Photographer - Price vs Talent

Thanks everyone. I decided to do a balance with budget and talent. We booked someone that wasn't as amazing as I wanted, but still produced some above average pictures that was closer to our intended budget. Best part is everyone was blown away by our engagement pictures including my fiance, which is what I wanted when people looked at our photos, even if I personally didn't think that way.

I chose based on quality. We are spending quite a lot on photo and video but I know we will get beautiful results. Several people choose the price tag over the quality and end up unhappy and dissatisfied with the company. I do not need that stress so I am paying the extra money!

I did the quality and recommendations from friends. She was a bit pricey but her pictures are gorgeous. My theory is I'm going to only get married once and I want to treasure this day through pictures.

I would definitely want to go with someone who's style of shooting & editing I liked. You want to see examples of their work and make sure it's something you like. If they are over your budget - they can sometimes customize a package for you - that gives you things you want within the budget you have.

I made spreadsheets to compare photographers with the packages they offered and what they charge for each.

It helped us in making a decision.

At the end of the day, to us, we would rather pay a bit more to get photos we will love. They are something that you will have for the rest of your lives.

Honestly i looked at soooo many different photographers and all the price tags were expensive. For me the photographer would be the most expensive only because i think the pictures should be since these are the pictures you'll be looking at for years to come and you want the style you want. I wanted 2 photographers and 10 hours and engagement pics. So i knew it would be expensive but looking at a few of them i noticed the style was the same. portrait style, not much filters but for the cost i couldn't justify myself paying that. Until i found an artistic one with such gorgeous pictures that i absolutely could not let go. I decided to not get engagement pictures done because i wanted to save and ensure that we got her as our photographer it was just that worth it.

I say keep looking until you see something that sparks something. Then you'll feel like its worth it.

The photographer i had for the wedding gave a good price and great talent for the quality of pictures as a result.

More expensive doesn't necessarily mean better photos... Just look until you find someone that fits your budget and style... from my understanding, a higher price tag is usually because someone has more experience (again, doesn't mean better or more artistic) or they are spending a lot of additional time with the editing process so that justifies more money. If you find a photographer that doesn't spend weeks on editing, the hourly rate will be less for wedding coverage.

My photographer is is both extremely talented and in my budget! The price tag means nothing if you ask me. I've seen some photographers charge $2000 starting and looking at their work bi wouldn't pay near that price.

Thank you again for the advice. I found two I love, but they were both not available on my wedding date. One gave me some alternatives, so I reached out to one and have tried another. I have decided to go more the talent way but hopefully pick a package that is closer to our budget.

Another thing you need to watch for too is the price tag as some newbie photographers charge almost just as much as the good ones. We still haven't decided on the wedding date photographer. Also ask how many photos you get back as some only give you a fraction of the pictures or the retouched ones. Ive been told by many photographers to ask about that. Definitely gonna try to stay in budget but not going to settle for crap.

How much are you wanting to spend on a photographer? If you want good quality photos you will have to pay a good price for them. You have to keep in mind the time spent after your wedding that they put into perfecting your images for you. My photographer is over $3000 for ten hours of work the day of the wedding plus we received a free engagement session. Thats the usual price for a photographer around here.

I think it is something you really need to sit down and figure out with your fiancé. If you guys can save a bit somewhere else and that allows you the higher priced photographer, that's great. I would say that you shouldn't go way over budget though just for pictures.

I just booked my photographer. Everyone says her prices are good! If you go on Facebook a search Stella's View Photography by Cate Foulon that's who I chose. She photographed my sisters wedding this past Monday and she was very sweet, out going, and fun! And her pictures, the ones we've seen so far, turned out great.

I actually booked my wedding date around my photographer....it was the first vendor I booked. I fell in love with his works and HAD to book him. He is also one of our most expensive vendors (besides the hall) lol.

We are spending more on photography than we budgetted for. We got a couple quotes from different photographers and one cost double the other but when we conpared their portfolios their was no question. My rationale is i wasnt going to spend a ton of money (even the cheaper photographer was still a lot of money) for a picture i know could have been better. Theres not a lot of things we arent cutting corners on budgetwise for our weddig but photography is our one little splurge! We just got our engagemwnt photos back yesterday and i am so happy with our decision!

Don't be afraid to look around a bit. Take a look at some of your friends' wedding photos and look up their photographers. Really nice photos are something that is important to me and I was about ready to spend more than I wanted to, but then one of my friends got married and I looked up her photographer. This photographer was still in the early stages of her business, so her prices are really good, but the quality is still fantastic! If you look, you can find situations like this where you don't have to sacrifice quality or budget.

Thank you everyone for your responses, this has really helped me. I will have to take a good look at the time frame we really need the photographer for and what frills we don't need to perhaps get the photos I want closer to my budget.

I would say beautiful pictures, but within reason!!! I know that might not seem to help much! We paid 2700 and I felt it was well worth it for the talent and price!!! Originally in my mind I thought 1500 was a reasonable budget for pictures but like you when I saw the work of those who charged that or less, the pics were just Meh!!!!! Then again I know cousins of mine who got married this year and paid over $8000 for photo and video and I would have never paid that either! Our photographers work spoke to me! I loved her photos and based on her work and talent I felt it was necessary to raise the budget to get her! She's amazing! Check out her Instagram page. Focca Photography. It may take some work to source out the right one but you will find the one that works best for you!

We only had our photographer for 3 hours and it cost $260.00. It wasn't important to us to have pictures before the ceremony such as getting ready etc. I don't know where you are located but he is in the GTA and has a website with great pictures. The only thing is that he got so busy it will take 60 days for us to get our photos.

Beautiful pictures 100%. This all you will have for the rest of your life. I would (and I did) go for the beautiful pictures.

This was a difficult decision for us as well. We were able to hire a high end photographer, but we went with their hourly rate instead of their standard packages that were out of our budget. We did forgo the "getting ready" pictures in order to accomodate this decision. We have them shooting from 5:00 pm-9:00 pm and our ceremony is at 7:00 pm. Honestly, think of all the planning, detail and money being spent on the wedding day, the only thing you'll have to remember those details with are the photos. That's what sealed the deal for us. We basically planned our wedding date around the photographer and venue. Good luck with your decision!

It depends on the priorities I guess. For example, I would really love to have coverage all day and such, however my budget does not allow me to hire a photographer for the whole day. However, instead of sacrificing the quality, I just went for fewer hours.
Nonetheless, it is really a matter of prototype. I know many couples that went big on the photographer because they really wanted the greatest pictures and sacrificed other things like flower and center pieces prices, and of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with that

I think it depends on what's important to you. The quality of the photos seems important to you. I know it was for me. Photos shave always been so important to me so I was willing to spend a little more than i really wanted on a good photographer. I'm glad I did because the photos are so beautiful and it's memories that will last a lifetime. I would say if it's important to you, maybe look into the better photographers

We spent more on our photographer than we had originally planned. Definitely one of the most important parts of the wedding for us. We just had our engagement photos with her and we both realise just how worth it it was for us. The photos turned out so beautiful and exactly what we wanted.

Photos were important to us, so we knew it was going to be a higher cost item in our budget. We do not regret spending a bit more on a photographer and we love out pictures.
Ask yourself: Will I regret not spending the extra hundreds of dollars for pictures I love?
In the end, what is more important saving a few hundred dollars or pictures you love that immortalize your bug day and that bring back fond memories of that day.