Massachusetts-Boston

great photographers at reasonable price?

we have been scouting around for photographers for our wedding in cambridge next september, but are astounded at the prices! anyone have any great experiences with any photographers for their wedding? we are looking for someone that has an artistic eye that can do great poses, lighting, etc. if we just wanted digital pictures of everything, we would hire a friend. we dont want to compromise on quality, but dont want to spend 5,000 dollars either. thanks!
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Re: great photographers at reasonable price?

  • edited December 2011
    Erik Waddell from A Thousand Moments Photography. Pics from my wedding in the blog link below.
  • blaharnblaharn member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We're using Michael Brook out of Cambridge. So far, he seems fabulous and very reasonably priced. Beautiful photos and a nice guy to boot. Check him out:

    www.michaelbrookphotography.com
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  • edited December 2011
    Scott Metzger
    Melissa Robotti
    Kevin Jacobus
    Berry Photography
    Lisa Rigby
    k. Photographie

    Also, if you search for "photographer" or "photography" in the search box below, you'll get a ton of old posts you can go through.
  • edited December 2011
    I just booked my photographer for next September. Her name is Nicole Sakr. I beleive she still has some spots available. She was more that reasonable, and she did mention that her prices will be going up as of Jan 1st so if you book her now the prices are amazing! We found her just by using google.
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  • crazybrittnicrazybrittni member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Before someone else comes in and suggests him Wink

    Check out John LoConte. He's reasonably priced, professional, and amazing to work with! I love his photos and he has great reviews from knotties and on wedding wire. He'll be photographing my wedding next weekend.

    Site: www.johnlophoto.com
    Blog: http://www.johnlophoto.blogspot.com/

    PP have suggested some other great photographers too. Good luck!
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  • edited December 2011
    We used Keith berry from Berryphotos and loved him! 
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  • edited December 2011
    Kristin Griffin Photography I have booked her for my wedding, nice package for 2500.
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  • lmstrohlmstroh member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    thanks so much everyone, this is so helpful!!
  • edited December 2011
    Kristin is awesome and she is starting to do more weddings.

    http://www.kristinchalmersphoto.com/


  • edited December 2011
    We are using Catharine Morris photography.
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  • edited December 2011

    David Bibeault. We have only used him for engagement photos so far but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone. He's amazing, his prices are great and his pictures are fabulous! Love, love, love him!

  • edited December 2011
    There are HUNDREDS of photographers in the Boston area that compete for business. I put an ad on craigslist for a professional photographer (who had a portfolio they could send me) and I ended up snagging one for $500.

    If you research, you can definitely find  some great deals. Don't get sucked in by the "you have to spend thousands for a good photographer" mentality. You don't!
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  • Shazzie116Shazzie116 member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Angrytomato, I'm glad you found a deal, but a great photographer is worth their weight in gold. I don't know how someone can charge so little to photograph a wedding and turn a profit. Photographers don't charge thousands of dollars to be a pain, they charge it because they put anywhere from 20-40 hours into a wedding (not just the hours shooting), plus equipment and software upgrades to stay current, plus they have to pay taxes, possibly pay rent for a studio, travel fees and business expenses, if they have an assistant or second photographer, website maintanance, membership to online galleries...And that's without even considering the value of your wedding photographs. These aren't your everyday Facebook snapshots.

    But, I hope you have a good experience. Please let us know when you receive your photos!

    lmstroh, we used Melissa Robotti and highly recommend her. I'd also look into Lisa Rigby, Rachel Kate, Joshua Behan, Leah Haydock, and also go through past photography threads. There are so ,so many photographers out there, you'll find the perfect one for you. :)
  • edited December 2011
    we used john loconte back in january and had the best experience with him! he is such a nice guy and his work is beautiful... highly recommend checking him out!

    hth
  • RoyalOrientRoyalOrient member
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    edited December 2011
    Melissa Robotti and Lisa Rigby are well over the 4 grand mark now (if you want e-pics too). However, their work is truly amazing.

    You should check out Kevin Trimmer, Mandy Mayberry and Sweet Jane Photography. They are under 2500 and include full day coverage and than some.

    Also check out Visual-Obsession.
  • Shazzie116Shazzie116 member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Also, I'm not sure of her pricing, but I really enjoy Tyra Bleek's work.
  • RoyalOrientRoyalOrient member
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    edited December 2011
    ^ Tyra's rates are really reasonable, she is new to the Boston scene but has been professionally photographing for years when she was in Washington. I believe her highest package is in the 3 grand range but that includes an album too. She is also very sweet and specializes in that vintage rustic look. Definitely worth meeting her.
  • JulieJ11JulieJ11 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I'm using Photography Your Way - not only is he reasonable, he also has a variety of package sizes and is super nice! You also get exclusive rights to the day. Be sure to check him out!
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_great-photographers-reasonable-price?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:89Discussion:9ebe86bd-c61c-44b8-b63a-fb86ffdc6475Post:0379886e-2c8a-42e0-b098-786711c8b965">Re: great photographers at reasonable price?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Angrytomato, I'm glad you found a deal, but a great photographer is worth their weight in gold. I don't know how someone can charge so little to photograph a wedding and turn a profit. Photographers don't charge thousands of dollars to be a pain, they charge it because they put anywhere from 20-40 hours into a wedding (not just the hours shooting), plus equipment and software upgrades to stay current, plus they have to pay taxes, possibly pay rent for a studio, travel fees and business expenses, if they have an assistant or second photographer, website maintanance, membership to online galleries...And that's without even considering the value of your wedding photographs. These aren't your everyday Facebook snapshots. But, I hope you have a good experience. Please let us know when you receive your photos!
    Posted by Shazzie116[/QUOTE]

    We got a husband and wife team that are just starting out their business, and wanted to market themselves.While my ad did say I wanted a professional, I was just fine with a freelance photographer also :) No storefront overhead, large staff, or other expenses of that natures cuts costs down as well.

     FI is a photographer, so he told them he doesn't need them to do all the extensive photoshopping and editing - he would take care of that himself. He said he only wanted basic cropping and color correction. That knocked the price down too I'm sure. :)

     Their website is in FI's email, if I can get him to forward it to me I will post it here for anyone interested :D
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  • edited December 2011
    We used Scott Metzger for our wedding and loved our pics.  You can see my review in my bio (also has links to slideshow and album proof).  His packages start at $2500, and he offers discounts for non-Saturday and/or off-peak weddings.

    http://www.metzgerstudios.com

    If you're looking to spend less, a friend of mine just started doing weddings (has had 2 or 3 as 1st photographer this fall) and she does a great job.  I don't know if she's added the wedding pics to her website yet, but I'm sure she'd send you links if you asked.  Here's her website:

    http://kellyswieckphotography.com/
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  • edited December 2011
    We're using John LoConte.  He's been fabulous to work with so far and he takes beautiful photojournalistic pictures for a fraction of the cost compared to similar photographers.  Check out his reviews on WeddingWire, too!  We CANNOT wait to see how he captures out day!!!!
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  • Shazzie116Shazzie116 member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    FI is a photographer, so he told them he doesn't need them to do all the extensive photoshopping and editing - he would take care of that himself. He said he only wanted basic cropping and color correction. That knocked the price down too I'm sure. :)

    That's a good deal then! I got worried because I have seen some really low quality togs advertise on Craigslist, and people start going for low cost over quality and then are disappointed down the road. But if you have control over post-processing, I guess that's good for you. Make sure it's in your contract that that is allowed!
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_great-photographers-reasonable-price?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:89Discussion:9ebe86bd-c61c-44b8-b63a-fb86ffdc6475Post:f795187e-6c04-40ca-8fc3-3998a8d8d39a">Re: great photographers at reasonable price?</a>:
    [QUOTE]That's a good deal then! I got worried because I have seen some really low quality togs advertise on Craigslist, and people start going for low cost over quality and then are disappointed down the road. But if you have control over post-processing, I guess that's good for you. Make sure it's in your contract that that is allowed!
    Posted by Shazzie116[/QUOTE]


    Oh yes, they are making two sets of discs for us (one unedited and one with light editing) and including every raw image. It worked out well for us! :D

    And yeah, you are right about low quality! Some of the portfolios looked really tacky. I was glad to have FI's eye to pick one out.
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  • RoyalOrientRoyalOrient member
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    edited December 2011
    ^ Wow I never heard of photographers giving the right to edit their work to another photographer not associated with them. Does the photographers retain the copy right of the raw images than?
  • 2dBride2dBride member
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    edited December 2011
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_great-photographers-reasonable-price?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:89Discussion:9ebe86bd-c61c-44b8-b63a-fb86ffdc6475Post:0ee6193c-e4f7-469b-9801-ca6510068b8b">Re: great photographers at reasonable price?</a>:
    [QUOTE]^ Wow I never heard of photographers giving the right to edit their work to another photographer not associated with them. Does the photographers retain the copy right of the raw images than?
    Posted by RoyalOrient[/QUOTE]

    Weeeellll it's not that we are taking our photos to another photographer and paying him to edit them. We are editing them ourselves.

    Yes, the photographer retains copyrights of the raw images.

    Our contract states that once they are paid, we are granted limited copyright ownership of the negatives. Meaning we can edit, reproduce, and distribute to friends and relatives. If we or our relatives wish to sell our photos for profit, we have to get written consent from the photographer.
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  • edited December 2011
    My FI and I are using a company called "The Pros".  They are doing our photo, video, and DJ.  Their prices were pretty reasonable and the people we met were all very friendly and nice.
  • kt8301kt8301 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Thanks so much!  This is great info :)  I am also starting my search for a photog for next fall and have been scared by some of the initial prices I've seen!
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  • Shazzie116Shazzie116 member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Don't be scared, you'll see a vast array of styles, prices, and packages, it just takes a little time and research to find the perfect one for you. :) And have fun with it!
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