Wedding photography is expensive- a few justified reasons behind this!

London is an exciting city to get married as there are so many wonderful venues available for the occasion and wedding photography in London will paint as pretty a picture as can be. Wedding photography is an integral part of the ceremony as everyone would like to capture that memorable event for posterity. But, where many people go wrong is in the selection of the wedding photographer solely on the basis of the price factor and for this they may settle for someone totally raw or someone with an unimpressive portfolio. This is taking a huge risk on your all-important day as you never know how the photographs will turn out. Undoubtedly, experienced photographers can and do charge a bomb for weddings but there are many factors behind this. 

When you hire an experienced wedding photographer in London he is bound to be professionally qualified and would have had many years of work behind him. You are just not paying for his time; you are paying for his years of commitment which has seen him reach the peak that he has and which has enabled him to capture beautiful images in a few hours. 

Your wedding is once-in-a-lifetime occasion and the images get captured for posterity. There are no reshoots, no retakes and so many people come from far and wide for this occasion. Would you really rather risk a newbie or average photographer whose price maybe cheap but the quality of work would be average and who will be unprepared for any contingency? Experienced photographers always have a contingency plan, full technical and back-up support along with a trained staff. They definitely have multiple cameras and discs, software for image recovery and also a list of other professionals who can fill in for them in case of an emergency. To be prepared to such an extent requires thorough professionalism and financial investment and hence the higher rates. 

The work of a photographer specializing in weddings is often seasonal and he can expect on an average only one assignment per week during the wedding season. In places where winters are cold or severe, almost no weddings take place during that time, which means for a good three-four months the photographer does not have any or negligible work.  He has to protect his business interests for the whole year during the wedding season and he is therefore justified in asking for proportional   rates especially if his work is very good.

Even a single assignment of wedding photography requires tremendous commitment involving hours of planning, discussions, editing, presentation, delivery of pictures/video, designing the album/video etc. Also, the photographer’s equipment is very expensive and he has to constantly make sure that his equipment is scrupulously maintained. He also has to upgrade to better cameras, computers and software as when and necessary. All this adds up to quite a lot of steep expenses and you cannot blame him for quoting high rates.

In short, no short-cuts should be taken with your wedding photography as the occasion is too important to warrant any risks.