How Much Photography Coverage Do You Really Need?
A lot of couples begin shopping for a photographer with no idea of how much coverage they will need. Having a basic understanding of your wants and needs for the day is a great start.
So where is a good place to start?
In this comprehensive blog you can expect to gain a concrete understanding of knowing how much photography coverage you really need.
That being said, let’s begin!
When it comes to understanding your photography coverage needs I often tell my couples to think about what time they plan on having their ceremony start at.
Its important to know what that you plan on having your ceremony at becuase it makes it easy to pre-plan your day of events that you wish to take place before and after the ceremony.
For example, when you know your ceremony start time, you then are able to envision the events that you'd like to take place during the day by working your way forward and backwards.
If you are having your ceremony at 4:30 pm, then you can think of having horderves start at 5:15, dinner at 6:00.
And before then you can think of the time you need to allocate for getting ready, bridesmaids get together, first look photos, and so on.
This all is important to consider and plan for because it helps you figure out how much coverage you will need and also helps you sketch out a rough timeline of the day.
I hope this was helpful so far!
If you feel you would like to have a free 1 on 1 consultation to discuss your plan in depth, then schedule a call with me here!
If you would like to know even more, then keep reading for more valuable information!!
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To get even more detailed on how much photography coverage you really need during your wedding, let me ask you a few questions…
Do you want photos of the entire getting ready process? — Some brides like to capture the fun moments of matching robe/pj pics, doing a toast in the bridal suite, applying your lipstick in the mirror, putting your dress on, having your bridesmaids help you with your accessories, etc.
How about Pre-makeup and hair? — I always suggest telling whoever is doing your hair and makeup a time 30 minutes prior to when you actually need to be done.
Do you plan to do any photos beforehand?
Is getting ready photo’s not important to you at all? — If you don’t want any getting ready photos I suggest that you may want your photographer to come towards the end so that you are mostly ready but can get some photos of you and your bridal party taking care of the final touches.
Remember, whatever photos you take before the ceremony are less that you have to do after the ceremony. It also lessens the overall block of time that you are doing photos, allowing you to get back to your guests and celebrate quicker.
The amount of time needed for photos will be dependent on how many members are in your bridal party and family members. If you can knock out your photos with your immediate family as well as those with your side of the bridal party it can save you 30+ minutes of time following the wedding. If you and your soon-to-be spouse both do this it will save you a ton of time after!!
Another question to ask is…
Are you going to do a first look?
First looks can be structured however you want. A first look doesn’t necessarily have to be with your significant other. It can be with your parents, children, bridal party, or anyone else that is special to you.
Sometimes couples might opt to see each other from behind or even hold hands around a corner or on the other side of a door, saving actually seeing each other until the trip down the aisle.
This all needs to be thought about to allot the right amount of time so that the ceremony doesn’t run late and that it is built into your timeline.
Now I need to ask you about your Ceremony…
How long is your ceremony planned to be?
Will you have a religious celebration in your church or temple?
Are there cultural traditions that you plan to incorporate? — Handfasting ceremony, unity candle, cords, sand ceremony, etc?
Is the time allotted for speeches?
And how about Post Ceremony….
What Post ceremony photos do you want? — Post ceremony photos will consist of any photos that weren’t taken beforehand. This might include extended family photos, all of the bridal party together and of course you and your new spouse. The length of time needed for this will be dictated by the number of people and photos that you want taken.
And cocktail hour….
Will there be a cocktail hour? — Couples may offer a cocktail hour for their guests in order for them to transition from the ceremony to the reception and also allow time for the post ceremony photos to be taken.
Dinner…..
What time will dinner be served?
Is the dinner buffet style or plated? — You may not think about it but the serving time for the different styles will vary depending on which one you select, number of guests and number of waitstaff. Make sure you ask your caterer how long it will take them to serve and clean up everything.
The next thing that I want you to think about is, what reception events will you be participating in…
Mother & Son Dance? Father & Daughter Dance?
Garter & Bouquet Tosses?
Money Dance?
Games?
Cake Cutting? — All of these need to be thought of and scheduled into the reception.
Two more last important questions to ask you is…
How far into your reception would you like your photographer to stay? — With everyone having cell phones, with cameras bing 10x better than the first digital cameras, do you need or want your photographer to stay to take photos of dancing for four hours?
Do you have a planned exit at the end of the night that you would like captured by a professional photographer? — The answer to this, without having them stay until the end of the night might be a staged/mock exit before your actual exit. ** If you are considering this there are many great benefits to do a mock exit, such as:
Most of your guests will still be there to not only participate but also to have more people in the photo
Generally better lighting if you do it earlier depending on the venue or location that you plan it to take place
You don’t have to pay the photographer to stick around unnecessarily to the very end
Now that we covered all this important information, I hope that it was a helpful guide for you to figure out how many hours of photography coverage you will need on your wedding day.
After taking all this information into consideration, you may find that you want/need a photographer for a longer amount of time than you originally thought. Or, you may decide that you don’t need to go with that top tier package because you only need someone for 4-6 hours.
Either way, when searching for a photographer you now have a better understanding of how many hours you need to hire a professional photographer for. Not to mention helping you determine your overall wedding day budget.
This information can also help you to start planning out your ‘Wedding Day Timeline’. If you haven’t watched our “wedding day timeline video guide”, you can check it out on YouTube here.
**IMPORTANT** Having a completed wedding day timeline will be helpful to almost all of your vendors - so make sure you complete it and share it with them. It will help keep you, your bridal party, and family on track that day which will in turn make your wedding day go smoother and be that much more stress free.
Lastly, don’t let someone talk you into more coverage than you think you need. If they are trying to upsell you, ask them “why they recommend the larger package?” They might have a great reason that you agree with, or maybe you feel you just don’t need them.
Overall, do what you think is best for you. Many photographers will allow you to add time the day of the event if it looks like you may need it. Asking for an hourly rate if you exceed the hours in your contract is a great way around this.
Also, it is a good idea to have a call with your photographer the week of your wedding to go over last minute details and run through the timeline together…because good communication is an essential part to executing the plan perfectly!
If you have any questions when it comes to creating your plan or chatting about your coverage needs, you can reach out to our team here.
Best wishes!
Jillian Milam (Founder of Truly Divine Weddings & Early Morning Light Studio Photography)