How many hours for a photographer?

[jggm]

Hi,

I am looking to book our photographer and was wondering how long is a reasonable amount of time? The ceremony and wedding are all at the same resort so how long are people booking their photographers for?

[SunBride]

completely depends on what you want photographed, and also your time line (amount of time between ceremony and reception). If you just want the ceremony and group/family/bride&groom shots than probably 2 1/2 hours or so is enough. If you want the reception too then it depends on your timeline, if there is a 3 hour break between your ceremony and reception obviously you have to pay to have the photographer there that whole time, plus the amount of time for the reception. Do you want photos of your first dance & cake cutting? If so then think about how long after the reception starts you'll be doing those things so that the photographer is still there then.

 

Then there is the question of getting ready photos. If you want photos of you getting dressed etc then you have to have the photographer there an hour or a few hours before.

[Bianca]

There is this thread that has some more info... http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t12066

[rodent]

yeah it really varies by timeline. Make sure to allow plenty of time to take the romantics. You don't want to feel rushed. We did an hour before the cermeony & 1- 1 1/2 after. Then some more after dinner in the ocean. if you have a photographer picked out talk to them abou scheduling. They know more about good times for lighting & how much time is ideal to allow for certain things.

[MomentsThatMatter]

It also depends what type of photography you want for your wedding. If you're looking for traditional type shots, you may be able to get away with booking for the cermony and reception. The time between the two could be spend doing the portrait shots. The other, and more popular option these days is "Portrait Journalism". This style basically tells the story of your entire day, from getting ready, right up to cutting the cake and the party. This style is typically mostly candid/natural photos. There are some photographers who will stay the full day with a flat rate for the full time. If you are concerned about capturing your entire day, that is an option that you might want to look into. Full day packages are typically the best deal, and then you don't have to worry about "extra hours" charges. Good luck!

[O'Driscoll Photography]

Most of my clients book me for a minimum of 7-8 hours. This is usually enough time to cover the getting ready time, portraits, ceremony, and the reception. However, as someone said earlier, if you are planning on having a big gap between the ceremony and reception, you need to keep that in mind when you're planning out your timeline.

 

It's best to give yourself more time with your photographer, rather than less time, as this will help to ensure that you have adequate time to get all of the fabulous images you want.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Tod