Should I Hire a Wedding Photographer?

In today’s world of smart phones and tiny pocket cameras, it’s a fair assumption that pretty much every guest at your wedding will be taking a photo at some point. With a tonne of selfies going on thought-out the day, the question ’Should I hire a wedding photographer?’ may have popped in your mind!

Of course, there are other reasons why you may question the need for a photographer at your wedding, so lets look at the top 5. I’ll be giving advice on each reason based not only as a professional working in a similar field but also as somebody who has asked these very questions for my our wedding! 

Budget.

This could be the number one reasons for a lot of couples, weddings are expensive and it’s natural to scrutinise everything on your list and ask “can we afford this?”   

My Advice: Sure, if you honestly can’t afford a photographer and just want to celebrate the day then that’s fine, no-one can argue with that. Plan the best wedding you can and have a great day!

If you are struggling to get everything within budget however but really want a photographer or videographer, there are ways to save money. ‘Out of season’ Weddings can be a great way to save on a lot of the services, I go in to more details in my ‘top reasons for a winter wedding‘ article here. 

There are others ways to save a little money on a photographer: When searching google, It can be disheartening when you see amazing photography that you want for your wedding but find out that the photographers cheapest package is way over budget. Keep in mind though, when you put in a google search for a photographer, most of the top results are from providers that are putting money into adverts and they will pass this cost on to you, the clients.

So, if you dig a little deeper and go past that first few pages of results you will find a lot of great up and coming photographers and videographers who may be offering more attractively priced packages or offers. They won’t be spending much, if anything on advertising so their services will tend to be a cheaper!

Friends and Family Will be Taking Photos Anyway.

Camera phones rule the world! There’s guaranteed to be a whole bunch of them at your wedding, with lots of guests will be happily snapping away throughout the day.

My Advice: They sure will! And whilst it’s great to check these photos out on facebook, they’ll all be shot from the same angles using the same wide lenses that are installed on the phones. So no close ups of the first kiss! You may also find that the quality of the pictures vary wildly, depending on who is behind the camera!

A professional Photographer or Videographer will be capturing the action from all sorts of different angles, and sometimes areas that are inaccessible to the guests. They will also have a selection of lenses to allow for a huge variety of shots, allowing for huge wide shots, beautiful close ups and everything in-between. So in short the quality will be much better from a pro!

Throw in the fact that there will be no-one to arrange the group shots, then a photographer and videographer become indispensable in making sure that the day runs smoothly and a diverse selection of images/footage is captured.

Such and Such is a Photographer, They Can Do It!

Now to be fair, if they have experience at weddings, events or portraits and you really like their work, then it could be a good move. You would save some money and be reasonable assured that you would receive some good shots of the day.

However, I will say that I have had a negative experience from this line of thinking:

A relative of mine hired a mutual friend to shoot her wedding and I can sort of see why. He, is a portrait photographer that creates, highly stylised and heavily edited portraits and they look fantastic! However he had no experience with weddings and so some of his skills did not translate over well to this type of photography. There were some good candid shots of the guests but the group and solo portraits were not what the bride expected. There were also no location or detail shots included either. Another downside was that the editing style didn’t fit with what was shot. I even re-edited a few myself for the bride in an effort to ‘save’ them. 

So I guess the thing to watch out for is that, unless the friend/relative is an actual wedding photographer or at least has some experience shooting weddings or other events then you could be essentially throwing the dice as to what you might get.

We Just Want To Enjoy The Day.

Sometimes think a photographer or videographer will get in the way, shoving huge cameras in peoples faces and barking orders about like they own the place.

Well, I can tell you from a professional side that its not the case, most photographers and videographers actually want go unnoticed thought the whole day so they can capture natural moments.

In actual fact a good photographer will make your day easier, they will organise the groups shots and they want your day to go as smoothy as you do.

I’m Photo Shy!

Plenty of people don’t like their photo being taken, myself included!

However, as mentioned above most photographers and videographers will happily stick to the shadows to make sure they are getting natural shots. Of course, its a different matter when It comes to the group and formal shots because then you will have to pose in front of the camera. But remember, it’s also the photographers job to make sure everyone is relaxed and comfortable during these shots. 

Don’t forget, it’s your wedding! You could even dispense with the group and posed shots if you want and just ask the photographer or videographer to simply capture the day without them. You’ll still get some great photos/video to enjoy but you won’t need to worry about posing for the formals. Most photographers or videographers should accommodate for this if you ask but if the one you are considering doesn’t, find one that will!

Overall…

As you can see, I am leaning heavily towards reasons why you should hire a professional photographer/videographer. That’s because your wedding is a once in a life time event and it would be almost criminal not to get some magical memories of the day.

Plus the only main reason I can see for genuinely not hiring one is because of lack of budget. Only you can decide what you can or cannot afford, so I’ll leave that one in your court.

If this article helped you decide to hire a pro for your wedding, you’ll be glad you did! Feel free to comment below and remember share the article with any upcoming brides you may know!