We're bringing our photographer!

[tinkerbell_82]

The photographer that shot our engagement party loved us so much that he offered to sail with us and do our pics for the entire cruise for a very reasonable price! I booked his cabin, but now I'm not sure what to do about the ship's photographer. Has anyone had success in telling Carnival that you do not want their photographer? I don't want to raise any red flags because I know I am not supposed to bring my own on board, but there's no chance we are paying the outrageous prices they charge.

[MrsFreeman21408]

I'm bringing my own photographer also. We told them he was a "family friend". My wedding is a week away so I'll tell you how it goes

 

The photographer that shot our engagement party loved us so much that he offered to sail with us and do our pics for the entire cruise for a very reasonable price! I booked his cabin, but now I'm not sure what to do about the ship's photographer. Has anyone had success in telling Carnival that you do not want their photographer? I don't want to raise any red flags because I know I am not supposed to bring my own on board, but there's no chance we are paying the outrageous prices they charge.

[LilBlackDress]

When I was married, (on RCI) we were told, that anyone in your group is welcome to take pictures as long as they do not "look like a professional"

 

Our wedding package included the photographer for x hours but the pictures were an extra fee. We did ask for a 2nd sitting with their photographer (done on the 1st sea day) since our reception was delayed 2 hours. we offered to pay for it but since my parents bought a package they didnt charge for it.

 

my point is... bottomline if their photographer is included with your package, but the pictures are the extra, you can look at the pictures and just not order any...

Than you don't have to let them know that you have hired an outside source

 

PS not sure if our photographer was supposed to let us take the proofs off the ship but I was able to go to a local cyber cafe (in St Thomas) and scan the proof sheets, email them to myself, and edit them when I got home..

[tinkerbell_82]

I'm bringing my own photographer also. We told them he was a "family friend". My wedding is a week away so I'll tell you how it goes

 

Good to know!! Congrats in advance and please do report back!

[tinkerbell_82]

When I was married, (on RCI) we were told, that anyone in your group is welcome to take pictures as long as they do not "look like a professional"

 

Our wedding package included the photographer for x hours but the pictures were an extra fee. We did ask for a 2nd sitting with their photographer (done on the 1st sea day) since our reception was delayed 2 hours. we offered to pay for it but since my parents bought a package they didnt charge for it.

 

my point is... bottomline if their photographer is included with your package, but the pictures are the extra, you can look at the pictures and just not order any...

Than you don't have to let them know that you have hired an outside source

 

PS not sure if our photographer was supposed to let us take the proofs off the ship but I was able to go to a local cyber cafe (in St Thomas) and scan the proof sheets, email them to myself, and edit them when I got home..

 

That's what I'm debating on- whether we should just let the carnival guy take pics. My two concerns are (1) the photographer were bringing May not be able to get the best shots with another person in the way and (2) FH will end up buying some of the expensive pics because he's sentimental like that. :)

[Soulfish]

Planning to get married on Allure of the seas, and planning to bring our own photographer for our wedding.

 

I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to photography (being a photographer myself) and the thought of not being able to select my own photographer is what caused me to budget for bringing our own. Not sure how to handle RCI photographer however!

[lightskinedgyal]

We are having a photographer too but our package included one for an hour after he is done i will ask my photographer to take pictures and stuff should be good i will get allot of pictures that way

[Carnival_Brides]

On CCL there is now some kind of waiver you can sign so that you don't have to use their photographer. You're so lucky you're photographer is willing to cruise with you. We looked into using two different professional photogs and they both refused to photograph our wedding because of Carnival's rules.

[tinkerbell_82]

On CCL there is now some kind of waiver you can sign so that you don't have to use their photographer. You're so lucky you're photographer is willing to cruise with you. We looked into using two different professional photogs and they both refused to photograph our wedding because of Carnival's rules.

 

Is there? I'll have to find out about that! Yes, we're lucky. The guy we are using is trying to get into destination weddings more and we're his second one, so we got a great deal. I'll just review him everywhere to return the favor. Our e-party pics came our good so hopefully the wedding ones will too. :)

[Ballaholic29414]

I called Carnival Thursday and they said Id just have to email the wedding department to let them know that I don't need to use Carnivals photographers. They just said that my photographer cant look like a professional or use a tripod.

[tinkerbell_82]

I called Carnival Thursday and they said Id just have to email the wedding department to let them know that I don't need to use Carnivals photographers. They just said that my photographer cant look like a professional or use a tripod.

 

Was it the wedding department you spoke to? Did you tell them you were bringing your own, or that you just didn't want theirs?

[Ballaholic29414]

Yes I spoke with the wedding Department. I just told them I wanted to sign a waiver to opp out of using carnivals photographer and use my own and they said there isn't a waiver, just send us a email stating that you would like to use your own photographer. Then she started naming a list of things I couldn't bring, but the only thing that really cought my ear was NO TRIPODS

[tinkerbell_82]

Nice. Thanks for the info! I really appreciate it.

[ducklite]

A friend of mine got married on a RCCL ship. I brought my pro gear and shot the wedding "alongside" the ships photographer. The ships photographer was not good at all. Took photos without fill flash with the large windows behind them so all you saw was their outlines with all the light behind them, shots that were out of focus, just really terrible. I had intended to put some of my shots into an album for them, they had not hired me, and were planning buying from the ship. I had debated bringing my gear, and was glad I did after seeing the proofs from the RCCL photographer. They ended up buying one photo and I gave them all of the shots I took so they could get whichever ones they wanted printed.

 

I am not a wedding photographer btw, I work in an entirely different field of photography.

 

I would not count on the ships photographer whom you have never met or seen the work of to capture those once in a lifetime moments if you have any other option. Just my opinion.

 

PS--I didn't need a tripod, any photographer who has a clue should know how to work without one when necessary unless they are shooting a lunar eclipse or something along those lines.

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

Edited November 2, 2013 by ducklite

[tinkerbell_82]

A friend of mine got married on a RCCL ship. I brought my pro gear and shot the wedding "alongside" the ships photographer. The ships photographer was not good at all. Took photos without fill flash with the large windows behind them so all you saw was their outlines with all the light behind them, shots that were out of focus, just really terrible. I had intended to put some of my shots into an album for them, they had not hired me, and were planning buying from the ship. I had debated bringing my gear, and was glad I did after seeing the proofs from the RCCL photographer. They ended up buying one photo and I gave them all of the shots I took so they could get whichever ones they wanted printed.

 

I am not a wedding photographer btw, I work in an entirely different field of photography.

 

I would not count on the ships photographer whom you have never met or seen the work of to capture those once in a lifetime moments if you have any other option. Just my opinion.

 

PS--I didn't need a tripod, any photographer who has a clue should know how to work without one when necessary unless they are shooting a lunar eclipse or something along those lines.

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

 

thank you so much for the info. This is exactly what I'm afraid of. You never know what you're going to get with the ships photographer- and not all photographers are the same. I still haven't contacted Carnival about not needing theirs- I will report back when I get a response.

[tinkerbell_82]

Hi everyone! I am very happy to report that I received a call from my wedding coordinator regarding not wanting to use the ships photographer and she said NO PROBLEM! :) I told her a family friend was taking pics and there were zero issues with that. Something to keep in mind if you're looking to do the same. :)

[ducklite]

So glad you got it worked out. :)

[Turbette]

Thank You so much for sharing Tina. I also debated on taking my own photographer on my CCL wedding cruise 12/19/14. I think you just helped me make my decision :D

[Ballaholic29414]

Feb 1, 2014 We used our on photographer on the carnival fantasy and we were glad we did because carnival photographers looked professional but pics looked very dark and poor quality. Our photographer pics turnt out great. The only pics we didn't get a chance to take with our photographer were the ship deck pics but we ended up buy those from the carnival photographers. Before my wedding I thought that I MUST buy the picture package in order to get pictures but they later told us that we could buy as few pictures as we liked. We between our photographer and carnivals photographer we walked away with over 300 pictures and only spent $500 total between both of them. (Only bought 10 pics from carnivals photographer)

[NL2134]

The big thing I've heard about using your own is no tripods. That seems to be the big line that you can't cross. As long as you don't have tripod set up or things like backdrops or lighting, it sounds like you should be fine.