A wedding may be a large or modest celebration, depending on the couple’s preferences. The number of hours you should book a wedding photographer for depends on several factors, including:
- The scope of the event
- The number of places you want to be covered
- The amount of time needed for travel
If you’re looking for a wedding photographer, this article by Wedding photography Dallas is intended to offer all gorgeous brides and grooms a better sense of how much time you can anticipate spending on each part of your photographs.
As wedding photographers, one of the most often inquiries we get from couples is, “How many hours of coverage do we need?”
Considering this is most likely your first wedding, you may be completely clueless about what you’ll need or how to begin figuring it out. You want to make sure that all the day’s major events are documented, but you also don’t want to waste a large portion of your wedding money on unnecessary hours of photography.
Keeping these three factors in mind will make calculating the number of hours of coverage you need much simpler.
How long should you keep a wedding photographer on the job?
You don’t want to have amazing photos of the ceremony and then regret not having some beautiful photos of you and your bridesmaids getting ready, or photos of your grandparents at the reception, because those photos and the emotions and joy captured in them are priceless and something you will treasure.
Here is a breakdown of how long you should plan on spending on wedding photos:
1. Time for getting ready for photography:
The bride and Groom need time to get ready for the day. Usually, the brides will need 1 hour total, split among the stylists. Budget three hours for preparation time if you intend to use six ladies and two hairstylists. There is no such thing as too much time spent primping and preening.
The men should budget one hour for themselves unless they choose to apply cosmetics, which should be included in the original time estimate. Once you know how much time you’ll need, you may plan for when you’d want the photographer to arrive. Should they come at the start to see how things have changed? Maybe they could come at the end and help everyone wind down. Or maybe it’s just after you finish primping before putting on your dress?
2. Time for main events of the day:
You have little control over your midday activities. Wedding picture sessions often last between 30 minutes and an hour. You should set out at least an hour for the pair. However, you may divide that time into two halves if necessary. Aim for at least an hour if you want to include extended family in the images and half an hour if you’re only taking pictures of the close family.
If you and your future spouse want to conduct the first look, the photographer may arrive three hours before the wedding to take care of all the formal photographs. Depending on your specific customs, the ceremony might last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. Including more activities will likely increase the reception. The time it will take may be estimated accurately by the venue or a wedding organizer.
3. “Just Married” Exist:
Simply have the photographer depart after the exit if you are performing an exit. If that’s not the case, you’ll need to figure out how much coverage the dancing will require. There is a limit to how many dance photographs you wish to include in your gallery. Unless you know anything major will happen later in the dance, I’d think the cameras should remain for around an hour after the dancing begins.
If you remember these three facts, figuring it out shouldn’t be too difficult. You’ll need to prioritize if your funds are inadequate to cover everything. That usually entails shortening the introduction.
