I'm a future bride. I am planning to organize a photography session during my AD day. I'm going to find 3 volunteer photographers to shoot my wedding day. There will be a get to know the photographer and their portfolio session with those photographers who are interested. From there, I will choose 3 photographers that I feel their photography taste is the one I want.

For the 3 photographers, they will be given RM100 each on their presense to my wedding and shoot. I will give them a timeline for them to edit and send the softcopy of all the taken photos to me. I will compare all the shots from the different photographer. For the photographer who has taken the best shot. I will reward him/her another extra RM300 for their effort.

From my opinion, by having these photographers, I can have the below benefits:

1. Save Cost
2. Help them build up their portfolio
3. More shots from different angle
4. Out of the 3 photographer, definitely I can select some good shots from there.


Then I will build my own photo album from www.photobook.com.my or www.pixart.com.my.

What do you guys think? Will this work?

Let me represent other members to ask the question in thier mind....

"Are you pretty"

Or can post your picture to have a look ar?

Personally I dun mind shooting for free also la... I think my skill also not bad...

Yeah, it will work.
But expect that you will get photographer who are still learning and a so-so result. If quality is not the main things, then you will get what you want.


Ps - My friend did the same thing as what you want to do. End up... His house full of photographer (6 new photographer coming that day). Received nearly 2k+ jpegs. Not all photos can be use thought.

bzz, how come not all photos can be use? I think 6 photographers are too much because space restriction.

Dear Mod,
I'm not hiring photographer now because my wedding is in 2009. I'm asking some opinion from the Photography forum as how to judge a photographer and their comment and suggestion to my plan. Can you move this post back to Photography session?

Ehmmmm, I think "cheap thing not good, good thing not cheap" lor... somemore "FREE"???

And 3 photogs won't create best results... they will not be able to work freely... and worst is if they are not known to each other very well... there is no co-operations at all...

Just my 2 cents~!

To be honest, photographers that willing to shoot for you like that are generally not experinced or lacking in skill or equipments. In other not-so-nice words, they are not capable of getting the jobs done.

There are 2 types of people can get the jobs done.

(1) Profesioanl. Expect to pay not less than RM1k. Again, most of the 'today' profesional also not capable. Get those reputable one like Louis Pang. His pictures are consistencely ok.

(2) Friends who has great skills and sufficient equipments. They just want to get nice pictures rather than making money. One of the reason maybe thier daily income already exceed RM1k (thus can afford great gears). And they are not interested on your RM100 or RM300 offer... And it is why I ask you to post your picture... Got it?

Hope I had open your mind by giving you the big pictures.

VOIP...

My picture with my HB.

Louis Pang~! Great photog... but he just too expensive... only the rich and famous can afford him... his lowest priced package is already close to 10K.

I guessed you pay for the quality. Louis is consistently good. He have a team of photogs, thus the quality is ensured.

Secondly, i think the RM100 + RM300 is really really below market rate. If not because of doing it for the sake of hobby, i don't know what is.

Lastly, wedding photography is a very difficult job. The long hours shooting, hours of painstakingly post processing the photos, traveling expenses and etc are worth more than that. Just my 2 cents.

me and my cousin shoot 2 at once, quite good actually.
while he's taking pictures of the bride im taking off-scene
photos like the guests just in case. we take photos from different
angle that doesnt intersect with one another.

wait, after reading your post, RM100 each? for a newbie that might be
okay to get some experience first. agreed with oracle, people say it
looks easy but they dont know our work

something for TS, wedding comes in ONCE in a lifetime.

where is your location?

If in Penang then I am interested.

WHY?

(1) Because most of my friends are too old, all get married and play kids now...
(2) I have no chance to shoot portrait for long time, nowadays ladies look for handsome photographer.
(3) I think earning a bit on my hobby is a great thing, as I don't have a chance to earn money through my interest, in another words, I don't like my FULL TIME job!

If like this, I think I would better opt for those HOBBYIST.

RM100 + RM300 for the best photographer is way to low....
if he/she is not chosen as the best photographer for you,then he/she wasted whole day just for the RM100...mayb those who are new will accept it as they need experiences and also as their portfolio...if for semi-pros,i think at least RM500 and above...
coffect me if i'm wrong.....

since you're getting married in 2009,why don't go around and find a suitable photographer that fits your budget????

ok. moved to Photography, Digital Imaging & Video as requested.

Wendy, you must know that when you have 3 photographers, you will face inconsistency issues.

photographers are like artists. put 3 artists together and get them to illustrate your wedding, you'll see different output.

same goes to photographers.

their personality / style are different. their gears are different. their configuration are different.

just thought I'd highlight this in case you are looking for all pictures to be consistent on how it's taken and processed.



hehe. if you can find a photographer that covered a whole day's worth of events and have 100% of his shots considered great or usable. please let us know.



one day can earn RM 100 also good already. those higher level wouldn't bother in the first place as they have better paying things to do.



she's not offering market rate in the first place. it's just an offer and asking opinion whether it's "do-able" which i think it is.

every photographer has a price. i think it's still decent $$$ for a day's worth of experience and exposure for newbies.

i know there's plenty who would love to take the offer.

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Added on February 21, 2008, 2:09 pmWendy, if you can. raise the budget a little. the more you pay, it some how will trigger people to do better. hehe.

you pay so little, they probably end up do 'cincai' work.

From all you pros out there....what will u opt from below:


RM 1000= 3 different photographers...

OR

RM1000 = semi-pro photographers

OR

RM1000 = a group/team of photographers

how is RM 1k for 3 different from a group / team?

3 friends also can cooperate. 1 team doesn't mean they can cooperate. can be newbies too.

i think la, you still have time. if you want photog, raise your budget get some experienced fella.

you will advantage from

1. better output from overall better gear (usually la. i'm not saying newbie don't have nice gear........... which goes to the next point)
2. their experience in communication with crowd.
3. their experience in composition.

what else ah? well. that's what i could think of so far.

You are so right...

It is why AhLeong and shinchan are so popular....

So unfair...


Agreed.

Real pro always know what to do at the given situation. And they have backup camera like me. And they give no excuesses on any failure... There will be no failure...

Just keep in mind few more things when getting pros;

- Not all full time are good photographers. Nowdays many sucks and simply want to make money out of it
-Some even dare to use other profesional pictures as thier portfolio to convince the clients. I really hate this kind of people.

Just like buying camera, stay with the branded... And samething to photographer.. approce the reputable one.

I was inform that there was once, one nikon guy promised but dare not to shoot for one wedding after knowing I will be there shooting for free as a friend... And that happen last minute... and I was not inform... at the end, no one was shooting for her on the big day. Getting a real pro will not have these stupid face issue that causing worst problems. The stupid guy now blaming the thing to me.... and I dun even know who he is... funny...

being talked about here

Famous people like that one ma...

Who ask you to be so famous ar...

how handsome is shinchan?

I can shoot for free with my PnS...

That's something call reverse engineering...

See how pretty the gals pictures his took? Trace back to the taste of the gals and imagine what kind of guys that they are willing to give that kind of smile... It mean the gals also like him. See the pictures?

That's what we call reverse engineering in photogrpahy...

Now, I wanna come in and busy body.
To pay RM100 is kinda disgrace la. Might as well tell them "I give angpow" only.
I guess those heng tai heng mui also get this kina amount of angpow for helping you guys during the wedding.

So, either don't pay at all or give an amount that people are willing to help you.
Getting photog here and asking your friend to use PnS camera to shoot will give you almost the same result.

So, what u can do is, either ask for help for free or pay a little bit more, e.g. RM500 to 1 photog (ask for their portfolio).

Or get a professional. Those you simply hire so called Pro do not mean they will give you good result. RM1000 might not be so good also. They only charge u that amount because they have all the equipment (i.e. flash).

Ha! ha! Sorry if say too much.
But I guess a lot will be willing to help out for free.

I always shoot for free... at least until now...

What about I get a professional photographer to cover my wedding, then I ask for volunteer photographers for free?

yes but got food to eat or not?

Yeah, guess that will work. But when it comes to Professional photog, some are purely business minded or chinaman like. They take photo for the sake of taking photo. Not much emotion in it...
So, chose the right one.

Volunteers... sure... just give them ang pow as a token of appreciation. Later when the photos are done, buy them a drink loh.

Dun you have friends with BIG camera ar?

Nowadays whichever wedding I went (I mean city la like KL, Penang) also a number od SLR liao...

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Added on February 21, 2008, 5:51 pm
Right... I agree on that. It is the most important factor for me... must got feel...

There was a bride eyes red red after being touch and seeing someone works... and the guy simple told her it is the DIGIC processor that puting the feeling into pictures... And Canon good name also spreading... He is kind of walking Canon brand always promoting Canon....

But I have to admit... His pictures very natural and got feeel....

wendymelon, getting 3 photographers is a no-no for me, unless they are in a team, for eg., 2 are of them are the main photographer assistant.

the best is to ask for a 2 photographers team, can cover bride and groom side on AD in morning, different angle/perspective for tea ceremony/church and dinner.

When and where are your AD?

My wedding is on 2009, year end....this weekend choosing date.

Hmm.....i think i'll hire a pro-photographer....but i need names and suggestion from u. Not too expensives one la...

I will also get volunteer photographer....perhaps..angpow and also buy them a drink.

HEhehe.....

Yeah i'm afraid the photo that the professional took does not have feeling le

Loius Pang consider ok... because he is consistence. The way he do bussiness also quite pro. I like him.

Approximately, where would your wedding be?

People just say end of 2009.

You have lots of time.
Don't worry so much on photographer. No matter how you plan now, your wedding will most probably end up like below (if u are Malaysian chinese)
1. Lotsa people attending that u donno
2. Yam Seng heard here and there
3. Very noisy
4. You didn't even get to drink your shark's fin soup (save the shark)
5. You have 2-3 night gown to change
6. You tried to stop your husband from drinking too much
7. You shake many hands
8. You are pissed off at the end.

Ha! ha!
Seriously, wedding is for both of you. Do it as what you dream your wedding going to be even if it is against your families. AS for photographer, each month u save RM100 from now and you will get RM2400 by end of next year to pay for your photographer... So, more choices.

Yo... It is why the latest wedding that I went had changed the style... to make sure of the photographers.

Since we got 2 photographers (Canon 40D vs Nikon D300), we stress on taking and getting better pictures... and skip a number of parts... and rush to places that can take good pictures.

The results are rewarding...

You just need to know what you want... I think pictures more important than the ceremony... because got to do with memory and can show off ma...

By the way, D300 + 17-55 f2.8 do not have VR... make sure shutter speed above 1/60

Please take your spectacles and read again. I asked WHERE not when.

VOIP, I guess this is the guy who deleted ur posts...

Anyway, Sorry boss. My England not so good.

Ya it is the best if u have RM1k budget to hire a decent photographer + 1 assistant. Don't try to get too many photographers as this will constantly block the main photographer angle.

From the wedding trend i saw from now on, most of the couples rather spend more on the pre-wedding at bridal shop and restricted their budget for AD. For me AD is more important as all ur frens and relatives are there, all the emotions, expressions are priceless to u, pre-wedding is just well prepared and u can take anytime u want. It is not easy to ask all ur frens and relatives to gather at the same time.

So i suggest u not try to save too much on AD.

Well, ur wedding is still long to go..end of 2009..is like 2 yrs from now..haha..

P/s: If u interested u can PM me to see if u like my shots (promote a little bit for myself )

It's very bad to accuse someone without valid reasons or proof.

TS, may I know where will you be holding your wedding?

Just forget about who delete my posts ok...

I am not feeling anything negative and what should you guys?

Relax... And have a nice day...

if place and timing matching, i am willing to do it for free, just wanna gain some experience. Can give out all the softcopy afterwards.
But i never shoot wedding b4...

on the other hand, besides free volunteer photogs, i suggest u hire some official photographers to cover the event throughly, because u cant afford to miss the moment..you can even find few here in lowyat.net

Hi Wendy,

Remember when you are looking for a wedding photographer, a few tips for you. Firstly find out what is his/her style is, may it be candid, artistic, black and white or sepia.

Secondly of course you would need to consider your budget and how it would fit your AD wedding, for example, ideally you would like to have 2 wedding photographers and to stretch it even further, ask if the photographers have two camera bodies. Why two camera bodies? So that the photographer can cover more, may it be wide angle or portrait or telephoto. The more experienced wedding photographers will shoot with two bodies.

Thirdly, you would need to see the various packages that pro or semi-pro photogs offer. Some offer cheaper rates if you do not get them to do the album. Most of them usually get theirs from Simple & Nice but since you mentioned that you are going to do that already, just make sure that you tell them that you would want a package with just the photos in a DVD.

Fourthly if you are planning out your wedding AD, make sure there is sufficient time between the morning "heng tai" "chee mui" session and the tea ceremony before the dinner banquet. If not enough time, the photographer cannot make the morning slideshow in time for the dinner. Basic rule of thumb, give the photog around 4-6hours to prepare the slideshow.

Fifthly, check and make sure with the photog how long would it take for him/her to process the photos. Remember if you are hiring a semi pro and they have a normal day job, they cannot process them immediately for you. Even the pro photogs take a while because they are overloaded with work.

Finally, when meeting with your photog, make sure that when booking him/her, sign a contract. Upon signing of the contract, some photog will request a booking fee, usually 20-30% of the entire cover. In that agreement/contract, you would make sure that you have everything covered.

Wendy, I think wedding is once in a lifetime for us, during your wedding ceremony you are not going to think petty things like 'what if 'amatuer' photographer missing out certain important details'. However, these things might happen when photographers have bad reflex or poor confidence to stand infront of crowds due to inexperience. So I suggest dont take any risk and perhaps your photographer can attend your wedding rehearsal, lastly prior to your wedding you ought to discuss with your photographer as what is your expectation of the output.

Congratulation in advance for your 2009 wedding.

i'd like to add on this one.

2 camera bodies can cover more - why? because with 1 body, you're stuck with only 1 type of lens at a time and there's little to no time to change lens during the event, swapping lens takes a few seconds off and could miss some nice moments.

with 2 bodies, each body will be fitted with a lens of their purpose. one will cover the range that the other couldn't.

Wow, I've never thought that wedding photography session involves so much planning and consideration. Must take note of all this

On top of that, settings of the camera also different.

Yo right... Reliability is the key.

And also... real profesional will not use entry level camera like Canon 300D/350D/400D/450D or Nikon D40/D50/D60/D70/D80 etc... If you see that... better be careful. Camera used should be at least Canon 20D/30D/40D/5D/1D or Nikon D200/D300/D3

I am not saying those cheaper camera no good. It happen that photographers that has requirements, will not buy cheaper cameras, especially for making money. Cheaper camera is great for learning or normal people snap snap la... So it can judge like that in a way. It is one of the easier way for non-photograper to judge.


This one cannot be disagree. I shoot for events and I completely agreed. For wedding, I usually suggest 5D along with 30D/40D combination. Can suggest the 85mm prime on 5D also..


Brother, it is too technical to a non-photorgaphy mui mui la...

How is she going to judge?

define camera setting.

the parameters should be same. ideally the photog would be using 2 same body types.

take Louis Pang for example. I met him last year, he shared that he was using 2 different bodies (at that time la, now i donno) and even he commented that he should've used 2 SAME BODIES because the 2 different bodies show some difference in output.

My priority will be : photographer with 2 camera bodies

My point of view ::

By taking these 2 option as consideration :
2 photographer with 1 bodies each
3 photographer with 1 bodies each

Previously i have work in various of events with 2 or 3 photographer, it's true that covering events with a few photographer would be better with all the different angle and style, But,

the downside would be, there's always a chance that the photog view will be block by another photog, not to mention IF they using a same type of lense. Well this might be a minor issue, just

Imagine a wide angle user shooting right infront, a midrange covering another angle might got caught up in 2nd person's picture, while the third one will have to kept looking for another angle to shot the image while the event still running, and he might missed the opportunity/moments.

Since during wedding day there will be alot of 'movements' or actions, additionally there might be kids and people walking around which will cause more issue during the process, with 2 or 3 photog, the place will definitely crowded and they won't be able to shoot on their best effort.

My opinion during all the wedding shootout, correct me if i'm wrong since its purely base on my experience and never been discuss with others before, comments are most welcome

mainly ppl use two bodies for fast switching of wide angles len and telephoto

Ya... At least it is how I do it... 10/22 or 17-55 on one body, and 50 or 85 prime on the other. Depends on room size..