Are Wedding Photographers & Photo Albums Worth it?

By Michael Zervos on February 17, 2012

Are you a bride searching for the right photographer for your wedding day, or have you found the right photographer but are finding it hard to justify the price tag?

There’s no denying it: weddings are expensive! Even on a tight budget the cost can be well over what you had originally anticipated. In many instances the expectation of what we should pay and the reality of what we do pay very rarely, if ever match. Some brides dream about their wedding day from when they where little girls, but never in their wildest dreams do they expect it to cost so much…. frankly I blame Disney!!

It’s a common feeling for a couple when beginning the search for their wedding photographer to become frustrated in the initial stages of searching. After visiting some beautiful studios, and looking at some amazing photography, presented in some exquisite albums, you start dreaming about your special day. As you hold the photographer’s unbelievable studio sample album in your hands you ask the question that has be on your mind from the moment you opened up the album.” So if we were to get an album like this, how much will it cost?”. As the photographer explains the pricing to you, your heart sinks down to your stomach, you make sure that you keep your composure not to let on to the photographer that you are in a state of shock, and for the remainder of the appointment all you are thinking is, “Wow, I didn’t expect that”.

If you are confused and are considering taking a less expensive approach, then we hope that the information in this post will help remove the confusion in your search for a professional wedding photographer.

We have been an industry supplier to professional portrait and wedding photographers for over thirty years. We have been very fortunate to witness family and wedding photography on a number of levels. Whilst there have been many changes to the professional and amateur world of photography due to the rapid advancement of digital media, there has been one underlying element that has stayed true and cannot be replicated by anyone but a true professional wedding photographer.

The capturing of a moment and telling a story through incisive images is the most significant attribute of a true professional wedding photographer. Now the chances are that this statement may not provide you with that light bulb moment and clear all the fog that has built up in your search for a wedding photographer.  From our vast experience in communicating with brides over the years it’s a statement that has so much more meaning and sentiment in hindsight. Over 80% of the brides that we have communicated with over the last 10 years have regretted not allocating more to their wedding photography budget. In some instances some brides hated their wedding as a result of the photography. However in most instances, brides were disappointed that they took the cheaper less experienced option; the most expressed reason was not so much about the photos they had, it was more about the photos that the person behind the camera missed. The moments during the day, the people that mattered, the very moments a bride and groom never get to see or experience.  These are the images that in reflection we value so much more.

Like other service based industries, “there are PROFESSIONALS and there are professionals” and some times it can be hard to find that true professional photographer. Professional wedding photography is a segmented industry – there are photographers focussed on servicing the budget wedding, there are photographers focussed on servicing the average wedding and there are photographers focussed on servicing the high-end wedding. So when looking for your photographer you will need to understand where you fit in to these categories prior to commencing your search.

Another important factor or element when selecting your wedding photographer for your special day is what you get to take home with you. For a newly wed couple the feeling of taking home your album and placing it in your home as a key element of your home décor is an amazing feeling.

We as humans can at times take life, more importantly the life we have created for granted. We are so focussed on chasing our dreams, always fixated on the destination, very rarely stopping to enjoy the journey and take it all in.  It is well known that a high number of brides that receive a disk from a photographer never actually get around to making a wedding book or album.

Our place of residence, the house we live in is our sanctuary; we decorate it so that it is unique to us. But what makes a unique house into a home? Maybe it’s the images that we put up, the stories and love that we show people entering our home, or the daily reminders of our memories placed around our home.

Your wedding album is not just something that displays images of your wedding day, it’s so much more than that. It’s your unique story of the day when you create a sacred union with your partner to share a lifetime together. The official moment when two families unite, it’s a tremendous celebration of love and a new beginning.

How do you value you this?

How do you want to remember it?

How will it live with you forever?

How can you pass it on to your children?

Your wedding album is that everlasting tangible heirloom that is designed and manufactured to be the centrepiece of your home. Your mother will touch it, your grandmother will touch it, your children will touch it, it will never be replaced with a new updated model. It will age with you and grow in value with each passing year; as family members pass on the images of them will be ingrained in old archival paper capturing them at one of the happiest moments in their life and it was all because they were celebrating the love and union you created all those years ago. What is the value of a wedding album to you now?

Please check up the following links on related topics:

The Price of Wedding photography how much should i expect to spend, is an excellent blog post and well worth a read, be warmed it is a very long post.

http://www.rocknrollbride.com/2010/10/the-price-of-wedding-photography-how-much-should-i-expect-to-spend/

Here’s another great blog post by an amazing Australian Photographer  John Reyment talking about weddings in Australia.

http://reymentphoto.com.au/blog/?p=7091

In this article Marcus Bell, one of the best wedding photographers in the world writes about what to look for when choosing your wedding photographer.

http://www.sunshinecoastbrides.com.au/category/wedding-photography/