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How many photographers did you meet with?

sparkles776sparkles776 member
1000 Comments Second Anniversary Name Dropper
in Michigan-Detroit
I am just curious how many photographers everyone met with before finding the one. Did you sign with them on the spot or go home and think about it? I have my list narrowed down to 3 photographers I would like to meet with, I love them all equally on paper, I hope by meeting with all of them I can determine who the right fit is for me, or it could make me even more confused. Any advice is appreciated!
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Re: How many photographers did you meet with?

  • MMRoberts11MMRoberts11 member
    5000 Comments Third Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I spoke with a few on the phone to get an idea of their personality as I scheduled the appointment and asked one or two questions.  The one we met first was our top choice.  He was amazing and after the meeting we went home, my FI and I talked about it on the drive back, and we sent him an email the next day to get the contracts signed and make it official.
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  • emarston1emarston1 member
    5000 Comments Combo Breaker
    One.  I fell in love with Amy Boeve's pictures after seeing them and I really liked her when I met with her.  I would have signed with her immediately but I promised DH I would talk to him first about it.  But all that conversation consisted of was, "I really like her and I want to book her."  "Okay."

    My only piece of advice is to really look at all the pictures they have available.  What they put online should be the best of the best of their work, if you don't love it, I would move on.  If you've got it narrowed down and all the packages are comprable, I would just choose the one you click with the best.
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  • Meegles4Meegles4 member
    1000 Comments Second Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I researched a few online, called 2 (only to find out they were booked) and only met with 1. I ended up liking her work and liking her, and have had 3 friends work with her and all had good things to say.
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  • aloisk57aloisk57
    500 Comments
    I did some research but only met with one (Amanda Williams).  We immediately liked her and loved her work.  In our meeting, she would NOT let us put money down until we thought about it...so we went home and waited a few days and thought about it, and then booked her.  I like that she actually made us wait (she held our date) instead of pressuring us to book her immediately.
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  • swhite2012swhite2012
    1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    We met with two. One shot my FI's Aunt's wedding and we were almost positive that we were going to go with them. The second was the Camera Chick, which I got from recommendations here. We met with the Camera Chick first and just absolutely clicked with them. We would have booked them on the spot, but we had an appointment to meet with the other photogs that we already kind of knew.  We booked Camera Chick after we met with the second photogs.
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  • empowderempowder member
    10 Comments

    We looked at a ton online. We emailed with 5 whose work really spoke to both of us.  Then, we had a phone conference meeting (we're out of town) with the one we booked. 

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  • mbjk29mbjk29
    10 Comments
    We met with 2, only because everyone was telling me to. I meet with the Camera Chick and absolutly fell in love with them! but listening to everyone else I emailed a couple more and met with another girl but I just kept comparing everyone to the Camera Chick. So we are meeting them again on wednesday to book them!!
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  • entropicbeautyentropicbeauty member
    2500 Comments Fourth Anniversary 25 Love Its Name Dropper
    One.

    I did a bunch of research in advance and no other photographer was offering the rates my photographer was. Her portfolio was good enough (I'm a photographer so post-editing is something I planned to do anyways), so I met with her and signed the contract after verifying I could easily get along with her (one of the most important things in photography IMO).

    To be fair, I justified being able to make a decision like this because a LOT of my friends are photographers and have already said they plan to take a TON of pictures at the wedding (a few will be riding along with me for posed photos as well, not giving directions but snapping pictures while the PRO is snapping pictures etc.).
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  • sparkles776sparkles776 member
    1000 Comments Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    thanks for all the advice, it has definitely put me at ease a bit!
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  • Jules1986Jules1986 member
    10 Comments
    Two. I really liked the first one we met with but she'd only give us the CD with all edited images if we bought her biggest package (which was more than we wanted to spend). That package also offered many things I didn't NEED so I asked if we could swap out something in another package for the CD, which she wouldn't do. a la cart the CD was $850. We met with another photographer friend of FI's brother and instantly clicked. His pictures are amazing and he listened to all my requests/what is important to me and made it happen with an awesome price. We signed on the spot.
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  • MrsGilliattMrsGilliatt
    100 Comments
    We met with 4.  Never sign on the spot.  There is always research to be done beyond the meeting/pitch.

    When you know you know - but pay attention to the details in the background of the pictures.  When we met with the first photographer it dawned on us that the weddings she shot were at least 5 years ago...and she hadn't mentioned this.  She stopped shooting for a number of years and the most recent photos she had were from several years back.  This left a bad taste in our mouth given so much has changed in photography nowadays.  If we hadn't paid attention to the little things in the back of the pictures - like the bad hairdo's and glasses, ugly shoes and outdated carpeting, etc....we never would have thought to ask her about the timeframe.  Pay attention!!  If they don't have a website - they aren't any good. 

    Also - make sure that your "2nd Photographer" is actually a photographer, not a spouse or a friend.  A real photographer with a real portfolio of their own.
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  • MarissaYMarissaY
    10 Comments
    We just met with one - she was the daughter of a friend and really, REALLY affordable because she was still trying to carve out a clientele, so we got an excellent deal. We couldn't afford anything else of that quality, so it was a great situation. However, she's since raised her prices and become pretty terrible with customers, so I wouldn't recommend her now :\
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  • Stacie1224Stacie1224
    10 Comments
    We met with about 5, but the goal was to meet with 3.  After we left the meeting with the photographer that we chose, I just felt she was the one.  We didn't sign on the spot because we wanted to discuss it and we had one meeting left, but we did book her a few days later.  

    Some other things to consider: 
    1. As pp indicated, look closely at the photos.  Watch for things like poles growing out of people's heads and body parts getting cut off; most good photographers avoid those things.  
    2. Ask to see a complete wedding.  As other people mentioned, a website is always the "best of" and most people, even if they're not great photographers, can find 20 or so good images, especially the detail shots that are relatively easy.  When you look at a complete wedding, you get a feel for their style and you get a glimpse of the kinds of photos you will get on your wedding day.  There were a few photographers that we looked at with great websites, but when we saw a complete wedding, it wasn't what we wanted.  
    3. If you find a photographer that you love, but they're out of your price range, see if they will work with you.  I got this advice from a photography website and they said it works for a few reasons- some photographers just want to work and they're willing to make a deal, others are willing to work with prices in order to "give back" a bit, and some might look like business is going well on the surface, but things might be slow.
    4. If you can manage it, ask about paying up-front in full.  As we meet with various vendors, several of them are willing to give a discount for paying in-full because they don't have to worry about bounced checks.  That being said, I would be cautious because you also don't want the vendor running out of town with your money and leaving you hanging.   Paying with a credit card usually gives you some additional protection if that does happen though.
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  • samanthaNmike03samanthaNmike03 member
    10 Comments

    We looked at three different photographers. The first one did great work but we didn't 'mesh' well and I figured that I wanted someone who I clicked with more on the day of my wedding. The second one we really really loved her work but when I tried contacting her she never got back to me :( the third one is the one we're going with (obviously). She's awesome does really great work and she's very affordable.

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