Wedding Forum - Would you take the risk?...

I could have written this myself. I have a friend of a friend who was recommended to us as a potential photographer. She has done a course etc, and would love to be a professional photographer, but is a teach atm.

I met with her last week, and have decided to tai the plunge. She is going to charge me £200, which is basically expenses for her and a friend of hers (who is also semi pro).

I absolutely adore her photos, and would be more than happy with anything like them.

So from my perspective, I would say take the plunge. Unless you are comfortable enough to pay for the full priced ones, I think its a lot of money to save. I am trying to bring my budget down everyday, and this was a huge weight off my mind!

Good luck :)

We are doing exactly this! We know h2bs work friend takes amazing pics and has offered us full day coverage for £200 including all images edited and put onto a disc. We will also be getting in contact with our local university to have a 3rd year photography student to give them some experience. If your on a budget go for it, but if your willing to pay a grand for photography then go for that. I personally wasn't prepared to spend that amount x

Definitely! I've got a lovely lady who's just starting out she's done 3 weddings so far her pics are gorgeous and she's offered all day coverage for £300 plus all images on a disc with 300 edited!
Xx

I've got a friend doing ours too!! She's done a few weddings before and I've seen most styles of her photos and they are all amazing :) For her and her friend,(her taking photos of me getting ready and her friend taking photos of paul getting ready) to our 1st dance and taking us to a location to have some photos done inbetween-all photos edited on a disk-AND a pre wedding shoot aswell for £400 x

I would go with your gut instinct. Have a good look through the pictures they've taken and get a good feel for what you like, and see if the ideas match up.

My photographer lady takes really atmospheric vintage style shots, which is exactly what we like. Many other photographers work Ive seen isn't like it, so we could have spent £1000+ and not got what we wanted.

Lana's idea is a good one too. Even if you choose someone else for the day, the evening shoots might be worth it. x

Personally no.. We could easily have had my uncle or H2Bs niece but if anything (god forbid) was to go wrong with the pics I don't want family awkwardness xxx

I understand what you're saying and it is tempting.

A couple of things to consider and this advice comes from personal experience or knowing someone who trusted a friend.

My uncle is a semi pro photographer and has been paid for his work, not just normal studio work for models but also the law society. He has lots of friends who are in the same boat. Neither my uncle or any of his semi pro friends would agree to do our wedding. They said it was far too much pressure, is very stressful and takes a certain type of photographer to be able to do a good job of a wedding. There is no second chance with weddings, you either get a good few shots walking up and down the aisle or you don't, same with the speeches, cake cutting and first dance. They told me to get a reputable professional wedding photographer. I did and don't regret it one bit, our photographer was worth every penny of his £1600 package.

One of the brides on here I remember who got married before me trusted one of her friends and fellow professional photographer to take her wedding official photos. The photos came back and were awful. She was so upset. She managed to convince the registry office and reception venue to allow them after honeymoon to return and take all the photos again, this meant all the bridal party needing to get all dressed up with hair and makeup just like they did on the actual wedding to get the photos she wanted. On top of all that stress of basically having to do wedding day take 2, she lost a friend.

Personally I would not risk it and get a professional photographer who has a good reputation for wedding photography x

Personally I say go for it. You say her photos are beautiful, what more do you need?

We are using a work colleague who is setting up a part time photography business in his spare time. He's giving us a good deal, plus we keep every photo he takes. What's nice is we know him, so there will be no breaking the ice or feeling awkward in front of a stranger.

We are having H2B's cousin doing our photos - he has done a few amateaur shoots and did the photo's for our friends daughters christening and we trust him totally. He has done lots fo different stuff and has been doing it for the last few years on and off.

Also, if it is a friend they are more likely to know what sort of thing you like, how to make you pose etc. And, it's nice to know that is it someone you know who has done them for you.

I would say go for it! If you think her photo's are good and you like her style why not!

Well, I have an album on my pages of some photos she did if anyone wants to take a peak. I understand what you're saying InDreamland, I wouldn't want to run the risk of having this awkwardness with her if she did screw up the photos. I know it would be devistating for us, but I couldn't imagine how bad it would be for her after sticking her neck out on the line to help us.

I do agree with Lala though, I suppose with any photographer you pick, you're running the risk of not getting the shots you want. She said she would send me a list of shots she would be willing to take and see if I agree if they would work for us, which is nice of her. X

sounds like photos are high up in your priority list. just to give you an idea, our photography package was £1100 for the biggest graphicstudio album (the ones with the metal fronts etc) and with 2 photographers. which is average price - there were ones that were cheaper and some that were a lot more.

i think it depends on your budget. if you have the money then just book a professional and put your mind at ease. however if you love her photos then you can see her work is good then you can book her and how about putting the photographer money towards a videographer instead?

that way if something goes wrong with the photos you have a nice DVD to watch back. plus guests always take photos anyway and my friend who just got married said that she wished she never paid for a professional as it was a waste of money as the guests photos are just as good once they had been photoshopped a bit x

p.s. why dont you try an engagement shoot with her as a trial? x

PLEASE be careful that you are 100% happy with her photos.....I trusted a friend to do mine, and we ended up having to do a re-shoot.......

I would definitely use her - if you are confident that you like the photographs. This being her first wedding, she would probably try and capture even better photos than an already established photographer as she would probably want you to recommend her to others.

I would use the friend. If you have seen her photographs before and like them then it should be fine: she would better know your taste, she is your friend so will want to do the best job possible for you, and mistakes can happen regardless of how much experience somebody has or how much they are charging. It is a lot of money to save, and you know you like the work she can do.
Personally, if I could, I would have my dad doing my photographs! He only takes pictures as a hobby but he takes beautifully natural and artistic shots. I had professional pictures taken at my graduation, and nearly cried when I saw them (not in a good way!), so I gave it back and had a couple that my dad took printed and framed instead which were so much better: I wish I paid him the £250 or whatever it was I paid the "professional". It was the same as when we were on holiday visiting family, we booked a professional photoshoot and out of 40 pictures I liked two of them... my dad's pictures on the other hand were nearly all lovely. I know he will probably take a few anyway, and I want him to enjoy the day and be IN some pictures as well, which is the only reason I'm not asking him to do it.

xxx

Yes! She's too good an offer to turn down and i've seen her work and it's beautiful, she's such a lovely person too!

xxx

I'd go for it - we're taking a big risk by not having a photographer at all - we're relying on guests photo's. Mainly because we're on a strict budget but also because first time round I paid a fortune and the photographer didn't listen at all to what I wanted and I want natural "unstaged" photo's. I think it sounds a great deal xx