How much should you pay for a wedding photographer?

Now there's a question and a half! I've seen quite a few examples recently on Facebook and elsewhere of complaints and legal cases where a couple feel they've been ripped off by their photographer or they're not happy with the photos their photographer gave them. Sadly these kind of stories are becoming more and more common.

The truth is, it's a fiercely competitive market. There's hundreds of photographers out there, all offering different products, at widely varying prices. I've seen prices as low as £200, and as high as several thousand and everything in between. The good news is, whatever your budget for photos is, you’ll find a photographer that suits what you'd like to spend.

I've always said that when you're planning your wedding you should spend your money on what matters to you most. Everyone has different wants and needs, and different priorities. Some people want an amazing wedding cake for example, a fabulous designer wedding gown or stunning limousines to take them to the church. For others, beautiful flowers are really important to them. At the end of the day, it’s your wedding, you should do it your way!

But, let’s think about it more carefully for a second. After the wedding’s over and you’ve had your 30 minute ride in the luxury Bentley, your cake’s been eaten, and the flowers have wilted, your wedding photos remain as the only permanent reminder of your big day. It really does require a bit more thought.

So let me put it like this. You’ll have your wedding photos for the rest of your lives - does it really make sense to spend less on photos than you’re spending on flowers? Or a cake? Or a limo you’ll be in for 30 minutes??

So how much should you spend on wedding photography? Well, here’s the first important thing you need to know:

Price SHOULD NOT be your main concern when it comes to choosing a photographer for your wedding.

I’ll let you take that in for a second, it’s super-important. If you’re choosing a photographer based mainly on price, you could be setting yourself up for disappointment. This leads perfectly on to the next thing you need to know:

Photography pricing isn’t always a good gauge of quality.

There are some low-budget photographers out there who produce decent results. On the other hand, there are more expensive photographers who produce absolute trash. In reality, there are no rules or regulations to control pricing in the wedding market. Photographers can pretty much charge whatever they want, whether that’s £200 or £2000 and the price alone doesn’t necessarily dictate what sort of quality you’ll get at the end of the day.

We all know the old saying “you get what you pay for” and that’s true of wedding photography too for the most part, but not always. Because of all the reasons I mentioned above, it works the other way too - you could go out and choose a photographer at £3000 because you think “they’re expensive so they must be good”. Trust me, that’s not always the case, as I mentioned there are some photographers out there at the higher end whose products aren’t worth the money they’re charging when it comes to quality. So let me say this again:

Price SHOULD NOT be your main concern when it comes to choosing a photographer for your wedding.

So, going back to the original question – how much should you spend on a photographer? Well, it’s like this – you should spend the money you need to in order to get photos you’ll be happy with but ultimately, before you think about price, you’ll need to:

• Look for photographers whose work speaks to you. Do you like their style of photo? Is the quality good enough for you? If these were your wedding photos, would you be happy? Shortlist 3 of your favourite photographers who are produce the kind of photos you really want.

• Carefully assess the quality of work each photographer is producing. Does it look professional? Are the photos they’re producing better than what you could do yourself?

• Arrange a meeting with the photographers in question. Look at more examples of their work. A competent, professional photographer should have a strong portfolio of consistent work from real weddings they’ve photographed.

• Look at examples from more than one wedding, don’t just accept what you see initially. Remember, the work you see to begin with is likely to be their best work. Is this the standard they produce consistently??

Once you’ve done all of the above then, and only then, should you take pricing into account. That way, you’ll be choosing a photographer whose work you’ll be happy with after the wedding.

Now of course, price and affordability are still important. If after doing all of the above research you’ve found a photographer you like that’s in your price range, great! But, I can already tell what you’re thinking - it’s more than likely this:

“That’s all good and well, but what if the photographers I really want are out of my price range?”

And that’s a valid point too. What if you’ve taken all of my advice, carefully selected your 3 favourite photographers, and they’re all more than you wanted to pay?? Well, the important thing is this – if you’ve followed my advice, and selected photographers based first and foremost on the quality and service you want, you’re now making more sensible decisions. Now you can properly assess whether you need to steal money from elsewhere in the wedding budget to get the photographer you want, or whether you do actually need to look for a cheaper deal. Now you’re thinking about more than just price!

I’ll leave you with one final thought. I’m not saying you should always avoid low-budget photographers. Sometimes you just can’t afford something and that’s that. Fair enough. As I mentioned, affordability is still important. But this still applies:

Price SHOULD NOT be your main concern when it comes to choosing a photographer for your wedding.

This still applies, even at the lower end of the market. Why?? Well let me put it like this. As I hinted at above, there are always exceptions to the rule, but generally you get what you pay for. A photographer charging extremely low prices will more than likely produce photos which are no better than your guests could have done with their iPhones – if that’s the case you’d be as well saving your money and letting your guests photograph your wedding for free!

Alan Snelling Photography provides high quality wedding photography throughout Edinburgh, Glasgow & Scotland. For more information and to view more examples of our work, visit www.alansnellingphotography.co.uk

Edinburgh Zoo Wedding - Jaimie & Louise

You wouldn't think Edinburgh Zoo would be an obvious place to get married, would you?? Think again!!! Last year during the summer we had the pleasure of photographing Jaimie & Louise's wedding at The Zoo and, I have to say, what a superb venue!! Here's the story of their wedding day! The day started off at Louise's parents house in Edinburgh, as we photographed the girlies getting ready. Naturally some friends and family popped round to see Louise before she headed off to the wedding.

The bridal preparations went smoothly and the morning passed so quickly, it was soon time for Louise to put her fab dress on and get some photos with Dad before leaving for The Zoo.

As we arrived at the Zoo on a busy Saturday afternoon, everyone waived to Louise as she arrived in the wedding car!

The wedding ceremony took place in the Pavilion at Edinburgh Zoo, and the ceremony room was lovely and light. Jaimie looked proud as punch when he saw Louise coming down the aisle.

It was a glorious summers day and so we got all their wedding photos done outside in the gardens in front of the pavilion itself.

The speeches and meal went well, and before long it was almost time for the evening wedding reception. We managed to get some photos with their friends, before heading in for the first dance.

Thanks again to Jaimie & Louise, their family and friends for making us so welcome at the wedding. What a laugh we had!!!