Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

misswitty Posted: May 10, 2009 09:22 AM

Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

Hey ladies!
I booked our photog over a year ago, but haven't done e-pics yet. They're included - we're getting married July 3rd. Are they necessary? Did you find them to be helpful - like a practice session - for the wedding day? If we don't do them, can they be taken off the package? Anyone have experience with this?

TIA!

And Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!

AngeeM Posted: May 10, 2009 10:09 AM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

I was told that they are necessary for you to get to know your photographer. I also used them for our STD. IMO they were a good thing. I'm glad that we are getting them. Also, sometimes it doesn't make much difference in the price. Some photogs I met with threw them in free or the were very little. HTH

valthom426 Posted: May 10, 2009 10:11 AM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

Get them. We didn't have them done, tried to do it right before the wedding, couldn't and now I am kicking myself.

squeekietoy Posted: May 10, 2009 10:18 AM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

I know with our photog, if we subtracted them it didn't take much off the total. Plus, it helped us get to know him. Which made us 100% comfortable with him on the day of the wedding. Soooo, you might want to do the E-Pics.

Plus, we took two of our epics and enlarged them and used them as the pics for our sign in boards. So, that was a plus.

GR2010 Posted: May 10, 2009 10:21 AM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

I actually added them to the package I got... I think it is a nice thing to have... it lets your photog know what you are comfortable with doing and it lets you know how he works... plus they're nice to have for the save the dates. How many other times in my life will I have a professional photographer follow me around for the day!!!

One of my BMs just got married and she decided not to do hers and her photographer let her swap it out for parent albums... I guess it would just depend on how much they charge for the shoot, if they'll work with you to swap it out for something else or whether or not they'll let you just take it off the contract.

But if you really don't want them I would just ask the guy if you can remove it from the contract.

JillandJoe Posted: May 10, 2009 10:23 AM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

I do not think they are necessary....we cut them

sharivera Posted: May 10, 2009 10:32 AM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

if you can save $$ off your photography by cutting them out, they i dont see why you shouldn't.. E- pic are not a necessity. If you want to meet your photographer before hand, im sure you can set up an appointment to meet with them. We had no plans of doing e-pics but it was included in our contract.. so we did.

mrsdraskin2009 Posted: May 10, 2009 10:42 AM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

Sorry to disagreen with the majority, but I DO NOT think they are necessary. My photog threw them in for free, otherwise I'd forget them. If you know someone who is handy with a camera, you DIY.

asg450 Posted: May 10, 2009 10:49 AM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

I don't think it is necessary. My friend took a few posed studio pictures as their e-pics to save money. If you know someone who is good at photography you can ask him/her to take pictures of you and your FH to use on your STD's.

You can also try and get the e-pics for free from your photographer; that's what we did.

Cassie15 Posted: May 10, 2009 10:54 AM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

It's def not a must. I didn't do them for my wedding photos. If you want to see the quality of your photographer's work, I would def recommend the engagement portrait. E-pics are good for the signing board or table numbers/seating if you are planning to use them. However, if it is out of your budget, then save your money for something else. You have to let the photographer know that you're working with to see if they can still reimburse you for it. The packages change from a year to year basis depending on the company that you're working with but I would def discuss it with them. Let them know that it is really out of your budget right now and it didn't occur to you at the time of the booking that you would not be using them for your wedding.

coldasice217 Posted: May 10, 2009 11:47 AM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

They're not necessary, but a lot of photogs do include them, and will not dock your price if you delete them. The photographer we ended up choosing includes them, and we asked to delete them, and he said we could if we wanted, but wouldn't change price, so why not do them then? He also said he does them to get a feel for our personalities and nuances before the wedding, which I do agree with. But, we would have been fine doing them DIY, since FH has a photographer buddy at work who actually did the ones for our STDS, since we won't be getting our formal ones done till September/October.

FutureMrsG Posted: May 10, 2009 12:06 PM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

Ours were FREE so we will not get money back if we choose not to take them.

MrsDR2010 Posted: May 10, 2009 12:20 PM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

Its not necessary but definately a chance to see the photographer's work for yourself. I think its one thing that you see a book of work that they did but you really won't know if it's really their work until you try them for yourself. I know a few girls that wished they did them because they said if they knew the work would be so horrible they would have switched photographers. So I would do them so that you feel more comfortable with their work and don't have any regrets after the wedding. Plus, alot of places throw them in for free so I would take advantage of that

HTH
Thanks for the mother's day love!!

springsandra Posted: May 10, 2009 12:34 PM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

I feel the same way a lot of people on here who already responded do:

We wouldn't save anything by cutting them (they're 'free' as part of our package), but I think we'd lose the experience of not only being comfortable with our photographer in advance, but also feeling confident on the day of that we'll get what we hope for in our pictures.

We're doing our ephotos on June 14th and our wedding is July 18th. It's just the only date we could work out between us and our photographer. I'm looking forward to it a lot!

MarjorieFrank Posted: May 10, 2009 12:35 PM

Re: Are e-pics necessary? Can we cut $ off photog bill?

They were included in my package. After i signed the contract I realized I probably could have saved $$ by not including them so I got really sad lol. I spoke to my photographer and asked what we could get if we didn't do the e-shoot and they only offered me like 2-3 more pages in my wedding album. I didn't think that was a fair trade, so we will be doing the e-shoot.

I don't think they are necessary though. Definitely see what difference in price the package will be if you don't include them.