Wedding pictures??

My fiance wants to use Bella Photography at our wedding. We sat down this weekend with a consultant (not a photographer) and she laid out the basics. Very beautiful work but when it was all said and done it was just about $3500.00!!! We got our photographer for 10 hrs and an album and I think 6 8x10 and 6 5x7 included in the package. Plus we got the rights to our phots so we can recopy them.. That seems really high to me.. what do you guys thinnk? My FH keeps telling me that he doesnt want to skimp on the photography bc it is all we will have to remember the day.. but..I think we can not skimp and still get a better deal.. any suggestions?

we would get all the pictures on a cd that we can re-copy and put in a safe or bank or something.

We paid way less than that, I think that is awfully high. Try this website out and see if they are in your area, they are very good.

http://www.thepros.com/

Well, that actually sounds like a good price these days...however, you just have to do your research. We were able to get an absolutely wonderful photographer for about 1/3 of the price they quoted you on. We had seen all of her work and were really impressed. She works from home, so she doesn't have all the costs of a studio...therefore she charged us much less. I wouldn't skimp on the photography, but the amount of money that you pay doesn't always mean that you are going to get the best pictures. My friend paid $3000.00 for a photographer who gave them a horrible deal on all their pictures. In the end she wasn't happy and she wished that she would have gone with the photographer that I had recommended.
The best thing you can do is research and ask other people for references.

I think it is very high. I suggest you spend less on the photographer and get a really good videographer. You can get any still shot from your video that you want. We had both and our DVD means a lot more to us than our photographs. We have our own memories of the day but it's nice to relive it through the DVD when we want to. Our videographer used 7 cameras. He videotaped the wedding and reception and stayed till the very end of the reception and caught every moment. Then he edited it and kept every important moment in the video. A photograph captures a very short instant. The video captures the entire ceremony and reception.

well the rights to the photos is worth something, because then you can print as many as you want and give them as gifts for about a year after you're married. BUT if your house floods or burns down or some other force majure happens to you God forbid, those images are gone forever and ultimately you only have your memory.

That is wayyyyy too high. My husband does photography for such events and he does not shock people.. It is a happy moment and you should find someone who is more willing to enjoy the moment with you for a 1/4 of the price. Now adays all cameras are digital for such events.. There is no waste and extra cost for film and so on. If you have a good photographer the only cost will be in the printing and the time per hour. Don't let people scam you!

I am paying 1055 and I get 75 photo's 2 photog's a montage and an extra hour which makes it like 5 hours, which should be plenty! I would suggest that you look around I know they have good pictures at bella but that is a lot of money to spend on any one aspect of your wedding, but that is me! Good luck

I'm from Metro Detroit as well. I am using Mike Shakarian. www.photoshak.com

A friend of the family used him and he is great. I am getting a book of 120 pictures, 300 dollars of pictures and no time limit for about 1300. He is a great guy and he will really work with you!! If you want more info about him, let me know!

That's actually about right for the quality of her work. I considered hiring her, but went with Jasmine Wang Towers (Ann Arbor, MI). She also gave me the rights to her photos, and her work was SO beautiful, I never regretted a single penny I spent on her!

I'm getting - 10 hrs of coverage, 12 8X10's... 20 5X7's, plus a 20 page story book album and the rights for $1250.00--Top Photographer in the area too!

You should be able to get something similar for 2k or under - no matter where you live!

I am a Photographer myself and it has been really hard for me to find a Photographer. We are getting married in December, so it is hard to find a Photographer who will travel Anyways, 10 hours is a long time, and it will get everything captured, but do you really need a Photographer standing around for 10 hours while you're all stressed out? Answer: NO. Depending on the time of your wedding, you'll only need 5-8 hours. If you tell me what state you live in, I could do a search for you from the ones that I have looked at, or from ones I know. My Fiance' and I are only spending $1,500 and getting a disc of the negitives (which you can get printed for about 12-19 cents at walgreens anyways) 8 hours of Photography and he is traveling from Seattle to the other side of the state for us. All for only $1,500... and boy is he good! http://priceless-images.com/

Good luck with your search and feel free to e-mail me for more tips.

-Fawn

P.S.
We looked into Bella Photography too, and let's just say, I wouldn't reccomend them to ANYONE!

I found the same problem when we were looking at photographers. I ended up finding one who just gave us the digital images (in full resolution) - he didn't do the books or prints (they are so cheap to do yourself, really!) He charged us AUD$650.00 and was with us from 2pm (getting ready) till 12am (leaving the reception). And there was no minimum number of photographs or anything. The photos were gorgeous too. I say shop around a bit - and keep in mind that it is so much cheaper to print your own photos - just make sure you have the rights to the FULL RESOLUTION photos.

I agree with you FH - you don't want to skimp. I'd call a few other places and get quotes for the same type of packages... see where Bella falls... Don't just go with the cheapest place though - you don't want to get cheap photos.

I strongly advise getting a videographer for your wedding as well.

We were just married on 4/5/08, and I was crying so much in the beginning, that I don't remember much of what the minister said... I also don't remember what my FH said to me... Again, I was crying. That's why I'm glad I've got the video - I can go back and look at it!

Good luck, and Congratulations!

Ask around. You might be able to find a friend of a friend or something who is a photographer, but doesn't work for a pricey studio and charges much less but can do a great job. And anyone can upload photos to shutterfly for printing.

We hired two friends who had degrees in photography, but had different full-time jobs. They were very talented, very easy to work with, and very affordable. (They are from the Chicago area).

So ask around and see what you can find. You never know who knows someone who knows someone who has a cousin who is a very talented freelance photographer.

I agree with your husband--photography (and videography if it fits in your budget) is important. You'll be surprised at the things you miss and will be glad when you get the photos back.

In all honesty though, that price is fairly average (maybe even slightly above). Keep in mind though that Bella Photography is more like a matching service--you don't meet your photographer until the day of the wedding, so you won't be able to preview their work really beforehand. I would suggest scouting out other photographers as well--this will give you something to compare that price to and give you more options.

Keep in mind:
*Many photographers put a limit to the amount of time they work--some 8 hours, some 10, etc...this is important to some, but not to others. We got lucky in that we got a photographer that did not put a limit on time and didn't charge anything for working 12 hours.
*MOST photographers will include the ownership of the photos/negatives to customers now. Since many customers ask for the rights, many photographers include that in photo packages now. ALWAYS ask the photographer though about this--some still DO charge for it.
*Consider if you want prints or albums--this can greatly affect the price.
*Consider the style of photography you want. Some photographers shoot strictly in the photojournalistic style, others traditional and others a mix of both. They should be able to provide you with samples of the photographer that should be working your day's work so you can see what their style is like and if you like it.
*See if they can provide you with photo and video package at a discount.

Good luck!