Engagement photos?

[nicole]

I was wondering if anyone had had them done and what their experiences were? See, I am going to stay the month with my SO in June, and we decided then was the only definite time before the wedding we could get them done. But obviously I am aware June is prime time wedding season, so I've started looking for photographers and getting rates/ asking questions now, because I think it would be best to book earlier, so we know we can definitely get them taken whilst I am there.

Right now, I am waiting on a reply from one photographer, a session with him costs $100 and a CD with all the photos on costs another $100 with full printing rights. So $200 total... does that sound reasonable? I have asked him several questions, like how long the session goes on for and if it includes editing. But all the others I have seen cost $350 minimum, even without the right to print.... I've seen a lot of samples of his work, and they all look really good. So I can't tell if I've stumbled upon a bargain, or if I should stay clear of him.

So.... if you have had photos taken, how much did you spend, and what did your package include? and of course if you've had them taken, feel free to show us yours too!

[Silviar]

It's reasonable - I'd say it really depends on you. engagement photos used to be for newspapers and the like - now we don't really tell people about our weddings through those mediums anymore. So if you're planning on doing a newspaper and have an engagement of 6 months or more - why not? If you're not, though, why not just get some portraits done by a studio? They'll charge you a lot less because t won't have the 'engagement photo' tag on it.

I didn't have engagement photos taken because there was no point for me personally to have them. I have plenty of other photos just before and from the wedding when I did get married. Which of course I don't need since I'm divorced, but that's ok!

[mllebamako]

$200 def seems reasonable for a professional photographer.

I agree, it's more about what it means to you. We had a huge, African engagement party with matching outfits and stuff so I just had my Dad take some "engagement-style" photos of us (he's a really great photographer). I'm happy to have them for my own personal enjoyment. I didn't really do anything with them other than print them out for myself and my fiance.

[garnet]

It's far less than any of the quotes I got while searching. In the end, I gave up.

[Trethsparr]

Depending on what photographer you go with for wedding photos, you might even get the engagement package included for free. I know several photographers here who offer a free engagement session as part of their wedding package; in fact, that's what my SO and I are having done during his next visit in March. This gives us (the bride and groom) a chance to get to know them (the photogs) better before having photos done on the Big Day.

[nicole]

Yeah I've been looking round, one photographer emailed me back withing minutes and said their engagement package is free, they use it as a taster to see if we will book them for the wedding, but as our proper wedding will be in the UK, I would feel awful using their services for free, knowing full well I won't be using them for the wedding. I've emailed my SO to see what he thinks, I might be able to negotiate with her. lol I bet she'll have never had a customer who wants to pay her more then she is asking

Also found another with a package for $150.00, and I've emailed them to see what exactly the package includes, but these all look promising I just felt it was odd one was asking for $200 whilst the others I first saw were asking a lot more.