(Closed) Doing Your Own Photography

• PassionatePhotoLady
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: September 2009

• alishaloo
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: October 2012

My photographer was 300 and i was supposed to have a 2nd for 200 but he bailed the week of so I have my cousins cameras….thank god I had my 300 photographer. Even tho I only got 300$ worth of photos. She missed quiet a bit but the quality was good. She did a better job then everyone else. Im sure you can find a student or a sale. 

• alishaloo
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: October 2012

I was a budget bride as well everything was under 2,500 so if you need any advice pvm me 🙂

• lolot
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: August 2013 - Rocky Mountains USA

I think you need to rein in your “passion” a bit here.

• PassionatePhotoLady
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: September 2009

[Post moderated for vendor promoting own industry]

• Polygon
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: May 2014

I find it funny how insecure some of the pro photographers on this thread are.  Like if one bride finds out you can take pictures without them, the whole racket is up!

I also think the internet trend of low budget weddings where literally 50% or more of the budget is spent on photography to be really weird.  I mean, I get it for an elopement or super small event that just doesn’t happen to cost much, but it just seems rude to like feed your guests cat food so you can better pictures.

Unless you truly fall in love with their work, I would recommend against hiring the $200 photographer even if you can find it in your budget.  I found that photographers in my area that were charging 1/5 of the going rate to have really low quality work – I would have rather relied on guest photos.  I also suspect that unless you really luck out in Northern Ontario, you’d probably have to bring in an out of town photographer for $$$$ if you wanted very high quality pictures.

You seem like you have realistic expectations, but I do think that this is a weird issue that the internet is just not going to agree with you on.  Luckily, you don’t have to deal with any of us in real like 🙂

• Jbbee
• 7 years ago

I find this thread has gotten slightly bizarre. If the budget is zero-200 then the results you get from family/friends will most likely be the same more or less. You seem like you have realistic expectations. I would worry more that you won’t actually get to enjoy your wedding or that it will stress your family members out. They might say they are good with doing it but once they are standing at the end of the aisle and the reality of the situation sets in it might freak them out. I will say ^ having the profession I devote my life to being called a “racket” is kind of offensive. There are bazillions of weddings these days going on without professional photographers and there always will be. Worries me none. Nobody is saying “should we spend $5000.00 or get grandma to shoot it”. Back to the OP, I say if you go the DIY route just make sure you have plenty of memory cards and tell them to spray and pray haha

• Kir32
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: April 2014

• sillysillybee
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: May 2014

• aussiebride26
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: October 2013

• Lovemelovemyhorses
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: January 2014

Wait, so you won’t do disposable cameras because you’re worried guests will steal them, but you’re ok with buying digital cameras?! 

Am I missing something? 

• polkadotgirl
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: March 2013

a ‘wedding’ as we know it, is a gathering to celebrate a new marriage. EVERYTHING about how you celebrate or record that day is up to you.  if I look through my favourite photos of family and friends, none of them were taken by a professional photographer. that’s not what makes them ‘good photos’. if you have lots of family and friends taking photos at your wedding, you’ll get some good ones. 

can I tell a story? I promise it’s a good one. My great aunt Val wanted to marry her boyfriend, but their families thought they were too young. so, they made a plan to take the train to Sydney one saturday and elope at the registry office. she bought some lovely light blue fabric and made herself a nice dress to go with the navy hat and gloves she already owned. her mum helped with the hemming, having no idea that she was working on her daughter’s wedding dress.

The day came and they turned up at the registry office with their paperwork. the person said ‘who are your witnesses? you need two people to witness the ceremony’. So, Val and Jack went out in the street and found a couple of tourists who were thrilled to be asked to witness their marriage. after the ceremony, the four of them set out to find a street photographer (very commonly found on weekends in the city, this was the late forties) to take a photo of them. After an hour, they couldn’t find one, and decided they weren’t going to spend their wedding day wandering around aimlessly so they went to a cafe and had strawberry milkshakes before catching the train home.

On their fiftieth wedding anniversary, their son looked up the names of the witnesses on the marriage certificate and tracked them down after a long search and a lot of phone calls. they remembered the wedding and agreed to come to the anniversary party at the local club. Val wore a blue dress and navy hat and gloves, they all ordered strawberry milkshakes and finally had their ‘wedding photo’ taken by my cousin. it is the best photo ever, because they still looked like naughty teenagers who had snuck off to the city to get married.  

so, they didn’t have a wedding photo for fifty years, and when they did, it was taken on a cheap camera in the bistro of the local club. but guess what? they still had a long happy marriage. they still had fond memories of their wedding day. and all of us family members feel as though we were at the wedding, because we’ve heard the story so many times (and if you think this is a long post, their version of the story goes on for so much longer!). do whatever you want. the photos don’t make the wedding.

• PassionatePhotoLady
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: September 2009

ETA (and this is not to Kir) if one more person tells me I’m not acting “professionally” on these boards I’m going to choke. Do you see a business name in my username? On my profile? Anywhere? Are you my clients? Are you paying me? NO. I am NOT at work. Many of you have jobs where you have to act professionally, and YOU GO HOME FROM THEM. A lot of you party, drink, curse, and do things all day that aren’t the least bit “professional” when you’re not at work. I AM NOT at work, and I have no need to be a professional 24/7 to brides who aren’t paying me, so give it a rest.