Photo Tips & Trends
What lt Costs A basic package can cost $2,000, but a quality photographer begins closer to $3,000.You're paying for the photographer's time at the wedding, plus the hours spent developing your pictures, plus the prints and albums you order. If your photographer is in high demand, expect to pay dearly (more than $7,000, even way above) for the honor of his or her presence!
Ways to Save Hire your photographer for a limited amount of time-just the ceremony and an hour at the reception, perhaps. Keep prints simple; special developing treatments such as sepia tones or complicated printing techniques cost more because they take more darkroom work. A photographer who views his or her work as aft may charge more than a large studio with multiple photographers that functions more as a wedding-photo factory. Go solo photographers who work with assistants will probably cost more. Choose a package carefully. For example, some may include parents' albums, but many don't, which means you may pay an additional fee later.
Call the Shots Ask recently married friends how many pictures their photographer took (that is, how many proofs they got) and whether the number was sufficient, so you'll have a frame of reference when talking to your photographer. At an average wedding (ceremony and four-hour reception), a traditional photographer shoots about three hundred exposures; a photojournalistic photographer will shoot anywhere from five hundred to one thousand.
See an Actual Album Look at pictures from a previous wedding the photographer shot to see if he or she connected to the couple and really captured their day. If possible, also ask to see a proof book-the shots the photographer took before the couple chose the ones they wanted. This is his or her work in the raw.
Beware the Bait and Switch Some contracts spell out the studios right to send any staff photographer to your wedding-don't sign if that's not okay with you.
Don't Underestimate You may not think you need a lot of pictures, but chances are you'll want more than you thought once you see them (especially if you hired a spectacular photographer). Err on the side of more prints.
Negatives Are Positive Most professional photographers keep their own negatives, you wiIl get the best-quality prints, and negatives will be properly stored. Have them kept on file with your photographer for as long as that person has a policy of keeping them; you may then be able to buy them yourselves.
Let Guests in on lt If you order prints for family and friends, be sure everyone knows the price per print-or prepare to tack additional fees onto your final tab! Order parents' and guests' prints at the same time as your own to avoid reorder fees.
Album Options Photographers' albums can get pricey. Make sure to ask who designs the layout (you, them, a combination), whether all pages have full-size prints.
Courtesy of The Knot via Scripps Media
