If you know what you want and what you can afford, you can find the right wedding photographer to make your wedding a memorable event!
If you are planning a wedding and wondering whether you should hire a professional wedding photographer to take your wedding photos, there are some things you should consider.
If you have a friend who is a GREAT photographer or a professional photographer, you might be tempted to ask your friend to take your pictures, thinking you will save some money.
This CAN be a success if you and your friend plan all the details and if you let your friend know exactly what you want and do not want and when you want her/him to be involved and when you want him to stay out of the way.
Everyone has a different preference for what wedding photographs they want and how inconspicuous they want the wedding photographer to be, so be sure you talk in detail about what you want. If your friend has NEVER done wedding photos before, you should consider a professional wedding photographer.
You only have one shot at this and you don’t want to be a guinea pig! If your friend HAS taken wedding photographs before, ask to see them so you know what you will be getting in the bargain. You don’t want to end a good friendship over poor or missing pictures.
If you are hiring a professional photographer, be sure you get to see his/her portfolio and go over the details of what you want. Tell him where and when the wedding is and be sure he has directions to the service and reception so that you aren’t waiting for him to arrive! Ask about the equipment he has. What if it rains the day of the wedding? Can he accommodate that? Does he also take video or just 35 mm pictures?
Get some references and call to ask about the experience these other couples had. Was the wedding photographer professional and polite with guests and the bridal party? Was she too pushy or obvious in taking her pictures? Did she get all the special shots she promised?
Ask the prospective wedding photographer how he develops his pictures (does he have his own lab, does he use a professional lab?) and how long it will be before you get your proofs of the pictures from which you will choose your final selection.
TRY to get a contract from the wedding photographer that puts all of this in writing. From the timing of the shots, to the payment schedule (don’t pay the entire fee upfront), you should have a written agreement in case anything goes wrong.
Think about what it would be like if this photographer does not fulfill his end of the bargain and you do NOT get the pictures of your wedding. Make you sure you understand the FULL cost, when deposits and final payments are due, what packages you can choose, how many pictures you will get, and get it all in the contract.
Meet and talk to several wedding photographers and companies before you choose the one you want. Hiring a wedding photographer is not an impersonal decision. This person will have to care about what you want and genuinely try to fulfill your expectations. He will also interact with the guests and the bridal party, so you want someone who suits your style and preferences.
Be sure that you understand whether the person you meet is the person you will have on the day of the wedding. If you are contracting a large wedding photography business, and there are other photographers, you should meet the photographer who will actually take your wedding photographs.
The cost of a wedding photographer will vary widely depending on the area of the country in which you live and the prevailing rate for wedding photographers in that area.
Price will also depend on the size of your wedding, what you want in the way of posed and casual photographs, how many photographers are going to be working at the wedding, etc. You can pay from $1,000 to $20,000 so be sure you know what you want and WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD!
In addition, you will pay between $20.00 and $50.00 for reprints. Regardless of where you live, you can plan to spend, on average, between 10% and 20% of your total budget on your pictures.
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Help answer the question about Wedding Photography
What to charge for wedding photography?My sister was asked to take pictures for my childhood friend's wedding. She wants to charge for the first time. We know them though and its her first time asking for money. What would be a good rate?
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Are you planning a wedding and wondering about all the important wedding photographs? Learn everything you need to know about wedding photographers and photographs by visiting our web site: Wedding Photography
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whoa!!it looks like a PICTURE!
ur an amazing painter!:D
Brilliant Willy, Just Brilliant =D
See these tutorials on wedding photography: http://www.net-art.it/photomonitor/html/teoria_tecnica/ripresa-tecniche/matrimonio-cerimonia-e.shtml
Wedding photography tutorials: http://www.net-art.it/photomonitor/html/teoria_tecnica/ripresa-tecniche/matrimonio-cerimonia-e.shtml
You’re really good man. You’ve got excellent talent.
Wow!!! Your question is very important for which I think you should go online and check this out: http://thestylishwedding.com/articles
Enjoy
Incredible! He looks so life like. Just amazing…and what a beautiful subject
I know in our town we have bridal fairs at our mall and another at a local hotel. These fairs have booths set up so that businesses can get their names out there. I would start with that. Then word of mouth does wonder. Start some sort of reward program for people who refer you to other people. You may check and see if a local floral shop wants to team up with you and have packages that way. Also check out theknot.com. They are a wedding website that I believe is set up by area of the country.
Excellent work. Pleasure to watch. Perfect music
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Nice work, you did pretty good.
Great talent Der Mann.
Wedding photographers charge by the event, not the hour.
My wedding photographer had shot professionally for ten years, but mine was only her fourth wedding. Her experience as a pro combined with her inexperience at weddings led to a price of $750 for the day.
This included:
* Four scheduled hours of work (though she showed up early and also toured the venue with me the day before, so it's more like six hours total).
* Light editing of all pictures (color, contrast, removing any photos that had come out badly) and burning them to CD. This CD also came with copyright release, so I could print the photos legally. Most photographers charge maybe $250 for the copyright-released CD alone.
* No prints
You seem less experienced than my photographer was, so if I were you, I'd charge $500 for the above.
The high yearly saleries and $2000/gig prices are reserved for professional photographers who have lots of experience with weddings. If your sister's friend is going to you, it's because she can't afford them.
equipment is not the main consideration.
Skill and experience is.
If you have never done a wedding before then before you jump in you need to work as an assistant for a while so that you do not completely and utterly mess up the couples big day.
Good wedding photography is a skill which can only be learnt with practice so going solo straight is NOT a good idea.
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I suppose you have experience, a portfolio, have taken formal classes and you've done an apprenticeship with an experienced, established professional phtoographer?
In being a wedding photographer, you will find that you will have dry spells and a lot of free time on your hands; for that reason, I suggest that you expand your business to also include portraits, graduations, Christenings, and maybe even do a little of children and/or baby photos. Those are opportunities to make money ANeD to get your name known. Depending on the area where you're located, you might also want to work for a shop that does on-site photo processing (learn how to operate the equipment, machines, etc… learn as much as you can and keep your eyes and ears open).
Consider also taking a few businesses classes at the local "Y" or local community college through the Evening Adult & Continuing Education Department; it will help you in more ways than one… taxes, accounting, etc. Talented and skilled photographers go bankrupt all the time because they have no kind of business sense; learn as much as you can.
Getting started ain't always as easy as we imagine. For that reason you might want to visit a few churches and speak with the Holy Man, leave a few cards or make a professional looking circular and post it on the bulletin boards, do a few freebies or give them as much of a break as you can (use this to build a portfolio, get recommendations… future referrals) for a few people on really tight budgets. Bridal shops often don't say anything but they may expect a "finder's fee" or a tip (which I am sorely against), flower shops, beauty salons, etc. Speak with the proprietors and let them know that you're just starting out; take a few of their cards and also offer to pass them to any and all of your clients. Do you know anyone in the catering business? That's also a plus.
Don't give up. Starting is always the most difficult part! Listen, all the talent and skills in the world won't amount to anything unless you have the passion to persevere and overcome those obstacles you're sure to encounter; so, hang in there. Good luck and very best wishes.
Well, I do quite a few different types of photography, including weddings.
Just because you are 14 means only that age limitations apply. You have the youth and energy to craft your photographic trade for decades to come though! Having a Nikon D40 is a great thing. I shoot a D90 with a Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 and love it! The fact you can edit is a great plus, seeing that digital photography has a requisite for that kind of talent.
Now, on to your questions…
You've already have gotten started. You have a great camera, you're computer savvy and have drive. Now you need the channels to utilize those energies. How about the school paper? The local paper? Be a free-lance photographer for them! Learn what clients want and find out how you can supply it. How will you make yourself unique (differentiate) as compared to other photographers? Think about this.
As to how to further get started in wedding photography, I learned by taking lots of photographs and reading up on books in the library. I also asked other photographers (like you're doing here) on some tips. It takes time, and you have lots of that!
As for your camera, right now the D40 is fine. Learn the operations of the camera if you haven't already. Knowing your tools is of utmost importance to getting the most from them. In a few years, think about upgrading possibly. Always look to buy the best lenses you can afford. The lens will outlive the camera by decades! Read articles, look at product reviews and see what is the right kind of lenses and bodies for what you want to do. I still have my 6 year old D70 and lenses because my wife is getting into photography and she loves it.
You can do some work on wedding photography right now. Not for pay possibly, but doing some free-lance work and then showing the bride and groom your work afterwards would set you up for something in the near future. I'd say that the earliest you could get some sort of paying work is at 17 or 18. Don't ask me what you could charge… your work/portfolio quality will determine that in a few years.
What kind of pictures? What do you WANT to take pictures of? What really makes you want to snap that picture? That is the motivation you need to focus on! That is what helps differentiate your work from everyone else! I do a lot of landscape, macro, flowers/plants and specialty photography personally.
The best thing to do is:
1) Learn your camera and lenses. What/where are they good at performing? How many lenses do you really need to just start? If you only have one lens then fine. Learn its strengths and weaknesses. Know the camera operations by memory so that when conditions change, you can change the settings accordingly.
Do you have a good prime lens (50mm f/1.8), a good low end zoom (18-70/105mm), a good high focal length zoom (70-300mm)? Maybe, like me, you have a good "walk about" lens (18-270mm). Even if you just have the 18-105mm Nikon lens the D40 came with, it's a very good lens! You can do a lot of fine work with that lens.
2) Read up on the types of photography you'd like to do. Take notes. How about some classes in middle or high school? Go to the library and check out some books so you can refer back to them. That is a no-cost option! Learn the basics of exposure and composition and how to get different effects from different settings of the camera. Don't rely on your software to make a semi-good picture better. Learn to take a great picture right off the bat so you don't have to do any rework on the computer.
3) Learn from your mistakes. Why did the picture come out bad, over or under exposed? How can you work to not do that again? Why is is that certain pictures came out fantastic? What did you do correctly so you can repeat that? Since you have a digital camera, you can usually take several shots of the same subject and see how different settings make the picture change to you liking.
4) Have fun doing whatever you do. I have seen so many people get into photography and get lost in the details that they forget to have FUN!
Good luck!
I'm not familiar with any magazine with wedding photography as its main subject.
However, Inside Weddings has lots of good photos. Some of them are studio shots of course, but lots of them are actual wedding shots. I use it to help get the couple focused on the types of photos they like best during pre-planning.
Very nice!!