Photographer amd Videographer

Every photographer I found was around the £1350 mark, for a full day (prep to first dance) of shooting, all if the photos on a USB and no album! So we just accepted that that was the going rate for the area!

We've not got a videographer so I can't help you there, we decided that it was an unnecessary cost as we probably won't watch it back anyway, so my mum said she would video the speeches on her digital camera and that's it!

Photographer:

£2,245

We get:

Engagement Shoot (which we had and LOVED)

All Day Coverage from Bridal Prep to First Dance (not bound by a set number of hours)

Second Photographer

USB of MINIMUM 300 Edited Images

Online Gallery

** We opted out of Albums as we're going to sort those after the Wedding **

Videographer:

£1,755

We get:

Coverage 2h before the Ceremony up until first Dance

3 Camera Operators

Bride Preparations

Online Wedding Trailer

Choice of 1 USB or 3 DVDs

We're happy with both and we found out afterwards that the Photographer and Videographers have worked together on loads of Weddings before!

We're paying £1090 for our photographer which includes all day coverage from the prep until the very end, a pre-wedding shoot, all images edited and in black and white and colour, a photo slide show video of highlights and all images on a USB. We have got a massive bargain with our photographer as his work is excellent and on par with other photographers who charge double the price.

We are paying £895 for our videographer. I spent ages trying to find a decent one who didn't charge £2500! This will be all day, the prep to the end, a highlights video, a full video with the speeches and ceremony included and a montage of growing up photos. However, I have now found another videographer I like from a friend who is getting married next May? I think she charges about £995. I have emailed her and I am waiting for her to get back to me. I am happy to sacrifice the £100 deposit we paid to the last videographer for a better quality of video. My OH is going to kill me though....eek X

Thanks girls thats a big help.

Our/my (as i seem to be single handedly planning the whole wedding lol) chosen photographer is £1395 shooting from prep to cake cutting with images on usb and videographer is £750 including 2 people, an online short trailer, 5-6 min feature film, ceremony and speeches in full from prep to end of speeches. My OH seemed to think this was outrageous, but then again he also didnt realise you had to pay for your evening guests ? so his "thoughts" really dont count lol.

My friend also thought the photographer was expensive especially as it doesnt include an album.. but id rather pay the extra and sacrifice having an album for the time being to make sure the photos are perfect. Then can get n album at a later date.

Those prices don't seem so bad... whereabouts are you based?

We're in Bournemouth and we're paying £845 for TOG (from ceremony to after first dance, all images (edited) on memory stick) and £795 for VOG (2 people, from bridal/groom prep to after first dance, all raw footage, 5-6min highlight video and 60-120 edited documentary-style film including ceremony and speeches).

Could have spent an awful lot more, but happy with our choices!

Can I ask where in Essex you are, & which videographers it is? I'm looking for one in Herts next June but everyone I like is quoting about £2k! ?

I think you've got yourself a great deal there!

We're getting married in Burnham on Crouch, Essex. The videographer I have booked is called Video Magic. The one I am liking now (and waiting to get back to me) is www.rxcrose.com Hope this helps! X

im confused how can you have a 5-6 min feature film? a feature film is a minimum of 40 minutes

Dont ask me.. thats just what he said ha

My bad read hus email wrong ? 5-6 min cinematic film! But its called the feature film package? Still confusing

I am a wedding photographer based in Cambridge and these are our packages at a glance but keep in mind that we also do bespoke packages around the couples needs and budget so prices vary depending on that but hopefully it gives you an idea of prices around our area.

Thank you so much - will google them now! xx

Hey, we are paying £1595 for our photographer, including an engagement shoot, 2nd photographer and coverage from bridal prep to after 1st dance, with 2 bride and groom sessions throughout the day. They estimate about 10hours coverage, and about 600 photos. We looked at A LOT of photographers, who ranged anything from £**** but we just love this ones photos.

We aren't having a videographer, as we personally don't feel it's worth the extra expense and 'trying' to stick to a tight budget!

We're paying £1500 for photographer (two photographers, all day until first dance, album, and engagement shoot). Thought this was pricey at first but am now thinking it's fairly standard. Not having a videographer... Photos are more important to me. Plus, my dad isn't the most social person so would be grateful to hold a video camera in front of him rather than having to make small talk to people, lol, - I imagine he'll do that without me even asking! I did also hear of a couple strapping a gopro to their dog and letting him roam round the wedding... apparently he did a great job as a videographer!

Got mine dirt cheap at £350 for all day Photographer and photobooth with online album and printed album and all pictures. I got it on wowcher but I researched so much into different ones because we had such a small budet and found this guy and he was amazing. Think he had only done a few wedding's but quite a lot of photography. He now doing weddings every weekend and his pictures look amazing. Charges £1000 now for just the day and then extra for photobooth.

My videographer is the same, I wanted someone under £600 as all could afford but to be honest most of them looked awful for that price. Plus I had a certain style I wanted almost like a music video. If anyone seen Fleur DeForce wedding video on youtube I basically want that. So I wanted someone good for that price or no one at all. I researched again for ages and just thought it may be worth be paying for a videographer travel from another city because could still be under £600. I managed to find a lovely girl in London and you can get a direct virgin train that takes like 2 hours and its less than £100 return to Liverpool. She has just moved to London to do her Masters and done tons of video's in other parts of Europe. She just wants to build up her portfolio in the UK now. So she is wonderful, exactly my type of style and £500 for 6 hours and then transport on top.

I do know people pay a lot more and that's the norm. If you research you mind find someone cheaper but if you have the budget just go for what you love. It's so important to have a good photographer and videographer.

For those having a videographer it makes a big difference to the finished video you receive if there are 2 people filming and for really stunning results 3 people is even better. Because they can then get the same footage but from different angles and in the final edit use the angle that captures the moment just right, whereas the other angles that had been captured didn't really portray the moment nearly as well.

Many of the couples I work with send me a link to watch their video once it's complete and by and large the best ones were where there were a team of 3 videographers.

Additionally for those thinking of not having a videographer, a friend of mine who is now a wedding DJ in the states wrote this on her blog:

"Not hiring a professional for our wedding is still one of the biggest regrets of my life. Nearly twenty years later it is still hard for me to talk about without crying. My husband’s “friend” took video.

It's definitely really important to be 100% sure about your choice. I booked my videographer kind of out of desperation as I was worried that we wouldn't find anyone and time was ticking etc etc. I really wanted a modern cinematic kind of film with two videographers but that was working out at £2500 which we couldn't afford to spend. I then booked my current videographer as the video was "nice enough" and he charged us £895. We paid £100 deposit and then I spoke with the friend who is making my cake and she showed me another videographer. Her films are excatly how I imagined my video to be, there are two of them and she charges £950! So, I am going to book her and I will have to lose my £100 deposit with the other videographer which is a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things. My OH is not particularly impressed with me right now! Recommendation is definitely the key here I think as I did LOTS of research and still ended up booking the wrong person! X

This is really a how long is a piece of string question. Prices vary massively around the country and also by skill, experience and product.

One person could be paying £2k for photography and be just as happy as the bride paying £200. Wedding photography is such a competitive market that you literally can find a photographer to suit all budgets. Even free.

Also, comparing prices is tough since some will have booked engagement sessions & albums. Others digital only. To level the playing field a bit, you'd have to ask how much that photographer charges for digital only.

And of course clearly if your entire wedding budget is £3k then choosing a photographer who charges £2k is going to be a stretch to say the least.

So I usually recommend that couples aim to spend about 10% of their overall budget on a photographer. Same again for videographer. This is a good balance between everything else you have to spend money on.

That's really good advice, MartinC! Except I've already spent waaaay over 10% of my budget on photographer, oops! But I only spent less than 1% of our budget on my dress so I suppose as long as it balances out... ?

At least part of the story of some of the vast differences in prices can be put down to the shooter also having another job and see weddings as a bit an extra income, I think that's fine but so long as the bride and groom know the real status of the shooter.

I know there are some that call themselves a professional photographer whilst having another full time job the issue here is that to some extent there is an element of trust in your wedding supplier which is broken when a shooter is passing themselves off as a full time pro.

So why should that bother me ?, the reason is when bad outcomes and behaviour from a part timer pretending to be a real pro get talked about it tars the professional who is operating with all the expensive - and backup equipment that working under best practice demands.

On this forum we hear stories of photos taking months and months to deliver with no explained reason given to the bride from the shooter, my suspicion is that in some cases the shooter has another job and so cannot commit the time needed to prepare the shots in a timely fashion.

It may not be a concern if the shooter does it full time or not so long as the results a good but at least you should know, im not even sure how wedding insurance covers when you are not using a professional.

Hmm, I'm not sure that I agree with this. In my case, that would mean spending over £5000 on a videographer and photographer. Our photographer is £1100 and our videographer £950. Both are great. I could never justify paying that much. That's nearly a quarter of your budget if you have to pay 20% for them!

Thanks for everyones help. I have went ahead and booked both.. as they are both exactly what we (I) want, style wise, and have gotton great recommendations for both. Our photographer has just out her prices up by £400 too as she won an award for her photography so luckily she is honouring our original quote.

I never know what to expect to pay for things when it comes to weddings which is why I asked, but I do agree it depends on what you want and where you live, so in comparison to others in our area I think its probably about average, and after seeing lots of work from both photographer and videographer I think we've picked well and have no doubts whatsoever.

Its amazing seeing what others are paying though, really puts it into perspective on how you dont have to spend a tonne to have an amazing wedding ? which I think naively and idiotically I didnt realise, and as long as you're getting what YOU want and what makes YOU happy it doesnt matter what you spend, a little or alot.