great photographer/ horrific cost

[Deleted User]

I know many of you are farther in this process than I am, so I'm looking for some help.

I'm in search of a great photographer that doesn't do cheesy/stiff/posey photos ..(you know what I'm talking about... "Now, please place your left hand on your mother's shoulder .." -That kind of photography is not for me. I like more natural, fun poses.)

I'm trying to find a photographer that's not going to break the bank, though. There are  lots of wonderful photographers, but wonderful pics come with a hefty price tag. Any suggestions?

obxlaurak

Kristen Lewis is awesome (and very cool too).  She's pretty pricey though, IMO.  

dwfangirl

Great photographers do come at a significant cost.  But this is one area of the wedding where I was 100% ok splurging.  Out of everything you are spending money on, the photos outlast EVERYTHING.  If this is important to you, and you are confident in the photographer's portfolio, you may want to try to find the $$.  

Also - you may be able to negotiate just paying the shooting fee upfront with something like 4x6 prints of each photo, with the option of adding on albums and larger prints later, so that you don't have to spend all of the $$ out of the gate.  That is something we are doing.  We got married in April and will probably order our album in the fall, when our finances have had a chance to more fully bounce back.  (And, we're giving lots of family members wedding photos for Christmas!) 

Krhoy20

I'm going with Chris Neito- i think a few others are considering him too- he does great work, very photojournalist type stuff, which i think is what you are looking for. We have him for 6 hrs, $900 which includes rights to all photos!!!
He has a few different ways of contacting him through his various sites...

HUSBANDFATHERPHOTOGRAPHERNURSE As a photographer I offer a fun, documentary, and contemporary style of photography Please visit my website to view more of my work and contact me with any questions! www.nietophotography.com/" target="_blank" vaqako0ua=", event, bagof({}));">www.nietophotography.com http://nietophotography.wordpress.com/ www.facebook.com/pages/Nieto-Photography/132841676745292" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nieto-Photography/132841676745292

Narwhal

I keep wanting to ask you, khroy... how did you get such an amazing deal? haha

Ellfay

We're going with Bridget (http://bridgetmcenaney.wordpress.com/ ) She's been really great so far and she has really great rates since she's fairly new to the industry. I've read some great things about her here in boards and she did an awesome job with my best friend's wedding. Check her out for sure. Good luck and let us know if you find a good fit for you!

klk405

I am using Rich Coleman with coleman photography.  He has different packages to choose from and he custom made a package to fit my budget and also allows a payment plan if you dont have the cash all at once to fork up! He's been very good to work with so far and has beautiful pictures on his website!

RussoWill

We're going with Matt Artz of Artz OBX. We got a package including DJ and ceremony music (his wife is a DJ and violinist).  They have different packages, and you get more of a deal if you're using all 3 of their services. Plus, Sue, his wife, has been very helpful with planning the timeline from the wedding.

mparwulski

I considered Kristen Lewis, but she was expecting a baby around the time of my wedding and not available.  We're using Daniel (& Kate) Pullen.  I liked the artistic style, pricing and copyrights.  Plus we get 2 photographers for the day.

http://danielpullenphotography.com/index2.php?v=v1

Valetta09

We are using Emily Nycum, she is new to the realm and has a great eye!  Instantly I felt comfortable with her, her ideas, and her openness to my ideas/needs.

Yes- your photos last forever, but with digital photography and the rights to your photos you can always edit them to a way that pleases you and change things around. Getting someone to get the right raw images you want is key.

All in all, I booked Emily for $500 that included all day of the wedding (getting ready, ceremony, wedding- until we go to bed), bridal & engagement portraits! This gives me the rights to my images and all of them on a cd/jump drive & web link.

Because she isn't local to the OBX I am putting her at a hotel the night before & after the wedding (we're also having her come before the rehearsal to do some nice family portraits and debating whether to have her do the rehearsal too!) and giving her a small gas stipend. This also takes some of my stress out because I know she is in place! Hotel & gas add about 200 total, I'm doing the best western in kill devil hills as it is 52 a night with a prebook!

I know her fees did go up 75$ since I booked her and she is already booking weddings this fall, etc, so depending on your wedding time she should have more of a portfolio to view.

I met with her last week with my Mom & fiance- seriously she was great and I could see her excellent potential in what she does have to show and how she discussed things with me. She's also studying under other wedding photographers & intern's at the southern weddings blog.

http://www.emily-nycum.com/


Best of luck in your search, may you find the one who fits for you both without much stress!
Your friend,
the frugalista

Krhoy20

narwhal....I forget how I even found him but I did and just sent him an inquiry and this is the price he came back with. I am also getting married on a Tuesday, not sure if that helps. I know someone else on here contacted him and he gave them a discount for mentioning me(??) I don't think he goes by the pricing on his websites. Doesn't hurt to ask for a quote?!

Ellfay

My only advice from reading other posts from brides who picked "up and coming" photographers is to make sure they have a wedding portfolio and have done weddings before. Someone who takes nice portraits or landscapes doesn't necessarily know how to shoot weddings and I've read so many horror stories about people who miss shots or dont know how to shoot in certain situations.

JENNIFERMCKENZIE

You should really contact Allie and Mike with Island Photography.  We used them for our wedding and they were amazing!  Mike stayed by my husband and Allie stayed with me the whole time.  They did not miss a shot and we had  video preview of our wedding within a week.  Very reliable!

keb2482

I contacted Christopher Nieto, as well, and got offered a similar deal to what krhoy was offered.  I just didn't like his work as much as a lot of the other photographers I saw online. I guess it just wasn't my style.  I would recommend looking into each photographer's work, comparing different level of photographers and then see how much cost the pictures are worth to you. 

I have heard that Neil GT does not do like any posed portraits.  Actually my friend complained to me about that after her wedding.  But that was her taste. She wanted some posed portraits.  Neil's work is pretty impressive from what I can see online. 

We are going with Matt Lusk.  I LOVE his work. Especially the tandem bike picture on his main page.  Just beautiful!  It is pricey for us, but he is lower than many others I've seen and he was great to work with when figuring out my quote.  We got the $2400 package that included 4 hours with 2 photographers, all rights to photos, photo cd,  and $150 print credit.  I would definitely recommend checking him out

ms_teach

I second Mike and Allie, but they'll probably fall into the "horrific cost" category compared to some of the others out there.   The cost was hard to swallow, but the pictures are worth every penny, and a few more!  We had a video teaser on Monday after our Friday wedding.  We had the CDs with all images on Wednesday, not even a week later!  We're in the final stags of our album design right now and should have that about a month after the wedding.

On top of all that, they're just great, FUN people.  Allie bustled my dress for me, Mike pinned on flowers, they were just all in.  I'm sort of in love with our pictures and am so glad we have them to remember the details of our wedding.  I look at some of the pictures and remember little moments I had forgotten.

I could go on and on.   Just make sure when you pick your photographer you pick with your heart a little too.  Don't bankrupt yourself, but get the BEST you can afford.

Valetta09

PS- Emily Nycum does have a portfolio, internships, etc. Don't let others scare you- go with your gut, only you can know who is right for your day.

keb2482

Totally agree with ms_teach even though I haven't had my wedding yet.  That is what we are doing.  I know, in my heart when I look at his pictures that Matt Lusk is the right photographer for us.  He's not the cheapest, and definitely not the most expensive but it definitely feels right )

asoho0704

wow, you ladies have awesome suggestions!  I just emailed Bridget, she looks amazing!!! 

keb2482

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_great-photographer-horrific-cost?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:598Discussion:23e0ca9b-11d6-40d0-af6b-45184816ca9dPost:7c3966b1-b8e0-49ae-afe5-a1979a985d3c">Re: great photographer/ horrific cost</a>:
[QUOTE]wow, you ladies have awesome suggestions!  I just emailed Bridget, she looks amazing!!! 
Posted by asoho0704[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I looked at Bridgette too.  I loved her work but she was already booked on my wedding day.  I was sad too, bc I keep hearing that she is budget friendly too :o)  Email her ASAP if you are interested bc I know she was already booked for my day a month or two ago.

roseygb

Oh my lord I just looked up Mike and Allie. I can't believe how expensive they are for the work they put out . . . I'm getting so discouraged. We just emailed Bridget too - I hope we hear from her soon. I'm so anxious about all of this!