Dallas Wedding Photography: How To Find A Budget Photographer On Craigslist

Yes I am really doing a blog post on how to find a budget photographer. I promised it a while back, but I am just now getting around to typing this up. I probably should clarify that this is actually, "How to find a good photographer on a small budget." There are plenty of budget wedding photographers out there, but I can't have you wondering off into the inter-webs and get sucked up by some hack with a camera. I'd like to think of all brides as my flock, and I need to help guide you along in the right direction.

Why am I, a wedding photographer who charges on average $2,500+ Telling my potential customers how to score on the cheap? Simple, I sincerely believe everyone deserves good wedding photographs. People who are under more financial strains, belt tightening, or just plain thrifty are no less in love, and the day no less important than someone who can afford a world renowned shooter who charges $20,000+. Seriously, I have traveled down that road. If it wasn't for family and friends Krista and I would have had a wedding day that looked a lot like the inside of the local court house. I know that you all are out there, and I'm telling you it is O.K.! I don't want you to end up with someone who can't handle your wedding photos. So let me help.

First let's define what a small budget is. A small budget for wedding photography is between $500 and $1,000. You are not going to find any established professionals in this price range for a normal weekend wedding during peak season. So, let's pretend you are that person, and you really can't do more than oh say $500 plus maybe $200 for an album of some type and a few large prints. Where do you start? One place is all you really need: Craigslist. Yes the great free classified system is full of photographers of all various skill sets.

If you are not familiar with Craigslist it is a free online classified listing. Just go to Google and type in "Dallas craigslist". The first link that comes up is it. That will bring you to the main page, over on the left you need to type what you are searching for. You want a photographer so type photographer, and then in the drop down box select service since you are searching for a service provider.

Now when I did that it originally returned over 1,000 results! Not all of them budget mind you, or budget and good. I went back and narrowed it down by searching for wedding photographer.

Now this got me down to 431 results. Start clicking away. Browse and see what is out there. Many will list a starting price, just keep moving if it is beyond your budget. If you find one you like you may have to type their website address by hand. A lot of people don't know how to code in HTML and that is the only way to make links clickable on Craigslist. If their website looks good to you, and the images look good, and if pricing started out in your range you may be almost home. However, beware that some people will say "packages starting at $300" only to click over to their website and find out that is for only two hours of coverage and no images. Not what you need keep moving.

Now you may be tempted to just look at the ads with images in them. You can even search for just those ads, but I would advise you not to. Remember a lot of people do not know HTML in order to put images onto Craigslist. It doesn't mean they are not good photographers. I mean how many of you know how to use DOS? Probably few unless you've been a computer geek like me your entire life.  So if you look at the above image, the 12th ad down is very basic it simply says "Wedding and Engagement Photography". I tell you why this is attractive to me. It is straight and to the point, no frills, not trying to suck you in with a catchy title. This person is confidant in what they are doing, no gimmicks. When you click on the ad this is what you see (Minus the blurred areas).

Very basic, no images, but again that is OK. The first blurred area is the craigslist email address. The second is this person's website address, and the third is their phone number. The last two are instant positives in my book, and here is why:

1) An actual custom website address is only $10 to register for a year, and come with one custom email address. Now that's not a website, just the name. But you can make a free website or blog display your custom URL for no cost. Blog sites such as Blogger by Google do this. So you can look professional quickly.

2) Phone number! This person wants you to call, they are begging for your business and they are not hiding behind the internet to sale you. Call them and talk to a real live person right now! I stick my phone number everywhere I can. I want my customers to call me. It's a business I don't screen my calls! And neither does this person apparently.

OK, other positives. Pricing is right there. $300 for all day wedding and images, $100 to book and hold your date, $100 for engagement. If you want bridals too I bet they'd be $100 also. So that brings your total to...........drum role..............$500! Boom right on budget! OK but what about work quality I mean we haven't even looked at their website yet.

Before we get there I will tell you why I felt confident even before I clicked over to their site. They mentioned they had a flash. They also listed specific models, but don't worry about that right now. They have flash, and are not scared to use it! Remember my previous post about what to ask a wedding photographer? Flash is necessary at almost every single wedding. It is technically a more advanced photographic skill to learn. This person is facing it, learning it, and is not scared of it. Great!

So I clicked through (No I'm not showing their site...this is my space and I'm doing enough free advertising for them here already!) and yep, their images are good. they show technical proficiency, and some artistic style. It is obvious they have room to grow and are learning, but overall they are good. At this juncture if I were that bride with just a $500 budget I'd be blowing this photographers phone up!

So what are the downsides to budget photography? I'll run through a few because everything in life is a trade off.

1) No back-up gear. You are just going to have to risk it. Photographers that fall into this realm are just starting out and the idea of owning a second camera body is overwhelming due to cost.

2) One photographer. You are not going to get two shooters for that price; just ain't happening.

3) Inexperience. They are probably not as familiar with the flow of a wedding as a seasoned pro. Expect delays to set-up for portraits, give them some extra time to make sure they know where to be and to get there for important shots like cake cutting, bouquet toss, etc.

4) Lack of creative and strong compositions. Expect a lot of snapshot style images inter mixed with some really good ones. Part of growing as a wedding shooter is learning how to compose strong images over an 8 hour day. It is mentally taxing, and it just has to be learned, there is no book on how to.

5) Uh, creative post processing. A lot of new photographers will over do it in Photoshop trying to make up for a bad picture, or boring picture. Just tell them they don't have to do that.

OK, so what should you discuss with this photographer? Start with the points I put up in my other post, just be aware you have to compromise on these. However, DO NOT COMPROMISE ON A CONTRACT! I don't care if it is written on a napkin, get it in writing from the photographer what you are getting. Discuss honestly the fact that you are on a budget, and they are just starting out and/or growing into wedding photography. Discuss how to make each other's day easier. Discuss lighting, then discuss lighting again, then once more for good measure. Odds are your budget photographer does not have the lenses need to shoot in low light. Don't let them sale you on the idea that they can. You will end up with blurry pictures. Think about having your wedding outside during the day, or n a very bright venue. Ask the photographer to come with you to check out the venue and bring their camera. I'd even go as far as to walk around and let them take photos of me while I'm moving just to make sure they can make a good image under the lighting conditions that will be present on your wedding day. Just approach this as a bit more leg work on your part, and realize you can help this photographer just as much as they want to take your photos. Make it a partnership, and you will get better images.

Now, what to watch out for.

1) Certifications. There are no certifying bodies or licensing bodies for photographers. It means nothing. There are a few in the industry that mean more to other professional photographers then it does our clients.

2) Promises not in writing. They may say, "Oh, I'm just doing this on the side. It's not a real business." Fine private parties engage in contracts everyday of the year. Get it in writing!

3) Pushy sales tactics. It is what it is, I personally don't do business with someone who approaches me with every tired old pushy sales tactic picked up from a 1972 used car salesman. I find it annoying. If they are just starting out then they really have no room to be pushy.

4) 100% payment at contract signing. Unless your wedding is within 30 days don't do this. 50% is the industry standard with the balance due by the wedding date.

5) Bad contact email and phone numbers. Make sure you call to verify the contact phone number and email to do the same before you put a deposit down. I don't want anyone walking off with your money in some kind of internet scam! (These people are not real photographers so don't lump real photogs into that group =) )

Alright, long, wordy, but I hope it helps you budget brides find some good photography. You deserve it! And if you can't find anyone whose style and work you like.....well you may have to cut somewhere else and up your budget for photography!

Dallas Wedding Photography: Wedding Photography Budget Part II

Good Monday morning everyone. I hope your weekend was well, and if you are still thinking it is Sunday...well you really need to go to bed! I'm following up on a popular post where I discussed average wedding costs in the Dallas area. I'm going to be a little more specific today and discuss the photography portion. But before I get to that Fox 4 ran a quick segment this morning on saving money by being creative, but keeping the same feel to your wedding. Take a look.



Alright onto the budgeting of wedding photography. Does your wedding budget look like this?

or this?

Either way I am sure you don't want to feel like this:

But in all seriousness how do you know if you are wasting your money or paying way too much? Let's break it down into a few easy to understand points. I sincerely believe a better informed customer is a better customer. It is better for you to know how wedding photography pricing is derived so you can shop as an educated consumer.

If you remember back to the other post I recommended you spending about 10% of your entire budget on wedding photography. This will get you into the ball park of an average professional in your market. You may not get everything you were dreaming of, but you will get a professional. {ALERT} {ALERT} side track coming........ I understand that not everyone can afford a professional photographer. It is the truth. People get married every day with little or no fanfare. And with no budget for a wedding little alone a wedding photographer. I'm here to say to those folks, It's OK. I'm going to be posting a little later this week on how to score some photography on the way cheap.

Ok, sorry, so what do I mean by "ballpark" when I talk about a 10% budget? If your wedding budget is $30,000, and you budget $3,000 for photography in the Dallas market you will find you receive something like 8 hours of wedding day coverage, a basic print or album package. Not bad, but maybe you had your heart set on engagement and bridal sessions too. You also may want three to four large prints for your house, a nicer album, and say two parent albums to give as gifts. Well you just upped your bill to about 15-20% ($4,500 to $6,000) depending on the options. I'm just warning you now so you will not be shocked.

You may be asking your self, "How do photographers come up with pricing?" or "It's digital now why is it so expensive?" I'm going to break these questions down into two parts: Deliverables and Creative.

Let's talk Deliverables first. These are the items you actually can hold in your hand such as prints and albums. I think this is the easiest for folks to understand. They are receiving an actual physical product. It is easy to see that a better paper costs more money for prints or that a leather album costs more than one with a canvas cover, etc. Photographers will mark these items up in order to cover the actual costs we pay, time to post process images (color correct, sharpen, add contrast, etc), and obviously make a profit (yes folks we are in this to make money too!). The amount of profit or markup a photographer chooses to place on prints and albums can vary based on the photographer's work flow process. Some photographers process all of their own images and layout their own albums. Some outsource all of that to other companies or they may have staff. Either of those cost more money, and it get's passed onto the consumer. You will find that the more popular a photographer and if they travel for destination weddings that they tend to farm out these tasks because they have to be out shooting. Outsourcing these are not a bad thing, in fact the quality is often above what the photographer would do because the folks doing the work do it day in and day out. Think of like this: Your general family doctor could treat you for that broken foot, but he is going to refer you to a specialist because they do it more frequently and are more skilled. Same principle just minus the body parts and pain. You will see that print prices can double or triple with these highly sought after photographers due to this. Me? Well I outsource custom album designs, but I post process all of my own images still.

So deliverables vary in price based on quality, how the photographer handles their workflow, the profit margin the photographer is aiming for, and on quantity. Very often fulfillment labs will offer discounts for high volume customers, orders, or duplicate items such as two of the same album. Your photographer should be passing quantity savings on to you. I do. Make sure you ask your prospective photographer about that.

Second, and most likely the least understood, is the creative fee. This is what your photographer charges to show up and shoot. This really needs to be looked at separately from what your deliverables cost as they really have nothing to do with each other. Your wedding photographer must charge you to come out and shoot in order to cover expenses and make a living. I don't want to bore you with an economics lesson, but I am going to put into perspective how much it actually costs to be a wedding photographer with a quick list. It's not all inclusive, but you will get the idea.

Professional Nikon Camera Body: Nikon D3s $5,200
Backup camera body: Nikon D700 $2,200
Nikon 14-24mm lens: $1,800
Nikon 24-70mm lens: $1,700
Nikon 70-200mm lens: $2,200
Nikon 85mm lens: $1,300
Nikon SB900 flash: $460
Total of basic camera equipment: $14,860
Second photographer gear: $14,860
Basic lighting kit for group shots: $1,500
Insurance (annual): $1,200
Health insurance (annual): $3,600
Vehicle expenses (annual): $6,000
Second photographer pay (Annual): $5,000
Computer: $3,000


Total first year expenses: $50,020


In all seriousness that does not cover everything. There are some ways to cut corners on equipment costs, but the adage, "You get what you pay for" id very true when it comes to camera equipment. You may be thinking, "Yeah John, but once you buy that stuff you are set." Well, yes and no. Camera bodies have to be replace about every 18 months just like computers do. Especially if you shoot a ton, which wedding photographers do. There are shooters out there who run their cameras into the ground in a year they shoot so much. We're talking 1,000,000+ images per year. The lenses should last a very long time.....until you drop one and have to replace it. You either buy it outright or file an insurance claim, pay the deductible, and wait on a check. You have to plan, and budget for that.

Notice that these are just business expenses. What about a salary for myself so I can pay rent, buy groceries, buy my wife a Christmas present, etc? Don't get me wrong I am not bemoaning my career choice. I love it, and wouldn't trade it for anything. I just want you to think about what your photographer is actually trying to do. Now that you know all of this. Could you live off of $500 to $1,000 per wedding? Even if you shot 52 per year? Most likely the answer is no. Not to mention you'd never get a vacation or free weekend!

Alright enough with the boring economics of how to run a photography business. My point is this. Creative fees are a relatively non-negotiable item. You can choose to reduce the amount of coverage in order to reduce the price, but you will most likely be very unsuccessful in just trying to get a photographer to reduce his or her creative fee for the same amount of coverage. Make sense?

So how do you save money? Negotiate on print and album packages! At a certain point the profit margin on the creative service becomes very nice. If you were to approach a photographer and say, "Hey I'll book you for an engagement, bridal, and wedding day coverage at your rate if you can knock another 5% off of my print and album order." you most likely will find yourself making a heck of a deal, and the photographer will appreciate the fact that you aren't trying to talk them out of business.  Negotiate deliverable prices, packages, maybe even quality (maybe a little better album for the same money). If you find you still can't meet your budget you should consider scaling back what services you are seeking. Maybe the photographer can do a couple of quick bridal portraits on the day of. There will not be as many, and they won't be on some romantic looking beach (unless that is where you are getting married of course) but you can save a little bit of money.

Finally, be honest with your photographer about your budget. I know people are hesitant to throw out how much they would spend because they feel like that is what the photographer is going to quote. This is just not true for professionals for several reasons. First we live on our reputation. If I charged you say $5,600 because that was your budget, and you then referred a friend to me. What if their budget was only $4,000 and I gave them exactly the same package you had. Don't you think that they will tell their friend, and then the next referral from them says there budget is $3,000 then the next is $2,000, and on and on. I'd walk myself right out of business and leave a bad taste in my previous customer's mouth. That is not the way we do business. Professional photographers have pricing structures and profit margins. We want you to get the most bang for your buck. happy customers send us more customers. tell us your constraints, be open minded, and we will work a solution to get you to where you need to be budget wise!

I hope this helps you understand how to approach your potential wedding photographer. One last thing. Don't forget that you are paying for an artistic service. You have to like what you see, not just the price point. Don't be scared to pay more for something which is visually attractive to you. These are your first memories as a family, love what you get!