So you’ve recently got engaged and you’re trying to work out your wedding budget. Let’s be honest… Planning a wedding isn’t easy and there are a lot of things you need to think about. If you’ve just booked your dream wedding venue, the next step is to search for a Wedding Photographer that will suits your needs.
I can imagine you’ve spent some time asking yourself questions like:
”How much is a Wedding Photographer in Ireland?”
“What is the average cost of a wedding photography package?”
“How to avoid losing half my wedding day taking photographs?”.
I will answer all these questions for you below + MORE so that you can plan your perfect stress-free wedding day.
It’s so important to make correct decisions when planning for your wedding day because the only things you will have left when it’s all finished are your memories and photographs, the last thing you want is to be left disappointed.
What is the Average Price of Wedding Photographer In Ireland?
The price of wedding photographers varies depending on if you pick a professional, experienced photographer or an amateur/beginner/learner shooter.
One Fab Day carried out a survey about typical wedding costs in Ireland and the average cost of a wedding photographer was between €2000 and €4000.
Of course, you can find a wedding photographers for way cheaper than that but the question is:
Will their skills and experience be sufficient enough to create the photos you want?
In the long run, a lot of people regret saving the extra €500-€800. Before booking any photographer it’s super important that you are very excited and impressed with his work. The moments and atmosphere will be impossible to recreate so it’s important to make the good choice.
Why Hire a Wedding Photographer?
The biggest reason why 99% of couples choose to book a professional photographer for their wedding day is so that they can have visual images that will bring back memories of their day.
Booking a photographer is like an investment. You put your trust into the fact that he will capture all the great moments of your day and leave you with timeless images you can keep and look back for years to come.
When choosing a photographer you’ll be able to find ones in the range of €500 – €1500 but it’s very tricky. These times with all this advancing technology, anyone can pick a camera and call themselves a photographer.
Differences Between Amateurs & Professionals
Many people think that wedding photography is very overpriced and that we simply show up for the day and walk out with an easy money… this is completely wrong and there are numerous reasons why professional photographers charge this much.
1. Experience
You can easily separate a better and worse photographer just by their experience. It’s not all about creating good quality photographs using all the right techniques. The main focus of a photographer should be to capture the day and not become a time-consuming part of your day.
Experienced photographers can actually help you build your day and work on your schedule, they need to be able to work around you so you can have a great time with your friends and family and enjoy your day.
It can be very risky booking someone who is only just starting to learn about photography, you don’t want your sessions to be the one they learn from. Someone who has not had experience in photography will not be very efficient and fast.
Be sure to check out your photographer’s portfolio before placing a booking, look through all his testimonials on their Facebook page, website and Google.
2. Photos
Every single Photographer has different styles and techniques.
Looking through a photographer’s whole album can give you an idea of what they produce as a final outcome, not just how one or two photos look, as that’s not going to be the case for the whole album.
The number of times I’ve been to a photographers’ website and I’ve seen amazing photos in their portfolio however when I dug deeper into the album the whole photoshoot was nothing better than average.
3. Expensive Equipment
A professional photographer can take a great photo with any equipment however being able to work with the newest tech allows us to perform well in any situation, our cameras are quick to focus and adjust to any lighting situation.
In most cases, photographers that charge €1000 simply cannot afford these cameras. Your photos might come out grainy or dark, specially that you don’t know what type of day you’re going to have, the weather acts in mysterious ways, one-second sun, the next it’s pouring with rain. Wedding photographers need to be able to adjust to any situation, so does their equipment.
4. Can I See Your Insurance, Please?
It happens very often that cheap wedding photographers choose to not buy insurance just so they can make that extra buck. It can actually cause you big problems if they get banned from your venue due to not being prepared.
If you’re planning on getting married in Fota Ireland, Altamont Gardens, or The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, for example, they require that your wedding photographer has an insurance policy up to 6.5 million euros.
Even if you only want to take photos in these places you’re still required to provide a permit from the OPW and your photographers’ insurance.
5. Secure Backup
As a professional photographer, I don’t think I can stress to you how important it is that whoever your photographer is they have multiple backups of your full wedding.
Making sure I have a full backup system, both online and offline, is super important as you’re dealing with extremely precious and valuable memories.
Professional cameras allow a photographer to set 2 cards inside which means every photo taken gets saved on both cards in case one fails. While it’s never happened to me it’s extremely important that I’m prepared for everything.
The same concept as the backup photos, the security of your photos is our number one priority and we can’t risk tech failure, nothings perfect and even the newest stuff can break so that is why we are always prepared with backups.
Personally I bring at least 2 cameras with me to every single wedding however I’ve never had any problems where I had to switch cameras but at least I’m ready.
6. What You Don’t See
Most people don’t realize the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes, yes, spending 10-12 hours at a wedding is a lot but it’s actually a small proportion compared to how much goes on after.
Here’s a quick list of what we do behind the scenes:
- Album Backing Up
- Culling The Images
- Photo Editing
- Delivery and Presentation
- Album Design (Several Drafts)
- Consultations
- Meetings
- Location Scouting
We’ve had multiple people in our community tell us how their wedding days were ruined due to their poor choice of photographer. This will always come down to time investment, you don’t want someone learning wedding photography on your wedding day…
A wedding photographer does more than just take photos, we help you manage time and gives suggestions on how to make it run smoother.
7. Prepared for Everything!
Imagine going out hours away to your venue, all your family and friends are there and you find yourself looking for spots and ideas to take photos just because your photographer was unprepared?
He didn’t come out beforehand to scout the area and find some cool shots and places. Not only does this mean that you will get bad photos but all the time wasted walking around…
Experienced photographers are able to take the time to come out beforehand and note down all the perfect angles, ideas, and places you can go to take photos which will save you an unimaginable amount of time.
In my opinion, there is no set price for wedding photographers in Ireland. It all depends on what you want and what you’re prepared for on your wedding day. I’ve laid out to you what traits a professional photographer should have and what the RISKS are with saving the extra €500 – €800.
After the wedding, the only things that stay with you are your memories, photos, and your Groom;-) Be sure to make the right decision so you can avoid disappointment after your wedding.
Ask yourself these questions when booking your photographer:
Are you ready to miss out on key moments on your wedding day?
Are you prepared to lose time taking photos instead of enjoying the time with your friends and family?
Can you relax on your wedding day and be sure that your photographer can deliver what you need?
I hope that I explained the differences, goods and bads clearly to you and will help you make a good decision on which photographer you choose. There is a number of many talented professionals in here. Now, you know everything what’s needed to match someone who will be perfect for you.
