How much photography do i really “need”?

I have managed to find a photographer that is giving me an album, prints, and a framed picture + a second photographer and 8hrs of coverage for $1500. But it was like finding a needle in a haystack. I'd post in local facebook wedding groups with what you're looking for and your budget. That helped link me up to my photographer.

I agree with Sarah about posting on Facebook. I've gotten a few good recommendations for vendors from there. It's nice because you connect with people in your area who have actually used these vendors, and liked them enough to recommend them.

I sympathize with your photography rant though. It's outrageously priced these days. We're paying almost $3000 for ours. We get a lot, but that's a lot of money. Good luck!

“Retouched” generally just means that the lighting is corrected and such! Most photographers won’t want to give you their photos unless they can be proud of it as their best work. It’s not a great sale for future clients for them, if the photos aren’t cleaned up and retouched. If you really want the album it’s probably less expensive to just make your own via Shutterfly or another service. But if you’re really set on not wanting retouched photos and not wanting that many, you probably should look for an amateur photographer because a professional just isn’t going to give you non-retouched photos :/

Ours is doing 3 hours of coverage for $700. I didn't want coverage of the getting ready process, and I couldn't go over 1k. So they'll start approximately 30 minutes before the ceremony and end 2 hours in to the reception.

If you'er looking to cut costs on photography, I would hire them only for the ceremony, photos after the ceremony, and for important parts of the reception like first dances and cake cutting!

Look on websites like ModelMayhem for a photographer who is willing to do what is called “TFP”- time for print. This means they will come, shoot your wedding and give the rights of the images to you, some may also do retouching and an actual album.
Also, look at college/university students to shoot the wedding and reception for free or limited charge.


Remember though: Pictures last and family want them. It is worth the added cost to hire the one who you like the style of, and who your gut says to go with.

Having to print them yourself isn’t so bad. Shutterfly offers free shots you just pay shipping. And that way you get Exactly the ones you want in your album!

Honestly photos are the last thing I would try to skimp on. They are one of the only things you have to look back on from your wedding. Photographers aren't cheaper because it is a special talent that not everyone has. As for retouching, photographers retouch and edit photos so are you are getting the best quality photos. Retouching and editing takes a while to do, but is 100% necessary if you want good quality photos. Good quality photo albums are not cheap to make which is why photographers charge more to make them. They also can take a while to create so you are also being charged for their time. I made photo albums for my parents and my mother-in-law and they took me hours upon hours to make, but I am a perfectionist. My photographer has three different packages one included just digital copies of the photos, the next one included digital copies plus 30 prints and the third one included digital copies, 30 prints and a wedding album. The pricing increased based upon what we wanted. We went with the second option and we always have the option to buy an album through her later on which is what we plan on doing for our one year anniversary. My brother-in-law tried saving money and went with a really cheap photographer and you can definitely tell in the photos. Things are off center and people aren't even looking at the camera in the photos. Unless you are okay with that then I would definitely find someone that is qualified to do wedding photos and has excellent reviews otherwise you will end up with subpar photos. Also, hiring two different photographers isn't a good idea in my mind because the photos will look like they were done by two different photographers. Also, most photographers packages include both ceremony and reception. I would also say that photographers will often include that you can't use other people's photography services because they don't want you to hire someone else and make them together. In this case you definitely get what you pay for. I learned this the hard way with flowers. I hired someone under qualified to do my flowers and they looked nothing like what I wanted, the flowers were following apart and she forgot the pin (my something old) at her house. Given my experience, I would definitely avoid a photographer that isn't qualified or doesn't have excellent reviews because I will tell you I regret not hiring someone more experienced and so will you.

My photographer only charged $600 and that was 4 hours on site, 80 photos fully edited, and travel included.

On local Facebook wedding groups I've found that girls are constantly asking for photographers and many of them look reasonably priced and flexible! You could try searching on FB? But to be honest, wedding photography is something you really shouldn't skimp out on and 20 photos really won't cover your day.