Do I really need a wedding photographer?

People act shocked when I say that I don't want to hire a wedding photographer. Of course I want the day memorialized, but I have plenty of friends and family with good digital cameras. Plus, I'm not interested in all of the posed shots. Plus plus, I'm trying to keep to a modest budget, and a book full of photos is just not a priority. Any suggestions?

I thought that way originally but then I broke down and got one. And her picture are really good, much better than the ones my family and friends took. maybe hire one just for an hour of the ceremony and right after - i didnt have her come to the reception. What I do regret is the videographer - big waste - she sucked. I wish i had had a family member do that.

Thats ghetto. Digi cams and disposable camera's are for your guests... You want your most memorable memory in your life to be printed off on standard computer paper, or pictures with someones finger covering the lenses for lack of experience? Invest in the photographer. Alot of them are cheap nowadays.

When my sister got married, my uncle did the photography...but he's a professional though. She didn't pay him or anything...he just kinda did it as a wedding gift. The pictures turned out wonderful. My mom does photo-graphics and restoration so she did a lot of cool effects to them. You'd be surprised what you can do on your own with photographs.

Yeah, you'll regret not having a photographer.

Its been many years since I was married but I wanted a photographer and paid alot for one. The jerk ruined all the pictures. His camera had a black shadow on top of every single one. He refused to let me have ANY of them because it would be bad business for him. Ask a couple people to be your honorary photographers. It usually works, my husband has a good camera and does it for alot of people. You can have the pictures printed on a good grade of paper so they last. You will also save a TON of money.

I will say this...after reading many many questions on here, the one thing that is consistent is that those who've been married always recommend getting a good photographer. Once the wedding is over, your photos are all you will have. They become an important part of your family's archive, and I wouldn't ever recommend not having something like that photographed by a professional. Candid shots are nice, but nothing can take the place of a professional portrait.

Well of course that is up to you and your fiance. I absolutely loved the pictures that our photographer took. You may want to hire one for just the ceremony, or hire a photography student if you do decide the go that direction. Just think about what you may want in the future, if you can live without the pictures, then that is up to you.

Yes. You'll regret that there wasn't someone there who knows how to get the memorable shots. If your budget is tight, only have them photo the ceremony and maybe a couple of pix after the wedding. And, you can chose a smaller package that will cost less. Trust me, family and friends are there to have fun, photographers are doing a job.

It's your wedding! Remind people of that when they question what you are planning. I am planning a wedding also, and am being questioned about some of my money-saving decisions that I'm making. I just ignore them. >L

get a photographer. It's a must.

Yes u really do need one as what happens that at that moment no one come up to that professional satisfaction.Later 5 years u don't have to lament that u didn't hire one.

GET THE PHOTOGRAPHER!!! That is one area where you won't want to skimp. Absolutely. I cut other areas, but not the photographer. They just know what shots to take. It's not about "posed shots" sure they do a few of those... if you want them, but you get them for 8 hours usually and they take pictures of everything that your family and friends won't think of. And they can adjust for lighting... and they can capture moving shots without blur....

But when you do, get a package that allows you to get a DVD of all the shots and a release form allowing you to print them on your own. You don't want to pay $10 for a 4x6 from the pro.

You will be amazed at the shots you get from your pro. Some of the best pictures I got were candids that almost look posed, because they are perfect, but I know they weren't posed because ... well, I was there. :-)

I got pics from friends and family too, and I love them, but they are NOT the same.

Absolutely positively yes! You need a wedding photographer!
Spend the money and skimp on something else!
Tell the photographer what kind of pictures you want and get the posed shots as well.
You will still have the family and friends with their cameras and you can get those too.

i had the photographer just come to the church and at the reception he came before any one else did so i could have some pictures with the cake and all then he left... took pictures for at the church and reception 1 1/2 hours
cut the bill in half

I say that if you trust someone particular then have them take the pictures. I personally think you should get a professional photographer but if it is not in the budget then its not. Have someone special, a niece, a uncle, a close cousin, a close co-worker or friend follow you two around and take the pictures but you must trust their judgement because you don't want someone messing it up and you regret not getting that professional photographer. Good Luck

I think you'll regret it if you don't. "A book full of photos" may not be a priority now, but 20 years from now, I'm betting you'll wish you had one.

If you really can't afford a photographer, don't rely on "plenty of friends and family with good digital cameras" to get all of the pictures you want. What's interesting and "picture-worthy" to a wedding guest, and what's interesting and picture-worthy to a bride are two very different things. You might end up with 500 pictures of you cutting the cake, and none of your grandma being walked down the aisle. Instead, ask two or three specific close friends or family members to be responsible for the photography, and give them a list of "must have" pictures. However, this would probably be a lot to ask of a wedding guest - you'd have to be really close to them and know for sure that they wouldn't be offended to be asked to "work" at your wedding rather than just be a guest.

Another great option is to advertise on craigslist.org or another community website for a student photographer who is looking to build his/her portfolio. You could offer $20/hour or so in exchange for them taking the pictures you request and giving you a copy of all of them on cd with full re-print rights. They'd get experience photographing a wedding, and you'd get cheap but semi-professional pictures that you could print off at your leisure. A friend of mine hired two photographers this way. They were high-school students at a performing arts school who wanted to be professional photographers and needed to build their portfolios for admission into an arts institute. She paid thousands of dollars less than she would've paid for a professional, but she still got good pictures. Even hanging flyers in the art department of your local community college advertising for amateur photographers would probably get you some good talent for much less money.

I just got married 10 months ago, and I can assure you that much of your wedding day will probably be a blurr for you. Once things have calmed down, you'll want to be able to look at the pictures to see everyone who was there and get an idea of what your wedding actually looked like.

I've been apart of several weddings that haven't had a "Professional" photographer. I can definitely understand when you are budget conscious and is NOT considered ghetto. Sometimes photos are important but not a top priority for a bride and groom. If you have friends or family that you want involved in your wedding somehow and are not in the wedding party have them become your "photographers" for the day. The amateur photographer enthusiasts if you will. Of course I would suggest choosing friends or family that have good camera skills and are familiar with digital camera use. Purchase a memory card for them specifically for use at the wedding. After the wedding collect the memory cards, you can download the photos and create your own wedding album with sites like Picaboo or Togetherbook. You can create your own books for parents or other special family members. As a nice thank you gift you can even create a small album with the photos they took at the wedding and a nice thank you note.

Good Luck and Congratulations!

A lot of people have told me that I'm making a mistake by not having a formal wedding and by not hiring a photographer. With all my dad and sisters do with their digital cameras, I think that's fine. Save money and don't get a photographer. My parents had a bunch of pictures taken at their wedding and they haven't looked at those pictures in years. They look back on the day fondly but didn't need pictures all over the house. As long as someone takes pictures, that's fine I think. I understand where you're coming from. I think with all of the hoop-blah that people put into weddings these days, they want to capture all that. I think paying for an expensive photographer is just something a lot of people do in order to have their perfect wedding. To me, I want to remember that day but most importantly see it as the beginning of a marriage. The importance of marriage can often get lost in the fluff. Do what you want and make sure you're happy with it. Sometimes looking at the candid shots is more fun than looking at all the posed ones.

it' not so much wot you think, as wot yore wife to be thins ,as long as she is happy you you will be happy . if your friends tack the picketers you mite git bad ones,ore only the ones thy ,don't wont.?

The biggest expense of our wedding was the photographer. The day comes and goes so quickly and if you don't have a nice album of the day ...........well why spend any money at all. You still want all the picture and videos from family and friends but you won't regret hiring a good photographer.
We did have to interview a couple of photographer and finally found one that we really liked and guess what not all photographers do the posie shots. Your right about that, posing is so cheesy!

We did not require a lot of posed shots, either. But we still had a photographer. Its great that your friends have cameras but you cant count on them to take great pictures. Who is going to capture the look on your face moments before you walk down the aisle? Do you want pictures of the cake, bouquets, and other details you worked on? I guess its up to you whether these are important or not.

I would still get a photographer, yo can get them cheap. I know a lot of people with good digital cameras and are very good photographers, but they are not like a professional photographer. Even if you are "not interested in all of the posed shots," they will know how to get the ceremony from the best angels. Plus, you can have those AND have your friends shoot "candid" shots.

Don't listen to these people! My brother hired a photographer and the pictures turned out horrible. The best pics were the ones taken from family and friends. Just because you hire a reputible photography company does not insure the employee who comes out to take the job does the job well. I am getting married and can afford a professional photographer and am opting not to. As long as you have one great picture of the two of you- that's all you really need!

I had the same problem with my wedding. I am getting married on 11-17-07. I have a small budget and just couldn't afford the big prices of the photographer. I ended up being lucky enough to find one that specializes in children and the elderly. She is wanting to branch into weddings and gave us a HUGE discount if we let her use some of our pics for her portfolio.

Perhaps ask your local wedding shop for suggestions. Someone usually knows someone....that sort of thing. That's how I found mine. For way less than 1/2 the lowest price I received!!

Good luck with your special day!

dont impose on your guests, yes hire the best photographer you can and dont skimp on this. some specialize in "candid' photos, not posed shots. dont expect your invited guests to do this for you they will let you down.

I have to say that I pretty much liked all the photos that we got from friends just taking digital photos better than the ones the photographer took. They had better angles and they got more interesting moments. All in all, I would say that the photographer was a waste of money except for one thing- Even though we had about 6 different friends giving us photos that were nice, every one of them were taken on fairly low res cameras. Nice pic, but no good over 4x6 prints and some were fuzzy, dark, or had red eye problems.

The photos the photographer took with his camera were very high quality and I could get 8x10s of the group pictures. He also was good to get various pairings of the wedding party and organizing everyone so that we had at least one good print of everyone in the wedding party in every combo possible. Getting a professional is worth it if you want posed shots at all (especially for gifts for family members) and want to make sure you get everyone. If you truly do not want posed photos (be sure now - they make such good gifts and Xmas cards), make sure that whomever is taking photos have good cameras with good flashes.

Another way to save money if you do use a photographer - get the photos on disk from him and print them yourself or make your own book from an online service. I made a book with lots of pages on Picaboo, had lots of fun with it, and got it for about 1/5 of what the photographer was going to charge. I also mixed in some of the candid shots from friends and scanned pieces of my wedding dress and my husband's suit for the background. It will be very memorable because I made it.

you can use a normal digital camera but a professional photographer can capture great shots that family can not get, and you may not want the "posed shots" but they can know the special moments to capture.. i would suggest using a professional.. if you live in southern california i know the best photographer, he is the best...
http://www.markmontgomeryphotography.com...

photos are important, but I can understand your concern about the expense. I wouldn't leave it all n the hands of friends or fam with disposable on the table. you could end up with a bunch of shots some kids took playing with the cameras!
If Uncle Fred or Cousin Genevieve are usually the ones taking shots at all the family gatherings and take pretty good pics (you have actually seen their pics rigt!!!) ask them. I'm sure they'd feel honored at the request to be Photog for the Day!!!

I do like the other idea of buying memory cards for them to use- Then take the cards and print out your own albums.
Could also go to those Penn or Ritz Camera places and create something with those machines in stores...but idea is to have good pics to work with in the 1st place.