[superspaceystar]

I am finding that the photographers only offer extravagant photo packages. My fiance and I are planning a small wedding and need only a few services from our photographer. We were hoping to find someone that would take shots throughout most of our day (we'd send them home before the end of the reception), we would purchase a few prints or small print package from them and then purchase the negatives as well. That would be it. We do not want a huge extensive photo package we are more interested in doing the prints ourselves and making our own photo album. What are the chances of finding a photographer who is willing to give us what we want? And at what cost?

[The Video Pros]

There are photographers out there who will just shoot the wedding and provide you with negatives. Finding them may take a while, but well worth the effort.

Communication is key in this effort. When contacting the photographers regarding their pricing tell them up front before their sales pitch that all you want is their expert photography skills and the negatives. Pricing for this should range from $1,200 to $2,500.

We deal with professional photographers from all over, and we have come across quite a few who provide just photography and the negatives to their clients. We had one photographer call on behalf of his client because she told him about our custom photo books. He called to find out at what resolution he should take the photos, because he wanted to be sure his client got what she needed. He even called back a second time for her to give us the name of the lab he uses, so we could chat with them and give them the information directly. Very nice photographer!

When I asked him if he wanted to have his studio name in the book he said "No, I've been shooting photography for over 30 years. I'm perfectly happy just taking the pictures and giving the negatives to the bride. I charge a flat rate of $1,000. I don't have to worry about prints, albums or anything else!"

If you're planning on having a photo book made at a later date, be sure to have your images taken at the highest resolution and image size possible. Ask the photographer to provide to you on CD or DVD in large image and file size format, preferably as an uncompressed TIF image. JPG images use file compression and averages out the colors of the image, so try and stay away from JPG. RAW file format or uncompressed TIF file format is the best way to go.

Regarding creating something yourself, think about including pictures of when you first met, engagement party, wedding, reception, honeymoon. Perhaps scan your wedding invitation to include as part of the images. If any of your friends will be taking pictures as well, remind them to set their digital cameras for super fine setting, so you can use them for prints.