Wedding Photogaphy a little differently (On Budget)

[Awzie]

Please help - We are getting married in Fiji on the 5th January. Since it's on an Island (not mainland Fiji) we can't really afford a good Wedding Photographer. A friend of mine who is a professional photographer (not attending the Wedding) suggest we buy 3 or 4 digital camera's and elect some of our friends to be our photographers for the day.

The Question: What digital camera's to use? Obviously we want to keep our costs down, the reason for having all the camera's the same is so that the colours, image res etc are all similar.

Thanks,
Chris

[jonwhite]

TBH it doesn't really matter what cameras you get them, unless some of them are skilled at taking photos the quality will be the same whether you spend a lot or a little.

[tim]

When I was in Fiji a few years ago I met a kiwi who's a photographer living in Fiji all year round. I can vouch for him being a good guy, but haven't looked at his photos. It might be worth a look, he'll be a lot better than 4 friends with cameras.

http://www.zoomfiji.com/

[cchooks]

Good stuff Tim... He certainly does nice work. Hope he fits the budget or at least knows someone.

Dave

[hover]

Well, I have to ask the all-important question here about the elephant in the room. What is your budget for photography? You might even be able to hire a great photographer who is just starting out. Even if not, recommending digital cameras with no price point set is kind of difficult. I've met some people whose definition of a good photographer means that they are paying $5,000+. I've met some people who think that spending $500 on photography is insane. Then, I've helped people out by shooting their wedding for free, and letting them order prints from me (very special case).

jonwhite also raises a good point. While I was shooting my sister-in-law's wedding, I handed my camera off to a close friend who normally is clicking away with her own camera so that I could dance with my wife for a moment. They shot off about 30 frames(!), of which one was salvageable with major cropping and adjustments. The only reason that I spent soo much time on that one image was because it was of my wife, her sister, and I; and was an important picture to all three of us.

One more side note, for a while last night at a reception, I shot with some of the point & shoot disposable film cameras. The bride asked me to, and I got a huge kick out of it. My second shooter and I were actually talking about how it would be a blast to shoot an entire wedding with disposable cameras. But, then again, we are both photographers launching our own careers, and think it would just be fun and a really cool thing to do.

[jstep7262]

Another option might be to do some digging and see if any of the local schools or community groups out there have photography courses or interest groups. You might be able to get an amateur photographer who could shoot it within your budget and knows more about photography than the average joe.

[SuzyView]

I would ask your friends if any of them have digital cameras they can use or borrow. How hard is that to do?

[AlexMoPhotography]

How do you get married in Fiji on a budget?

[tim]

Compared with the expense of hiring a venue, providing dinner and drinks for 150 people, and all the little details a (say) $10,000 wedding package to Fiji would be pretty cheap. Heck i'd probably photograph it at a discount for a trip to Fiji, since it's only a few hours on a plane from me, but I already have a wedding book for the 5th of Jan.

[gravy graffix]

fly me there, get me a room and some meals.... and ill do it. Jan 5th is the PERFECT time for a vacation to there!

[tim]

fly me there, get me a room and some meals.... and ill do it. Jan 5th is the PERFECT time for a vacation to there!

I was in Fiji in the middle of their winter, it was about 26 degrees during the day, 18 at night. Apparently in summer (Jan-Mar) it gets up to about 35 degrees and gets very humid.

Americans will have to convert to their own propriety temperature units btw ;)

[gravy graffix]

well it will be -15C here about then... so....

[suecassidy]

If you INSIST on doing that (letting friends with disposible cameras take pics), then perhaps you could help by researching a couple of poses that you like and managing a couple of your own shots. If there is lots of natural light, you CAN get a "decent" pic out of the disposible camera. Also, if it is an outdoor beach wedding, pay attention to whether your hair is blowing over your eyes and brush it out. I was recently a guest at a beach wedding where the photographer didn't attend to such details, and the bride was horrified when she saw that in EVERY shot, she had hair hanging down over her nose and in her eyes. Unbelievable.

[Awzie]

Firstly thanks to all for your advice and comments, secondly sorry for the delay in my response - I've been away on business.

I've taken on board all comments and as a result we've decided to hire a pro photographer. In the end we feel that we are not prepared to risk what is of course our special day and only get one or two photo's.

At this stage we are still looking for a Photographer - we are a little dubious in paying for somebody's flights for obvious reasons.

But again, thanks for all your comments. Will update once we have made a decision.

Cheers
Chris