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There is no product so insignificant, or any service so menial, that someone isn't willing to make it or do it, for less money! However, the disappointment of an inferior product or poor service soon overshadows the thrill of a low price.
Let's compare photography to the other elements of a wedding. An average wedding album from a "professional" photographer will cost slightly more than a cake, approximately as much as the flowers, or a limousine service; less than the Bride’s Maids dresses and the Groomsmen's tuxedos; far less than the Bride’s wedding dress; and much, much less than the caterer.
Any of the above will look only as good as the photographer makes them look. The florist and the baker can do numerous weddings on any given day, deliver their products anywhere from a few minutes to several hours before they are needed, and then go home and spend most of the day with their families. The seamstress makes the dress at her leisure, and you had how many fittings? Considering all of the above, the photographer is the only one who will spend all day Saturday working with you; they are the only one that is given a limited time frame in which to perform; they are the only one who must get the job done right the first time with no mistakes; they are the only one whose work will be copied by others at the wedding; and they are the only one whose work will be seen again and reviewed both by people at the wedding, and those who did not attend!
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If price is your first consideration, then look around! There will always be someone cheaper, someone with a "deal"! There will always be a part-timer, a new photographer, a friend or relative, or someone with a camera ready to "make a buck"!
Most professional photographers attend a minimum of 4 seminars or classes for a total of ten to fifteen days every year. Their studios have over $75,000.00 worth of equipment; and they take at least $15,000.00 worth of equipment, including several cameras, to every wedding. The average wedding takes fifty to sixty hours to complete, and one must allow for film, processing, freight, phone calls, travel, albums, prints, and clothing as direct expenses; not to mention numerous "indirect" expenses such as rent, utilities, insurance, depreciation, taxes, labor, and equipment.
The food is eaten, the wine is drunk, the wedding dress is packed away, the tuxes are returned, the Bride’s Maid dresses are in a closet, and the flowers are wilted and thrown away. Unlike any of the above, the photographs will last forever! Your photographs will be viewed again and again by both family and friends. They will bring back many cherished memories of your special day and your loved ones. In many cases these photographs will become "family heirlooms" and treasured keepsakes for generations to come.
Photographs are memories, and they last forever!
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