Bridal portaiture in a small chapel.
As the recession bites hard there is a temptation to hire a cheap wedding photographer to reduce your wedding costs.
But is this a false economy?
In a recent article in the British Journal of Photography, Phil Jones the chief executive of the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers – SWPP said ‘There is an old believe that when we get into a recession the number of weddings goes up. Hopefully that is true as there is also an upturn in the number of photographers joining the market.’
Many of these photographers may be professionals moving from other genres of photography. But many more will be amateurs wishing to make a few extra pounds at the weekend. As the saying goes – Buyer Beware. When you hire a cheap photographer that seems too good to be true it probably is.
Tony Freeman of the British Institute of Professional Photographers has had to pick up the pieces from inexperienced photographers on more than one occasion. The problem is most people have seen wedding photographers at work and think they know how to do it. Even if they manage the photography they come unstuck when it comes to pricing. The BIPP have had to step in and help out, for example when inexperienced photographers cannot afford to print their clients’ images.
Wedding photographers are notorious for undercharging to begin with but the problem has been made much worse by bridal magazines. Bridal magazines have been guilty of greatly underestimating how much it costs to run a photography business. They encourage brides to challenge prices relentlessly and as a consequence promote photographers that are too good to be true.
Of course there will be photographers to match every budget but it is not possible to make a living charging only £500. You have to look carefully at what is being offered. The cost of the prints and album could easily be more than £500! Then there is the additional time in preparing the images for printing, creating the album. The complete wedding package is actually about one weeks work when you also consider the actual running of the business. Add to this fixed costs that could be in the order of £20,000 a year and it’s easy to see that these £500 photographers are simply too good to be true.
The only exceptions are those starting out, who are literally doing things at cost or less in order to build experience and a portfolio. If £500 is your wedding photography budget and you know what to expect that is great but do not expect £5,000 wedding photography.
A fun shot of bride & groom in the back of the wedding car, taken with a fisheye lens.
In order to meet the current trends many professional wedding photographers are now offering digital wedding packages. By reducing their overheads in wedding materials you are effectively just paying for their experience, skills and time. Digital only packages enables quality services to be offered at greatly reduced prices.
Acclaimed wedding photographer Annabel Williams quoted in the British Journal of Photography that ‘It is not possible to offer a good service for £500’. She also advises against providing only a CD of images because they are not valued in the same way as a fine quality album and prints. This has been a strong argument in not offering digital only packages. There is no way to control the quality of prints or viewing medium used by the clients.
On a personal note:
The demand for digital packages is strong and we have to meet the market demands. That is why my packages start with a DVD multimedia slide show – effectively just covering my time. Albums and prints are optional extras now. Whilst many discerning couples will appreciate these beautiful products others may prefer to only have a multimedia slide show. It also enables couples on tight budgets to afford good quality wedding photography they can trust. If they decide to buy an album or prints later it enables them to also spread the cost.
Bride & groom leave the church under a shower or rain and confetti!
Everyone wants a bargain but we should beware of cutting too many corners especially when it comes to one of the most important days of your life.
This reminds me of a Polish saying “save the pennies and spend the pounds” I was told after crashing a budget racing motorcycle many years ago. The moral of the story being that by not spending money to adequately prepare the motorcycle it cost me more in the long run.
Of course with wedding photography there are no second chances once it has been ruined!
Have you got any horror stories to share?
Pat Bloomfield
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Vey useful, cutting too many corners could spell disaster