Asking family member to be wedding photographer

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Missdaisies

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Im getting married in August and whilst we're having a reasonable sized weddding, we've cut a lot of corners as its proving to be a bit difficult to pay for everything.


The photos of the day mean the world to me, but Im simply unable to "magic up" any cash to pay for it :( My future brother in law has a keen interest in photography and so I was thinking of asking him - but I know how stressful wedding photography can be first hand - do you think its unfair to ask him to commit to doing this?

My other idea was to contact the local college/university and see if there was a second/third year student who would do it?

Any thoughts/ideas?
 
Any thoughts/ideas?
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Well once the day is all said and done, all there is left are the gifts and the images that you have made.

Personally, I'd cut back on the menu, the number of guests, the cost per bottle of the wine...... pretty much anything to have some good pics.

That doesn't mean spending a fortune on some fancy big mouth snapper but getting someone you feel you can trust to get what you want done. :)
 
The stress of doing it is one issue - especially if he has not had experience of shooting a wedding before.

But the main point is that it's his brother's wedding - shouldn't he be able to enjoy it as a brother rather than working as a photographer.

I shot a couple of friends weddings before I turned pro - you can either be a guest or a photographer, but not both.

The college route might a good one to go down, or maybe check out the bridal forums - Hitched, Confetti, Handbag, etc - there are quite often photographers on there willing to shoot for very little to build a starting portfolio.

Or ask on here - you might find someone willing to do the same.

Duncan
 
Difficult situation - I would say that if photos of the day truely mean the world to you how would you feel if your brother in law or a 2nd / 3rd year messed it up? How would they feel?

Remember that the photos will last longer than the marriage - in the sense that your great, great, great grandchildren will be able to see them and other than the rings and the certificate they will be the only thing that does. There are people out there with a lot of experiance who shoot weddings on a pics to CD only basis quite cheaply. Some for £200 - £300. You can always get a Pro to do just the wedding and formals with your brother in law taking photos at the reception to save a bit of cash. Is there anything you can cut back on elsewhere to find the money for someone to do it properly e.g. wine / champagne at the reception, a less posh car, simple bouquet?

If you go for the Pics to CD via a pro make sure you have the licence from the tog to edit them and print them for personal use and that they are the full size pics - some offer pics that look good on the PC but not when printed.
 
I can speak from experience on this one. A friend of my mother-in-law did our wedding photos - a big mistake. Most of the photos didn't turn out. My wife is still upset about it to this day (18 years later) and it almost destroyed a friendship.

Don't take a chance with one of the biggest days of your life. As has been mentioned already, cut corners in other areas.

Hope you have a great day when it comes around :)
 
We're having the cheapest menu and drinks package so cant cut anything there, no cars, reasonably prices dress, no favours, cheap band - Ive really been discount shopping on lots of things etc etc...

I would love to find someone that would do it for £300 (edit: as this is a price which was mentioned above, not because I think this is a reasonable price to pay a photographer, I think they are worth way more than that!) but havent been able to find anyone so far. All I need is someone to do the official photos after the ceremony and then I would let my guests take care of the rest.

Im really hesitant to let me brother in law do it, because I really do appreciate how stressful it is and I dont feel that he will be able to enjoy it. I done my best friends wedding which was a tiny affair and I found it really stressful. I was proud once the album was done, but I didnt enjoy the day.

I think Ill give Metropolitan College in Glasgow a call to see if there is anything they could do for me.

I know its strange coming from someone with a love of photography not to have a pro at their wedding, but the pennies are just too scarce!
 
My neighbour has just done the shots at his daughter's wedding with a 1.5 mp compact camera using the onboard flash! :(

Muggins here has won the job of editing the pics. I'm dreading to look at them tbh.
 
There are some really tidy people on this forum, and some very good photographers, so why don't you post the date of the wedding and see what offers you get
 
Even though I'll sound like a broken record repeating what everyone else has said I thought I'd chip in as well. These photos are probably one of the most important things that will happen on the wedding day, and whilst your brother in law might be able to do it, you're really better off getting a pro or someone from here who REALLY knows what they're doing to take them.

Yup, it's going to cost you a fair bit of cash, but trust me, getting the pictures right is worth more than anything else on the day. Personally I'd sacrifice anything and everything to make sure that the photos are top notch, your future wife (and yourself) will be devastated if they don't come out.

I appreciate that money is at a limit, but the photos are probably up at the top of the list near the dress.
 
arrange a tp meet that day
get enough togs and you must get some decent pics!
 
I'd agree with what people say with regards to getting a pro if you possibly can, although there are many amateurs who do the odd wedding and are very capable.

To offer an alternative viewpoint though. When I got married (17 years ago now) my parents were paying for a lot of it, including the photographer. We wanted to go for the local, but very experienced, photographer who had done some friends' weddings, but my Mother wanted to have this young up and coming tog who was a bit different and very a la mode (And twice as expensive!)

We gave our compact to some friends to use on the day for some informal shots. The pro album hasn't come out of the box since we first saw it! Using a pro is no guarantee of great wedding shots.

In summary, you should do what you feel is best. Maybe sit down with your future brother in law and discuss it. You never know, he might be very keen to do it. Also have a good look at the photos he has already done just to make sure that he has the technical ability and if he does do it, make sure things are planned out as much as possible in advance to make it as stress free as possible. If you are only doing "Official" photos directly after the ceremony, it doesn't need to be that stressful.

Good luck.
 
Hang on hang on hang on, now I know we're all photographers here, but maybe not everyone places the same level of importance images, even wedding photos.

Most of the weddings I've been to in the last couple of years have had an 'official' rather than 'professional' photographer, usually the most experienced and best equipped of the couple's friends. Add the images the official guy gets to the myriad of digicam snaps that are taken and you end up with a decent memento.

At my sister's wedding, there wasn't an SLR in site (I was ushering, so I was too busy), and there were still plenty of nice candid shots taken with a little Fuji p&s that the bride and groom are still very happy with. You don't *have* to have a pro, you don't *have* to get the most fantastic images unless you *want* to.

Next year it'll be me doing my first wedding, I've been asked by some friends. Not because I'll do it for cheap, and not because they're cutting corners, but because they want their friends to share in the day. They'd rather have the images I take because it's me whose taken them, just as they'd rather have a friend DJing, a friend doing the flowers. For them it's the memories, not the end result.

(maybe I'm bricking it, slightly)
 
WeddingHack said:
The stress of doing it is one issue - especially if he has not had experience of shooting a wedding before.

But the main point is that it's his brother's wedding - shouldn't he be able to enjoy it as a brother rather than working as a photographer.

I shot a couple of friends weddings before I turned pro - you can either be a guest or a photographer, but not both.
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Having similar experience myself I just thought I would reiterate Duncan's point here. To shoot wedding photos its nearly impossible to actually enjoy the day as a wedding as you'll be busy making sure you dont miss 'that' shot and making sure you have photos of all the important people and moments all while making sure the shots you are taking are sharp, in-focus and properly exposed.

I also wouldnt like the idea of shooting a wedding without a 2nd body. The only wedding I ever took photos at my camera just stopped working for no reason. I had a film slr with me and a few rolls of ilford xp2 so I switched over to that, thankfully I had all the formal stuff done with the 20D and just did some candids on film.

That was for an old friend who was getting married for the 2nd time and had a very low key ceremony wasnt planning a photographer and I told them I would bring the camera.
 
mmcp42 said:
arrange a tp meet that day
get enough togs and you must get some decent pics!
Click to expand...


Now this is a good idea :clap: - between all you lot, im bound to get a few good shots ;)

But you can bring your own sarnies :lol:
 
Also, I just want to say thanks to everyone for their points, its made me think..

It must come across that Im not bothered about the photos - but I am, it means everything to me to have a lovely record of the day.

Without going into too much detail, im having enough trouble figuring out where the cash is coming from to pay the venue etc... But, I will definitely give it more thought.

Thanks again

Sharon
 
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