All Forums

I think it is a great idea if you can find someone who is starting out. But I don't know about them doing it completely for free, because camers/equipment/pictures are extremely expensive. But they might give you a great price. I think it would be hard to find someone though. And I am big in to photography and I just don't think someone who is wanting to be in this business can really mess up your pictures that badly. If someone is obviously into photography they won't be chopping off heads in the pics or anything like that. They just might not be edited like someone who has lots of experience. But I bet they would still be good pictures. Rather have someone than no one, right?

if its that or nothing then i say go for it. im doing something like that. like you, cant afford a pro. also, im going to a.c.moore and they have packs of disposable cameras... im buying enough to put one on each table. sometimes guests can be pretty good photographers! ill have a basket on the card table where the cameras will go after they have no film left, and instead of getting that many pictures developed, ill get a cd with each camera. then post all the pictures on the wedding website and tell everyone in their thank you cards that they can access them there. plus, then i can print out only the ones i want instead of hundreds that i wont use.

Devine, if you develop pictures at places like Walmart they only charge you for the pictures you take. My sister did the disposable cameras and when we got all 200 developed, we only wanted maybe 20 of them. So we gave the rest back and were only charged for 20. At least this was their policy about 4 years ago.

That's a really great idea! I never thought of that, and it would be a good idea to just put the pictures on cd's instead of developing all of them. I have a big silly family...I love them all to death but we're a bunch of goofballs and half the pictures taken would end up being what we call "biff pictures". That means extreme close ups on unsuspecting victims lol But I think I may try that. Very cute : )

Check craigslist, maybe you can find someone on there for free or a good deal. Just be aware that they may not end up being the best quality. Also have your family and friends send you what ever pictures they take. I would be in your same boat if it were not for my boss. She is gifting us her BIL who is a pro.

I say go for it. I am not getting a professional either. My FH's uncle loves photography...allways taking pictures. He is really good. He is going to photograph our wedding. He has done other weddings for family so ours wont be the first.

My only concern with that is to make sure you can see some of their work before you book them. It would be awful if after the wedding you find out that the pictures did not turn out. When I got married we had a family friend take the pictures and all the pictures from the ceremony turned out too dark. He had taken picutres before but did not have experience doing weddings. You want to have those tangible rememberences of your wedding.

You can sometimes find a photography student that will do the pictures for free in exchange for being able to use them in their portfolio. Another option you may want to try is Craigslist.com. You can search for a photographer and can usually find some hobbiests or photographers just getting started that are pretty cheap. You can also post in the Wanted section. Disposable cameras are a waste of money. You will not be happy with what you get from them at all. A friend that takes half decent pictures with a small digital camera would be better if you have no other options.

You can try a photography student(free or cheap), you may also want to try Craigslist.com to search hobbyists or photographers just starting out. You can also post a Wanted ad. DO NOT do disposable cameras, they are a waste of money and you will hate them. If you have no other choice, even a friend with a good small digital camera would give you better results than a disposable.

It seems like so many people carry their small digital cameras with them espeically at events like weddings. I am asking guests to share any pictures with us that they took at our wedding. On the favors, I am attaching a small tag. On one side I am thanking them for attending with our names and date. On the other side I am putting something like this, "Help us remember our special day. Please E-mail any pictures you would liked to share to ...."

All the usual caveats apply, and you have to understand the risks. Someone who is free/low cost likely won't have a backup camera. Are you okay with the possibility of their camera dying somewhere during the event? They certainly won't have insurance, so make sure your venue doesn't require them to carry it before hand.


Students are a real toss up. I've had one work with me, and only gotten a handful of usable images from a 10 hour day. Weddings require an intimate knowledge of photography, and your cameras.


Instead of eliminating the possibility of a professional, how about looking for a no-frills option. Look for someone that is reputable, and you can come back later when you have money to pay for prints. I find more and more couples that come back after a year and make their "bulk" order at that time.

If you truly do not have the budget to hire a professional, it is an option to consider. But if you can afford the professional, I wouldn't risk it. I've talked to professional photographers who have hired interns who have shot along side with them. Sometimes the interns get decent shots, but unfortunately sometimes the majority of their pictures are unusable. Here is an interesting article that illustrates this point:
http://tinyurl.com/m85qyn

Well the reason I was looking for someone free was because if I had to pay I would only be able to afford about $50 lol When I say I have a tight budget I mean it, about $1000 for just about everything though i'm sure i'll have to go over a little. We are basically using our tax return to pay for everything. And the only person we know that could do it for us is in the wedding party so won't be able to take pictures.

When hiring a new/student photographer, one of the biggest thing that the couple does not do is adjust their expectations when it comes to the images they will receive.

They still expect fabulous images, which usually does not happen. Occasionally a couple does get lucky and get a good photographer, but that is rare and far in between.

If you adjust your expectation, then you should be ok and not get disappointed.

I was prepairing for no photographer and just having to deal with pictures taken by my family, but i figured i'd give this a shot. I would'nt say i'm expecting anything fantastic out of this, but the chance of catching a really nice moment on film would be cool. And compared to my grandmothers unique skill of somehow cutting off body parts in pictures I thought it would be worth a shot. I just wondered if this is something that would be possible to do.

It is worth a try. Contact some of the colleges and/or photography schools near you. You may still end up paying a small fee.

You might consider asking local photographers if they have an assistant that would be willing to shoot for $50.

I would definitely go with someone that has experience in weddings. I've said it multiple times, but just because someone is good at photography, doesn't mean they are good at wedding photography. It's a completely different ballgame. You need super expensive lenses because of the lighting conditions. You need back-up equipment in case your equipment fails you, you need expensive lighting equipment for the reception/dance.

The first wedding I shot for a friend.I didn't have the appropriate equipment. I thought I was fine, until I realized how poorly the photos came out. It wasn't the composition that was the problem. It was the fact that my photos came out grainy, I had red eye on all of the photos because I didn't have good lighting and I used my on-camera flash.

Yes, it was free, but they suffered because of the lack of quality of my gear.

Brian- so true. My daughter took lots of photography classes in college, but she wouldn't even consider trying to shoot a wedding. The shots that are missed will be the ones that you really want. Amateur photographers are very slow and take forever to set up group shots. Do you want to spend extra time posing, or enjoying your wedding? I know you don't have the cash, but take my advice and do whatever it takes to get somebody with experience. I skimped on photography on my wedding and still regret it 25 years later!

This is actually not a bad idea if you're on a budget. It might be a little difficult finding someone talented enough, and someone who has gear that is up to the task.

Make sure you look through their work. If they have shot indoor events before, that's a huge plus. Don't pick someone to shoot your wedding because they're great at shooting nature.

Before you take that step though, try making an offer to a professional. You might be surprised. Some pro's will cover your wedding a discount if they happen to have your date open and it's a short-date (meaning it's not too far in the future).

Best of luck,
Salman
www.salmanPhotography.com
serving South Florida
(954) 667-7770

@ Devine...... Thanks. I am having disposible cameras on tables for my guest in addition to my photographer. So thank you for the CD Idea so I dont end up with Tons of unwanted pictures