The immense beauty of two people in love is a highly infectious thing. But sometimes, you want to keep that private. Elopements are a beautiful way to preserve your love and keep it relatively private. A private ceremony held by the couple, the officiant, and your closest family and friends, there is a lot of benefit to this type of ceremony. It is a proclamation of your love. However, one of the biggest benefits of eloping is the amount of money that you save. When you don’t have to cover a ceremony, worry about catering, or find a venue for your wedding day, you can save a lot. This is not meant to dissuade anyone from choosing a traditional wedding, as it holds a great deal of weight to a lot of people. But when it is all said and done, elopements are a much more intimate gathering and union. However, one important factor to consider is whether or not hiring an elopement photographer is worth the investment. Today, we are going to look through that question and see if that is worthwhile for you.
1. The Importance of Capturing Precious Moments:
It goes without saying that the point of an elopement or wedding is to commemorate the beautiful union of two people who are deeply in love. The memories that are made on a day such as this are monumental. There are few events in life that come close to matching the significance of what that symbolizes. Because of this, it is important to understand why a photographer can preserve those memories for the rest of time. Everyone has their own memory of what happens. People remember things wrong all the time and some people cannot visualize what those memories look like. Having photographic evidence does two things: Firstly, it proves that it happened and secondly, it preserves your day exactly how it happened. To be able to stare into a photograph and see the love in someone’s eyes is a powerful thing. It tells a story. A story that ultimately opened into a new chapter of marriage. By capturing something so powerful, how could it not be worth the investment?
2. Professional Expertise and Artistic Vision:
For something like this, you will want to have a professional on your side. Sure, you can do it yourself, but there is the risk of the quality not being as good as you may hope. Especially with the other components you have to consider for the day. Sometimes paying for peace of mind is better than stressing. Especially when that professional expertise affords you a great deal of benefits beyond peace of mind. Some photographers may even have an artistic vision for the session, exploring different emotions and feelings through the lens. Having that level of dedication to your day means more than you think. It shows it’s not simply a job to them. It means something to them and that is priceless. I recommend looking through a photographer’s portfolio before deciding whether or not they are the right fit for you, but consider attitude as well from those you choose in any pre-interviews you may conduct for the job.
3. Storytelling through Imagery:
As I have already alluded to, the story that lies in each photograph can be immense. A good photographer can capture the beauty of the story. A great photographer can personalize it. Personalization is not something you think of with photography, but considering you and your spouse will be the subject of the photos as well as the primary audience, it is a big element of the session. It is important that the photographer can bring out the emotions of you and your spouse before anyone else. The essence of your love is the nature of the job and the photographer needs to know what that means to be able to do it right. This includes capturing intimate moments that showcase your unique relationship and the little quirks that come with it. Now, it may be difficult to be fully comfortable around a photographer with your spouse. If you are planning an elopement, that tells me that you are likely private about your relationship and that is totally fine. A professional photographer should be able to account for that privacy, use some methods to bring you out of your shell a little bit, and capture those moments for the rest of time.
4. Cherishing Memories for a Lifetime:
It’s no secret that I am in the business of preserving memories for the ages. Some people probably see that as an odd business to be in. While some people may see images that take up storage on your phone or computer, I see them as preserving the past. The good old days as everyone is so fond of recalling. A photograph is a moment in someone’s life that exists in a still format and will continue to do so if properly stored and tended to. You can look back one day, show your children, your grandchildren, and perhaps even your great-grandchildren, and look thoughtfully on the first day of your new life. Especially as technology progresses. With the click of a button, you can order high-quality prints and even full photo albums of your cherished memories, and receive them within a reasonable amount of time. If you are particularly close, you can literally order blankets with your family’s faces on them. I can only hope that technology continues to progress in a way that preserves your history for the days to come.
5. The Unique Challenges of Elopement Photography:
With any profession, there are challenges and setbacks that occur. A broken camera lens, a malfunctioning computer, or something as simple as bad weather can all affect the quality of a session, which can all reflect poorly on the photographer if they’re not careful. Minor conditions of the day can be monumental to the camera, such as lighting, temperature, and humidity. These are some reasons why a change of scenery may be required, if the photographer requests it. If that happens, trust their judgment and expertise, as you want the best work to come out of it. So really, what I am trying to say is to be flexible, plan on something changing, and be patient. This is a reason why I would stress the importance of a pre-session interview: understanding their attitude and seeing how they act under that pressure will make the decision fairly clear whether they are the one for the job. You want someone who can handle these challenges in a way that is conducive to the environment. Someone who can laugh it off and carry on with the task at hand.
6. Budget Considerations:
We have finally hit the catalyst behind this article. The price of services to be rendered. Without a doubt, this is the part that most couples are apprehensive of. No one wants to spend their hard-earned money on a subpar product or service. It is up for each individual photographer to follow through on their work. Now because of that, there is no definitive answer to the question of “how much an elopement photographer costs”. The answer is set by each photographer for what works for their system. Most photographers will charge an hourly rate, rather than a flat fee, due to the simple fact that every ceremony has different lengths of time. But based on the average duration of a ceremony and any proceedings, you should account for $300-$500 per hour for an elopement photographer. Depending on what you have planned, however, a ceremony can only take 20-30 minutes of your time. Having 20-30 minutes for photos after the fact is also fairly standard. So with that, you are only sitting between 40 minutes to an hour. If you choose to have a reception or any other extensions to the ceremony, that will add to the amount due. Allocating a specific amount into your budget for photography is standard operating procedure when it comes to planning for your special day, which can provide a valuable service and work that will live on past its moment in time. These days, you can throw a rock and hit a photographer. They are not hard to find. But budget-friendly photographers may vary. Odds are, you may have to look at up-and-coming photographers to get a budget-friendly rate. It all depends on what you are willing to spend for quality work. Sometimes the additional service you get when hiring a professional is peace of mind.
There are few events in our lives that are as monumental as the day of union between two individuals. Where two people become one flesh. You will always have those memories locked away for a rainy day. Those memories will mean the most to you and your spouse. But a photograph can be shared with all generations. Being able to look back on that day with someone who wasn’t there or maybe even someone who wasn’t alive at that time is a powerful concept to consider. With the continual progress being made in technology, we have access to photos from an entire century, as well as paintings and sketches done from our world’s history. To have your day included in the world’s history is, to put it bluntly, pretty cool. By hiring a professional photographer, you will get images that can live on beyond the SD card and even live for the next several generations to come. I believe that photography is crucial to everyone’s special day. So to answer the question, yes, I believe it is worth the investment. I hope you have enjoyed this article and that I have added something to your day!
Warmest regards,
Logan Clark