When you are planning a wedding, there are a lot of numbers to think about. Guest numbers, budgets, timings and everything else that comes with organising the day.
So it makes sense that one of the questions couples often ask when looking for a photographer is: How many wedding photos will we receive?
It is a useful question, but the final number only tells you part of the story.
Think about one of your favourite photographs of your parents, grandparents or somebody else important to you. You probably do not love it because it was the 450th photograph in a gallery. You love it because of the person in it, their expression or the moment it reminds you of.
That is how I think about wedding photographs too. My aim is to give you a gallery that covers your wedding properly, from the big moments you knew were happening to the smaller things you might have completely missed.
Exactly how many photographs that takes will depend on your wedding.
HOW MANY PHOTOS WILL WE RECEIVE?
The amount of coverage you book gives you a good starting point for what to expect.
My Full Day wedding photography includes 600+ edited images, Half Day includes 300+ edited images, and Short & Sweet includes 100+ edited images.
These are minimum numbers rather than targets or limits. I do not reach a particular number and then stop including photographs.
If there are more photographs that deserve to be part of your finished gallery, you will receive them.
The final number will naturally vary from one wedding to another. A Full Day wedding with preparations, a ceremony, speeches and an evening reception will usually create more photographs than a smaller ceremony with shorter coverage.
The number of guests can make a difference too. More people usually means more interactions, reactions and moments happening throughout the day.
What matters to me is that your finished gallery feels complete rather than trying to make every wedding fit a particular number.
HOW ARE WEDDING PHOTOS CHOSEN FOR THE FINAL GALLERY?
After your wedding, I go through everything I have photographed and carefully select the images that will make up your finished gallery.
I am looking for the photographs that show the important parts of the day as well as everything happening around them.
That includes the obvious moments such as the ceremony, confetti, family photographs and speeches, but also the things you might not have noticed yourself.
Your guests reacting during the ceremony. Friends catching up during the drinks reception. Someone laughing during a speech. A quick look between the two of you.
If I have photographed a sequence of the same moment, I will choose the strongest images rather than filling your gallery with lots of photographs that are almost identical.
The aim is to give you a gallery that covers the day properly while still being enjoyable to look through.
DO YOU DELIVER EVERY PHOTO YOU TAKE?
No, and there is a good reason for that.
Throughout a wedding, I will take photographs that are never intended to be part of the finished gallery. There will naturally be duplicates, test photographs, missed focus, people blinking and multiple frames of the same moment.
Part of my job after the wedding is going through all of those photographs and deciding which ones should be included.
I am not removing photographs simply to keep the number down. If an image adds something to your gallery and meets the standard I want to deliver, I will include it.
What you receive is the finished collection rather than every press of the shutter.
DOES MORE REALLY MEAN BETTER?
You might come across photographers or wedding advice suggesting that you should expect a certain number of photographs for every hour of coverage.
I do not think wedding days fit neatly into a formula like that.
There can be parts of a wedding where a lot happens within a few minutes. Confetti, the first kiss and a busy dance floor can all produce several photographs very quickly.
There can also be quieter parts of the day where fewer photographs are needed.
That is why I would rather concentrate on what is actually happening than work towards an hourly number.
The final number will naturally be higher when there is more happening throughout the day. Adding lots of similar images simply to make that number bigger does not make the gallery better.
IT IS NEVER JUST ABOUT THE NUMBER
It is completely reasonable to want to know how many photographs you are going to receive, which is why I give you a clear minimum with each of my photography options.
But once your gallery arrives, the photographs themselves should matter more than the final count.
Years from now, you probably will not be thinking about whether you received 300, 600 or 800 photographs. You will be looking at the people who were there, the moments you remember and probably a few things you had completely forgotten about.
That is what I want your finished gallery to give you. A complete collection of photographs that shows what happened, who was there and what your wedding was actually like.
HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY?
Every wedding is different, so if you are unsure which photography option would suit what you have planned, I am happy to talk it through with you.
If you like my relaxed, natural approach and would like to know more about working with me, I would love to hear about your wedding.
