Affordable photographer in LA area

brookypooh

Hi all,

I need guideness in finding an affordable photographer in the los angeles area. It seems like everywhere I'm looking is 2,000 and up!! Definitely too rich for my blood.

Can anyone hlep me?

phiaska

A friend of mine has recently gotten into wedding photography and I don't think his rates would be that high - though I haven't a clue.  I'd have hired him myself except I didn't know he was doing weddings when I was looking!  He took some shots at my wedding and I like his stuff better than the photog I paid.

Let me know if you want his info....  phiaska at gmail

lala90

Yeah, most photographers charge at least $2000.  The ones less than that are usually just starting up.  What do you consider "reasonable"? I am sure you could negotiate $1500 or so with someone decent.  If you are really on a budget, you could ask a friend to take photos if they are a photographer as a hobby, but this is risky.

crnota

This is tough, because the decent established photographers do charge around $2000 or more. And with that, you know you are getting someone talented and reputable. It is important for me to have good photos- I was willing to tweak other things in my budget to free up more money for photography.

You could get lucky and find someone just starting out who is talented and cheap...but it could also go the other way, and that's something you just can't take back.

There have been some horror stories on this board from past knotties about going with unknown photographers, and getting great deals....only to get their pictures back, and be miserable. Some said their guests' photos were  better than the pro ones, others said the videographer gave them stills, and those were better than the pro photos!

If photos don't matter much to you, then this may not be an issue. But for me personally, it's the one lasting thing you get from the wedding (besides being married of course!), and I wanted to do it right!

That said, there are some reasonable knottie favorites on this board- they are around 2000, but that is still very reasonable in the grand scheme of things- you could find MUCH pricier.

I'm using Jordana at Hazelnut Photography, and I love her work. I'm sure other people will have other suggestions!

dawnbeatty

Check our Laura Laing - she is an old knottie and has pretty good prices and her pictures are great.  She took some of our engagement pictures and their in my bio if your interested.
http://www.lauralaingphotography.com/
Also Ashleigh Taylor - again she is a previous knottie too.  http://ashleightaylorblog.com/

xxquemirasxx

We are using Nataly Lemus and when we booked her she was much less than $2000 though she does have packages that are $2000. 

So far, Nataly has been awesome! We LOVED our e-pics and the work she has done for other knotties AMAZING!!! 

ck her out http://www.natalylemusphoto.blogspot.com/

Also I think Laura Laing is amazing... she is fairly new in the business but she's totally got the talent (at least in my opinion) we are going to have a session with her fairly soon 

Ashleigh Taylor 

Jordana Hazelnut

Aileen Secord

These are all just knotties favs and their names get thrown around here alot!

But like crnota mentioned, be smart about picking...I recall this one knottie (can't remember her name) but she paid $1000 for a photographer which she found on TK search and he ended up being sooooo terrible and a punk with her she had to take him to court to get her $ back.

Do your research, project wedding the top mentioned photographers and you'll see their reviews are awesome!

GL in your search!

nikojamm

Yeah, Quemira, I remember that!  That was terrible!

I agree with Laura Laing.  You could also check out Noel & Ali from Peace4artphoto.com, we used them and they were well-priced and fantastic!  GL!

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

What are you looking for? I'm JUST getting photos for 8 hours with all the high-res images on DVD. If you want albums, they're going to be very pricey. I would do them yourself after the wedding.

Aileen Secord
Kristin Ambrose (my photographer) are two people who will fit your budget, depending on what packages you go with.

Also, Jordana Hazel's lowest package is well above $2,000. And personally, I was not impressed with her. She just wasn't someone I wanted to work with.

mrs_toobee

Project Wedding is a good suggestion, but I just found out that the first page of photographers are all paid ads (the ones that say "featured").  So be sure to sort by rating.  They can't pay for reviews!

crnota

Just for what it's worth, my package with Jordana Hazel was just under $2,000, which is why I mentioned her- but I booked that last year. I figured her prices had gone up, but obviously I don't have the new rates.

I absolutely loved her personality (we are both relocated from North Carolina!) abnd photography work, but that just shows how everyone has their own preferences. That's why it is SO important to meet several photographers to get a good feel for their personalities and styles so you can pick who is right for you.

Don't just settle for the first one you come across that fits in your budget!

Also, you should do some blog-stalking of all of the people mentioned in this thread. Now that it's wedding season, they are all posting weddings every week. It's a good way to see their style so you can narrow down who you even want to meet.

brookypooh

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I will definitely look into these people.

Also quick question has anyone heard of the wedding pros?? and what do you thingk of them.

It kind of sounds too good too be true that they offere so much, but then again you never know these days.

Let me know. Thanks!!

greenkitty23

Also, just to throw another name out for you- a friend of mine has been doing weddings for a few years now, and his photos are FANTASTIC. He's a great guy, and very professional, but also fun- I know he's been hired for a little red carpet work, too, and he apprenticed with a more established photog as well.

He has packages starting at $1500, and I'm not sure what all that includes, but he offers a bunch of services according to his website, and is very easy-going. I believe he also brings another person, so there are 2 of them at once. Check it out and see if you like his work!

www.prughphoto.com

sparkleas1

Check out NMG photography (www.nmgphotography.com). Their prices are reasonable, and their photos are AMAZING! I just got back a couple preview pics, and LOVE them. They're so easy to work with too!!