Northwest Arkansas Wedding Association

_______Why Hire a Professional Photographer?______

Information provided for diversified informational purposes only.

Why should I hire a professional photographer? A pro has the right equipment for your wedding. A pro will do the job right! If your uncle takes beautiful pictures of landscapes and you ask him to take pictures of your wedding, will he know how to handle the fast paced action and lighting changes? Light is constantly changing at weddings and a professional will know how to handle it. A professional will understand what needs to be coverered. Many times, your uncle won't know that you wanted detailed shots of your shoes, your dress, your guest book, etc.

How much does wedding photographer cost? Prices can range. It goes anywhere from $500.00 up to $10,000 and more! Photos and video will be your only permanent record of the day. You want great photos, so be prepared to spend a minimum of $1500 on photography. Expect the better, in-demand photographers to charge higher rates. If you are looking for a bargain and call all of the photographers you find, you are following a recipe for mediocre photography. Photography should run 10-20% of your wedding budget. Some brides will spend 30% of the budget on photography. Most brides underestimate the costs of photography by 50%.

We want to spend no more than $1500, but all the good photographers start at $2000 and up. Why is it so expensive? Photography is not a commodity. You can see the difference between good and poor photography. A photographer needs to make a living. There are only 52 weekends in a year and that is when a wedding photographer works. Wedding photographers do not work a traditional 5 days a week and must make their pay in 1 weekend. There is a lot of overhead, even with digital photography. Remember, you get what you pay for.

We are having a small wedding with 30 people, what can we do? If you want a fabulous wedding photographer, you need to be flexible. Remember there are only 52 weekends in a year. Most professional photographers will work with you. What that means is that you need to book your wedding during the off season, morning, odd time of day, or during the week. If a professional books a prime date for you on a Saturday in June, the pro will be turning down larger weddings that they need in order to make a living.

Some photographers ask that no one else take pictures during the formal photographer. Is that reasonable? Yes. A professional tries to work very quickly through formal poses and if a snapshooter is in the way, it slows down the process. If others are taking photos while the professional is working, it can cause problems. The subjects will not know where to look, they will be distracted, all eyes will be in every direction, and flashes from other cameras can ruin pictures (that you are paying for!) Ask your guests to take photos after the formals are over since taking snapshots are fun for guests.

Should I put throw away cameras on the tables at my reception? No. No. No. It is the biggest waste of money. You will spend approximately $5-10 per throw away camera for each table and then film developing can run you approximately $15 per camera. You do the math. These little throw away cameras are not worth the time, expense or hassles. The flashes on these cameras have hardly any output and most guests do not know how to even take a snapshot. Most times the cameras end up in the hands of children and you can only imagine what you end up with. If you really want some of those throw away cameras at your wedding then buy 5 or 6 of them and give them to your best friends to take photos with. Tell your friends that they need to be at least 3 feet away from the thing they are taking a photo of in order to make the photo come out. Taking a photo from across a very dark reception hall will not work.

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