Hello everyone! Happy New Year! I can’t believe its 2016! 2016 Brides: are you freaking out yet?! *Breath* Lol.
So! This post is the first of my FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) because lately, this is one that I seem to get often: “Should I hire different photographers for different days?”
I can totally appreciate how so many brides find themselves in this predicament – our weddings are three days, sometimes more, and long weekends are usually prime real estate for the functions. Meaning, wedding photographers get booked, and fast. (Future brides: let that be a lesson to you – lock the photographer down early!)
I myself was never faced with this issue: we used Mir Anwar Photography for all three of our days + engagement shoot! Would I have wanted different photographers for each day? To be honest, probably not. Although we actually haven’t made our wedding album yet (I know, I know! It’s been 2 years!) when we do, I plan on creating it so that it starts with the mehndi photographs, which flow into the shaadi photographs which then conclude with the valima photographs. I know some people see each event as a separate thing on its own, but to me, when I think about the wedding, especially after time has passed, it’s just one big blur peppered with very special moments. The joy of the mehndi, captured by our friends’ and families’ dance moves, and our elated reactions; the moment my brother walked me down the aisle on the shaadi; making dua (saying a prayer) with my new husband next to me after our nikah; walking in together as Mr. and Mrs. on our valima… to me, none of this is separate, this was all our wedding – indeed, our big, fat, Pakistani wedding. Every photographer has their own style and to have the same style reflected throughout each of our days, especially together in one album, will aesthetically, simply flow. For example, I felt like Mir’s style was softer and whimsical (what I wanted) whereas some photographers’ books were much sharper / editorial . The contrast of those two types of styles in one album could look jarring.
And, now for the counter argument: one of my biggest regrets from our wedding is not having a second shooter. We didn’t realize that this would even be necessary – it was only after the fact that when we were looking through pictures, we wished we had pictures of some other moments – but that would have been impossible because one photog can only be in one place! So, if you have a wedding where you hire a photographer and they bring with them a second (or third, or four shooter) then, how is their view/lens any different than hiring a different photographer all together for a different event? And that diversity of lenses – artists seeing and capturing things in different ways – would probably make for a variety of interesting and great pictures!
Ultimately, if I was in that pickle – I had the photographer that I wanted for all but one days – and really needed to go with someone else for the event outstanding, I would just do it *as long as I liked them, their work, and their prices points as much as the first.* Ultimately, then, you will receive good photographs capturing the special moments of your wedding – and in the end, that’s all you’re going to want.
Good luck! And for anyone that did have this experience, share your thoughts below!
mybigfatpakistani 
Salam Safa!
First off just wanna say how much help your blog has been in the process of my wedding planning. I had a question about your wedding day itinerary, how did you make it and/or what sort of template did you use? I’ve been trying to find one online but it’s nearly impossible to find one for a desi wedding! Can you post yours or explain?!
xoxo Mishal
Hi Mishal, Great idea for a post, will do!!
As a wedding photographer, i thought i’d chime in here. Firstly, I need to ask why you would even think of hiring different photographers for different days? Not all photographers produce the same style, quality of work, or post processing technique, and not all photographers have the same technical knowledge or creative vision. You want to make sure your photos are consistent for each day of your wedding. If you hire different photographers for different days, you risk one day being one style and another day being a different style or quality. You can’t lump all photographers in the same basket and consider them equal – there are some studios that will charge you $500 and some that will charge you $5000 – not necessarily saying paying more will get you better results, but generally speaking, with photography, just like anything else, you get what you pay for.
Secondly, photographers (especially ones that shoot pakistani weddings) will offer a better package price if you book with them for 2 or 3 days. Unless one or two days of your wedding will be out of state (for example mehndi/wedding in NJ and Valima in CA), it would be more economical to book with the same photographer for each day of your wedding. Unless of course you have a really awesome photographer that you know and trust, then it’s worth it to pay a little extra(travel related costs) and use him/her for each day.
Probably not.. Every Photographer has own way to capture even they do have scheduled for each day like Mehndi, Barat & valima that how to make a photo in different techniques. They use their own strategy by using colors, views, decor, etc. so a single photographer is better than hiring a separate photographer for each day it could be disturbance for each photographer even they would not be able to manage better for a single day and you could have a bad experience by three different photographers with their different strategies. Simply hire a single photographer and get better things with her/his technicals ideas.