portraits`
 
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Emily H said:
Oh, are you plagued with people asking for cheap photographers? Can't spot another thread. Sorry.
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Might mean signing up to a photography forum, just to ask where to get a cheap wedding photographer !
 
Johnny7000 said:
No problem Emily. There is another topic on the go where some had a budget of £100, now upped to £200. Just thought I would bring it to your attention.
It`s in `Talk people and portraits`
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I will post a link after, was only reading it yesterday :)
 
jonbeeza said:
Might mean signing up to a photography forum, just to ask where to get a cheap wedding photographer !
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Well I think that would be fair enough if I was posting here asking if anyone would do my wedding photography on the cheap, but all I'm asking for is a link for a website that matches students up with people needing services, or someone to tell me I won't ever find anything that cheap and to give up!
 
The only person willing to do the job for that price would likely be someone trying to break into the industry and needs the experience and portfolio.

You're unlikely to find a professional as for the price we usually have to cover insurance (for a full wedding), lots of equipment, travel, a 12 hour day, plus (for me working in the evening) 1-2 weeks of image processing. Even for a small wedding you're looking at 4-5 hours work, plus processing time.

As people have suggested, maybe enquire with local photography students?

Best of luck with the hunt though!
 
Hi Emily. You're not going to get an established professional - either full or part time - for that sort of budget, but there's been a fair amount of discussion on the forums about photographers trying to break into wedding work offering packages (full wedding coverage and images on a disk) for around £300. A lot of the comments have been negative, criticising them for unrealistic pricing etc, but that's probably irrelevant in your context. The point is, a local who is currently working at that level might regard this as a reasonable gig. Say £100 for 1 - 2 hours of low stress work, with a couple of pints afterwards, and minimal post processing.

Check with colleges running photography courses in your area, as others have suggested. Maybe ask photographic dealers and camera clubs in your town, and people who provide wedding services (flowers, cake etc) if they know anyone starting out? If all else fails, try to find an 'Uncle Bob'. That's a rather derisive term for a family friend or relative who has a decent camera and and fancies himself as a wedding photographer! Seriously though, it's worth a shot if all else fails. Most modern cameras, particularly DSLRs, will take good photographs on their automatic settings, providing the lighting etc isn't too challenging.

I wish you all the best, and hope your wedding is wonderful.
 
<trolling>
I'll do it for 50 quid all in. I'm in the pub on that date, but I can pop out to do the photos. If you don't mind the smell of booze. I do have a suit mind. But the tie gets wonky quickly. And a camera of course. It's in one of the suit pockets somewhere. I sometimes can't find which one it's in, if I've been in the pub all day with no chance of a shave, and am busy concentrating on standing up without wobbling. I had a tripod once. They are great to help you remain upright. But someone stole it from the church yard right after the service. I'd only been asleep there for a couple of minutes and all.
But I do do a thorough job. And take a lot of pictures. Especially if I get to stay for the reception. Have a few drinks to calm me nerves. They can't get rid of me sometimes. Except that one time, when I frightened the little bridesmaid when I fell in the buffet. "is that scary man still here?" she sobbed. So I made a quick exit rather than outstay my welcome. And it was closing time anyway. I'm not sure how long the cake icing had been in my hair though. But it came out the next day ok. Which was more than could be said for the pictures.
 
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Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. I've already asked various Uncle Bobs, love the term though! If all else fails we'll get the pub barman on the job ;)
 
ianp5a said:
<trolling>
I'll do it for 50 quid all in. I'm in the pub on that date,.
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She asked an honest up front and clear question... She explained what sort of wedding it is ....

Sorry Emily I dont know the answer but I wish you well with finding someone.. I 100% understand the situation and had you been more local to me I would be tempted to help you out.. but too far ...... Small wedding and then off to the pub.... been there done that :)
 
Yes. Didn't mean any offence. But couldn't resist a chance for some humour at the expense of my reputation.

And besides. It wasn't all true. It wasn't cake icing that was in my hair.
 
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A couple of friends of mine have, in addition to a pro photographer, handed out those disposablr film cameras to the various guests. A lot of crud, but there's normally some gems hidden in there.
 
Yes it's possible, if you concentrate on the right things, no its not easy.

Forget mention of the money up front, that's not a photography fee, it's not the beginnings of an attractive proposition.

But the good news is there are thousands of people who want to shoot a wedding for practice, to the point where they'd happily be out of pocket.

They'll want to shoot 'what they want to shoot' though to a certain degree, because the fee isn't the pull, you'll have to sit down with them and work out what is mutually acceptable to both you and the photographer.

Congratulations BTW, I admire people who 'want to be married' rather than 'have a wedding', despite being in the industry.:D
 
Emily, as the others have said you're not going to get a competent established professional to work for that kind of money. For a start, it isn't a couple of hours work - there's preparation, paperwork, a consultation, travel, the photography, then processing etc. That is just the time - the photographer then has to add on their overheads (both fixed and variable). This is why proper wedding photographers seem expensive - but the profit margin is actually quite low.

I do think you are going to have to look towards an Uncle Bob, and there's no reason why a keen hobbyist with some good skills can't help you out providing you set your expectations accordingly - presuming you have invited one of these to your wedding of course. An earlier suggestion of contacting a local camera club may well be a good idea. I would refute the suggestion that someone wishing to build a portfolio might make themselves available, simply because a wedding with six guests is not going to yield the kind of images they need (normally they want the works with the various formal stages, so they can make a sample album etc).
 
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Phil V said:
I admire people who 'want to be married' rather than 'have a wedding', despite being in the industry.:D
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Likewise - I've never understood why people spend a fortune on one (often stressful) day, when there is such a high chance they will live to regret it (or at least have more sensible things to spend their money on).

I must admit I admire people even more for choosing not to get married at all ;)
 
Lindsay D said:
I must admit I admire people even more for choosing not to get married at all
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Getting married is o.k. but I am often surprised at the ludicrous amount of money some people spend on just one day.

Some of the best and most fun weddings I have been to have been done on a miniscule budget with friends and family supplying/doing everything.


Steve.
 
Why not give the guests a small throw away camera type and let them take pictures and then afterwards put them in a box after the reception? Just a thought
 
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Steve I mean one of those you can use once only and the bride and groom can send them away for developing.

Maybe a local college has classes in photography and the students can put into practice what they are learning?
 
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Hi Emily, and congratulations! :)

Another way you might consider is what my sis-in-law did. She went without a hired togger but instead put a pile of discs on each table at the reception and asked people to stick their photos on the discs.

The one problem with this, as we learned* and also with the previously mentioned suggestion of handing out disposable cameras is that you have little control over getting the shots you actually want and there's no way you'll get a full group shot.

*The wedding was approx six years ago and my ma-in-law (bride's mother) still rues the fact that there is no photo of newlyweds with mother of the bride!!!!
 
realspeed said:
Steve I mean one of those you can use once only and the bride and groom can send them away for developing.

Maybe a local college has classes in photography and the students can put into practice what they are learning?
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You haven't looked at much student photography have you ? Mostly dark, expressionless and about as far away from wedding photography - traditional, documentary or contemporary as you are likely to find.
 
realspeed said:
Steve I mean one of those you can use once only and the bride and groom can send them away for developing.
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I know you do. I just don't understand why people call them throw away or disposable cameras. Perhaps you put them in the bin and the dustmen deliver your prints the following week in your emptied dustbin.


Steve.
 
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