Asheville Wedding Photographer Prices
Asheville Wedding Photographer Prices vary tremendously across the board. You can choose a photographer off of Craigslist for $250 or you could choose the award winning, highly published film photographer for $8000.
So how are you supposed to know what to look for and how to choose? How do you know if a photographer is legit and won’t bail on you?
Obviously, the first thing on your mind is Asheville Wedding Photographer Prices, which is totally understandable. You need to stay within your budget and not go bankrupt planning a wedding.
BUT think about this. How much cake will you have left ten years from now? How about your food – nothing? What about the decorations? Or the flowers? Invitations? All of it is usually lost or tossed on purpose because it serves no purpose.
And let’s be honest… who really wants ten year old cake & tacos?
The photographs are the ONLY thing that you have left that serves any purpose. The fifty, sixty, seventy years that you are married to the love of your life, these pictures will be hanging on your wall. Your kids and grand kids (maybe even great grand kids) will look through your album and ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ about our funny hair and bad style.
The pictures are one of the most important aspects of your wedding. Hands down.
So how do you decide on a photographer that within your budget but fully capable of getting the job done? Ask them all these questions:
- How many weddings have you shot? Obviously the more the better, but someone just starting out may very well know what they are doing. I would suggest choosing someone who has shot at least 3-5 weddings recently. They will be familiar with how the day will run and can anticipate shots better than someone who hasn’t shot any.
- When was your most recent wedding? This can be tricky, because there are wedding ‘seasons’. And some photographers only work certain months out of the year. As long as they’ve shot a wedding within six months, you should be good! Ask to see the full gallery that was delivered to the client.
- May I see a wedding you’ve shot from start to finish? If they aren’t willing to share a full gallery start to finish, that is a red flag. It could mean that they ‘borrowed’ images from another photographer (which is totally against the rules). Or they shot it themselves and aren’t confident enough to send it to you.
- Do you shoot digital, film or both? This is going to be more of a preference thing for you. Understand that film comes with longer turn around times and your photographer MUST know what they are doing. You can expect to spend quite a bit more money for a film photographer.
How long before I see my images? A typical turn around time is six to eight weeks. Be prepared for that. But, some photographers, like myself, guarantee your photos within two weeks. You could also ask your photographer if they will rush edit them for you for an extra fee.- Are the digital images included with printing rights? Digital photographers should be including at least small digital images in their packages for you to print from – via a USB or online gallery. Find out how long your online gallery will be live and make sure you can download from it. Film photographers may not do that due to the process that is required.
- Are you the person that will be present at my wedding? Some photography companies hire outside photographers to shoot their weddings for them. Usually this is totally fine, but there is a slight chance you get a new photographer who isn’t totally sure of themselves.
- What happens if you get sick? EVERY photographer needs a backup plan. If they don’t have one, run. Period.
- Are you photographing/videoing other events the same day as mine? It’s not necessarily a deal breaker if they are photographing two events in one day, but just know that they will be time restrained, and if you’re the second event, they may be exhausted.
- Is it ok if guests take photos? It should be fine if guests take photos. Obviously, Uncle Bob can’t be in the way of the photographer and the guests can’t hold up yours & the photographers schedule, but it should be fine if they take photos during your event. The only restriction might be during formals due to the time constraints and making sure things go smoothly – so be prepared for that as well.
- If my event runs over, will you stay? Is there an additional charge? Most photographers will stay for an hourly fee. There is nothing wrong with this as long as you are aware of how it works from the beginning. Here is a great article on making sure you have enough hours of coverage.
- What is your refund/cancellation policy? Even though we know you aren’t cancelling your big day, it’s good to know where you stand if there is an emergency. Make sure to ask about date transfers too if you need to change the date of the wedding.
- Do you have insurance? Yes. The answer here is always yes. Make sure they have liability and equipment insurance. No exceptions to this one.
So, yes, while shopping for Asheville Wedding Photographer Prices is important and a valuable part of your search, there are other factors that should be considered when choosing a photographer. Make sure to protect yourself and have gorgeous images to show for years to come!
Have any other questions you’d like answered? Email me at jennifer@itsjenagain.com
Still looking for an Asheville wedding photographer? I’d be happy to chat with you about your big day. Contact me here.