A Picture is Worth 1,000…
a) Words
b) Dollars
c) Wedding invitations
Most wedding publications tell you not to do a thing until you prioritize what is most important to you for your wedding so that you know where to skimp and where to splurge.
Gavin and I considered this advice in a semi-serious conversation on the train last week. His priority is grooms cake now that he knows they actually exist. So, that meant that I set the priorities and he agreed. For us, photography is numero uno. Even if we get married in flip-flops and jeans, we want every moment documented in a way that means we don’t have to even think about putting ourselves behind a camera that day, but know we’ll have good pictures to remember the wedding by.
Good photography is also important so that in 60 years we can assure our grandkids that the wrinkled, crotchety geezers before them were “handsome” and “beautiful” “back in the day.”
Our friends Hans and Maggie get married this fall, meaning they have already gone through sticker shock and have their major items in order. Their top priority was also photography, and I know they have good taste because of Maggie’s design career and Hans’ ability to think through the details since the day I met him.
Maggie sent us all of their spreadsheets from their research on photographers when I asked about what they cost for a good one. She viewed at least 100 sits to pick the few they met with, and then selected their favorite from there. Maggie is an angel. The angel of wedding spreadsheets and photographers. What she sent is going to save us a LOT of time over the next couple months.
Not able to resist, I started looking through the sites of some of the photographers on their list even though it’s premature. I was blown away by the talent and how amazingly well the photojournalistic style that has become so popular in wedding photography is able to catch emotions and moments more than any posed portrait could. I’m already excited to see our photographs, yet I have no idea how they’ll look since we haven’t figured out anything but the priest yet. It’s going to be a hard decision when we get to the point when we’re ready to choose a photographer, but I can’t wait to pick one all the same.
As with everything thus far, however, I was also blown away by the price tag on my favorites from their small batch. I should study to become a wedding photographer for sure. Photography, travel, weddings and a fatty paycheck as a job? Yes please.
b) Dollars
c) Wedding invitations
Most wedding publications tell you not to do a thing until you prioritize what is most important to you for your wedding so that you know where to skimp and where to splurge.
Gavin and I considered this advice in a semi-serious conversation on the train last week. His priority is grooms cake now that he knows they actually exist. So, that meant that I set the priorities and he agreed. For us, photography is numero uno. Even if we get married in flip-flops and jeans, we want every moment documented in a way that means we don’t have to even think about putting ourselves behind a camera that day, but know we’ll have good pictures to remember the wedding by.
Good photography is also important so that in 60 years we can assure our grandkids that the wrinkled, crotchety geezers before them were “handsome” and “beautiful” “back in the day.”
Our friends Hans and Maggie get married this fall, meaning they have already gone through sticker shock and have their major items in order. Their top priority was also photography, and I know they have good taste because of Maggie’s design career and Hans’ ability to think through the details since the day I met him.
Maggie sent us all of their spreadsheets from their research on photographers when I asked about what they cost for a good one. She viewed at least 100 sits to pick the few they met with, and then selected their favorite from there. Maggie is an angel. The angel of wedding spreadsheets and photographers. What she sent is going to save us a LOT of time over the next couple months.
Not able to resist, I started looking through the sites of some of the photographers on their list even though it’s premature. I was blown away by the talent and how amazingly well the photojournalistic style that has become so popular in wedding photography is able to catch emotions and moments more than any posed portrait could. I’m already excited to see our photographs, yet I have no idea how they’ll look since we haven’t figured out anything but the priest yet. It’s going to be a hard decision when we get to the point when we’re ready to choose a photographer, but I can’t wait to pick one all the same.
As with everything thus far, however, I was also blown away by the price tag on my favorites from their small batch. I should study to become a wedding photographer for sure. Photography, travel, weddings and a fatty paycheck as a job? Yes please.
posted by Laura @ 7:30 PM
4 Comments:
At March 17, 2006 12:13 PM,
Anonymous said…
Though certainly surprising at first, the cost of a professional photographer isn't really all that exorbitant when you think about what you're actually paying for.
Probably the most expensive, and certainly the easiest to quantify, is the cost of the equipment they use:
$1000 per lens
$2000 per body
$500 per tripod
$300 per flash
$400 per light meter
Porta-Brace Carry Cases for all
Hundreds of experimental photos with each lens/body combination
etc
With multiples of all the above items (which every Pro Photographer surely owns), we're talking tens of thousands of dollars invested in equipment alone.
Considering all the equipment cost, insecurity (my guess is that most wedding photographers aren't on retainer) and time (though traveling would be great at first, it would probably wear thin after several years of 60 hour weeks), I'm not so sure that this is really a job that most people would say "yes please" to...
My biggest gripe with pro photogs is their death grip on the negatives/raw files... Imagine how much they would charge if they granted rights to freely copy full quality versions of all your precious memories...
At March 18, 2006 1:16 AM,
Anonymous said…
Yeah but have you actually talked to these people? After a while I think the dark enclosed spaces with lots of toxic chemicals gets to them...
At March 22, 2006 8:59 AM,
Anonymous said…
ACCTUALLY... James' comment about "how much it would cost if they granted rights to freely copy full quality versions of all your precious memories... " is no longer really accurate. Our photographer, as well as a friend I know getting married this May are both giving us a CD with all of our pictures that we can distribute,print, roll around in, lick, etc. all we want. Some photographers are using it for the competitive edge.
For me, this DEFINITELY made it worth the pricetag.
At March 28, 2006 11:05 PM,
-^_^. said…
yes, our photographer is going to give us files on cd. it definitely was a huge factor for us. we saw one photographer who had the death grip, and i must say it was most unattractive for us... we both were already thinking "no" before we were even half through our meeting.
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