Choosing a Wedding Photographer – What’s Included in the Packages

The third article in our series about wedding photography looks at what’s included in the packages.
When you come to choose your wedding photographer you’ll be bombarded with lots of different options, prices and packages. Some photographers will outline exactly what’s included in their packages on their website, others will give you an idea of price but want to meet to discuss options, and some photographers leave all packages and prices off their website and wait for you to contact them before giving you an indication of prices.

Firstly see if it’s just one photographer on the day. Some photographers will offer a 2nd photographer or work with an assistant. Often then you’ll receive more images to choose from.
You also have to consider if you want just a CD of images to produce your own prints and albums? A lot of people want these packages now to keep costs down but some photographers don’t offer these “CD only” option as they believe it cheapens the final product that they give you. It’s a bit like going to a car manufacturer and asking for all the parts of a car and saying you will assemble it yourself. A professional photographer will have a fully colour balanced monitor on his computer so what he sees when he’s editing is how it will look when printed by his lab. Why risk dodgy colours and dark photos when printing the most important photos you’ll probably ever have yourself? If you do choose this option make sure you have the photos printed at a good printers and not on your printer at home.
If you do decide to spend a bit more and book an album package, check how many images are included in the album as some wedding photographers will charge a lot for any extra images over those included. It’s wise to agree a set number of images in your package first as you may find it hard to whittle it down and end up spending more than you bargained for after the wedding.
Also it’s worth getting in writing exactly which style of album you’re having, which paper is included (some photographic papers are more expensive) and the size of the album. A lot of photographers offer an upgrade to your album package to increase the size or number of pages. It’s a good idea to ask about these options before the wedding.
Some photographers include the Master Discs in your package, giving you the rights to your images, Others will charge extra for these. Many photographers now include a DVD slideshow in their packages. Often this is a good extra to have as you can sit down with family and watch it time and time again.
Now many wedding photographers offer extras like Thank-you cards, Parents albums and guest books. Ask what they can include in your package and what they will charge extra for. It’s often good to pay for these things before the wedding as they may offer you a discount if you do so.
123 Photography are wedding photographers in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Specialising in informal wedding photography, stylish wedding albums and creative DVD slideshows. With a modern photographic style and a relaxed approach on the day, this enables your wedding photographs to be as natural and as enjoyable as possible.

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