Weddingbee boards

I know this is an old post, but I wanted to caution brides about portfolio building, photographers who don't charge travel costs. 

First, from a common sense point of view, would you be willing to travel for work (even a vacation area) and pay all your own expenses?

There's nothing wrong with portfolio builders. Sometimes you can find a gem. But if you're not paying for your photographer to get there, how can you be sure they'll be there?

I know of a photographer who learned the hard way to charge for travel. He & his wife had never been to HI so when a DW came up there it seemed like a great opportunity for a portfolio builder and a mini vacation. So he offered the couple a deal below market rate to shoot their wedding and didn't charge travel. He booked his flight on Hawaiin Airlines to leave on Thur morning for his Sat wedding. Unfortunately, that was the week Hawaiin Airlines went bankrupt. All flights were cancelled, no refunds in sight and the few available seats on other airlines instantly went up by several thousand dollars. There was no way for him to get to HI for the wedding!

He pretty much lost all the wedding income on the two tickets for their flight.  He couldn't afford to hire a local photographer to cover him (remember it's Expensive to live in HI & he undercut all the locals). He ended up having to sell some very nice & expensive lens in order to pay someone else to photograph the wedding. Luckily for the couple that he's a good guy and a man of his word. Many are plain shady & the couple could have been left high & dry with no money or wedding photos.

That was a painful lesson for him. Many photographers, including me, learned from his mistake too. I'd love to photograph a DW and may be willing to offer a package perk but I'm not traveling for free. Traveling is a hassle. Customs is an even bigger hassle. Weddings are stressful. If I'm going to pay for my travel, I'll do it on my own without the added burden of someone's once in a lifetime memories.

Just some food for thought.

If you're still looking for an experienced/qualified photographer, the ISPWP website has a listing for Caribbean Wedding Photographers who all travel to Jamaica and all Caribbean locations.

They are all from various locations such as Texas, Florida, California, etc. but they all have experience traveling for DW so at the very least they could offer you some advice. Good luck!