Showing posts with label Photography / Videography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Photography / Videography. Show all posts

8/2/10

Wedding Photography Prices Guide - How to Set Your Photography Budget



By Cori Russell

How much does professional photography cost for your wedding? Learn how to set a realistic photography budget with this guide to wedding photography prices and rates.

The Going Rate for Professional Photography

When determining your wedding photography budget, keep in mind that you get what you pay for. You should expect to spend at least $1000 on having a professional wedding photographer document your wedding (not including the actual prints and other extras). Rates, of course, will vary depending on skill level, experience and geographic region (metro areas are usually considerably higher). The size of your wedding can also affect the photography cost, as additional guests may increase the amount of time that the photographer must spend at your event. For instance, for an event of less than 100 guests, a wedding photographer will typically dedicate four-six hours of time. For a larger wedding of 300 or more guests, a photographer may have to spend eight-ten hours on the job.

Comparing Photographer Rates

Most wedding photographers will give general pricing information over the phone or on their websites, so you can use an initial online search or phone call as your first step towards finding a photographer that suits your budget. In comparing photography costs, remember that different photographers offer different packages - so initial rates can be misleading. Some rates only include the photographer's time, while prints and albums are extra. Other photography packages may include proofs, a set number of prints and an album. Determine what services and options you want first, then compare photographers' rates for providing those specific options to determine which professional works within your wedding photography budget.

Creative Ways to Save on Wedding Photography Prices

If you simply must have a certain photographer who commands higher rates, consider these ways to save on your photography budget:

o Buy a more basic wedding photography package with less prints and albums

o Negotiate and switch out an engagement portrait for an additional parent's album Get even more ways to save on wedding photography prices.

Photography Contract Points

When reviewing your contract with a potential photographer, make sure that it is specifically clear in what it covers. Consider these questions:

o Do you need to make a deposit?

o What is the cancellation policy? Will you get anything back?

o Is any travel time considered an extra or included in the bill?

o Are you entitled to final prints only, or can you obtain all of the proofs?

Now that you're an expert on photography costs and budgeting skills, this complete guide to wedding photography will take you the rest of the way towards hiring and working with a photographer and planning your wedding day shots.

Cori Russell is editor for Elegala.com and Gala Weddings Magazine. Elegala.com is a comprehensive weddings, wedding planning resource with a national directory of wedding venues and services, along with articles, expert advice, checklists and photo galleries to lead brides through every step of the planning process.

****Recommended Wedding Resources****



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cori_Russell


Additional Wedding Advice: Fun Weddings Weddings By Ashlee

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8/3/08

How to Find the Best Digital Camera for Photographing Weddings


By eHow Electronics Editor

Wedding photography is important. Unlike photographing sporting events or vacations, you are actually photographing the most important day of someone’s life. To do this properly, you will need a good camera. Follow these steps to find the best digital camera for photographing weddings.

Step 1
Research digital cameras online and in consumer magazines. Review their features and read feedback from other customers. Post questions in consumer forums.

Step2
Look for cameras with a high megapixel range. A common megapixel range for digital cameras in 3-4, this would be fine for a wedding if you are a spectator. A professional wedding photographer would use something with a megapixel range of 5 or above.

Step3
Compare optical zooms. You may not be close to the wedding while it is going on so you will need a camera with a good zoom. Look for cameras that can zoom far without having a grainy picture.

Step4
Look for cameras with autofocus. An autofocus camera will make your life easier when photographing weddings.

Step5
Know that higher shutter speeds mean higher quality pictures. A high shutter speed will prevent blurring during action shots.

Step6
Shop around online and at auction sites for the best deal on your camera.
Step7Look for a camera that easily connects to your computer and has plenty of storage. You will want to take many shots at the wedding, and don’t want to run out of memory.


Recommended Links For Great Deals on Digital Cameras



Additional Wedding Advice:

MerryBrides
Fun Weddings
Great Wedding Advice
Sparkling WeddingsCreate Your Own Wedding Website- Great way to keep your guests updated on your wedding!
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6/10/07

How to Choose your Wedding Videographer

The Wine Messenger


Author: Shawn Hickman

Your dream wedding takes months of planning and lots of hard work. You’ve painstakingly researched every detail to make your wedding day perfect. When the day is over you want to see and hear the joy and excitement all over again. A quality wedding video will allow you to re-live those emotional moments again and again. Magical moments for generations to come!

Therefore you want someone you can trust to do a professional job, but need some help finding the right video production company. Lets outline some of the most important tips in finding the perfect wedding videographer for your needs.

THE BUDGET

Costs for wedding videography vary greatly. Many new add-on items like “Love Stories,” Childhood Photo Montages,” rehearsal dinner coverage, dvd creation, and large screen presentations all add to the overall costs. Narrowing down the things that mean most to you will help before you get started.

VIDEO COVERAGE

Some videographers give unlimited time while others have packages with a certain number of hours built in.

One hour minimum of pre-ceremony coverage is needed to capture the best pre-ceremony shots. This can be some of the best video coverage of the whole day.

Three full hours of reception time should be sufficient to capture most of the major events during the reception. This should give you a good idea of the total time your videographer will need to cover the important events of the day.

VIDEO & AUDIO EQUIPMENT

Most perspective brides have no idea what type of professional equipment a videographer will use, so all you can go by is your own eyes and ears. See at least two or three samples of their work. Many web sites have streaming samples that will give you an idea of that company’s style and artistic flow. Video quality can be harder to see due to the inherent compromises compression puts on a streaming video via the web. Closer examination of their work can only be seen in person. This gives the added benefit of meeting your videographer and seeing how attentive they are to your needs. Remember they will be representing you at the wedding!

VIDEO AND AUDIO QUALITY

I believe that video quality starts with acquisition. The camera and audio gear used by wedding professionals varies greatly as well. Therein lies some major cost differences between video companies. Some lenses cost as much as some professional cameras. “High-end” videographers use the best gear money can buy. Great sound quality can only be achieved through expensive audio support gear and proper preparation. Trust your own ears when viewing demo samples and compare to any great movie or television show. This is an often over-looked feature, even by professionals. Great audio is crucial to the overall production. While listening to sample clips, pay attention to how clear the vows, music, readers, and minister’s voices sound. A good videographer may even run a remote feed back to his camera directly out of the DJ or band's sound board. Ambient audio can then be mixed in during editing for an even better sound mix. After all, with home theatres becoming more common, your wedding movie could rival anything seen on TV today!

FLOW, CONTENT, AND EMOTION

Editing is not just deciding what stays in and what goes out of your wedding video. Editing can emphasize all the emotions and create a visual and audio experience that will captivate. Great movies are edited for film and editors win academy awards. The same is true of your videographer. Did you cry watching someone elses wedding video during the demo appointment? Video is an emotional experience that is enhanced by subtle editing techniques. Many hours of time will go into your wedding video. For those who just want raw footage, with no audio “sweetening”, slow motion, music, and opening or closing/recap montages, maybe your videographer will adjust his price for you. However, this can take out a lot of the “magic” editing can bring to your wedding movie!

INTERVIEWS

Even though your videographer should be as unobtrusive as possible, please point out it may be your wish not to put any of your guests on the spot for interviews. Discuss who is important, and who should be interviewed. Ask the videographer how he approaches people for an interview.

PERSONALITY

Personality is important so you get along well with your videographer. How well does the videographer listen to you? Your videographer should be flexible on what you would like. Ask as many questions that pop into your head and observe the way they answer your questions. I often watch bridal chat forums to hear how sweet their photographer or videographer was. This is important and shows they care about you.

STYLE

Styles also vary, but a really good videographer can deliver many different styles. Just like photographers using the “photojournalistic” approach as opposed to the traditional and formal posed shots, videographers can offer their own style of documentary as well. Many videographers offer the “short edit”, which is either on add-on or part of their package. Please ask how long the typical edited video might be for your wedding. An eight hour wedding day could be condensed to a 35 – 45 minute total program with the “short edit” concept.

REPUTATION

Reputations for professionals are built and earned. The good ones usually have a long track record in their field of work. Quality control over many years will make or break most companies. Again, this is where the cost factor definitely comes to play as an expensive wedding video production company can targetr their talents towards a more discriminating audience, albeit smaller. These companies may demand a premium, but will more than likely provide more than what you expected. These higher-end videographers do far less wedding videos per year, but demand a higher price. If they were not in demand they would go out of business.



Fun Sites:


Sponsors: http://funweddings.blogspot.com http://merrybrides.wordpress.com, http://funwedddings.blog.com http://windsor.weddingwindow.com http://merrybrides.blog.com http://weddingsbyashlee.blogspot.com http://merrybrides.blogspot.com

About the Author: Need a wedding venue... Holy Trinity Reception Center
Source: Free Online Articles from ArticlesBase.com

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