Wedding Photographer Prices In Ireland Are €1764 on Average.
Ask The Right Questions to Get The Best Wedding Photographer For You.

wedding photographer Prices in Ireland, What’s the Average?

The average cost of a wedding photographer in Ireland is €1764 (2020), according to the yearly survey over at weddingsonline.ie which surveyed 1400 couples. In Ireland, there’s no fixed price regulating wedding photographer’s fees, so prices will vary from photographer to photographer.

That average is fine as a rough guide, but there’s little real clarity on how much a wedding photographer costs in Ireland as there’s no information about how that figure is arrived at or what’s included.

Wedding photographers in Ireland usually offer a number of packages, with various add-ons, so asking ‘How much is a wedding photographer in Ireland?' is a bit like asking how much is a car, or how much is a house; do you want a cheap car that hasn’t done many miles, or a high end EV self driving machine that will know what to expect before you do? Do you want something for just a few hours, or that will keep on going from morning until night. Do you want a second set of eyes? An album? Extra hours? All these things affect price.

Knowing the average price will help you a bit, but it won’t answer all the questions you need to ask before you choosing your wedding photographer.

Here’s 10 big questions (and some supplemental ones) to help you figure out a price for your wedding photographer in Ireland.

1. How Important Is your Wedding Photography to You?

The first thing you need to when choosing a wedding photographer in Ireland is to decide how important your wedding photographs are to you. Remember, after the dances are over, the tables have been wheeled away, your guests have gone home, and you’re back in the real world once the honeymoon is over, all you will have left from your wedding day to remember the celebrations are your wedding photographs, and perhaps a short video.

For some people, maybe .5%, wedding photos just seem to be a thing that’s required and they will grudgingly give 30 minutes over to a wedding photographer on their wedding day - they will roll their eyes for every shot, keep talking as if the camera will magically shut their mouths into a natural smile, and generally act as though all of this is beneath them. In their wedding photographs they will look pale, with drooping eyelids, bloodshot eyes, and a resting face that would make Uncle Fester proud. In 10, 15, 20 years, when they’re looking back on their wedding photos they’ll just remember how hungover/drunk they were and still be trying to convince themselves they had a great time holding down yesterday’s kebab on their wedding day.

For everyone else, who somehow manage to keep their shit together and their priorities in line, wedding photography is one of the highlights of their wedding day and something they kinda mostly look forward to; top tip: no one is really used to spending a day with a photographer pointing a camera at them, so of course it’s weird - but a good photographer will make it all seem perfectly normal and you should really enjoy the experience. If your wedding photographs are a priority, not just something being done because it’s a thing, then engage with your wedding photographer and tell them what your dream wedding photo is. We love hearing ideas from people because it gives us a sense of who they are as a couple.

If you’re not prepared to give your wedding photographer 30 minutes of your time for wedding portraits, then you might as well get Uncle Atticus to take the wedding photos on his Box Brownie and save yourself some money. On a scale of 1-10, if your wedding photography isn’t 8 or above, then go cheap and hope for the best.

2. Decide on What kind of wedding photographer do you want

Some wedding photographers like to describe themselves as fine art wedding photographers, others as documentary wedding photographers, and others still as editorial wedding photographers. Fine art wedding photographers are, as the name implies, very artistic in their approach, always looking to create a certain style of image that matches their own unique vision. Documentary wedding photographers pitch themselves as wedding photographers who take an observer’s point of view of the whole wedding day, rarely influencing what happens in front of the lens and looking to capture natural moments unique to each couple. Editorial wedding photographers look to set up magazine styled wedding photographs, with an element of setting people up in position to frame a story of the wedding day.

Myself and Jill are generalists. Because of our backgrounds we have different approaches to different parts of the day and we shoot according to whatever situation we’re in - Jill works as a commercial photographer in advertising, she’s well used to editorial styled set-ups and lighting, and, because I have a background in documentary photography, I really enjoy the times when I can shoot from the hip and see what the results are. That doesn’t mean Jill shoots just editorial and I just shoot documentary style shots, being generalists means we adapt to whatever the situation is - whether it’s portrait photography or styled set ups, whether it’s family group photos or madcap dancing, we’re comfortable in any situation.

Do a search for ‘wedding photographer Dublin’, or whatever county you’re interested in, and look through a number of wedding photographers’ portfolios. Figure out what you like from viewing different photographers and then find the one who most closely matches what you’re looking for.

Next, hope they’re available - normally, photographers are booked up 6-18 months in advance.

3. Check Your shortlisted Wedding Photographers’ Portfolios

How recent are the real weddings on your wedding photographers website?
Are they relying on old photos from years ago weddings to grab your attention?
Are they showing you enough of the wedding day itself, or just a selection focussed on one part of the day which they excel at?

You need to look at every wedding photographers portfolio with a critical eye. Your photographer will have to work in a number of different situations throughout the day, and you want to be sure they are as comfortable working and organising large numbers of people as they are working in close with just two people, that they’re just as good at making strangers feel at ease in front of the lens when photographing guests as they are at blending in and taking those all important candids. Shooting intimate portraits and organising group photos are two very different skillsets, and you certainly don’t want a photographer who’s going to be shy when trying to organise 300+ people for a group photo, or one who gets frazzled when wondering what to do with a bride and groom if it rains.

Look for a photographer who can provide you with a variety of different photos from every part of the wedding day, from fun photos of morning preparations all the way through to wild party dancing at the end of the evening.

4. What do you get for the price of a wedding photographer in Ireland?

So, you’ve narrowed things down to 2 or 3 wedding photographers whose work you like.

What’s next?

The next thing to do is to look at the fine print and see what they’re offering for every package they have. No two wedding photographers in Ireland seem to have the same wedding packages, so it can be a bit of a nightmare trying to sort out who gives you what for how much. Here are some questions to ask to clarify what your wedding photographer’s prices include:

5. Does the price of your wedding photographer in Ireland include a wedding album?

Do you even want a wedding album?
If you don’t want a wedding album straight away you can avail of digital only packages which most photographers offer, and this could save you quite a bit.

Does the cost include a wedding album?
Some photographers include the cost of a wedding album in certain packages, some provide the cost of a wedding album as a separate add-on. Prices for wedding albums can vary from cheap and cheerful to premium quality that costs thousands, and the more pages you have the more expensive they tend to be. We don’t do wedding albums, which keeps our prices down.

Can you do the wedding album yourself?
Because everything is digital these days we’ve found that couples are quite happy to DIY wedding albums at a later date once they have the files they need. Most suppliers who offer DIY albums have easy to use drag and drop applications that allow couples to put their album together themselves, while other wedding album manufacturers offer a complete design service - couples simply upload all the wedding images they want to use and the album company will provide a sample layout for them which they can then make alterations to.

We provide high resolution JPGs which are ideal for this.

6. What image files will your wedding photographer supply?

What image files will your wedding photographer give you?
Most wedding photographers provide a selection of high resolution JPGs from everything they’ve shot on the wedding day, and then delete everything else.

We’re a bit different in that we hand over everything we shoot on your wedding day: ALL camera RAW files and JPGS . Of course, we provide a best of selection which we process professionally, but rather than just bin everything else we hand all the rejected files over too; who knows what gems you might find that we would have denied the universe had they been binned. Lots of couples have told us afterwards that they love looking through the rejects to see a different side to the day, more complete, even with all the flaws that may be present - you’ll see plenty of shots slightly out of focus (because Mike likes shooting at f1.4, the idiot!), over or under-exoposed (while we work out light-readings), or with odd faced expressions (because people talk when they shouldn’t be), etc.

That’s just how people photography works: shoot loads so you have loads to select from, rather than shoot one frame and pray it’s all you ever need. That’s not just wedding photography, that’s all photography that involves people. No portrait/sports/documentary/people photographer goes out on a job and comes back with just one frame … they’d be fired.

How many images will you get?
With digital your wedding photographer will probably have anywhere between 1,000 and 6,000 images from your wedding day, depending on the number of hours worked. Myself and Jill will shoot about 1500 between us for a half-day, and up to 6,000 if we’re working from 11am until 11pm. Of those I’ll probably select about 150-450 to process. We process images as high resolution JPGs suitable for prints and albums, and also provide them as low resolution images, just 2,000 pixels on the longest side, which are suitable for sharing online or viewing on digital devices. With us, you’ll also get all the rejected files, but you’ll have to provide your own bottle of something when you eventually sit down to look through them ;)

What permissions do they give you regarding those image files?
While copyright to your wedding photos will always belong with the photographer, because they’ve created the image, your mileage may vary on what every photographer allows you to do with your wedding images. Do check with them!! We’re easy going, so we give couples unlimited permission to use their wedding photos however they please as long as it’s for personal use - so feel free to get a wedding photo matching set of printed wedding duvets and mugs.

7. How much does having a second wedding photographer cost in ireland?

How much extra is a second wedding photographer in Ireland?
Anywhere between €150 and €400 based on some of the enquires we’ve made. That variance may depend on hours worked or on the standard of the second shooter.

Is the cost of a second shooter included?
We work as a team, so, yes, our prices are always for two wedding photographers on your wedding day. Most photographers who work as a couple have prices based on them working as a team, but single shooter photographers with supply a second shooter as an add-on with a supplemental cost. If the second shooter is an additional cost do agree what the fee is and how many hours the second shooter will work, some only work up until the call-to-meal. Whether you think having one wedding photographer on your wedding is enough is something you will have to decide for yourself, but we find couples enjoy having two different personalities, two set of eyes, and different styles works to their advantage. It’s also back up in case one wedding photographer vaporises Thanos-stylee … they’re prone to do that after 300+ weddings.

What is the photography start time and end time on the wedding day?
Different photographers will have different start times and end times depending on the various packages available. If we’re doing a morning prep, for example, Jill would be with the bride for 2 hours before the bride leaves for the ceremony, while I would be with the groom for an hour before he leaves to get to the church 30 minutes before the ceremony starts - the groom will be there early to talk to the celebrant, give everything the once over, and greet the guests. If we’re not doing the morning prep we’ll arrive at the ceremony venue 20 minutes before the ceremony starts. We will finish the day’s shoot either at the call to meal, or at the first dances - we usually stay for 15-30 minutes of the dances but we can stay later based on an hourly rate.

8.Is travel and Accommodation Included in The cost of a wedding photographer in Ireland?

Is travel included?
Some wedding photographers work all over the country and have charges based on distance. We work within 1.5 hours (ish) of Dublin airport and there’s no charge for travel because we like to get home after a wedding. Besides, there’s plenty of great wedding photographers working in those other parts of the country we don’t get to.

9. Seriously, Do We Have To pay For A wedding Photographer’s Meal?

Do your wedding photographers and videographers require a meal?
This can be seen as an extra cost, but really it’s just a courtesy to treat the people well who have been with you all day and working hard for you and still have another 4 hours work to do if they’re there until the dances. Your wedding day is a celebration for you, your family and your friends, but for your wedding photographers it can be a very long working day with no break at all. Your wedding photographers and videographers will likely not have anything to eat from the time they leave their home in the morning up until after the evening meal has been served to your guests. They will likely have worked a non-stop 8 or 9 hour day by that time, with nothing more than a grabbed snack bar while travelling from ceremony to reception, and not even that if everything is held at the one venue. It shouldn’t be a thing, but judging by some wedding forums and user comments it is.

We don’t expect to be fed if we’re working just to the call to meal, we can head off and grab a bite to eat on our own dime or head home and put our feet up. That said, more often than not, most couples, especially if we’ve been with them for the morning preparations, will insist on ensuring we get fed at the bar anyway. We know it’s not necessary, and so do the couples, but it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside when they look after us like that.

10. Booking Fees

Does your wedding photographer require a deposit or booking fee, and, if so, is it refundable?
Most, if not all, wedding photographers seem to require a booking fee or a deposit to reserve the wedding date. This can vary from €100 to 50% of the total package. I suppose it’s a good way of getting money in up front and guaranteeing bookings, but we tend to do fine without them. We do like to meet couples within a couple of weeks of them making an enquiry, and if we get on fine and they book us we will simply reserve the date.

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