Is it possible to get a cheap wedding photographer?

GatoAzul1968 said:
Emily, yes you can, but you might want to look for a new photographer especially 1st timer who wants to add his/her portfolio, or a photography student wanting to practice shooting the real wedding
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big soft moose said:
Assuming you want your wedding covering by someone with no idea what they are doing - this is great advice.
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So to take a pictures which are "better that guest themselves using smartphone" (from OP first post) you need to be a pro-photographer?

I totally get on the line of people which have said that finding a pro for <100£ is not a good idea, so looking for alternative solution within friends/family/acquaintance and finding an enthusiastic amateur/student wanting to be a helping hand is a better idea. A good amateur producing most of the time better pictures that a crap professional.

I also totally understand the OP point of view, as if i was getting married i would follow the same road. There's probably a million way i would spend my money before spending 10's thousand £ on a wedding. I probably sounds cynical but throwing money on a engagement/wedding is 1- not a sign of love 2- not a sign of successful marriage 3-so cliché it is sickening.
Last wedding I went all the bride and groom ask for was that each table made a donation to a charity, which was a great idea to be different that buying a new freezer and a set of le creuset cookware.
 
Hefferzzzz said:
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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Yeah... because we have nothing better to do except be agents for our students! LOL

We get about 20 requests a week for people who want wedding shooting on the cheap... just don't have time to deal with them, sorry.
 
big soft moose said:
Assuming you want your wedding covering by someone with no idea what they are doing - this is great advice.
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Not everyone can afford expensive weddings. I have my own online fashion business, selling bridesmaid dresses. Many of them had bought 'cheap' bridesmaid dresses for £20 (ish), so showed not everyone want expensive weddings. Perhaps they can afford 'free' or £100 photographer. It is always an ideal for someone who wish to pursue as a wedding photographer. The ideal student photographer who attend Wedding Photography course (etc)
 
Why do people fail to understand the simple principal here?
GatoAzul1968 said:
Not everyone can afford expensive weddings. I have my own online fashion business, selling bridesmaid dresses. Many of them had bought 'cheap' bridesmaid dresses for £20 (ish), so showed not everyone want expensive weddings. ...
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WE all understand that not everyone can afford expensive wedding photographers -that's fine. Some people who can afford expensive wedding photographers choose not to buy the service, that's fine too. No-one is arguing that.
GatoAzul1968 said:
... It is always an ideal for someone who wish to pursue as a wedding photographer. The ideal student photographer who attend Wedding Photography course (etc)
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But that guy doesn't exist. There are no 'wedding photography students', of course there are students who could shoot a wedding, and they might do it for very little cash, and there are plenty of good enough amateurs who could shoot a wedding - but the hard thing is finding them. There's no place they hang out. Which brings us to Pete's point...
People who 'advertise to shoot weddings' for £100 are appalling. It's not about market sector, or economics or students or amateurs or people who have a limited budget. It's very simple - people who think they're 'good enough' to advertise their services, but then only believe they're worth 10% of the market rate are likely to be appalling photographers.

The average new car price is >£10,000, if you set out to build a car, and decided it was worth no more than £1000 would people expect it to be excellent?
 
GatoAzul1968 said:
Not everyone can afford expensive weddings. I have my own online fashion business, selling bridesmaid dresses. Many of them had bought 'cheap' bridesmaid dresses for £20 (ish), so showed not everyone want expensive weddings. Perhaps they can afford 'free' or £100 photographer. It is always an ideal for someone who wish to pursue as a wedding photographer. The ideal student photographer who attend Wedding Photography course (etc)
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I agree, there are (many?) people who can't afford an expensive wedding, or have other priorities and choose not to spend a lot of money on photography, dresses, flowers, the cake and the reception etc. That's fine, it's entirely up to them, and no-one is suggesting otherwise.

Part timers who shoot weddings on a shoestring without experience, suitable/back up equipment and insurance, at unrealistic rates, are a bit of a touchy subject on this forum. I'm not a wedding photographer, but I was pretty sure there would be some disagreements when I saw the thread title 'Is it possible to get a cheap wedding photographer?' Emily (OP) was really looking for someone who would take some decent photographs at a very small wedding followed by an informal reception in the pub, which she explained in her first post, but the title jarred a bit!

Several of us, including myself, suggested trying to find someone who is trying to get into wedding photography but I take the point raised by a couple of professionals. A wedding like this simply doesn't offer them an opportunity to gain any meaningful experience or build up a portfolio. I think the most realistic possibilities were an 'Uncle Bob' or a competent amateur who wasn't looking for a future in this genre.
 
Some of us are starting out and charge reasonable prices. Everyone has got to start somewhere
 
paulefox said:
Some of us are starting out and charge reasonable prices. Everyone has got to start somewhere
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Even so, a reasonable price for a new starter, but one who is competant would be about £500 depending on the package offered, otherwise you'd be selling yourself short, and for all those you attract with a low price, you'll put off others thinking you're not up to the task.
 
don't sweat it Jim , paul is/was just spamming for classifieds access - he probably isnt even a wedding photographer.

On point you are right but we all also know that there are people who'll do a wedding for 50 quid - some of whom might even know which end of the camera to look through
 
I'd imagine that a lot of people who are offering cheap rates are just after the experience. Which is fair enough as long as expectations are clearly defined.

Would bee cool to get an update from the OP on the results.
 
big soft moose said:
don't sweat it Jim , paul is/was just spamming for classifieds access - he probably isnt even a wedding photographer.

On point you are right but we all also know that there are people who'll do a wedding for 50 quid - some of whom might even know which end of the camera to look through
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Ah yes, I saw a load of posts from him then noticed he was suspended!
 
Hi all, I promised I'd be back with the pics so here I am. The day was lovely and it didn't rain. Not holding out much hope for our party in the garden on Saturday :( Our photographer was amazing. We met him before for a chat and really liked him. He understood it wasn't a big wedding and charged us just £70. He was with us for about 2 hours, with photos at the registry office and the pub after, and he also took us to a park on the way for more pics and these are some of my faves, a great idea. I'm very happy with the photos, he even dropped the usb stick off in a heart shaped box filled with rose petals ha. So here's a few of the images...
 
meonshore said:
You look like you had a wonderful day, and if you are happy with the photographer on the day, and the results then that is all that matters. Wish you both all the very best for the future.
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:plus1:

Nice frocks, btw! :)
 
Congratulations, it looks a wonderful day and I wish all the best for the future
 
Having read through this thread, I think it's really lovely that you have come back & shared your images & an update! I wish you both all the best for the future and maybe you'll be back to take up photography together soon!
 
Hi Emily, congrats. How did you find the photographer in the end, did the responses here help at all?
 
Interestingly just seen a local post on Facebook and thought of this thread, a couple asking for a local student photographer to cover their wedding for free...

They had more than 20 responses within a day, some pretty solid portfolios from some of them as well.
 
ukaskew said:
Interestingly just seen a local post on Facebook and thought of this thread, a couple asking for a local student photographer to cover their wedding for free...

They had more than 20 responses within a day, some pretty solid portfolios from some of them as well.
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Only 20? Must have been a small group or a quiet day. I've seen those sorts of threads go over 100 replies in a couple of hours.
 
Congratulations to you both Emily - looks like you had a wonderful day!

Sounds like you got yourself a good photographer there!

Matt
 
Ferj said:
You & me both, I would actually say I hate our wedding photos & can't bear to even look at them!
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That,bad hey?
 
Ferj said:
Worse! Never mind, it's a good job my memory is still intact ;)
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Did you challenge the "photographer" about the results (out of interest)?
 
Ferj said:
Worse! Never mind, it's a good job my memory is still intact ;)
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I challenged our photographer and got a full refund yet they couldnt understand why shooting in p mode didnt do them any favours nor using a 18-55 basic lens! Good job I'm only get married once! Haha
 
Pompeyfc81 said:
I challenged our photographer and got a full refund yet they couldnt understand why shooting in p mode didnt do them any favours nor using a 18-55 basic lens! Good job I'm only get married once! Haha
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Ouch! At least you got a refund!
 
odd jim said:
Did you challenge the "photographer" about the results (out of interest)?
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I should have done but I just couldn't face it at the time. There was nothing that could be done the day was over :( I was gutted as we got married in this beautiful rural location, it wasn't a big budget thing but was genuinely a beautiful day. We had Pendle Hill with new snow in the background, it was November but it was really sunny and perfect for an autumn day. The evening do was just lovely as we had candles everywhere and finished the day off with fireworks. He went round with the flash on auto or something, destroyed the ambience and had no concept of composition! I'm guessing the work we saw before hand had been carefully planned rather than on an actual wedding. You never knew these things then, you just trusted a photographer knew what to do!
 
Pleased this worked out Emily. Thanks for sharing
 
Ferj said:
I should have done but I just couldn't face it at the time. There was nothing that could be done the day was over :( I was gutted as we got married in this beautiful rural location, it wasn't a big budget thing but was genuinely a beautiful day. We had Pendle Hill with new snow in the background, it was November but it was really sunny and perfect for an autumn day. The evening do was just lovely as we had candles everywhere and finished the day off with fireworks. He went round with the flash on auto or something, destroyed the ambience and had no concept of composition! I'm guessing the work we saw before hand had been carefully planned rather than on an actual wedding. You never knew these things then, you just trusted a photographer knew what to do!
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Pay peanuts get monkeys!?
 
Ferj said:
We had Pendle Hill with new snow in the background,!
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its probably a coincidence but i had a wedding near clitheroe last year ... the clients were utter ****s , the groom turned up with a black eye and a swollen lip from a fight the night before and was insistent that I could "easily 'shop it out" , and the bride got drunk during the wedding breakfast meaning that the first dance didn't happen, then they made a big fuss about not having any first dance pics ... when i pointed out that they hadn't actually had a first dance, they said i should have got other shots and made it look like they had. :bang:

Is there anything you'd like to tell me ? :LOL:
 
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big soft moose said:
its probably a coincidence but i had a wedding near clitheroe last year ... the clients were utter ****s , the groom turned up with a black eye and a swollen lip from a fight the night before and was insistent that I could "easily 'shop it out" , and the bride got drunk during the wedding breakfast meaning that the first dance didn't happen, then they made a big fuss about not having any first dance pics ... when i pointed out that they hadn't actually had a first dance, they said i should have got other shots and made it look like they had. :bang:

Is there anything you'd like to tell me ? :LOL:
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Yes it wasn't me! I got married 10 years ago! Sounds like a great do though :)
 
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