hours for photography at wedding?
whats the standard amount of hours to hire a photographer for a wedding? i want pics before, during the ceremony and some at the reception. the weddings from 6pm to midnight and its all at the same place. i don’t want to ask for too many hours when i could have got what i wanted and dismissed them earlier.
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Posted: June 26th, 2009 under Wedding Photography.
Tags: 6pm, Wedding Pics, weddings
Comments
Comment from Baker
Time June 28, 2009 at 1:42 pm
One hour for before, one hour for the ceremony, and 2 hours for the reception, with an hour for good measure ( any unexpected problems ). So, five hours should be plenty. Have a great wedding, and a great marriage.
Comment from Jackie M
Time June 28, 2009 at 11:59 pm
My photographer said she did 6 hrs, but she was great. She actually put in about 8 hrs for the same charge we had agreed on. Tell the photographers you interview:
I want to pay around $____ for ____ hours.
See what they say, and who has the best portfolio and deal.
Comment from Mary J
Time June 30, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I would suggest at least 8 hours, you don’t want to feel rush on you special day. Also you will want to capture pictures of all the special moments. Keep in mind the more pictures you have, the more pictures you have to choose from.
Comment from lz_adam
Time July 3, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I would say for at least 4 hours. You could always put those little cameras for everyone to take pics of you all or the other guest. Then you can get them developed and see what they took pics of at your wedding.
Comment from mysteryperson
Time July 4, 2009 at 10:54 am
I would say 8 hrs. It depends also what time your ceremony is and if your going to take pictures afterward. If you want pictures of yourself getting ready that would be one hour before the ceremony. Most everything can be done before nine o’clock (bouquet toss, cake cutting, etc.) The rest of the evening is usually just dancing.
Comment from staceyreyes01
Time July 5, 2009 at 7:19 am
The folks I hired at Refined Touch (www.refinedtouch.com) for my international wedding had it per event rather than per hour. For instance, their contract would stipulate they would do the preceremony, ceremony, and reception. I was able to add/remove which event I didn’t need.
Whatever you choose, make sure you choose what you are comfortable with and you are able to see their work. If you have the budget, I suggest going with Refined Touch, they were great for me!
Comment from Kay
Time July 5, 2009 at 3:41 pm
The average is about 4 hours but if the photography leaves before it’s over they may miss a special moment.
Comment from bestadvicechick
Time July 6, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Here is the wedding photography schedule I followed:
3 hours before the wedding - photographer took pics of groom alone, with his family, grooms’ side of the family pictures
2 hours before the wedding - photographer took pics of bride getting ready, bride alone, bride with family and bridesmaids
1 hour before the wedding - believe it or not, some guests begin to arrive. bride and groom are kept in separate rooms. this was a very relaxing time for me because i had my bridesmaids with me and we just hung out, i retouched my makeup and did any finishing touches.
30 min before wedding - wedding photographer is taking pictures of guests as they arrive and the “scenery” shots.
wedding ceremony
pictures with bride and groom together are usually taken after the ceremony IF you want to stick w/ the tradition of the bride not seeing the groom until the wedidng ceremony. the pics after the wedding always take longer than you think so you have to plan ahead. the biggest issue is that most family members disappear to the reception site immediately so you spend half your time trying to get everyone together.
reception - obviously wedding photographer is there during the reception.
the big sendoff - you’ll want the wedding photographer there til the bitter end because you want those cute sendoff pictures as you and your hubby take off for your honeymoon.
So, you usually need the photographer there 3 hours before the ceremony and during the entire reception. For you then, you will want to hire a photographer to be there from 3pm to midnight.
Comment from kni_photo
Time July 9, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I am a wedding photographer, I suggest at least an hour of you getting ready, and hour for the ceremony, an hour or two if you want a lot of photos of just you two, and depending on your reception schedule up until all the official stuff is done (Cake cutting, father daughter dance, etc.) It’s your big day, so don’t rush yourself or the photographer. If your ceremony starts at 6, start the photographer at 5. But don’t have the photographer stay til the absolute end! Maybe a half hour into the dancing is all you need. After that all dancing pictures look the same. If your not planning on getting married again, then this is the time to have great pictures right? So talk to photographers you like, they might be more flexible with their packages than you might think. Good luck!
Comment from nytengayle13
Time July 10, 2009 at 2:06 am
i found a photographer that charges by the hour and then we get a cd with all of the pictures on it so we can print the ones we want and look at the others when ever we want. she only charges 25.00 per hour, so i am using her all day!!
Comment from valschmal
Time July 12, 2009 at 5:21 am
If the ceremony is to start at 6 pm that means you have to be finished with your before pics at 5:30 for guests to start arriving. So, back up for those and you need to start pics at about 4:30 pm-1/2 hour for you & girls, 1/2 hour for guys.
So, if you start pics at 4:30, ceremony is at 6, ceremony over at about 6:40, after pics will take about 30 min. This puts you at 7:10-7:15 to start reception. Then it will depend on the type of reception you are having. You are already at 3 hours photography coverage time. If you are wanting to do like bubbles or something when you leave, and want the photog there for that, you better get unlimited coverage. If not, you could probably do 4-5 hours.
Comment from basketcase88
Time June 28, 2009 at 1:37 am
Most photographers I know plan on most of the day. While some will say they’re there for a certain amount of hours, I’m not crazy about that, and probably wouldn’t hire someone who worked that way. I would work out what photos you want from the wedding, give the photographer your timeline, and let him/her worry about how many hours that will be. Because if you’re wanting pictures from getting ready to your leaving the reception–that’s all day.