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try finding a newly professional photographer who is building their portfolio
Contact your local university with an art department... you can probably get recommendations or find out where to post a flyer with what you want!
Have you tried looking into student photography? Go to a college near to where you're getting married, and ask some of the professors to recommend someone, letting them know your budget and what you're looking for. The professors should be able to recommend one or two of their top students, and it will give a young, budding photographer a chance to build their portfolio :)
also put an ad in the classified's section. i know that quite a few illinois photographers frequent the board... perhaps you will have someone who would love to photograph your wedding.
I would recommend trying Craigslist, if you haven't. I'm a photographer in Nashville, and I keep an ad on there myself usually. It's a great place for bargain hunters like yourself to connect with just such photographer as you seek.
I would personally not use a student or new photo grad or such. Weddings are too important, and an inexperienced photographer will usually not be able to handle a wedding. Weddings are the hardest thing to shoot. Often there are low light situations, time crunches, changing light brightness from indoors to outdoors, etc etc. It's not a job for a noob. Your wedding photos are too important. It's all you have left after the wedding : )
You can find a photographer who has shot several weddings, and has his own style, and doesn't charge that much. It's possible. Very possible. Again, I would try Craigslist. You probably won't find that low cost photographer you want by doing a Google search or anything, because their website will not rank high enough to find, more than likely. That doesn't mean they aren't there.
You can totally get this for under $1000!! I'm a graphic designer and he's a photographer so we're REALLY getting a deal since we're using one of his friends, but I know her regular rates and they are well under $1000. Since she just graduated in May she normally only charges between $500 and $750 for a full day of shooting. I would DEFINITELY reach out to local art schools (preferably NOT any of the Art Institutes) and make sure you see their portfolios before you decide. Most art schools require that their students do internships, so you may even get lucky and find someone that interned with a wedding photographer!
Good luck!
Just out of curiosity, are you actually wondering WHY photography is expensive or how to find one for cheap?
I think you can find someone for under $1,000 but it would have to be someone just starting out and who is building their portfolio. I would be EXTREMELY wary of a supposedly established photog that charges less than $2,000, as an established photog should be able to command 2k at a bare minimum. Be careful though, sometimes you find a jewel in the rough, and sometimes you find someone who doesn't do such a great job. I'd do a whole lot of interviewing to find the best fit, even more than if you were looking for a more high-priced photographer! Good luck!!
Established photogs should charge more than $1000 just because there is no way to make a living if that's your rate. For instance, I have to pay my bills, save for $10,000 of software, equipment, and business expenditures I have a year, contribute to a 401k, pay a mortgage and for some photogs give their kids and spouse a christmas gift. There's also the cost of business insurance, professional organization fees, and by giving a disc I stand to make no other money in the back end from you.
From the time I meet with you to discuss your wedding the first time to giving you a disc I will have spent over 50 hours on your wedding for a full day of coverage. For $1000 that breaks down to $25/hr. Good, right? Well, about half of that goes to the government so that leaves me at $12.50/hr. Minus 401k contributions, insurance costs, overhead, website fees, internet fees, credit card fees, gas to get to your wedding, etc... it adds up and that rate goes down. So I might as well work the fryer at McDonalds if I was to charge $1000 for a full day.
NOW, it can be found, but you may not get the experience of a seasoned pro. If they are a seasoned pro charging that little I'd be very concerned about the state of their business and wouldn't rec hiring them.
A shoot and burn is pretty inexpensive and yes you should be able to get that for around $1,000. Maybe $1,200. My friend got hers for $1500 with an album but i have to admit the photographer wasn't very good. A friend of mine in texas does 6 hours/shoot and burn for $800 so keep looking! Maybe send someone an email and they can direct you to other photographers or newer ones who may be willing to do your wedding for that price. However, don't expect 5 star photography for that price...sometimes it comes AT a price, like my friend's. THey're just very traditional.
yeah i am having the same problem - i actually do photography myself as well as a friend of mine and dont need any of the fancy editing or albums since i can do all that myself - all i really needed is someone who can shoot the wedding since i cant - then send me the disk of raw pics. i can do the rest ya know???
still, i think its gonna end up running me about 1200? which i guess since pics are all you will have after the day is worth it...
I've seen some basic packages for $1200-ish if you're willing to just have the photographer work 4 hours rather than the entire day. That's here in the NYC area, where everything is more expensive, so I'm sure you can get a comparable deal where you are. I had success finding potential photographers from Craigslist.
I think, though, that $2,000 could be a reasonable amount to spend if your budget is $12,000, unless it's one of the less important aspects of the day for you personally.
I think you're going to have to re-think what you're going to get for $1k. You're either going to have to take the plunge and try to find someone who is starting out and just building their portfolio or hire someone more experienced but who will probably only be there 4 hours or so. If you do the latter, 4 hours SHOULD be enough time to get the vital shots.
I agree with checking Craigslist - you WILL find someone in your budget on there. Good luck.
I scoured Googled and found some young photographers (whose work I happened to like better because it wasn't so posey) who are about 24 and have only had their business for a couple years. So, we got our's for $950! Go through Google and call EVERY photog in your area!
Thanks everyone! I have checked Craigslist but I'm assuming since I'm getting married in such a rural area I'm not having anyluck (about 3 hours SE of St. Louis). I have a photog for 2000 (package quoted, no contract) but 17% of my budget seems like a lot for photography. I'll probably just keep looking until June and then either sign with my photog or find someone else.
I'd ask yourself whether you really need whole day coverage. I'm a photographer and I'd highly suggest looking into getting someone for key moments ( like ...start 30 min. before your ceremony and end after main dances). Getting a good photographer to do a 5 hour shoot instead of a 8-9 hour one on CD is much more likely.
Is your date on a non-saturday by chance? In your ad, be sure to mention your exact wedding date. Many vendors will offer discount for non-sat. dates.
If you have a quote of $2000, I think that's pretty reasonable and you are unlikely to find someone for anywhere near that price if it's a rural area, especially considering if you don't sign a contract right away, price increases may happen for 2011. I would ask your photographer about that. I mean, it seems like photography is an important part for you, so you probably will have to up your budget to get what you want. Just make sure whatever you choose is worth it to you!
Good luck!
We took a risk and hired a graphic design grad who just opened a studio. I met her for coffee first, looked at her portfolio, and fell in love. She's young and determined, and I know she'll do a great job.
We are getting engagement pictures, 6 hours the day of, copyright released CD of ALL images, and a slideshow for the family, all for $500. Granted I live in a smaller area, but still a great deal. Our engagement pictures are in January, so I will know more then.
We're paying about $1000, so it is possible but I think it greatly depends on your location. We found ours on kijiji and he is an experienced photographer who is trying to break into the wedding business. We locked in his 2009 prices for our 2011 wedding, and now the same package is $1650.
Really?! Because all of the places I've found in Missouri (despite the major cities...STL and KC) are like $1200 for 8-hour coverage? IDK where you're located, or I'd offer some names...
Another option for you is to put an ad in the "wanted" section of Craigslist. Tell them exactly what you want and exactly what you can spend. I bet you'll be surprised at the number of responses you get (I actually DID this and got 30+ responses).
luckily my sister inlaw is a photographer so im hoping whenever i get married she'll so it for free. to find a cheap photographer try looking for someone just starting out or search modelmayhem.com for photographers in your area, most of them are model photographers but i've seen many open to weddings as well with.
Before I became a professional photographer I never understood why it was so expensive either. The fact is, weddings are expensive and the average bride can't afford to pay $20,000 for their wedding. But as I started booking clients and doing cheap weddings to "build my portfolio", I found out how much work weddings really are.
When you book a photographer you are paying for:
Talent - The higher their price usually means the more experience they have. They are the expertise at that craft and if they are charging $12k you better be expecting someone who is AMAZING and has the reputation to be doing good at what they do. Each photographer has their own style, unique flair and has their own individual value. Sure you can pay Uncle Bob to photography your wedding for under $1,000 with his digital camera, but he may never give that creative perspective you are looking for. Anyone can press a button and take a picture, but not everyone can create something beautiful.
Time - Full coverage at your wedding generally means 6-12 hours. Now take that PLUS time spent traveling to and from locations and in between (plus gas, plus wear and tear on their car). Then there is all the time spent editing the pictures, ordering the pictures, emailing the frustrated bride back and forth. Your wedding is not just a one day gig, it is hours of invested time helping the bride getting to know her and making sure she gets what she wants. Plus, 6 hours of shooting a wedding are WAY more stressful than 6 hours of another service.
Bills - As it was mentioned above, photographers have bills to pay. On top of regular bills we are constantly updating our equipment, paying insurance fees, business fees, taxes, website fees, etc.
A lot of photographers won't just give you the raw images because anything that you print or edit yourself is a reflection of that photographer and their name. Your photos are advertisements to all your friend and family.
On top of all of that - what is the one thing that lasts beyond your wedding day? It's the photographs. The flowers die, the favors are all given away and if you are going to invest a ton of money into the day why not get someone good to capture it all?
I'm going to be honest when I say - you get what you pay for. When I was booking weddings at $300 for full day coverage, I was just dipping into wedding photography. I didn't do an awful job but looking back at it I can see how far I've come since then. $12,000 is a lot to ask for, I'm not even close to charging that, but anything under $1,000 for full day coverage isn't going to be worth your time unless you can see a consistency in their portfolio of good pictures.
I'm not saying this to be rude or anything, I was in the same boat when I first got married and like I said, once I got into the photo business I slowly learned why photographers are priced the way they are.
I am paying an arm and a leg for my photographer. However, I wanted the very best and so I picked out a few that I liked and then had one of my friends (who was a photographer by trade for about 20 yrs) help me pick out the best one.
However, this guy is an absolute magician. My epics are amazing. I cannot wait for my wedding pics. He captures so much emotion and his colors are so beautiful. To me, it's worth it!!
If you don't like the idea of getting a photography student or someone who is just starting out, another option would be to see if your photographer charges an hourly rate and hire them for only the crucial parts of the day.
We did this and had 5 1/2 hours of coverage for $1500 total (including tax.) We did pre-ceremony photos, photos during the ceremony and the first two hours of the reception (first dance, cake cutting, dances with parents, etc...) Basically the photography ended once the upbeat dancing got started - i figured I didn't need to pay thousands of $ for professional photos of my friends drunkenly dancing.
Our pictures turned out beautifully and I have to say that getting 15 minutes shots or so of drunken dancing was enough. I also cut out the getting ready shots -- I didn't really need a photographer there for that, and my friend who was there happened to take a few shots.
Just a thought!
I think you can find this, especially if you're looking for a more photojournalistic style and less portraiture. I found a lot of people in that range when I was looking, actually, and I'm in a pretty high-priced market. Craigslist is a good place to start... I found a lot of more experienced photographers there who were offering deals that were lower than their usual rates, in addition to a lot of newer photographers with great (but small) portfolios. Something will work out!
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So my FI and I are paying for our entire wedding ourselves. We'll have approximately $12,000 saved by then and I really want someone with a unique style to do our pictures. I do not like posed wedding photographs its just not what I want. I would love to be able to do our photography for around $1000 but that seems nearly impossible I've looked and looked at photographers and everything starts at 2000 and goes up.
All I want is full day coverage a cd/dvd I can do the rest from there but I cannot find anyone here.