Chicago Photographer advice

nddomer08

Hello fellow brides and brides to be,

I am recently engaged and am already lost in the wedding planning phase.  I have my date and venue set already, now just researching vendors.  Looking for photographers has been a tough task.  I was hoping you could give some advice for me.  I am looking at the following three potential photographers: Colin Lyons, Shelley Anderson from Cage and Aquarium Production, and Olivia Leigh Photographie.  Have you used one of them for your wedding photos or were they recommended to you?  If you have experienced one of them, I'd love to hear your thoughts on your experience.  If they were recommended to you, what did you think of them and why did you go with someone else instead?  Or do you plan on using them if you are like me, searching for photographers?

Thank you so much for all your time.

thisismynickname2

Hi,

No one's replied to you in a few days, so I'll just say that I haven't heard of any of those, sorry. 

I felt like photography was the hardest thing to find. This is a very saturated market. Half of the companies/people I sent inquiries to never even responded to me.  

Check Yelp, check this site's reviews, check Wedding Wire reviews, and check the BBB.  Do you have friends or family that are recently married and can anyone recommend their own photographer?

mrscinema

A friend of ours used Colin Lyons and was relatively pleased. She used some of her photos for gifts and thank yous (that we may still have...), but was so-so on the whole experience. She is quite picky though and I know that her wedding photography was her big splurge. 

We used Cathleen of Light Source Photography just over the state line in WI. She was amazing, my photos still make me tear up, and I would go on and on, but it would seem ridiculous. I have heard incredible things about Miller and Miller though. They are supposed to be very popular right now - a husband and wife team! If Light Source's doesn't suit your style, you could try them. I have never heard of Cage and Aquarium Production (we shyed away from anyone who didn't shoot and run their own business. We didn't feel comfortable with that) or Olivia Leigh. 

Sorry if this wasn't that helpful!

nddomer08

Photography is something we want to splurge a little, but still stay within a reasonable price range.  Thank you all for the advice and recommendations.  We'll be looking into your recommendations.  BTW, did you all purchase a wedding album from your photographer or was it included in your package?

Thanks!

bellaluna290

Knottie99980223 said:

Photography is something we want to splurge a little, but still stay within a reasonable price range.  Thank you all for the advice and recommendations.  We'll be looking into your recommendations.  BTW, did you all purchase a wedding album from your photographer or was it included in your package?

Thanks!

I didn't go with any of the photographers that you mentioned, but our photographers didn't offer a wedding album and that was just fine with us. We got all of our edited pictures on a CD to use whenever we wanted.

I will say, that after browsing the portfolios of the photographers that you mentioned above, I really like Colin Lyons.

KatWAG

I made my owe wedding album using Shutterfly. I saved myself $800+ that my photographer would have charged me. 

MobKaz

My son and his wife used Peter and Jessica Matushek..............(That's my son and DIL on the left side of their front page)........
http://matushekphotography.com/

They are an awesome couple and took incredible pictures.  When my son booked them in 2012, they were still relatively "unknown".  As their reputation grew, so did their popularity (and their prices).  If they are available I would highly recommend them.

thisismynickname2

Rather than pay hundreds of dollars for an album that you'll have to wait a long time for, check for the packages that include a CD (or thumb drive) of all the high resolution images with copyright. 

An online gallery would have each photo for $5 plus per print. Take your CD, upload to Shutterfly or Snapfish, and you get 9 cents a print. Those companies have wonderful album options. My coworker uploaded over a hundred of his images to a high quality album, and after coupons and whatnot, he paid like $100 for a huge and fabulous album through Shutterfly. 

Plus, you can e-mail people photos off the disc at no cost to them. Great for family. 

knottie9c5ed33df4bbd226

I am using Jessica from Passions Photography. She is amazing. She photographed the wedding of my coordinator and when I saw her pictures, I was hooked. Check her out!

nddomer08

Thank you so much for all the advice on the album and photographers.  I am glad that you all had good experience with your photographers.  As for right now, I am leaning toward doing a DIY wedding album (if they are not already included in the basic package) to cut down the price.   

Thank you!  :-)

mrscinema

Sorry for the late response - we changed a canvas that was included in the package for an album and then later upgraded it for an Italian album.

Kwalusiak

I'll be using Colin for my wedding. I think he's great! He's super relaxed about timing and very responsive and really knows what he's doing. He's probably my favorite part about the wedding.