how long does the photographer stay?

I booked my photographer for 5 hours from 1pm - 6pm. The ceremony/reception will go from 1:30 to 6:00pm. I'm not having any pictures of myself getting ready, etc. If you're doing pre-ceremony pics, I would start him a few hours (at least) before the ceremony and yes, would keep him until the end so he can get pics of you and your new hubby leaving. I know alot of packages offer 8 hours or full day coverage. Good luck!

My photographer is all day. She will arrive about 10:30-11am while im getting ready and will stay till about 10pm. I dont want pics of us leaving and if they stay at the reception to long you can only take so many pics of people dancing.

I have my photographer comming from about 7am in the morning and she will not leave until about 6 that night! She is very young and just started out. We have actually become friends and started hanging out so it wont be so long and i am getting a killer deal but i want her there for when we start to get ready and pictures at the hair salon and other things like that as well as the guys getting ready! and you photographer is supposed to stay until you leave to get your getaway pictures after that they normally leave cause most people will leave as soon as you do!

I always do full coverage, starting where the bride is getting ready and going until the end of the reception, regardless of package. But everyone is different. If you get an hourly package, make sure you find out what overtime charges are. If you want the photographer to stay, many times they will want the overtime right then and there.

In my area it's the norm to leave after cake cutting for the photographer. Some stay until the end, it really varies based on the company. I think you get the best footage and pictures at the end of the night.

I have mine for 7 hours. They show up at 2 and the ceremony is at 5. As long as they get the cake cutting and a few dance photos I'm fine. You can always stage a leaving picture if you don't want to pay for them to stay until the end.

Our photographer will arrive in the morning for us getting ready (me & BM's) and the other photographer will be with my FH and his groomsmen. The photographers are a married couple. They will be with us all through getting ready, the ceremony and at the reception until 10 pm. I think 10 pm is a great cut off because you dont need pictures of people just dancing...and if they have had too much to drink LOL i dont think pictures of that are needed either!!

This is one of the reasons that we do not do hourly but simply the whole event.

Wedding's schedule are prone to running late and out of order sometimes, and having to watch the clock in addition to everything else during the wedding day is just a headache that you don't need.

As far as how long our events are, we can say that we usually stay 10-12 hours on the weddings that we cover.

You can probably shave off a couple hours off your coverage if you put the cake cutting/first dance earlier in the night and just have the guests shoot the partying later so you can have your photographer leave earlier.

Hi! It will depend on a lot of different factors. First off, do you want them to stay for the end of the reception? If so, then how long from the moment the ceremony starts until the end of the reception. Then, when are you getting your portraits done, before or after the ceremony? If before, add on more time (maybe 4 minutes per shot and then plenty of time for the two of you 20 min-1 hour). Then how much of the getting ready photos do you want? A lot can be accomplsihed in 30 minutes, and even more in a couple of hours.

If all that math gives you a headache, a lot of photographers like myself, offer packages that have "unlimited" time (though I offer limited time as well to save bride's money). You get all the important things and don't have to worry if it runs over by an hour because they'll be there. :-)

It is important to understand whether you want the "whole story" or just the highlights. More hours of coverage equals more story.

This is something you need to discuss with your photographer in terms of if he/she has certain packages that allow for a certain amount of time. My photographer will be with us all day. He will come to my house to take the pics of us (the girls)getting ready. Then he will head to the wedding/reception venue. He will stay for most of the evening, though I don't think he needs to stay until the end b/c you only need so many pictures of ppl dancing. Plus thats what the videographer is for...to capture some of the moments you don't get on camera. Utlimately its up to you and what photos you want and your budget. Good luck!!

Our photographer is staying with us all day long. Starting out at my house at 11AM to capture me and BMs getting ready, going to the picture site before the wedding, and back to the ceremony and reception until about 9PM.

I think we got ours for eight hrs. i think should have gotten longer.....stupid us, figured them coming like at nine thirty in the morning that would be stupid....wedding isnt until three......wonder if i should tell the hairdresser (my moh sister) shes ocming over at my parents house to do m ine, my moh and my one bm hair. wonder if i should tell her later on durin the day so that can get shots of us getting ready? oh geexz here comes the panic mode again.......oh crap.........yea that would be enough time for the church, (hopefully) the waterfalls, the reception......thats seven hours right there......but then the othe rhour, i dont think that my fh is getting ready with all of the guys bc just family drama......unless he can stay over at the best mans (my uncles house) my jr bm will be there......oyvey! my one bm is coming i guess with her hubby......

Thanks everyone... alot to think about! the photographers that stay all day are pretty expensive but I'm thinking it will be worth it in the end. It would be fun to see pictures of my FH getting ready and vis-versa for him. And I would like pictures of us leaving... I guess if there is one place to splurge this would be it

Mine will be there for 6 hours which will be an hour of pics before with bride and BMs then groom and groomsmen a half hour of pics before the wedding starts...candid shots getting ready then ceremony and reception he is staying for the whole reception.

Hi,

Typically, the photographer starts at the Bride's house and finishes after the cake-garter-bouquet moment. We are always ASKING if we can leave, if you want an ending photo that is so easy to stage.

Most of the people don't even want the photographer to stay till the very end, by that time, everyone is usually tired of taking pictures anyway. Most of the time, the videographer stays till the very end.

If you have two photographers, you can have the main starting at the Brides house and the second photographer starting at the grooms house.

Our studio only charges overtime if the day is over 10 hours. It is usually $100 per hour per man. If yo purchase a big package through us (photo, video, photo favours, screens etc... you can get overtime for no charge - ask for it when you book your package).

Good luck to you - we wish you all the best !

If you can afford to hire them from getting ready through your last scheduled event (usually cake/bouquet/garter) you should have it covered. The dancing shots before the cake won't look too much different from the dancing shots after the cake cutting.

If they do it's probably TMI anyway right?

I don't truck with the "Unlimited Hours" thing. Makes my feet hurt just thinking about it We can nearly always tell the story of a wedding day in a 6-7 hour time frame unless there's a big break in the middle of the day (or if it's an Indian wedding!)

Usually we stay from the getting ready phase through to the cake cutting, first dance and speeches of the best man and maid of honor; or for as long you choose. There really is no point in staying much longer than that unless you have a special moment you want the photographer to cover.

Usually we stay from the getting ready phase through to the cake cutting, first dance and speeches of the best man and maid of honor; or for as long you choose. There really is no point in staying much longer than that unless you have a special moment you want the photographer to cover.

We got two photographers for $2200 that stay all day and provide us with everything you would ask from a phographer. Same with the videographers. Two videographers all day for $2000 who also interview us before and after the wedding to get "our Story".

I say, these are the things that will last forever from your wedding day so choose people who truly care about what they do. Those who are willing to stay all day obviously care enough to do so...

(Not to say that other photographers don't care, but most likely you won't go wrong with someone who is willing to stay all day)

We typically stay for a little bit into the ceremony unless specifically requested to stay through the departure. Most events we've shot lately, this seems to be where people are trimming costs and not doing a special departure (limo).

In all honesty, you can only have SO many drunk dancing pictures. I'm in PA, and the "Dollar dance" is typically when we start winding down shooting.

For me, photography is the most important part of the wedding. I used to be a wedding planner and the thing I heard the most was that people wished they would have splurged for a better photographer. That was the biggest mistake people said they made. The pictures and your memories are all that you'll have left when it's over! I splurged and got the best photographer around (Sergio Photographer). He doesn't do the hourly thing. His prices are flat and he and a 2nd shooter spend the entire day with us. Actually, we're doing a destination wedding, so we're paying a flat fee to him and the 2 photographers are with us for 2 days, shooting everything from the rehearsal dinner to the entire wedding day. Trust me, when it's over, you'll want to have pictures of everything. I'd try and have them shoot as much as possible. There's a lot of photographers who do flat packages like this, so you might want to look into that.