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14 April, 2010

Wedding Photography is Expensive?

Posted by ray | Filed under: General,Ideas and Tips | @ 11:42 pm

Many brides have been dreaming of the perfect wedding ever since a little girl. With pretty brides maids, fresh flowers everywhere, Rolls Royce to take you to the huge church, a cake covered in scrumptious white flaked chocolate, a Vera Wang dress to die for and Jimmy Choo shoes to make everyone green with envy… not to forget the personalised wedding stationary and favours for all your best friends and family to take away.

Six months after the wedding, your fabulous honeymoon is all but a memory, the cake eaten, flowers long since forgotten and the dress sold on for a mint, you pat yourselves in the back for hiring a good photographer who has created a wonderful album capturing the story of your day beautifully… You did hire a professional photographer didn’t you?

Why do photographers cost so much anyway? Surely if anything, it should be cheaper in these days of cheap digital cameras? In short, it’s because it takes a least a whole week of slaving behind the computer to edit all the photos and put together the perfect album. But that’s not including public liability insurance, equipment insurance for two high-end digital cameras, flashes, lenses (did you know a professional lens can cost £1500 and more? Yes over one thousand five hundred Pounds for just one lens.)

Rolls Royce

At the photographers.co.uk website, they have price guide of how much you can expect to pay for a wedding photographer to cover your wedding.

Rough Budget Guide (from photographers.co.uk)
Under £500: Very basic.
£501 – 1000: Standard. No Frills
£1001 – 1500: Standard. Plus quality album
£1501 – 2000: Comprehensive. Plus quality album
£2001 – 2500: Top Quality. Plus bells and whistles
Above £3000: Exclusive. Best Quality. Extra albums

I’d agree with the above price guide, you certainly should not look to pay less than £500 for a professional photographer, someone charging less than £500 will most definitely skimp on something somewhere, be it using sub-standard equipment, no backup equipment, uninsured, or they just expect not to spend much time editing your photos. By the way, at RHOTOGRAPHY, we don’t skimp on any such things.

So the a decent package costs around £1000 upwards. There will be regional differences how much the photographer will charge for his/her time, but insurance, equipment and albums all cost the same in the UK, so the guidelines are roughly accurate wherever you are.

Whoever you choose as your photographer, be sure to work closely with him or her. They can only give you what you want only if you tell him. Make sure you have met them at least a couple of times, a pre-wedding shoot is great way to get to know them and for them to get to know you so you won’t feel awkward in front of them on the day that matters. See my previous blog post for more tips on how to get the best out of your photographer.

I hope your wedding plans come together smoothly and more too far over budget.

Good luck,

Ray
RHOTOGRAPHY.co.uk
A People’s Photographer

11 March, 2010

Spring Wedding Tips

Posted by admin | Filed under: Ideas and Tips | @ 9:33 am

Spring Wedding Tips
By Kathy Hester

A spring wedding is what many brides envisioned from the time they were young. There is something about getting married and starting your new life when everything around us seems to be renewing itself.

Environmentally friendly seed packets makes a very unique wedding favour as do bulbs that your guests can plant in their garden. You can keep that tradition in your own garden as well. Each anniversary you can add new plants to your wedding garden.

Make sure to add tablecloth weights to your list. There’s nothing worse than having the wind cause glasses to fly. No one wants red wine on their wedding best. You don’t want to lose any of your coordinating wedding favours either.

If you decide to go cover-less, make sure to have a back up plan in case the weather turns bad. After all, you probably booked this in advance.Even if you just reserve a tent, you’ll be glad all your guests stay dry. I’d recommend that you start out with open tents that have “curtains” that can be closed to keep out the elements. It could be the thing that saves your reception in a storm.

One common sense tip that many people forget, make sure your food can stand up to warm weather. Avoid dairy based salad dressings and make sure things like that are stored properly. It is worth taking a few minutes to check everything out and it’s a task you can assign to one of your family members.

If you are having a sit down lunch or dinner make sure that the caterers provide plate covers. This way the servers can cover a guests meal if they leave the table insuring that they won’t come back to bugs in their dinner.

Speaking of bugs, you may want to have some citronella pellets spread on the grounds a few hours before the reception begins. It’s better than toxic bug spray that many of your guests could be allergic to.

If you’re having dancing, make sure to vary the music so that each generation has a chance to dance. Techno may be your favorite, but it isn’t your Grandmother’s.

Make sure to book a tea and coffee service in case the weather turns cold. The weather can be unpredictable at this time of the year. You can also have a few shawls or sweaters if any of the older guests need one.

8 March, 2010

Why use a professional photographer?

Posted by ray | Filed under: General,Ideas and Tips | @ 10:06 pm

Your wedding is probably going to be the most expensive party you will throw, and it’s tempting to cut back on a few “luxuries” like hiring a professional photographer. But is it really a luxury? Can you afford not to?

Before you ask your amateur friend to shoot your wedding, ask yourself and your friend these questions:

Expentations: Do you want to put tension in your friendship if the photos don’t come out as well as you hoped? Is it worth the awkwardness everytime you meet again, when images of your wedding photos flash in front of your eyes?

Value: How much are you spending on everything else? From the cake, flowers, to the venue? Do you want to remember these expensive items properly? If you are spending hundreds on items that only lasts a few hours, then how much do you value a set of photographs that will be treasured for the rest of your life?

Equipment: Does your friend have backup cameras, lenses, flashguns in case of problems with the main one? Accidents can happen and equipments can fail, backups
are essential.

Alcohol free: Is your friend willing to stay completely alcohol free for the whole day, and able to stay totally alert the whole time?

It’s Work: Do you want your friend to work through your wedding day rather than party with you? If he parties, then can you forgive yourself for compromising on the photos?.

Time and Abilities: Is your friend willing and able to spend 40 hours the computer editing the photos after your wedding? Then another 20 hours designing the final album? It’s a fact of modern photography that all photos are edited no matter how good the originals were. It’s quite common to have 40+ hours of editing performed on a set of wedding photos.

Experience: Has your friend shot a wedding by him or herself before? It’s one thing taking good landscapes, still life, or portraits, yet another thing being responsible for a fast moving wedding. Ask to see a wedding portfolio.

Memories: You will remember your wedding day through your photos in years to come. Do you want an ok set of memory or do you want a great set of memory?

Albums: Are you happy to settle with an off the shelf DIY sticky album?
Or would you like your wedding photos presented in professional quality albums?

A Wedding Gift Idea With A Difference

Posted by admin | Filed under: General,Ideas and Tips | @ 7:57 pm

RHOTOGRAPHY is introducing gift plans to couples getting married to help them get the album of their dreams. The idea is simple, instead of asking friends to buy the usual kitchen appliance for a wedding gift, ask them to buy a gift contribution for the wedding photography. Everyone who contributes £50 or more will receive a complimentary print from the wedding day too.

So instead of a kettle or a coffee maker that will break down and thrown away after a few years, your friends can pay towards the perfect album that you will treasure for the rest of your lives and more.

Contact us now on 0161 660 6918 to arrange a free consultation and see sample albums.

26 July, 2009

Tips for getting the most from your photographer

Posted by ray | Filed under: Ideas and Tips | @ 11:44 pm

Here are a few tips for the bride and groom to be on how to get the best out of your photographer.

Meet the photographer before you book

The photographer will probably be the only stranger who will be with you for the whole of your wedding day, so it is a good idea to meet him before you book to make he is easy to get along with.  A grumpy photographer with 20 years of experience is no good if he just makes you feel awkward all day.

If booking from a large studio, make sure you meet the actual photographer who will shoot your wedding and not just any sales rep whom you might get along with like a house of fire, but won’t actually be there on the day.

Another reason for a face to face meeting is so you can see a portfolio in the flesh, no amount of web gallery or DVD presentations can substitute a real print or frame in real life.

Know what you want

The best way to avoid disappointment is to know what you want. A good photographer should be comfortable with producing a full range of styles of shots, but if you don’t tell him what you are looking for then what he produce on the day may not meet your expectations even if the photos are perfectly good.  Just as you will work with a good caterer to produce a menu you like, you should try to work with the photographer to help produce photos you really want.

I would suggest you keep the number of formal shots to only close family and the main wedding party, not only is a endless list of lined up group shots boring to look at, it is also tiring and boring for you too. So trim that list down and give yourself more time to party!

Give your photographer time

If you really want some great photos to remember your day with, you need to give your photographer time to work with. Schedule a block of time from the day exclusively for the photographer. Every fantastic photo you see in wedding or fashion magazines would have been painstakingly created.

Posed or Reportage

Most couples nowadays ask for natural looking shots and mistakenly think that means no posing.  In fact a large proportion of prize winning natural looking wedding photos are “posed”, or what I call directed, where the photographer finds the location, places the couple there and give directions on how to make the most of the location. So again, work with the photographer, let him direct you on how best to stand to show off your dress, or where to stand to capture the atmosphere best.

All in the details

To tell a full story of your wedding day, make sure your photographer captures all the details too, not just the cake, but also the table decorations, the flowers, the favours, cars, and possibly even the expensive food!

Engagement / Pre-Wedding Shoot

If you are strangers with the photographer, you will feel awkward in front of the camera for half the day. Insist on a pre-wedding shoot with your photographer so you get to know each other a little before the big day. This also give the photographer some idea of your best sides and how much directions and help he might need to give you on the day. Lastly, it’s always nice to get a professional shot of you and your partner during your engagement.

A wedding photo may not be appropriate for the living room wall, but a casual lifestyle engagement photo will be perfect to show off your love for each other without going overboard.

more to come…

I will add to this post as and when I get time and ideas… till then, hope your wedding plans go smoothly. Please let me know of your own tips via comments.

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