*Wedding Photography Investment*
Weddings are so freaking awesome, but if there is one drawback on your wedding day it is most certainly going to be the gut-punch of the investment. Flowers, catering, venues, chairs, tables, drinks, music, and every little detail has a cost and sometimes the investment can be significant. The whole wedding planning process might even make you want to crack open a bottle of wine, then another bottle of wine, then some IPAs and then wash it all down with a shot of Jameson until you finally give up, put your wedding dress on eBay and invest in an endless amount of neutral-colored sweat pants. As a couple who paid for pretty much everything ourselves, my wife Corissa and I certainly understand the stress of planning and financing a wedding. However, we realized that in a year, 5 years or 20 years down the road, anytime we felt the desire to relive our wedding day together it would be our wedding photos that helped us remember our love story. The photos would be everything we had left to remind of us of our wedding day. Therefore, our number one concern was finding a wedding photographer that would document our wedding day, family, and friends in a way that was genuine and unapologetically authentic. I wanted real moments captured, not staged stuff. I wanted photos of people drinking, my fat family getting crazy on the dance floor and a story that was truly ours, not some Pinterest copy. I hope you are here because you share that thinking. And honestly, by our first year anniversary, we pretty much paid off all that we invested in the wedding and really wish we splurged a little more now. Good wedding photographers understand the importance of capturing every detail and telling the story of the day. They do not simply shoot photos and go home. After spending 6-10 hours shooting a wedding, they sort through thousands of images, edit past the midnight hour for weeks, and break down the entire day to the most important, funny, romantic, and exciting moments of a wedding day. The way that the wedding photographer tells the story of a wedding with their images will be a major part of how the bride and groom will remember that day in the future because when they look back and reflect upon the day it is the wedding photos that will be the visual and historical documentation of the event. With that being said, if there is one portion of a wedding people want to make certain they don’t cut corners on it is wedding photography!
*How Much Does Wedding Photography Cost?*
A wedding photographer is an artist, and the work they produce is their art. Therefore, pricing in the wedding photography business is 100% subjective. If you see a photographer whose work blows you away, and he/she only charges $1,000.00 then hire them. Some people feel paying $8,000.00 for a wedding photographer over $4,000.00 means that they will be getting a much better photographer. However, that is not necessarily the case since beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder. The more expensive wedding photographer could simply be more established, market themselves more effectively, or could be good friends with the manager at the expensive venue you are renting for your wedding. The style of the photographer could be dated, or the photographer could be some creepy old balding guy with a ponytail who cannot relate to the bride and groom at all because he has an AARP card. The primary thing a newly engaged couple should be looking at when searching for a wedding photographer is the person’s work and whether or not they like the art. Don’t let the price impact your judgment. After that, the bride and groom should contact the wedding photographer and feel the person out. Each photographer has a different personality, style, and approach. Some wedding photographers will sit in the back corner and sulk while shooting photos like your wedding is war-torn Vietnam or some other event that requires the eye of a photojournalist/war correspondent. Other wedding photographers will engage with the wedding party, family and guests, trying to lighten the mood and get people to show emotion who might be too nervous. My loud, outgoing and energetic personality may be exactly what some couples are looking for in a wedding photographer, but it could also be something other couples may not want. I am a wild man with a camera who loves to rock. I go to weddings to kick ass.
*What If I Want A Wedding Album?*
As a wedding photographer, I try to offer a number of different packages to meet the needs of both brides looking for total coverage and those working on a strict budget. If a couple wants their photos organized in a clean and timeless wedding album that is awesome! I will get it done for you and I promise you that every time you crack that puppy open you will smile the same way I smile when I look at my wedding album. And if you are on a tight budget I totally understand and will help guide you in the right direction so you can get your DIY on. Currently, there are a lot of cost-effective services available online that will allow couples to put their wedding photos in an album format without breaking the bank (For example, companies such as Shutter Fly). Personally, all of the images and books in my home were created by Artifact Uprising and they have an awesome selection of prints, books and other cool stuff that is totally organic! Wedding albums can also be added on after the wedding as a way to save money upfront. The only thing I am weird about is leather wedding albums. As a vegetarian and animal rights wacko I cannot have my business profit off the death of another earthling so I do not offer any materials composed of leather. I do apologize if that is something you wanted.
*How Would You Describe Your Style?*
Pretty simple answer: like a white Bengal tiger with a camera attacking a magician. Weddings are awesome, and I love the energy and excitement of them. When shooting a wedding, I try and make the wedding party feel as comfortable around me as possible. This is important because I believe nobody wants some creepy, introverted weirdo hiding in the corner taking photos of them. When the bridal party and groomsmen let their guard down is when the real emotion is revealed and the best photos are captured. I am like a sniper with a camera, hunting emotion like a wild animal! Grrrrrrr…
Rock This Moment Photography, Temecula, California