Eugene Oregon Wedding Photographer

I have compiled a list of things that I think should be considered when hiring a photographer for your Oregon wedding. Keep in mind that I am a wedding photographer, so I am a little biased.

Photography Budget

When planning a budget for your wedding, a general guideline that has been around for years is that the photography should be about 10% of the total cost of the wedding. That can be a good place to start planning your wedding budget, but that number can be swayed by a few factors. The first factor in deciding your budget should be that you decide how important wedding photography is to you.

If it’s not important at all, hire a new photographer for $300- and give him a list of group photos that you think you need. If they cover more than that, great. If they don’t, you didn’t pay much, and it wasn't that important to you anyway.

If the photography is somewhat important to you, but not near the top of your list, hire a photographer with a couple of years experiance and a budget under $1000. Give them a list too, and let them know what type of coverage you expect. Most photographers in this range will cover the ceremony, some group photos, and a little of the reception. The images may not be award winners, or have much creativity, but at least the photos were taken.

If the photography is numbers one or two on your list, budget accordingly. If the photography is so important, the budget should match. It’s silly when bride’s say “the photography is the most important thing to me”, then spend $10,000 on catering, $5,000 on the venue and only $2,000 on photography. You can get great wedding coverage for $2,000, but spend enough over that to make sure you get a great wedding album that does your wedding justice. A shoe box full of preview prints is not justice. Have the photographer design a great wall piece for your home, or get parent albums, etc. When it’s all over, the photos are all that’s left of your wedding day.

The timing

When planning the venue and the time of the ceremony, keep the quality of light at the location and at that date and time of day in mind. I have photographed several ceremonies where the bride is in direct sunlight and the groom is in the shade at 2p.m. in the summer! Wow, talk about stretching my technical skills! The guest’s can barely see, their eyes are bleeding from the reflection from the dress, and they know there is a groom, they can hear him, but where is he? The contrast is so great that he is just another shadow with shinny shoes.

I prefer to photograph the fun images of the bride and groom in that last 45 minutes before the sun sets. The light is at it's best, the mood is just right...it's the best way to catch that special spark. It only takes 15-20 minutes, and usually the guests just think you are speaking to someone else.

this is a work in progress, check back for more later
article by;
Oregon wedding photographer James McCormick of Studio Coburg

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