10 Ways to Find Cheap Wedding Photographers

This guide for how to find cheap wedding photographers will help you have a picture-perfect wedding day without breaking the bank.

If you don’t have the budget to hire the best wedding photographer in the world, you can still find capable photographers to capture incredible photos of your beautiful moments.

You can find reasonably-priced wedding photography services in several ways.

First, ask your friends and family if they are up for the job.

If not, the next step is to check if anyone in your network knows a professional photographer. Searching on freelance platforms is also a good idea.

Read on for useful tips and guidelines for finding affordable wedding photographers.

I’ve also included a section on the possible risks you may face if you prioritize price too much and compromise on quality.

How to Find an Affordable Wedding Photographer

When planning your wedding, there are many aspects you’ll need to dive deep into your pockets for.

Here are some ways to capture the precious moments of your wedding day without breaking the bank:

1. Check if There Are Any Photographers in Your Friends and Family Circle

When searching for affordable wedding photography, the first place you should look is among your circle of loved ones.

You may get lucky and learn that a friend or family member is passionate about photography. As a result, you can get them to snap photos of your big day as a favor for a discounted rate.

However, note that wedding photography is a challenging field that requires a different skill set from other types of photography, such as food or street photography.

Therefore, you should make sure that this friend or family member has experience in photographing weddings before giving them the responsibility of creating timeless memories for your wedding album.

2. Take Advantage of Your Personal Network

If you’ve asked all of your friends and family and found that none of them are photographers themselves, it’s time to widen your search.

Use the connections you’ve made over the years and ask the people you know if they know a capable or professional wedding photographer. They may know an expert photographer or amateur who can offer professional results.

After all, you only get one wedding day. As a result, it’s better to have a mutual connection with your wedding photographer than to have a complete stranger be in charge of your wedding photography.

Additionally, this mutual connection can land you a considerable discount with the photographer and give you beautiful wedding photos at an affordable price.

3. Scour the Market For Up-and-Coming Professional Independents

If you’re on a tight budget, you may be tempted to hire a random novice through Craigslist to take your wedding photos. I strongly advise you to resist this urge if you want your wedding photos to reflect the beauty of your big day.

You’re better served looking long and hard for semi-professional photographers who are on the come-up. Such individuals are typically fresh graduates or highly experienced as assistant photographers and are trying to leap to lead photographers.

As a result, they’re willing to work at lower prices to gain exposure and strengthen their portfolio.

To find photographers that fit this description, your best bet is to search for them on freelance platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, or job boards like Indeed. Look for candidates that have multiple rave reviews from past clients.

4. Inquire With Your Local Colleges and Universities

During their studies at photography schools, students get an excellent educational foundation and hone their skills. As a result, such schools produce photographers that are more than capable of snapping amazing photos for your wedding.

On the other hand, photography school doesn’t do much to sharpen its students’ business acumen. In turn, they don’t understand the market and its prices. They end up charging excessively low fees, and you can take advantage of that.

It may be a cynical approach, but it gets the job done!

5. Search Google Ads

Another way you can find a budget-friendly wedding photographer is through Google Ads. You only need to search using the terms “wedding photographer under [enter your budget].”

To improve your chances of finding what you’re looking for, conduct your searches at different times of the day.

This is because cheap wedding photographers typically have limited budgets to spend on ads. As a result, their ads appear on Google at certain hours only.

6. Explore Forums and Discussion Boards

Forums and discussion boards like Quora and Reddit are great places to find affordable wedding photographers in your area.

The biggest advantage of using these platforms is that you can directly engage with people and get detailed and honest reviews of the photographers they recommend.

However, beware of photographers who pose as former clients on such forums to promote themselves. Luckily, they’re usually fairly easy to weed out.

7. Book Your Wedding Photographer as Early as Possible

Booking your photographer early is a great way to get wedding photography services at discounted prices. Just to be clear, early corresponds to at least six months before your wedding day.

If it’s possible to do so, you may be able to take advantage of early bird discounts and acquire the services of a professional wedding photographer at a fraction of the price they’d usually charge.

8. Explore Multiple Options and Compare Their Prices and Service

Whenever you make a major purchase, you spend time exploring and comparing different options and deciding which one suits you best. You consider the advantages and disadvantages of each option to reach an informed decision that you won’t regret.

Even though your wedding photography expenditure won’t be as large as when buying a car or household appliance – the same concept applies.

This is because your wedding photos will embody the magical moments that’ll stay with you for the rest of your life.

As a result, you should take your time to research local photographers and request quotes from them diligently.

Wedding fairs in your area are a good place to start. They’re held right before the wedding season begins and are a hub for wedding photographers and videographers searching for clients.

9. Avoid Hiring Photographers Not Local to Your Wedding Venue

We strongly recommend hiring a local photographer if you want to save money on your wedding photography costs.

This is because a non-local photographer will charge you extra to cover the cost of their transportation. As a result, you’re likely to pay hundreds of dollars in extra fees.

Even if the photographer doesn’t state this outright, they’ll definitely integrate that cost into the quotation they give you.

Of course, those having destination weddings often don’t have a choice but to hire a non-local photographer and pay to fly them out.

10. Hire Your Wedding Photographer for a Fixed Number of Hours

 

Most wedding photographers charge by the hour. Therefore, you should only hire the photographer for a set number of hours, regardless of how long the wedding ceremony takes.

Once the photographer has snapped pictures of the major wedding moments, such as the first dance and the vows, their services are no longer needed.

Issues About Using Cheap Wedding Photographers

 

When you prioritize price in your search for the person who will capture the special moments of your wedding party, there’s a trade-off involved.

Sure, you may get a great deal. However, you may end up with a wedding photo album that lacks quality.

Here are some of the problems people face when they hire cheap wedding photographers:

They Lack Experience and Know-How

In this day and age, cameras are accessible to virtually everyone. As a result, anyone can easily purchase or lease a camera and start their own photography business.

However, just because you have access to a camera doesn’t mean you know how to use it and take high-quality photos.

Having experience is even more important when you’re taking wedding photos. The photographer needs to have superior attention to detail and know how to navigate any difficulties posed by the wedding venue or lighting conditions.

If you hire a cheap wedding photographer with minimal experience in wedding photography, they’re unlikely to have the savviness and know-how required to take high-quality photos in such a setting.

Further, they won’t be able to take great photos of intimate moments between the newly-weds.

I recommend getting a wedding photography package that includes engagement photos. The photos the photographer will take during your engagement sessions will help you gauge if they’re competent enough to handle the responsibility of your wedding day.

Additionally, if you’re planning a destination wedding, you should arrive a couple of days beforehand and have your wedding photographer handle the photoshoot.

They’re Unlikely to Be Professional Photographers

The cheaper a wedding photographer’s services are, the less likely they are to be a professional. They’re likely to take photography as a part-time job, only snapping photos during certain seasons.

As a result, they won’t be available 24/7. Additionally, they will likely be working alone, so they won’t provide a professional service.

Affordable wedding photographers are often associate or assistant photographers. Unlike lead photographers, who can document your wedding with excellent proficiency, an associate photographer is unlikely to have the necessary skills to direct and pose your photos correctly.

In turn, hiring them puts you at risk of ending up with subpar wedding photos.

Their Photos’ Quality Is Likely to Be Inconsistent

Just because a wedding photographer offers you the convenience of attractive prices doesn’t mean that they’ll carry out the photo sessions on your big day without a hitch.

Photographers that offer cheap services are likely to produce inconsistent results. To clarify, you may end up with a wedding album containing photos that look like different people took them throughout the day.

To avoid this, ask any photographer you’re considering hiring for their online gallery. A talented photographer’s gallery will consist of photos with no obvious differences between them. This indicates consistency and competence.

FAQs About Hiring Cheaper Wedding Photographers

Here are some common questions that people typically have about cheap wedding photographers:

What is a reasonable price for a wedding photographer?

If you’re looking for a frame of reference when deciding whether a wedding photographer’s prices are reasonable, anywhere between $150 and $350 per hour is decent.

If you hire a student photographer, you can get prices as low as $50 to $100 per hour.

However, these rates can vary considerably depending on the location of the wedding venue, the city you’re in, and the time of year.

Is wedding photography difficult?

Documenting a wedding is among the more difficult fields of photography. This is because it’s a high-pressure job. The photographer has very little room for error because once a moment passes, there are no do-overs.

Additionally, the photographer needs to know how to navigate any difficulties the wedding venue poses, whether in terms of lighting or other factors.

Who pays for wedding photography?

Traditionally, the cost of wedding photography and videography falls on the bride and her family. However, this isn’t set in stone. You can choose to split the cost between yourself and your future in-laws.

How many photos should you expect to get from your wedding day?

The average number of photos to expect from your wedding day is between 800 and 1,500. Exactly how many photos you end up with depends on the size and duration of your wedding. It also depends on how many hours you hire your wedding photographer for.