OK, this is a post about wedding photography and as a Houston wedding photographer, I try and show my potential clients the need for getting quality wedding photography over just finding a cheap wedding photographer. I know what you’re thinking, “I can’t afford $2000 or more for wedding photography” or, “why does wedding photography cost so much?”. Well the answers are simple and there are several articles written that you could Google where wedding photographers try and prove it but I want to share a story about an experience I had in another area that will better illustrate the point of quality and experience over price.
A while ago, my car needed some major engine work so I took it to a well known repair shop that does an excellent job. the techs are experienced, they have the best equipment, customer service is excellent and they communicate well with their customers. Well, they quoted me a price for the work – Almost $2000!! After picking up my jaw from the floor, I tried to find someone who could do it “cheaper”. I mean come on, two grand is a lot for that kind of repair and it shouldn’t take that much. Well, a friend of mine referred me to someone (as wedding photographers, we do love referrals too) and after he looked at my car, he told me that he could fix it and that it would be half of what the other shop was charging me. “Now that’s more like it”, I thought. So I let him do the repair. What I discovered was that his experience in repairing my model car was limited and he tried to repair my car based on his experience repairing the cars he knew about. He also used cheap parts instead of factory or better branded parts with a warranty (the cheap parts were one of the reasons he charged me so little). He also only took cash or check – no credit cards and with that kind of repair, it would have been nice to be able to charge it or at least get the airline miles for it . Well, after driving the car for a few weeks, I still had the same problem! So, I had to take it back, only to discover that he “found” something else wrong and it required additional repair. So more money was put down and at the end of the day, I ended up paying more for his “repair” and the car still wasn’t running right.
Bottom line, had I gone to the first repair shop, paid the money, I could have gotten a warranty on the repair and I would probably still have the car rather than trying to find the cheap way out and “save some money”
Well, what does auto repair have to do with wedding photography? They are basically the same. We both take the time to train and learn more about our business and the changes that go along with it. We do our best to treat our customers with respect and we are more concerned with making sure you are satisfied with our work. Because of our training and experience, we are not going to be “cheap”, but you will be better off.
I have recently worked three, yes three different weddings where the couple was going to get a friend or relative to shoot the wedding for them and “save” money. In one of the weddings, the person was injured and couldn’t shoot so they didn’t have a photographer. On the second, the friend saw the venue and didn’t have experience shooting in that kind of lighting and backed out. On the third one, the bride got nervous and decided the day was too important and wanted to make sure she got good images. Yes, there are cheaper photographers out there, but your wedding is a once in a lifetime event and when it comes down to it, do you really want to trust those precious memories to someone with little or no expertise in wedding photography who promises to save you a few dollars?
In most cases, wedding photographers will set up payment plans for you so that you can pay a certain amount monthly, weekly, or however you choose until the balance is paid. Don’t settle for less than you deserve on a day as important as your wedding!