Hi all, Been a while since I have been on here! Lost my wedding buzz for a while! Anyway... H2b and I went up to Newcastle this weekend and went to meet with a photographer for the wedding. Hs website was brill and when emailing him I got a good vibe but when we met him we just didn't get the wow factor. I know that sounds strange, but for the extortionate cost he was trying to charge I had expected his pictures to wow me...? Should I? Am I asking for too much?
I just felt like his pictures were lovely, he seemed a great photographer but everything seemed to be 'that is £100 more, and if you want this it is £200 more..' And after a 45 minute meeting it was costing nearly £2000!!! I am willing to pay for a good photographer (NOT £2000 though!) but things I thought would just be standard were all supplementary. Like an engagement shoot - £295?!?!?! Ridiculous!
Has anyone else experienced this? Am I expecting too much to be wowed by their work? Help!!
CommentAuthorInDreamland
Our photographer for an all day package (from getting ready to 8:30pm so about an hour into the disco), engagement shoot, master album, 2 x parent albums, 4 x mini albums, thank you cards, high res images CD, low res images CD and DvD set to music with a print from the engagement shoot and all the other images on high res disc will full rights, we originally signed a contract for £1795. He has reduced his prices for 2013 to £1650 for this package.
Hope that helps give you an idea of what to expect.
His photo's are amazing, even our wedding coordinator at the reception venue used him for her recent wedding!
If you're not sure then don't. When you find the right photographer, you will know she/he/they are perfect with everything you want xxx
Married the love of my life on Saturday 11th May 2013 xxx
Had our dream perfect honeymoon in Hawaii!
CommentAuthorclive
When we were looking for a photographer, yours is the exact attitude I adopted. When we were looking, they had to have that extra....something - that intangible thing that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and go WOW!
it didn't take us that long, so I think we got lucky, but there are some others whose work was stunning, but just didn't excite me personally, so no, your'e not asking a great deal at all. We have channelled around 25% of our entire budget towards the photography, as it is the one thing that will remind us of our day, so everything has to be right.
It does sound like his pricing structure is all to pieces though. He should have done it in such a way that makes his services saleable. Most photographers do an engagement shoot as standard for a start, and you don't mention any album in the pirce either, so I would be demanding an album of at least 300 photos - and a good one at that.
CommentAuthorbarbie86
We're paying £2500. For that we're getting:
2 photographers with unlimited coverage (from about 10am until 11pm) All the images (around 1500) edited and on a disc A pre-wedding shoot with 2 photographers and all images on a disc A signing frame with a photo from the pre-wedding shoot 1 small album and 2 further tiny albums
The large album we want is an additional £1000 and we'll get this for our 1st anniversary.
We were not planning on spending this kind of money, but actually feel like we've got a great deal, and we would have paid more. The photos were too important to us to skimp on, and we found that the standard varied SO much; we love the style of ours, and he is consistently great.
However, I get frustrated by photographers who aren't up-front about pricing; ours has his package price on his website, which I appreciated. I found it very irritating emailing photographers to ask for quotes, and even after I had very clearly specified exactly what I wanted, they'd come back with x amount, but y and z are extra; urgh!
CommentAuthorclive
I do see what you mean, but I can also see the logic behind it from the photographer's point of view. I dare say the one that you contacted would have probably took the stance that he tailors his prices around you and what you, the customer wants, as opposed to a "one size fits all" approach.
I agree - regardless of how you feel about how much you want to spend on photography, I think they need to be clear on their costs. To be fair, at least he told you before you booked - I know some brides who have been wowed by pics, paid a deposit and not asked the right questions...one bride I know who got married two years ago is still saving up for her album - she didn't realise that the fee charged only included the photography and eight prints.
Personally, from the way you are feeling about his photography, I'd keep looking - if you are having doubts already, it isn't a good sign. Xx
My Beating Heart Belongs To You
30 August 2013
The First Day Of My Happily Ever After
CommentAuthorclive
Definitely. The last thing you want is to be told prices on a need-to-know basis.
CommentAuthorCrawf
Thanks everyone :) I'm glad you agree I should have felt more excited and wowed by his work.
Albums were 400 for designing then 400 just for a small (postcard size) album and up in £100 increments in size from there. My heart sank :(
My main problem is I live in Coventry and we are getting married in Newcastle (I know there a few people on here in a similar position) and so my main research has to be online and I have such limited times to meet people/suppliers. I have some time though to make decisions - although I've been saying that for a year now!! Haha
Well... Back to the drawing board!!
CommentAuthorOWB
Ask him for a full written quote and then ask him if he can negotiate. No harm in asking, have an idea of what you want to pay, go in lower and try to meet around your maximum.
I'm paying almost £2k and I don't get an album, but at least the price structure was easy to understand.
