The difference between cheap in quality and cheap in price
Recently I received the following enquiry:
hello,we are obtaining quotes for photography of our special day.so far the best quote we have been given is $1200 for a photographer to cover the whole event (from bridal party getting ready to reception end), wedding album, a CD of all images taken and a range of different sized photos printed.could you please give me a quote for the exact same thing.thank you
It kind of made me think of how people sometimes fail to see the difference between cheap i.e. quality and cheap i.e. price.
While budget is always important, the primary consideration in choosing your wedding photographer should be the quality of their work, and then whether you can afford them. In this way you will eventually find someone who can accommodate both your budget and your desire for quality.
The above message implies that price not quality is the most important consideration for this couple and an ‘all photographers are the same’ mentality. I can understand that, I was a budget bride after all, and I also wanted to save every penny I could. But, photography styles vary enormously as do personalities and if I went on price alone I could have ended up with wedding photos that were both cheap in price and quality. I love weddings, and it always scares me a little when people seem to forget or short change themselves on their photos.
Anyway, for those interested here is my response (it was probably a little long but I needed to say a lot):
Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials! We have number of packages but we are unlikely to be able ‘beat’ or match $1200. Having said that I just want to offer some advice which also explains variability in the pricing of wedding photography.
I think a wedding day is so important that, even if we are simply out of your budget, to search around for not the cheapest photographer but the best photographer you can get for the money. I understand being on a budget, but your photos are the only momento of your day that you will have beyond your wedding – everything else will either get stored away, wilt or just disappear.
As I am sure you are aware not all photographers are created equal and from your description I could not assess the quality of the products that you list.
While there are some brilliant up and comers I council you to just consider the following:what experience does your photographer have?what level of post processing for the images does he offer?what is the quality of the album, is it magazine style (coffee table style and lower cost/ quality option) or matted (high quality, durable, but correspondingly more expensive)?what equipment does he use?are the prints and album of archival quality i.e. will last years and years, or standard quality (usually will last a decade or so depending on light conditions)?Is it one photographer or 2 covering your day?
All of our packages include the following:
2 photographers present throughout,pre-wedding photoshoot (1hr) and a pre wedding meeting to discuss your day.quality matted album from the highest album collection of our album makervarying levels of coverage (dependent on package)other extra dependent on package.6″ x 4″ sized digital negatives with limited personal copyright presented on disk and online.Using only the best canon lenses and cameras, printers, that are valued in the 10’s of thousands, with plenty of backup equipment.
To maintain this quality of service it would be impossible for us to work below the price of our silver suite.
Good luck in all your wedding planning and best wishes,
Kind Regards,Filip WelnaPhotographerFilip Welna Photography
Ciao for now!
What our Couples say….
Thank you very much for being our wedding photographer. You and your beautiful wife have done an amazing job. From the onset of our first meeting we were very confident in that choosing you as our photographer that we had made the right decision. We applaud your work, from the way you conduct your business, the countless hours and effort you put in, right down to the fine detailed spectacular finished product. Please know that as well as monetary gain, you also have our copious appreciation.
We will recommend you to everyone we know, and probably even people we don’t.
Mark & Sarah