The Pros Photography

ndcnjp

Hey ladies! Has anyone themselves worked with the pros specifically for photography or know anyone who has. I have my photographer scheduled to be Matt A. from the pros and I am apparently not meeting him until the wedding??? this makes me extremely nervous! If you know anyone who has had them do their photography please let me know how they were!!!

LaRositaMonita

It should make you nervous.  The pros as a company are very hit-or-miss.  ooodsie can tell you about a pretty big miss someone she knows had...but others have done OK.  Have you already paid a deposit (and if so, is it refundable? ?  If so, perhaps you can make a stink and find a photographer within the company whose work you truly like and who is avaialble.  If not, we can make much more consistently great recommendations if you tell us your budget. I have no experience personally as I stayed far away from the Pros.

ooodsie

I hate to say my friend had a horrible experience.. I don't really want to upset you if you already paid and it's not refundable though, but she did.  I'm sure you could possibly find a good photographer out of the ones they offer, but I would definitely want to meet with them first if that was the case.

CHarley2B

Was your friends horrid experience just in terms of photography? Is there reputation similarly as bad for the other services too?

ndcnjp - I would try to get out anyway because I would NOT be comfortable meeting my photographer on the wedding day...I think the photographer is too important and you need to make sure that they mesh with you and are someone you trust and feel comfortable around.

Stacylynn702

I also regret to tell you, a friend of mine used the pros for photography and she didn't get her pics until over a year after her wedding.

nancyr

Call them and tell them you have some specific details you want to discuss directly with your photographer.  Insist.  Tell them your concerns, including the info people have posted here (though they probably already know about it).  Either that or find out if he's going to be at one of their get togethers (there's a list on their website I think) and see if you could touch base with him either before or after that, so it doesn't mean pulling him away from another job.  Also don' t just talk to the the scheduling people, send a letter to the president of the company as well.  It's a family run business or at least locally it is, so it might do the trick.

ooodsie

They have a bad rep for everything unfortunately.  and my friends photos ended up having a huge power wire in the back of all of her outdoor portraits, the photog didn't "notice" it. 

ndcnjp

Thank you all soo much for the replies on the pros. I am thinking I should probably just eat the $250 deposit and take it as a loss and start looking into other photographers. I just have heard wayyyy too many horrible experiences with them, and like I said he wont even meet with me. How does a photographer not even have 45 minutes in his schedule to meet with a customer. When I called and talked to my advisor she said the reason its so cheap is because they dont set up appointments to meet and if they did it that way they would have to add 2-3 hundred dollars to the cost each meeting. She pretty much made me feel like she knew I didnt have a big budget and I should just appreciate the low cost of their services. Ughhh im so nervous. Anyway I guess now I should ask, any recommendations on a photographer who is around $1500?? I know its probably hard to come by but my fiance and I are a young couple, hes military and were paying for the majority of our wedding ourselves, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks all!

miguelhilary2010

What are you looking to get out of your $1500?  If you are willing to pay for just the photographer and hours, you can get a really good photog who will give you rights to your pics and print the pictures/album yourself or later when you have extra money.  If you're looking for an entire package with an album/prints, you may have less options on photographer.

SJGirl0811

My cousin used the Pros for his wedding.  Besides the fact that the pictures were very very very boring, the photographer was rude when getting us together for the family pictures.  I thought my mother was going to smack him.  I hightly recommend David Humphreys.  His website is www.dhumphreys.com. We're paying $1,500 and we get 8 hours with prints, preview album, a hi-res CD with rights.  Good luck.

ooodsie

How about Rich Lavigne, Sharon Frenkle, Sean Marshall Lin or Marc Anthony.  Like the pp said, you may not get their largest package with albums and such, but any of them could probably put together something for photos and a dvd of the rights to the photos.

Bride_to_be_2011

Sharyn starts at around 2k now. So I am not sure she could help. Even when I booked her she was over 1500. So maybe adjust the budget a little to allow for more money for the the photog.

debnchris

I talked to someone from Barnyard Photography --- they seemed nice and their worked looked good  BUT I dont know anyone personally who has used them --- I taking a chance and going with them --- you can easily get a package through them for less than $1500 -- The guy we spoke with said they do the album but dont push them on you (which I liked)

ndcnjp

thanks so much i really appreciate all of these suggestions, i will definitely be doing some research tonight! I should have figured with a company so big, this would happen. Apparently the pros are having a bridal show at the place where im having my reception tonight, but my photographer of course will not be there! My Fiance is upset about just letting them keep our deposit and not getting any services from them. Ugh I dont know how I missed all of these horrible reviews of the pros before I booked them!

Ms.BriarRose

I am using Belles and Beaus (Nicole Curran, based in Newark, DE).  Her highest package, which includes all day coverage, all rights to the prints, choices of large prints, and 5 different albums comes in at $1600.  She has other packages that come in at much less, but you don't get one or two of the albums (you still get albums though).  She's not as "photojournalistic" as some of the others, but we were very pleased with what we saw when we met with her, and clicked well with her personality. 

Like PPs have said, you can also go with another photog and make your own albums.  If you use Mpix (http://www.mpix.com/Product.aspx/assembledalbums) you can get the same high quality albums the professionals get (though you have to make everything yourself, layout and all).  It may be worth it.

Also, since your FI is military, make sure to mention that.  Many businesses, including wedding related ones, often offer military discounts, but don't advertise it.  Just a thought; you might be able to get someone who is listed at a bit more, but offers that military discount.

Good Luck!

ndcnjp

That sounds great and very reasonable, plus it sounds like you get a lot for your money. We could definitely swing 1600. And they are willing to travel to Phila? Im going to be giving them a call today! Thank you!!