Local phogorapher, or fly one in?

ginadog

Hi all, we're working on selecting a weddingmoon location.   I am not sure how much time we'll need for an elopement, but at a minimum 2 hours.  Ceremony, then some scenic shots of us.  The rest would just be perks I think.  Ideally we'd like to get shots from two locations because of the beauty of the area, but may be hard to wing with 2 hours.

Banff area is PRICEY.  I looked to other areas, but Canmore/Banff really has the motherload of photography selection.

The first Canadian guy I am considering has 2 hours photography $1275, plus $75 travel fee to our location.  Also there is a 4 hours, plus album for $2475, plus travel fee.  If you go with the latter, you can add on a day before engagement for $300 in a different location.  So $1350 for 2 hours, or $2850 for 4 hours, album, plus engagements in the Rockies.

For just $1350 more, there's a world photographer that goes to Banff yearly based out of Australia.  He's does ONLY all day wedding plus day before engagements for $4200.  He's by far the best, up there with Jose Villa and Leo Patrone, but that is a chunk of change for sure - although the lowest $/hr rate compared to the other Banff photographers.  Another bride is paying his airfare and hotel so that is not part of my expense!  This guy love elopements above all other weddings.

Then I had a Utah photographer booked for a Jackson Hole wedding who has offered to go to Canada for the same price of $1800 USD.  We lowered some hours and cut bridals.  So 6 hours plus engagements (in Utah) runs $1100, leaving herself $700 for tickets, car, hotel, food.

However, although the Utah girl is the best price, there is some benefit to having a local photographer who knows their way around.  The Canadian guy has been in the business for 12+ years.  The Utah photographer is only about 2 years in the business (she's quite young - 23, 24?).  The world photographer is in between.

Both Banff based photographers were very quick with email responses.  Utah girl took sometimes 2 weeks (!), but luckily I had the time to wait.  Not sure if that's normal for her or not.

Is $4200 in the budget?  Well, ideally we wouldn't like to spend that much because because the principle of it all (kind of thought the weddingmoon would be cheaper than a Jackson wedding), and don't believe weddings should cost that much, but if it is a more wise decision for experience, quality and bang for your buck, we can probably convince ourselves.

Who would you go with?   All offer high res edited CD with printing rights.

StephBeanWed61502

The middle of the road package with the Canadian guy sounds the best for you.  Banff looks beautiful, and I'm sure any photographer could get decent shots there, but I can't help but feel like a local person would be a better resource for you, and $2550 is not terribly expensive for wedding photos plus album.  Also, I feel like the local guy will have a better back-up plan in mind if it happens to be raining on the day of your wedding or something like that, and will know if, say, you need permits to take photos in certain public places (there are several public parks and beaches around here that require permits to be gotten for photo shoots and such, which is what made me think of it).

toothpastechica

Look into photographers from Calgary...usually the smaller places can charge higher prices because they dont have as much competition, not necissarily because they are better. Someone from Calgary might be willing to do a wedding in banff and might be affordable enough that even with the travel expenses you may get better pictures. We are getting married in central BC but have hired photographers from Vancouver, because its a day trip for them so they are only charging us $100 extra for travel, otherwise thier pricing is the same as if it were local and because they are from a big city thier pricing is very competative and they are amazing.

ginadog

So guy in the middle who I like a lot and has been very nice over email can do a 2 hour elopement, plus a $300 lifestyle session the day before anywhere else.  That way we get two locations, awesome photos and only 4 hours total (cheaper than 4 hours in only wedding attire).  I am happy with that.

ybgoode

If you're having a destination wedding, always fly a photographer from your town to the location. That's what some of my girlfriends who've had destination weddings have always told me. When you're dealing with someone who is local to your town, you have someone who is infinitely more accountable in their work. Locals at resorts and in other countries, unless they're world-famous photographers, simply don't have anything on the line when it comes to delivering quality products. My wedding wasn't a destination, but I used this guy www.pavelkounine.com. Although I know he'll do a destination wedding if asked. I wanted a destination wedding, but I knew that many of the people I wanted their for me wouldn't be able to either get the time off or afford a vacation just for my pleasure. But I'm happy that you're able to do this. I've attended a few and they're magnificent!