Maine

WDYT sneaky photography session?

Hi ladies - I'm looking for some honest, real life (IE - Mainer!) opinions for photography.  FI and I don't have it in our budget to hire a photographer, and really, it's not super important to us.  Friends have cameras; we figure we'll get a lot of candid shots that way.  Buuut, I would like to have some formal photos with family, and I don't think I can ask random guests to help with that.

I found a deal 50/50 deal on Q97.9's website.  $25 for $250 worth of photography.  You get an hour shoot on location and a $100 photo credit.  Here's the link if you're interested.  http://www.wjbq.com/goout.asp?u=http://cbpme.incentrev.com/

What do you think - should I purchase it and ask the photographer to come by the reception during cocktail hour to do the formals?  Or maybe do a first look and ask the family that can make it come for photos?  Or is this idea just tacky?  TIA!!
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Re: WDYT sneaky photography session?

  • edited December 2011
    I'm not a "Mainer" but I think it's fine.  If you don't want to spend your money on that but want an hours worth of formal pictures, then go for it!  Pick when and where you want them and just organize ahead of time the people you want to be involved in formal pictures.  Otherwise it could easily extend beyond the hour you have or you might not get all the pictures you want.  I wouldn't say it's tacky - it's just what you want to do.  It's not offensive at all so I say go for it. 
    Married 9.4.11
  • edited December 2011
    I don't think it's tacky at all.  I think it would be a little awkward to ask your guests to do the formal photos.  I'm trying to think if there's some way to have the pro do a little bit of your ceremony.  Maybe you could do a half hour of formal photos and then have the pro for a half hour of the ceremony, or you could have the pro come at the end of the ceremony to get you two walking out together, and then you could take formal photos afterwards. 

    Disclaimer--I'm from away but currently live in Maine, so not a Mainer. 
  • hcorr34hcorr34 member
    2500 Comments Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper 5 Love Its
    edited December 2011
    I just checked out his website and I think you might want to contact him before you make the purchase.  Granted, it's only $25, but if you have questions about the process, I'd ask before buying.

    Are you within a half hour of Portland or Portsmouth, NH?  That is something that is listed under the $250 1-hour location shoot that the gift certificate is for.  You might also want to find out what he charges for prints from his gallery.  I couldn't find individual photo costs, so that $100 credit might not get you very far.  Also, it says that the CD that you get with the $250 1-hour location shoot is for "sharing photos online".  I'm guessing the images are either copyrighted (places like walmart, walgreens, etc. won't print them) or poor resolution so that you can't have your own copies printed out at your choice of locations.

    Honestly, I wasn't overly impressed with the guy's work, and his regular prices are outrageous.  I'm getting more in my package for half the price of his cheapest one.  While I would consider using this offer for an engagement shoot, I don't think I'd do it for a wedding. 

    Sorry to be the Debbie Downer here.  It would just suck to sign up for this, thinking that he will be your wedding photographer, just to have it not work out like you had hoped.

    Do you mind if I ask when and where you are getting married?


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  • littlefieldmjlittlefieldmj member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Wow - thanks for all the responses ladies!  And to chrispy and jessica - I don't mean to offend by the "Mainers" mention - I just feel like the women on this board tend to have a more grounded approach to weddings, which obviously includes you both!

    hcorrigan - you make good points about his work and the restrictions.  I'll take another look at it before making a decision.  It might be best to look at other options for now.

    We're getting married 7/23 at Foster's Clambake in York.  We were planning on an October wedding, but bumped it up when we fell in love with Foster's.  They're wicked nice and soooo affordable.  Now I just need to get into super-planning mode!
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  • amshaw1amshaw1 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    If the photographer is ok with it, I think it would work.  I would just be upfront with him on what you're doing.  I can picture someone getting bent out of shape wanting to do wedding pricing if it is in fact a wedding.  (y'know, the markup!) and I wouldn't want to jeopardize the outcome due to PO'd vendor.
  • LHB2011LHB2011 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Don't know if you don't have it in your budget at all, or you just don't have a huge budget for photography, but you could check out Simply Mella: http://www.simplymella.com/ Her packages start pretty low and I think a few ladies on these boards are using her (we're not, but photography was super important to us so we didn't mind splurging on someone who was more our style).  Only thing is she charges for travel.
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • hcorr34hcorr34 member
    2500 Comments Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper 5 Love Its
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_maine_wdyt-sneaky-photography-session?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:98Discussion:f9f51630-2219-4a80-9d01-d6985e37220bPost:234e9eaa-8459-4f93-975c-9cd5de029a06">Re: WDYT sneaky photography session?</a>:
    [QUOTE]If the photographer is ok with it, I think it would work.  I would just be upfront with him on what you're doing.  I can picture someone getting bent out of shape wanting to do wedding pricing if it is in fact a wedding.  (y'know, the markup!) and I wouldn't want to jeopardize the outcome due to PO'd vendor.
    Posted by amshaw1[/QUOTE]

    This is exactly where my mind went.  After seeing his cheapest wedding package was $2400, I wondered whether or not he would even consider letting that hour take place at a wedding.  Considering July is prime wedding season around here, he might not be interested in having a Saturday in July taken up by a one hour appearance at a wedding if he could get $2400 - $4000 from one. 
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  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_maine_wdyt-sneaky-photography-session?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:98Discussion:f9f51630-2219-4a80-9d01-d6985e37220bPost:84f88751-6bbe-4cd2-a8b9-21342bf64c9a">Re: WDYT sneaky photography session?</a>:
    [QUOTE] Considering July is prime wedding season around here, he might not be interested in having a Saturday in July taken up by a one hour appearance at a wedding if he could get $2400 - $4000 from one. 
    Posted by hcorrigan34[/QUOTE]


    This is exactly what I was going to say.  Any photographer who does weddings will likely be booked for a Saturday in the summer, and probably wouldn't have the freedom to spend just an hour with you, or would be not pleased with it at all, which would show in the quality of the work.
    Maybe look on Craigslist for an amateur photographer looking to build their portfolio...?  Your guests aren't likely to get quality pictures that you'll want to look back on to cherish your big day.  I know none of mine did, even with good cameras. 
  • edited December 2011

    I agree that you won't get the pictures you want from guests.  I would suggest calling USM/SMCC/local college in your area and seeing if anyone is just starting out.  They may be willing to do it for much less!! Good luck!

  • edited December 2011
    Those are all really good points from PPs, I didn't check the link or the photographer.  I like the suggestion of calling a local college to try to find an inexpensive photographer.  It would be a good deal--you could have formal photos and not rely on your guests to get all the shots you want, and a student would build their portfolio.  You also might want to call HS/college newspapers and see if one of their photographers is interested. 
  • edited December 2011
    Megan- Please contact me I am a profesional Portrait/Sports photographer and I have decied over the last 2 years (after taking a few seminars and learning from some of the best) to start to build my wedding portfolio. I've been looking for a few couples that don't currently have a wedding photographer worked into their budget in hopes to help them out a little bit. I'm willing to offer you an unbeatable price (I know many people may say that but...just trust me on this)
    Shoot me an email at nomorspam@yahoo.com when you get a chance. (just be sure when typing the address that you leave the "E" off of the word more, or just copy and paste.)

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