WANTED: student or very cheap wedding photographer

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just have a big picnic and get everyone to bring their own food. :D
 
Yay......another wedding thread.......:popcorn::whistling::lol:
 
infinity said:
I don't buy that you have to spend hundreds of pounds for decent photographs at the wedding.
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Utter nonsense.

In my opinion only of course.
 
The moral of my story is I cannot afford to spend £300-£500 on a wedding album (have my own) with 15-20 prints in it that comes with a cd (at extra cost no doubt) with all my pics on it but with a logo stamped across so I can't print them out?

I have a baby (my problem not yours i know) that i would rather spend any extra money on, where is the crime in that?

I just wanted a bit of help with what I want & can afford, not with what i'm not gonna pay for nor can afford! Sorry if this offends any "professionals" out there but it was not intended to.
 
keep it civil please folks. :)

gemc has made a request, clearly pointing out what she wants and why. If you can help, great, if not don't rain on her parade.

Best wishes for the wedding :)
 
Cheers Dod!!!!

I only wanted advice & help like you've pointed out, not an argument.
 
Hahaha .... funny it's always the wedding photographers who get hot under the collar whenever the subject ripping off is raised.

I just don't buy into needing to spend lots of money on equipment or on wedding photography. If someone wants to spend hundreds or even thousands of pounds on their wedding photographs then yeah - there will always be a 'wedding' photographer ready to take their money amid claims to be offering so much more than just photography ... what is it an experience? Prints laid in albums hand bound by fairies?

Hmmm ... just saying as this credit crunch bites hopefully there will be more sense in what is paid and claimed to be provided in wedding photography.

Like I said wedding photography is a very murky subject.
 
HI Gem... i'm just over owd betts and may be able to help.. where you getting married? What are your requirements / expectations?
 
Oh my god this is stupid...why argue over the last few posts when you have obviously not read the original posts?

Anyway my budget is £150 your obviously not gonna offer any relevant advice on this matter royston.
 
gemc said:
Oh my god this is stupid...why argue over the last few posts when you have obviously not read the original posts?

Anyway my budget is £150 your obviously not gonna offer any relevant advice on this matter royston.
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My point is you need to get real about your price.
Your asking for a very cheap wedding photographer, then just get a mate to do it.
 
gemc said:
The moral of my story is I cannot afford to spend £300-£500 on a wedding album (have my own) with 15-20 prints in it that comes with a cd (at extra cost no doubt) with all my pics on it but with a logo stamped across so I can't print them out?

I have a baby (my problem not yours i know) that i would rather spend any extra money on, where is the crime in that?

I just wanted a bit of help with what I want & can afford, not with what i'm not gonna pay for nor can afford! Sorry if this offends any "professionals" out there but it was not intended to.
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It's a shame some 'professionals' do get offended so easily (luckily I'm not one of them!)

Good luck with your wedding... always exciting times. Also big respect to you for not blowing the budget - think those days are long gone.

:)
 
Ok guys this is fine me asking £150 is prob stupid to some of you "pro's" but i have had a few lovely & very kind pm's saying that people will help.

Your obvioulsy peeved at me for wanting to "buy food" for my child & pay "my bills", so we're all in the same boat, but not earning £400 a day taking pics (if thats what you charge for arguments sake)

Like i've already said in a more polite way if you can't & won't help then don't bother sending crappy posts. We're all living in the "credit crunch" in different ways.
 
gemc said:
I'm getting married in October this year & would love a photographer. With all due respect I cannot afford, nor either stretch my budget to the prices wanted by photographers in the area.
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First of all, congratulations on your upcoming nuptials.

Second of all, what are your expectation from your budget photographer? I assume that you've 'done the rounds' of all the professionals in your area so have a rough idea of what sort of quality you're expecting?

So what happens if your budget photographer turns out some crap results? Or, perhaps more accurately, results not to your level of expectation? Is it a case of you recognising the fact that the results might be in-line with the price, that you're happy to go with whatever you can get or that you're hoping to get lucky?

I'm not a wedding photographer and have no intentions of ever becoming one, but I'd be interested to know how both parties would intend to manage the expectations of the other.
 
Just wanted to say to you gemc - kudos to you for knowing what you can spend and understanding the limitations of what that can buy, and being happy with it. The attitude of some of the professionals in this thread comes across as "if you can't afford professional prices, then you don't deserve to have any photos taken". I had a friend do the photos for our wedding. The pictures were lovely. Professional quality? of course not but they serve perfectly as a reminder of the day and my wife and I still look through them and smile. The money we saved meant we could afford the rings we wanted.

I'd offer to shoot the day for you, but I'm about as far south as it's possible to be from you.
 
hahaha .... no, really I am a pro ... Nothing against wedding photography ... it's very important part of the big day... I just think it's time there was a bit of a reality check. Let's just say I've seen some really, really bad work out there by photographers who have charged a scary amount of money.

Think my original post has been taken out of context. £150 is cheap... but there might just be someone (not me, but someone) who is prepared to accept that for an hour's work.

Good luck to everybody ... these are tough times and I hope wedding bookings are still good for you all this year.
 
I have seen plenty of people on here asking for wedding experience, so this would be the ideal opportunity for someone to get some. For a student, or someone looking to learn this could be ideal. There are plenty of Tp'ers who will spend a day taking street photos for nothing, and then hours processing them for their own pleasure. Think if this as a similar kind of thing, but your helping someone out. It would take the pressure off if there were, say, 3 togs prepared to take £50 each for a couple of hours experience, 3 times as likely to get the shots wanted by the B+G and also by the togs. A hobby with a cash benefit........

Then the rest of us Tp'ers can vote on the best shot of the day, just like a street trip.....

I would offer, but having done one, badly, I know there are better people on here.....

And Royston, you make a very valid point and are obviously a top notch tog. I can't agree more with what you are saying. She just wants a favour.
 
Benbo said:
Just wanted to say to you gemc - kudos to you for knowing what you can spend and understanding the limitations of what that can buy, and being happy with it. The attitude of some of the professionals in this thread comes across as "if you can't afford professional prices, then you don't deserve to have any photos taken". I had a friend do the photos for our wedding. The pictures were lovely. Professional quality? of course not but they serve perfectly as a reminder of the day and my wife and I still look through them and smile. The money we saved meant we could afford the rings we wanted.

I'd offer to shoot the day for you, but I'm about as far south as it's possible to be from you.
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Yeah,

Thank god someone is on my level. you guys who are UNDERSTANDING are making me feel much better!!!!

Ta guys !!!
 
Wow, fun thread :p

I'd offer but I'm in the Midlands and I'm not even experienced enough to accept £150 for it if I'm honest.
 
infinity said:
hahaha .... no, really I am a pro ... Nothing against wedding photography ... it's very important part of the big day... I just think it's time there was a bit of a reality check. Let's just say I've seen some really, really bad work out there by photographers who have charged a scary amount of money.

Think my original post has been taken out of context. £150 is cheap... but there might just be someone (not me, but someone) who is prepared to accept that for an hour's work.

Good luck to everybody ... these are tough times and I hope wedding bookings are still good for you all this year.
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Yet again THANK you!!!!

I'm not asking for a £500 gold leafed album with 100's of pics for £150. I'm glad there are a few of you (cheers infinity) who understand i'm on a budget....not trying to get the best package ever for free.
 
The reactions here absolutely astound me. The OP has quite clearly stated that they have a total budget of £800 for the whole wedding of which £150 is for photography. All you pros can argues until you're blue in the face that she (and yes Royston Vasey, the OP is a she) should be hiring a pro, but the money simply isn't there so she either gets someone to do it on the cheap or not at all. Or are the pros saying that only wealthy people should be allowed to get married.

gemc has made it obvious that her financial priorities lie with her family and I'm pretty sure she understands that she will not get top quality professional photos for her budget (Although you never know ;)). gemc, If I was close to Rochdale, I'd do it for you, no problem. I wish you all the luck and hope you get some great pics of your day. :thumbs:
 
lawrie29 said:
I have seen plenty of people on here asking for wedding experience, so this would be the ideal opportunity for someone to get some. For a student, or someone looking to learn this could be ideal. There are plenty of Tp'ers who will spend a day taking street photos for nothing, and then hours processing them for their own pleasure. Think if this as a similar kind of thing, but your helping someone out. It would take the pressure off if there were, say, 3 togs prepared to take £50 each for a couple of hours experience, 3 times as likely to get the shots wanted by the B+G and also by the togs. A hobby with a cash benefit........

Then the rest of us Tp'ers can vote on the best shot of the day, just like a street trip.....

I would offer, but having done one, badly, I know there are better people on here.....

And Royston, you make a very valid point and are obviously a top notch tog. I can't agree more with what you are saying. She just wants a favour.
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AND again......thank you lawrie!!!!
 
fabs said:
The reactions here absolutely astound me. The OP has quite clearly stated that they have a total budget of £800 for the whole wedding of which £150 is for photography. All you pros can argues until you're blue in the face that she (and yes Royston Vasey, the OP is a she) should be hiring a pro, but the money simply isn't there so she either gets someone to do it on the cheap or not at all. Or are the pros saying that only wealthy people should be allowed to get married.

gemc has made it obvious that her financial priorities lie with her family and I'm pretty sure she understands that she will not get top quality professional photos for her budget (Although you never know ;)). gemc, If I was close to Rochdale, I'd do it for you, no problem. I wish you all the luck and hope you get some great pics of your day. :thumbs:
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Thank you Fabs...nice to know there are now some people who see where i'm coming from & some people who have actually read my posts...& yes I am a she.
 
ignore the hot air
there are some decent people on here
some of them disguise it quite well though!

good luck with the wedding :thumbs:
 
Royston Vasey said:
That's fine but he is asking for a cheap pro wedding photographer, if he gets a mate then fine. Pro's get ****@~ off as to many people have an opinion of something they don't have a clue about.
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Surely the point is that GemC is not asking for a pro photographer. They've already said that if a student wanted to do the day for some experience then they'd be happy.

I do appreciate all of the expense that goes into a 'proper' wedding shoot and I'm sure that when people pay these fees they get the results they expect with a special bespoke package presented to them with no work involved on their part except to smile and enjoy their day as the centre of attention.

However, if GemC is willing to let someone 'practise' with their wedding, then surely they have to accept that they might only get 1/2 a dozen photos they can keep (hopefully more)

I personally wouldn't like to do it as I think that the pressure would be huge, hence your insurances.

At the end of the day you get what you pay for. If you get a good result from not much money then it's a bonus and everyone's a winner.

If you pay a fortune for a professional and you're not happy then I guess you have to complain and argue the contract.

I suppose it's all about expectations.

PS - sorry if someone has beat me to this, I've had it on the screen for a while.

PPS - Congratulations with the wedding GemC. I'm sure your day will be great. We had a registry affair followed by a barbecue in the back garden. Only weekend it rained in July, 80 people, lots of pink cava and strawberries. Fab.
 
Incredible reactions.

I hope you have a fantastic wedding gemc.
 
fabs said:
Or are the pros saying that only wealthy people should be allowed to get married.
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I think Royston is feeling insecure, and is worried that having invested thousands into his photography, someone who is helping someone (and I say helping, as in someone doing something they choose to, knowing the financial constraints, as opposed to someone with a whole load of attitude saying "you can't afford a pro, so therefore you will have to go without) may just produce some fantastic pics.

The upshot is, someone who may feel a little overawed doing photography that someone charges a lot for, may possibly learn something about photography on the big day, have something for a portfolio, and get themselves to a point where they can go pitching for work which others could just lose out on, and thats what worries some people I would guess.

Quite frankly, I find some of the attitudes in this thread distasteful, if people feel so against what the OP has asked for, yes, you are right to have an opinion, but to belittle someone asking for help is, IMO wrong.

gemc, I hope you get what you are after, and have a fantastic big day, memorable for all the right reasons.
 
gemc said:
"WANTED: student or cheap wedding photographer" not some plonker with an attitude or bag of spuds on his shoulder
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:lol: I likes the cut of yer jib :thumbs:

I'm a crap photographer as I've only just started doing it but I love weddings... any chance I could just come for the knees up and leave my camera at home? :D
 
Royston Vasey said:
The point is asking a pro to shoot a wedding for £150 total unreal.
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With all due respect the OP isn't.
Her words were "At the moment my budget is about £150 for pics & thats why i was hoping to find a student photographer (don't want to insult all you qualified & professional photographers out there) PLEASE HELP!!!!
 
I forgot,
rather than getting a friend to do it. It is helpful to have an outsider to organise people. The masses tend to take orders from someone other than family easier, even a student. ;)
 
fabs said:
The reactions here absolutely astound me. The OP has quite clearly stated that they have a total budget of £800 for the whole wedding of which £150 is for photography. All you pros can argues until you're blue in the face that she (and yes Royston Vasey, the OP is a she) should be hiring a pro, but the money simply isn't there so she either gets someone to do it on the cheap or not at all. Or are the pros saying that only wealthy people should be allowed to get married.

gemc has made it obvious that her financial priorities lie with her family and I'm pretty sure she understands that she will not get top quality professional photos for her budget (Although you never know ;)). gemc, If I was close to Rochdale, I'd do it for you, no problem. I wish you all the luck and hope you get some great pics of your day. :thumbs:
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:clap: Fabs.

I have had many helping hands throughout my life and try whenever possible to do at least one good thing pro bono each month for someone. I find it helps to keep me grounded in many ways.

As far as I can see Gemc has been very up front about what she wants and why. I have sent a PM to her and if I can help in some way I will. If she takes me up on this I will be donating the cash to the charities that I support by selling pics. Something that I have done for a number of years now.

I would never pretend to be a pro and would never undercut a pro, but that is not what gemc is asking for.

Chris :)
 
stop it, NOW. Once I've finished cleaning this there may well be some people looking for something else to do. :thumbsdown:
 
foggy4ever said:
What makes a tog a TRUE PRO is it the TOG or his KIT LIST? :shrug:
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Definitely the tog.

I have a 40D and a 100-400mm lens, and I know for a fact that I am not getting the best from them, and with the kit I am using, there is no way on earth any bad pics can be from anything other than myself.
 
excellent personal attack but ill judged and ill timed.
 
so when we tell a troll he's talking testicals it deserves to be booted :bonk:

still your ball your game ey ref
 
As soon as I spotted the title of this thread I just knew it would soon have kicked off all manner of heated debate and discussion.

Having read through it I think there are several things people have missed here - and have been missed from those on both sides of the fence.

@gemc: I fully appreciate your predicament, and I also think your original post explained quite clearly what you were after in terms of a student or someone new to photography who could do your shots within your budget. You didn't do wrong by posting on here, after all, it is a photographers forum. However, I should point out that you have to appreciate that posting on a photographers forum with this thread offering what you have done will potentially rub several photographers up the wrong way. You were not wrong in posting what you did, and most photographers here are not wrong in offering what they have in the form of their responses.

Some here have made the point about having their gas boiler replaced, but only having £200 to do it and still wanting it done. However, that argument falls down due to (1) legal regulations of installing such a system (of which there are none with wedding photography) and (2) the cost of materials. It might be that there would be a gas fitter who would offer his/her time at this price to do this, but the job could not be completed for that price. Just because it couldn't be done for this price, doesn't mean that someones wedding could not be photographed for a similarly low price. In this scenario, there are no fixed costs i.e. wedding albums, prints, materials etc... and so it is essentially the time and travel expense on the part of the photographer that the contribution would cover.

Also, I would think there are many more amateur photographers on Talk Photography than there are professional photographers and of those many amateur photographers I am sure there are many who would love to have such an opportunity to test their skills at someones wedding. Sure, anyone offering to do it needs to remember that this is two peoples wedding, and that they are there to capture life long memories. Not a small responsibility by any stretch of the imagination.

If I were looking to do weddings and such a request came up that was local to me, I'd certainly consider it - as I'd love the opportunity to enhance my portfolio.

The OP has pointed out that their expectations are not as high as one would expect from a professional photographer, and so stress levels for snyone taking shots are somewhat reduced.

Another possible way to consider this scenario is this; would you choose to take on a job for £150 (with no other costs to you) or would you prefer not have a job at all on that day...? OK, of course it is a question of standards etc... but on a forum that is predominantly populated with amateur photographers I am sure this ought to be seen as an opportunity, not a threat.

Sorry about the long post.
 
Studio16 said:
so when we tell a troll he's talking testicals it deserves to be booted :bonk:

still your ball your game ey ref
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yes, it adds nothing to the thread and is little better. :|
 
:shake: I really don't get people on here sometimes.

Good luck with the wedding gemc, I don't think you will need a massive budget to make it the most fantastic day of your life :) I just hope someone here is decent enough to step up and be thankful for the experience.
 
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