photgraphers???budget!!!!

Have you tried looking on Gumtree? Sometimes up-and-coming photographers advertise on there for weddings and events which they can cover for a low fee in exchange for being able to use your photos for their portfolio.

Also, have you tried contacting local colleges which offer photography courses - you may get someone who is willing to cover your wedding to get some experience?

Alternatively, you could contact photographers and ask if they are willing to just do a couple of hours of work, just of the ceremony and a few pics afterwards of the family etc - rather than their full package to reduce the cost?

HTH

I did think about contacting a college but i was worried that it might be an awful experience and eve worse than just having a few clumsy pics that a friend/family took.But thinking about it might be a good idea to ask maybe.If they were like 2nd year students or something might be ok.

I never thought about contacting anyone and asking for just a couple hoyrs work though maybe theyd refuse due to a couple willing/able to pay the whole fee for the day.It is a business after all lol!!!Il take a look at the gumtree thing hopefully something will come up.

thanks for the response its just a big worry as its really a massive part of the day!!!

My budget isn't huge either and when I was looking for a photographer, I found them all really flexible and helpful.

Most of the people I spoke to understood that weddings are expensive and most said they would be happy to work around the budget I had. I get married on a Sunday though which is perhaps not as busy as a Friday or a Saturday so you may have a bit more difficulty if you get married on those days in the Summer but I think it's definitely possible!

xxxxx

Well im getting married on a saturday due to work restrictions as all my friends and family work mon-fri as do i but it never occured to me to do it on a sunday DUH!!!!!!!

I have looked at that gumtree site and have actually emailed a photographer which im a little hopeful about as they already offer a 4 hour package for a very cheap price sadly still too much unless i go for a cheaper car!!!!ARGH sacrifices!!!!but i explained my requirements as all i really want is some nice group shots outside the venue and some nice shots of us alone somewhere and so only need 2 hours really.

Being brighton based we seem to pay almost london prices or am i being paranoid!!!Oh well il wait and see and just get emailing thanks for the help though its good to talk to people who understand my worries and i dont want money to be an issue with this wedding so im keeping quiet to H2B for the moment.

What date is the wedding?!

I knwo we offer discounts fro early bookings / last minute and also if we are in the area at the time.

Lou

www.LMRPhotography.co.uk

Wedding is 9th may 2009 i really dont have a massive budget and not a lot to spend

We have a budget package costing £575 for two hours work. This is enough to cover the ceremony, group shots and some portraits aferwards - it's very popular at the moment and we do not charge for travel. You could also enter the competition we have running with Hitched and try to win one of our packages worth £1250.

If you are interested in our budget package, fill in an enquiry form on our website:

http://www.pixcellence.co.uk

The hitched competition can be found here:

https://www.hitched.co.uk/Competitions/

Clwyd - Wedding Photographer for Pixcellence

We'd blown 75% of our budget on our venue hire, food & drink before we started looking for a photographer and had a similar budget to you. We got a photographer for £650 but only found out later that they were film not digital. We got 150 photos printed, negs & a CD but the res wasn't high enough for even a large photo book from Boots.com so I guess we were disappointed with the results. Luckily lots of our friends took some great photos and sent us copies or CDs.

Also we had a small registry office ceremony as our venue wasn't licenced and then a humanist ceremony at our venue. The RO ceremony was only photographed by my BIL and their camera wasn't working properly so some photos are blurred which was very disappointing also.

My advice would be to spend a bit more on photos that do last a lifetime but compromise elsewhere, perhaps on your car, which you'll only have for an hour or so.

Go for a cheaper car or get someone you know to drive you - the pictures will be with you forever - the car will only be with you for a couple of hours.

Yeh thats what i already decided to do but still got to find a decent photographer inside my budget and thats going to tough thanks for helping me make my mind up xx

I have to agree that a college student won't necessarily be better than some good friends taking photos that know how to use a camera, you could get lucky but no guarantees. However, if you are really stuck I would go for that AND ask friends to take photos too.

Also, I would scrimp back on cars if it was me, you will only use them for an hour and can you not just find a friend with a nice car and dress it up with ribbons. The photos are what you will be left with as your main lasting memory so consider what else you could cut back on if they are important to you. I am a photographer so am going to be biased on this (just thought I should let you know where I stand ;- ) ) but for my own wedding I spent nearly 3 times as much on photography as I did on my dress and didn't bother with cars at all. You just need to decide what is more important to you.

I also said I didnt want a photo album - I can get one of those myself so thats saved on money.

Thats a fab idea but im only having 1 car H2b going to get a taxi and then go to the recpetion with me secondly noone will be driving as im getting married in Brighton city centre and not only is there nowhere to park literally but parking costs an arm and leg.

My problem is i just dont have the money available for a photgrapher unless i can find for around £250-£300 ive already chose a cheaper car down from £365 to £150 and still debating that now.Its totally unlikely i will find one for that kind of money but im sure something will come up somehow fingers crossed!!!!!

I've got my (very nice ) photographer for 500 bucks so it can be done babe.......

goodluck!

Try www.carloconnell.co.uk - he's doing ours. service and reception for £625, we met him at our friend's wedding and he was brilliant !really friendly on the day. Our wedding is next February and another couple from that day have also booked him in. His website is: www.carloconnell.co.uk

I have no personal connection with him at all, I just thought he was really good and kept everyone smiling, so check him out.

Cheers,

Martin

Hiya,

We were he same and emailed a few local photographers out the yellow pages. When they emailed back with prices I emailed back to say it was beyond our budget but thanks anyway. We then got a response to ask what our budget was and that they could probbaly be flexible and accomodate it. In the end we went with one of them and got a £500 package we negotiated.

Could you try this?

Ours are only costing £600, we are having the plantium for the price of standard as we weren't bothered about a website or a pre and post photoshoot.

Plus are wedding is classed as out of wedding season, (28th March 09), so we were suprised how less people charge.

Kezzy sweetie, last time I was getting married, getting taxis was VERY popular. It might be worth contacting a local taxi firm and asking them for rates. A black or white cab can look really effective (and roomier for you and your dress!) and they get so excited about it, they will put ribbons on the cars and everything for you. Might be worth checking out.

We have booked lisa griffin she covers your area, I saw some of brighton in her profile. She offers a variety of packages, starting from £500 but is willing to negotiate personal packages so may consider less to suit your budget. Someone else on here recommended her and we really liked her style and her when we met her.

http://www.lisagriffinphotography.co.uk/home.html

lol clare xx

Thanks whirlwind

Ive actually looked at a wedding taxi company that will charge £150 all decorated and old fashioned london cabs they even have a pink one lol

If i have the money il probably indulge myself but im not too worried if not though would be nice lol

Mummy have just had a look at the website for that.Might be worth dropping her a line and seeing if she could do what i wa nt although i ahve had 2 fantastic hitchers offer me there time and services for the right amount i can afford in my budet its lovely how every one wants to help and offer advice.

Kezzy, did you receive the info from me, booking form etc? I only ask as I've had email (and mobile!) problems over the last week or so.

I have a new blog, if you want to take a look at some more photos, http://elizaclairephotography.wordpress.com

Let me know if you have any other questions for me ?

Hi yes i did get the booking form for you.I meant to emai you sooner but my work been manic and when i get home im soo tired lol.

Have just sorted out the mortgage so hoping to have the money spare in nxt couple of weeks to get deposit together for you.Hoping you are still free????

Sorry about your mobile getting stolen what a horrid thing to happen xxx

No worries, I wasn't chasing, I just wanted to check that it all arrived.

I'm still free at the moment, if anything looks like it'll change in the next few weeks, I'll let you know. I have you pencilled in at the moment anyway xx

Re mobile, thanks - I'm still waiting for Orange to send me a replacement SIM, it's been over a week now, it's a nightmare!

You welcome! I think you might have got the wrong end of the stick though, so to speak! It might be worth actually contacting a local hackney carriage firm to see if they can do it even cheaper for you, this was really popular a few years ago, they don't charge 'wedding tax' usually, so if you went to them and asked for a quote they may be even more competitive HTH

My OH took photos at my dads wedding - and there was an official photographer too. We made them an album of the ones we shot, and in my opinion OH's pics were better than the pro ones. OH is far from a professional photgrapher but has a half decent camera (although not the digital SLR he lusts after), a good eye, and reasonable IT/editing skills. A freind could do a lovely job! If you are worried, ask several!

To play devils advocate here......perhaps your OH's pix were particularly good because he was poaching groupshots that the main photographer had set up.

Specifically, group shots can be difficult to organise without experience and interpersonal skills. Many experienced photographers fail when it comes to the group shots. Shooting from the side can give an interesting alternative view to that which the photographer may be setting up.

Photographing a wedding is a big responsibility when you are the main photographer. It isn't something to ask of a friend lightly. I know of cases where friendships have ended due to the friend not doing a decent job.(One case is a member on this forum who's name I will hold back on)

This isn't a dig at you or your OH's ability, its just a balancing point of view.

I do fully agree with you- the group shots were set up by the pro. The majority of the shots we included in the album though were not 'set up ones' which was partly what made them nice (and different from the photographers album). Lots of close-ups of guests laughing and talking etc.

That said ... I did not think that the photographer my Dad used was particularly brilliant (plenty of out of focus and badly arranged shots made it into the online selection whcih they picked the album ones from ... surely as a pro you ditch anything out of focus well before a client ever glimpses it and twigs that you don't get the perfect shot everytime?). Also, while OH is not a professional photographer, when he was a bit younger he used to do odd bits of work for his uncle, who is a pro. OH did the wedding videos for a few weddings, and has first hand experience of how to get people arranged etc. I agree this is an impotant fact, and you do need to have a confident person with an eye for these things.