Photographer advice - kind of long

tjs2009

Hello all,
I am hoping you can give me some input/advice.
We booked our photographer about 2 months ago after meeting with him, seeing his pictures, and seeing some of the awards he got (knot pick of the year two years in a row).

We had our engagement photos about a week ago and I was kind of disappointed. He asked three times when our wedding date was (umm, your our photographer, shouldn't you know this before coming to meet with us?!) and he had to call his wife to ask about "equipment issues" The pictures were very posed and he didnt take any candid shots. I also thought he would have taken more (he only took about 50).

I was not really impressed with the pictures. They were okay, but definetely not "WOW"

We were supposed to have copyrights to all our pictures, so when I called to see when I could get the CD of our engagement photos to use for our STD, he wanted to charge me $350. When I brought up the fact that in the conract and as per our discussion they were included, he informed me it was only wedding pictures, NOT engagement photos.
I am also concerned because looking on his website (once I got the password) at other couples wedding photos, he appears to only take anywhere from 500-800 shots...I guess I was just expecting to take around 1200 or so.

I feel kind of misled, based on the awards and the previous pictures I have seen which looked GREAT!!

We've put down a $400 deposit and we still owe around 2300. I am considering just sucking up the 400 bucks were spent and going somewhere else. I am just nervous because our wedding is in June and I don't know if it is too late to go somewhere else. I also don't know what kind of repurcussions there would be if we canceled. Would we just lose the $400 or still owe the 2300.  What would you do in this situation? Keep him, go somewhere else?

Any suggestions for GOOD photographers? 
Any good or bad on the following?
Dana Marie Photography
Countryside Photography
Glena Photography

I would like to keep it around 2500 or so if I did have to rebook.

Thanks for your help!!

snooks721

FI and I are using CR Fotography. They are not as popular as some of the other photographers but I think they do a really nice job. Our package included: a forty page Designer wedding album, unlimited coverage of your wedding day with 2 photographers, engagement photo session that includes a photo for the newspaper, prebridal session that includes a photo for the newspaper, a slideshow proof DVD, a low res proof CD for email and social networking on the internet and a private gallery of all your images on our website for you to share with your friends and family. Our package is costing us less than $1200 with all the above included. If you are interested you should visit their website: www.crfotography.com. We just had our e-pics done and had a lot of fun with them.

In my opinion, the photographer is probably one of the most important vendors you will have at your wedding. If you are unhappy with your photographer, you're going to dread your wedding day and the last thing you need on your wedding is to be stressing out! If I were you, I would probably go with someone else because the photos are really important to me. I hope everything works out for you. I have a feeling I know what photographer you're talking about...

cmalchow

YES!  photograpy is KEY!

i used dana marie photography and i LOVED LOVED LOVED my pics!

as far as e-pics verse wedding pics...we only got about 125 e-pics, but got about 600 wedding pics - that's normal,

but if you are not happy - i would forgo the $400 and move on...you don't want to be worried on your wedding day...

cmalchow

if you want, i can share my pics from Dana Marie Photography...they are some on her FB page too under COlleen & Guy's wedding (or something similar)

tjs2009

I checked with Dana Marie and she is booked.   
Two others that I am looking into are L&J studios and Ayres which are both open that day (as of right now)

cgielow

We are also using CR Fotography. They were running a special at the time and we got all the things snooks listed above for around $1000. I really enjoyed our engagement photo shoot and it turned out great. I agree with PPs on photography being a super important part of the day - if you are questioning it now, it may be worth forgoing the deposit and knowing that you'll be 100% happy with how the pictures come out. 

MrsPawlak2B

We used Wendy Mitchell Photography.  She was AMAZING!!  We got the rights to all of our engagement AND wedding photos.  Also, she is very reasonably priced. 

shugamegan

I haven't had experience with the others you listed but, my FBIL used Countryside at there wedding a little over a year ago and I was unimpressed.  The photograher wasn't very friendly, kind of pushy actually, and the photos were mostly staged. They also didn't seem to pay attention because there wasn't any candid photos taken of the family and not one of FMIL and FFIL together.

StephyD216

We're going with Ayres... you will not be disappointed! They are AMAZING! We just had out e-shoot with them yesterday and they are so fantastic to work with! Ben finds the most amazing shots and Jenn pays so much attention to the small details- I know the pictures will be amazing!! I can't wait to see them!

My vote is Ayres- worth every penny!

peaches105

I vote for Ayres too!

@Stephy where did you end up doing your shoot? Weren't you going to do Akron Falls? 

RachelAdam1011

We are using Alec Maslowski (AJ Photography).  He's a great guy and all the feedback we've gotten from others who have used him have said he is PHENOMINAL.  We adore him; he's really funny & laidback.  Very affordable because he works out of his home and doesn't have to pay for studio fees.

StephyD216

@peaches105... yes we did them at Akron Falls Park- Jenn showed us a couple shots right off the camera and they looked AMAZING! They never shot there before, so it was something new for all of us! It was so much fun to work with them!

Did you get your pictures back yet? She said they're swamped from wedding season right now, so it might be up to 12 week for all the pictures to be finished. So worth the wait though!

peaches105

Stephy I am on the edge of my mousepad waiting for the end of the month. Jen told me 2 months, and I can believe 3 for you since late summer/early fall is so so busy. It's been tough though because it's been so long since we did them, and I'm starting to regret doing our e-shoot at Delaware Park and downtown where Jen/Ben shoot weekly. I wish I was more original, but I know I will be 150% happy when we get them all back because I'll be reminded that I wanted pictures in the city (our wedding is in the "country").

StephyD216

Peaches- I'm ALREADY super impatient and its been literally 1 day haha! I'm sure your city pictures will be amazing! We did country pictures because our wedding is going to be downtown- we had the same idea!

I'll keep on the lookout for the blog post!

L&J2012

We are using Elegant Imaging (based out of Gasport, NY. She does the Buffalo/Rochester area). We're having our engagement pictures taken this weekend, so I haven't had any personal experience yet, but Esther is very personable and on top of things. All-day photography with two photographers is $1,000, and then you can either pick from one of her packages or make your own. I can let you know how the engagement session went on Sunday!

HBaker82407

We are using Ultimate Images(uiphoto.com)
but i really also liked Hanlon Photography. check em out!!

[Deleted User]

We're using Wozniak.  We booked at an end of the year special, so we got a couple hundred off our package (which we used toward an extra photographer).  I believe our package was originally $2500.

Our package included 1 16X20 portrait, 1 album, and a copyright release with a DVD of all the full resolution images  (not a proof DVD, which he said many photogs are offering, but they say "PROOF" across every single picture).

We met with them this week and the owner, Dave, had already assigned our first photographer.  He said she shoots around 1000 pictures during weddings and we can expect about the same from the second photographer. 

Even if you don't decide to go with him, check out his website.  He had some great tips on what to look for in a photographer that helped us a lot.  (I don't know the website off the top of my head, but you can google Wozniak Photography Buffalo and should find it.)

amg8

I just booked Wendy Michell for our wedding in July 2012.  I liked her pictures online, but since I live around DC, I've been planning from afar and I haven't been able to meet with her in person yet (we talked for over an hour on the phone though) and she seemed really flexible in terms of shooting the kind of pictures we want. My fiance and I are definitely more into candids than a lot of posed and traditional (though of course we'll want some of those). 

Anyway, I thought that her rates were fairly reasonable and consistent with what I found from other places around Buffalo.  Our package includes all the rights to our pictures on CD (high-res), an album with 300 of the "day's best" pictures, a 60-day online gallery, and 8 hours of coverage by Wendy on our wedding day for $2000.  You can add on engagement pictues for an extra $250, which includes a disc with all full-resolution pictures and printing rights for that too, which isn't a bad deal! We aren't going to get engagement pictures done with Wendy because one of my good friends who lives around us down here is going to do them, but if not for that, we would have added that option on.

Thanks to Mrs.Pawlak for the suggestion!  I mentioned that I'd heard Wendy's name through this board and she was really pleased.  

bigtimeheelsfan

Wendy Mitchell...check her out at wendymitchellphotography.com. She has an amazing eye and is able to catch the most beautiful moments! Best of luck!