What are you REALLY paying for when you book the more expensive photographer?
If you’re a modern day bride (or groom), you’ve undoubtedly seen the Facebook posts in the wedding groups looking for a photographer who “won’t break the bank,” is “budget friendly” or “doesn’t charge an arm and a leg.” I get it, everyone has a budget (whether that’s $1000 or $10,000) and in this day in age many couples are paying for their weddings themselves. It is important to set a budget because after all it’s the responsible thing to do and it’s only one day out of your entire marriage. But what are you really missing out on when you go for the cheapest option? Let’s explore what you’re REALLY paying for when you opt to book the more expensive photographer and what the very real risks could be if you choose the cheaper option.
Experience
A photographer that charges more, most likely has more experience with shooting weddings. This is extremely important because photographing a wedding is very different from photographing basically anything else. Weddings are fast paced, often high stress events with a million little moving parts that could easily be missed or go wrong. A more seasoned wedding photographer has seen it all or at least more than someone who has never shot a wedding or very few. For example, when I got married years ago, I hired a friend who was an amazing newborn photographer who wanted to get into weddings. She had only shot a few at that point, but I knew she was a great photographer so I trusted her skill. My photographer stayed in the back of the venue for my entire ceremony which resulted in zero photos of my father walking me down the aisle, obviously a very key and important shot. Learn from my mistake and entrust your memories with a seasoned wedding professional!
A Legal Legitimate Business
A photographer who charges more is charging a livable wage which means this is most likely their full time job/business which also implies they are well established. This is important for a few reasons. Most clients book their photographer 9-16 months before their wedding date. The odds are in your favor that a well established photographer will still be in business when your wedding rolls around. Someone who’s just starting out, may already be out of business or has lost interest.
Another reason to hire a well established photographer is they will have a contract along with liability insurance in place to protect themselves but also protect you in case of an emergency. Hiring a non-legitimate non-licensed business puts you at risk for your photographer to not show up, not deliver your photos in a timely manner, deliver a sub-quality product or lose your photos with zero legal repercussions. I unfortunately see it all the time in the wedding Facebook groups: clients whose photographer canceled on them last minute, has very irregular communication, never delivered their photos or delivered such a poor quality product after showing something completely different on their website. Don’t be a victim of non-legitimate photography businesses. Always make sure you are working with a licensed & insured photographer with a contract in place.
Quality & Consistency
A photographer who charges more knows their worth. Photography is an art form and a technical skill that takes years to hone and perfect a personal style. Booking with a higher end photographer basically guarantees you a top quality product consistent with the work you see on their website and social media. Make sure you ask to see a few full galleries of REAL weddings as well, so you have a better idea of what to expect with your own gallery. Also, quantity does not equal quality. Simply asking a photographer how many photos they deliver doesn’t mean you’re getting more bang for your buck. If one says 2000 and the other says 500. You could be getting 2000 crappy mostly duplicate shots with the first and 500 well crafted, hand edited frame worth images with the second. (For more on this check out my blog: The 5 Most Important Questions to Ask When Choosing Your Wedding Photographer)
You can also do your part as a client. Using language like “won’t break the bank,” “budget friendly” or “doesn’t charge an arm and a leg” doesn’t attract quality photographers to you as a client. This gives the impression that you don’t value their service, so photographers who do respond to that probably don’t value you either.
So while having a budget is understandable, it’s important you understand the risk of hiring the cheap photographer and the benefit and rewards of hiring the more expensive option. Because in the end, these are YOUR memories of your wedding and the only thing you have left of the day. So, isn’t that something worth investing a little bit more in?
