Your big wedding day is coming up and you are looking for wedding photographers in Cambridge, but you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars. What do you do?
You could try to negotiate with the professional photographers, but you can only save so much doing that, so you look around for friends who may be willing to shoot your wedding.
You can’t just select any friend with a nice camera to shoot your wedding though. It’s a one-time event and arguably one of the most special days of your entire life. You want to make sure the photos are crisp, have good lighting, and have covered all the major moments. Usually wedding photographers have cameras that cost $2000 to $10,000, but you could get away with decent looking images with a camera under $1000, it all matters how you use it. Good lighting is a must for lower quality cameras, as they have will more difficulty picking up little details without it, causing blurriness and an unprofessional feel.
Consider making a post on Facebook or Instagram looking for wedding photographers in your friend group. From there you can ask them for a portfolio and what kind of camera they have so you can understand what you’d be getting.
Obviously you don’t want to pay too little for your photographer or they may be inexperienced. You can’t expect amazing photos from an amateur wedding photographer, but if you don’t care as much about little details then it may be the way to go.
One issue that may arise is arguments over payment or getting good photos. Remember, they are your friend and you have to be careful mixing business and personal relationships. If the business relationship goes sour be sure to talk with your friend and discuss that you don’t want it to affect your relationship outside of the photography.
It may be a good idea to even come up with a contract with your friend in case of any disputes. You should detail the price, what shots they need to get, what time they should start shooting, and whatever other details you don’t want to argue over. Contracts can save friendships because everything is in writing and in case of a fight you can both refer back to what the contract says.
I’ve heard some bad stories of weddings done by amateur photographers, and the bride and groom are upset because only a few photos end up turning out well. You get what you pay for most of the time, so be sure to do your research with your friends and discuss a plan beforehand. That way things can go relatively smooth and you get to keep your friend after the wedding!
So remember, friends can be a great choice for a wedding photographer, but there are greater chances of you not getting the photos that you were expecting, and a chance that it may damage your friendship if things don’t go well. Take all of these factors into consideration before making a decision on something as major as a wedding photographer.
Della Mullins 
Michelle Johnson