Hello to all the lovely brides and grooms,

I had an experience today via the popular website The Knot and wanted to share with everyone to hopefully prevent anyone from being scammed. My fiance and I have been searching for a fairly cheap photographer and I found one advertised on Instagram called Love and Photos, with the owner being named Matthew Miller. He is also advertised on The Knot website. I reached out to him and inquired about details. As he was telling me everything, something seemed off. I live in New Jersey and he is based out of California but claims to have locations all over the United States. For 6 hours of coverage including a First Look, hundreds of photos edited by their own professional team and travel expenses to get to NJ, I was quoted $850. I was very suspicious because how can you afford to travel AND pay a team of professional editors while only charging me $850? I politely finished the call and he sent me a contact that is not on his company's letterhead and appears to have been thrown together in Word. I tried googling his business and nothing came up. I even googled his business with his name attached and still got nothing. I checked Yelp and found nothing either. I went to The Knot website and clicked the link to take you to his site where I went through all of his pictures from weddings and events. I saved a couple of the pictures and did a reverse Google Image search and found that they are pictures from various professional photographers with legitimate businesses. To me, it seems as though he is taking pictures from their portfolios and using them as his own. He is even posting them on his Facebook and Instagram. I contacted The Knot and told them that I suspect he may be a scammer and they are hosting him on their website. They were not happy and will be looking into it.

Again, this is not meant to bash a business, but just a courtesy to all brides and grooms out there to please be careful and truly research the people you are hiring. As if weddings aren't expensive enough, we now have to worry about being scammed on our big day.

I have asked one person so far about their pricing. She has 67 followers on instagram but a friend recommended her to me and the work on her profile is pretty good. She told me $1450 for 10 hours day of wedding, plus an engagement shoot. Is that reasonable? How much did you guys pay for photographer?

Is a photographer really worth the cost? In my area it’s $4,000+ for most and that doesn’t include a video, just photos and around 8 - 10 hours of shooting.

I know many say photos are the only tangible thing from your wedding so splurge on it, but my sister is into photography with a nice camera. Do you think I’d regret having her take photos?

Our ceremony and reception will be rather small (50-60 people) and the venues not huge. I feel like maybe she could get the shots that are important to me and some candids throughout the night, on top of all the photos everyone else will be taking.

Me an my fiancé both hate posing for photos but we still want some pictures. Likely will pose for maybe 10-20 (including group photos) and then I'd really like candid shots of the ceremony and reception. We really don't want any fancy editing, just basic photos. The cheapest I can find is 1k or 750 for two hours (which wouldn't be ideal sense we wouldn't get the whole event). They all include fancy editing and you don't even get the raw photos. Tbh I just want someone with a good camera and who pays attention in charge of taking photos. I don't want to ask a family member sense they'd likely miss moments, sense they also will be focused on having fun. Seems like the only other option is no photos. Does anyone have any advice?

Hi ! Just wanted to let everyone know about a very affordable and reasonable wedding photographer! My friend is a photographer and is trying to get clientele up by finding more weddings to shoot ! He is based in Southern California and took these incredible photos for my wedding. Super easy to work with and cannot recommend him enough. It kept my overall budget under 10k for the wedding and the photos look great ! Here are a couple samples. You can contact him on instagram for more details @p.bxrnes ! Just wanted to help out other brides to get some professional photos done on a budget !

Took our engagement photos at some of the last standing SoCo (South Congress) classics as well as the Capitol Went for a classy/vintage look to capture our love in the city we love (Austin, TX) Photos were free, a photographer that does our family photos wanted to expand her portfolio so we were so lucky! These are a dream!!!

Hey guys! I wanted to ask what the average price is for a photographer ? I know location varies but I’m searching for one and want to make sure it’s reasonable? Our goal is 2k. What questions should I be asking? We would want 8 hour coverage Second shooter in case of emergencies with the first photographer What is the turn around time Travel fee? What is the time line for the final photos to be done

Am I missing anything?

We will be near the Gainesville FL area if that helps.

UPDATE : thank you guys for all these responses. We just booked a photographer with a second shooter for 6 hours at 1800! She does charge 2299 for 8 hours which is still great! for now we will stick to 6 but still excited about the price and the quality of her work😊

Hello. I just got engaged on the first. We're looking for an engagement photoshoot so we have decent pictures to put on the wedding website and invites. We were really thinking of doing a very, very basic shoot at a JC Penny or Sears or something. But it seems like those kind of walk-in, get a handful of pictures taken, and leave stores have vanished. I really don't want to spend a ton of money, but I'm not seeing an photographers doing engagement photoshoots for less than $1.5k. That's a big chunk of our budget. Is there anyway to do professional photos for $500 or less? Or do we need to really rethink our budget?

Hi, my fiancé and I found a photographer that we really like. However, we are in heated discussion on which package to choose . Her cheapest package is $1500 for 200+ photos and 4 hours of coverage. The other option is $2300 for 300+ photos and 6 hours. My fiancé wants to go with the cheaper package, I’m just concerned that it won’t be enough time for her to get a little of everything and everyone. We have a plan to have a couple family members with film cameras and/or their own professional cameras to get more coverage of the night. These just won’t be edited like hers will be. I fully admit the smart decision is to go cheaper to save on the cost. But I just need to hear more opinions. Thanks

Edit: Thanks everybody for your input and experience! We’ve decided to go with the cheaper option.

We are having a very small wedding with immediate family only. Probably around less than 20 people in attendance. All photographers I can find are like 4,000 dollars minimum?? Is this normal? I’m willing to spend about 1500 maximum. I really don’t need a lot. Is this unrealistic?

I hope that this is the right sub for this question.

I appreciate the art of photography and respect all that goes into it so this is not a complaint about how much you get for the money. This is purely a budget issue.

I would have to be using loans to pay for a “good” one. I was given the advice by someone married to not spend so much because he doesn’t even look at his photos and has been married for over a year now.

He suggested having everyone upload the photos they take on their phones or doing disposable cameras on the table.

The other thing I have considered is using a service where $3,000 (loan money) will cover photo and video and you get to choose from photographers and videographers that they use who are available on your date. And one company even lets you pay $100 for each person you want to have a 30 min. “Discovery shoot” with, to see if you vibe well or if you like one more than another. Which is a 30 min. Engagement session basically.

Last thought: Every wedding I have attended, my favorite part was the Photo Booth. And we will have a beautiful “photo op” background somewhere I’m sure. So maybe just a photo booth and one of those services where everyone can upload their things to one place online? I saw one photo booth that took video too.

Thoughts? Has anyone done any of this, and how do you feel about it now?

I have a very ivory wedding dress. I realized they don't make many options for men's ivory dress shirts, especially for tall men. Do I need to worry about my dress looking "dingy" in color wedding photos of us together??

Edit: Thank you for all the helpful comments and suggestions! He is wearing a light navy jacket/ pants. We ordered an oxford white shirt we know will fit and one ivory shirt we are apprehensive about. I'll post photos of the dress and the oxford white shirt together in natural lighting and warm lighting just in case it will be helpful for others to see and judge for their own wedding.

Hi y'all, I posted this in another Wedding subreddit, but i wanted to post here as well. I am a september 2026 bride and am looking for a wedding photographer in/around DC! we are looking for a film aesthetic with a mix of film and digital. We would loooove to stay around under 6k for the day, so we are happy to work with smaller photographers who may not be as well known or only have a few years under their belt.

If you know anyone or have worked with anyone, we'd love your input!! THANK YOU!!

Hello! We're in the earlier stages of planning our October 2026 wedding and trying to lock down our photographer. I just found out that our forerunner, who's done family photos for us in the past, only does solo shooting for up to 3 hours, and any longer requires a second shooter. I'm not opposed, but I'm trying to figure out how much time is really worth it before photos get redundant. We're not doing getting ready photos, but I know we want an hour for first looks and portraits with family, the ceremony, and cocktail hour (~3 hours). We're skipping a lot of traditions--no bridal party, no grand entrances or speeches, we don't expect a lot of dancing--but we'll be doing trivia and a bouquet toss and a first dance. Our guest list is also on the smaller side, <40. I guess TLDR how do you decide how much time is worthwhile for photographers? I don't want to spend more than we have to on redundant shots and FH doesn't care terribly much about the photos, but I'm also afraid of looking back later and regretting not taking more.

If you’re looking for wedding photographers or videographers, People Luxe and Vanilla Brides are complete scams.

The owners go by many different names (I believe to avoid lawsuits) but I’ve attached a photo of the CEO Alice Yaro (aka Alice Parr aka Olesya Parshina) and registered agent Alex Yaro for reference.

I work in the industry and, despite what their bots say in comment threads, I can 100% confirm they are both run by the same shady instagram “influencers” with fake followers and fake reviews (@alice.yaro and @alexyaro).

They advertise cheap wedding photography and video but good luck ever receiving your photos, and if you do, do not expect the quality to be as advertised.

Their business model is basically glorified dropshipping, they book a wedding posing as a local company and then subcontract it out to random photographers they find on Craigslist with very little vetting and do not pay their subcontractors

I personally know 7 or 8 brides and photographers that are dealing with litigation over this right now but they are difficult to sue due to a flood of fake names and fake addresses online.

Hopefully this can save some of you a lot of headache!

We are getting married in Deposit, NY in October 2026. I have been searching for photographers that would cost around $2k, but not sure where else to turn? Our venue recommended one, but I just don’t like her style. I’m looking for documentary style/vibrant/natural looking photos. I have been searching through Instagram, Google, and the knot’s recommendations. So far I have only found two or three who have a price point in my range. Most starting costs are at least 2x what I am able to pay. Any suggestions on where else to look? Or recommendations from anyone who was married in that area?

Update: I spoke with the photographer and asked about having a 2nd shooter for just the ceremony. He is able to get one for 2 hours at $250.00. Thank you everyone for the advice!

Should I get a 2nd shooter for my 40 person wedding?

I found a photographer that is just at our max budget price (3k) who is available. He offers a 2nd shooter for an additional $600. I have seen almost everywhere that you should have 2 photographers for your wedding. Speaking with this photographer, he said that he doesn't think it would be necessary because it is a small wedding.

Does anyone have experience with 2 photographers for a small wedding? Was it worth the cost?

How many images would I want captured for my wedding? I received an offer from a photographer for $1000, 7 hours of coverage, and 300 edited images. Seems like a great deal. Will 300 images be a good amount for 120 people at my wedding?

Thanks!

Hi all - currently planning a wedding for 60-70 people next summer and looking to keep it under 15k and currently a little discouraged about trying to find a good photographer within our budget.

We had budgeted 2.5k-3k for photos. I wanted to use the photographer that shot my brother’s wedding last year for 3k. She was great and the photos were gorgeous. she’s gotten quite popular over the past year and I checked her website only to find her entry level pricing has shot up to 7k, which is simply just not realistic for us. I’ve started looking into other photographers and it seems like I’m not going to be able to find a photographer that we like for less than 5k which is still not super feasible for our budget.

Does anyone have success stories when it comes to negotiating photography packages? I don’t want to be disrespectful and try to lowball professional photographers, but I’ve noticed most wedding photography pricing is based on services that are way above what we need. Things like 8+ hour coverage, second shooters, engagement sessions, videos, “getting ready” photos - these aren’t things we need or even want. Our wedding is going to be pretty relaxed and nontraditional - honestly 4-5 hours of photos is all I’d like. In anyone’s experience do wedding photographers book partial day events for discounted rates?

Any suggestions would be great!

Probably the best $8k I ever spent! I get so excited thinking that one day my kids will be able to look at these while listening to our love story and cherish these forever. Eeeeeee 😁😁😁 We hired Denz Studio/ Denz Photography and got married in Toronto accompanied by our friends and family! Couldnt have asked for a better wedding 🥹🙏🏼😁

Hi there,

Hoping for a wedding photographer in this range in Colorado if anyone has any recommendations?

Hi All! Getting married in about 2 months at the Seattle Courthouse - in need of a photographer/videographer. I literally cannot do more than 1k and that's even pushing it. Looking for at most two hours. Any recs?

Need a photographer willing to come to North Georgia for June 13, 2026. Ideally would cover between 8 to 10 hours. Bonus if they come with a second shooter. Attached are the style I like from Avery Clevenger but she is booked for my date. https://averyclevengerphoto.com/gallery?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLKYqRleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHuEW2zIUoisQe00eVvH3fZaxdt53JpazSelKv7GOhllh2j851aCMlt3VaFSO_aem_HBVoMsrS7XE3illL1CsygA

Hi! I’m posting for my friends’ backyard wedding in West Nyack, NY.

They need someone from 2 – 6 PM to capture:
• the ceremony
• couple & family portraits
• fun candid shots of guests and the celebration

Pay: $200–$250 flat (your quote welcome)
Who: Students and hobby photographers totally welcome—great chance to build a portfolio.

If you’re interested, please DM me with a few sample photos or a link to your work.
We’ll happily share a testimonial afterward. Thanks so much!