photographer help!!

ginny814 · February 2011

My best friend, who is also my bridesmaid, is a fantastic photographer and is helping me find a photog for our wedding. She is a great resource and is definitely helping me find the best photogs out there! Unfortunately, there aren't too many in Pittsburgh that fit my budget.

All the photogs that my friend and I really like (Birchtree, Michael WIll, Hot Metal...) are wayyyy over my budget; I don't see myself spending $3,000 on photography (if I were rich, then maybe lol). The pictures are a very important aspect of our day, and we don't want anything crappy, but I'm trying to allocate our funds properly and I don't want to settle for less.

We want to spend no more than $2,000 for photography, but we want the same quality and style and overall spunkiness as the above-mentioned photogs... but it does not exist. We've looked in Ohio and WV, too.. not much luck.

Any advice and recommendations out there?? Is there someone out there that I'm missing? Thanks!!

cgyvhu · February 2011

Hey Ginny,

I originally wanted a budget of 2000-2500 for my photography, and I know it's tough to find photographers in that range. Not to sound mean, but it's nearly impossible to find a 3K quality photographer charging 2K - photographers know how good their equipment is/how much experience they have/how popular they are getting and adjust prices accordingly. It might be possible to find a great photographer who is just new to the area and building a client base - that would be your best bet.

I can throw out some names for you that are in that range, but I didn't meet with any of these people.

ElleBee Photography

Caroline Moore Photography

Irene Smith Photography

Amanda Wlison Photography

Caitlin Thomas Photography

Matthew Blassey Photography

Best of luck!

nicole098 · February 2011

I was totally in the same boat. I looked for 10 mos before I found what I wanted. It was painful for me, but I hope your experience is much faster.

I too liked the look of the photogs you mentioned. My budget was somewhere around $2k.

Though some photogs may be slightly above $2k, I advise that you ask about their package (even if it's not listed) for hours of day of coverage + reprint rights + touchup. I decided that a I wanted to pay for talent, not packages of prints/books/etc. I can make the book later If i want (Sams Club has really nice books that don't look cheap). Realistically, we'll just want a few prints for our home and then a few for family. This tactic will enable you to maximize the talent with your budget. I emailed LOTS of photogs and many had this option available when it was not noted online.

Another item to consider is the date of your weddings. If it's off-season, you may be able to better negotiate a rate.

Ultimately,we chose Joanne Barton.

I do have one option that I'll share privately with you via PM, if you're interested. Photos are beautiful, but I didn't have the most timely responses with them. This photog has a pretty good rep in general, I believe. Anyway, PM me if you'd like the scoop.

GL!

pantherRN · February 2011

I'll second a rec that md gave, Matthew Blassey. I also did not meet with him, but I did correspond with him via e-mail and he was very responsive and personable. LisaS1010 used him last October and map is using him.

And it is possible to spend more than $3K on photography and not be rich. It was a big priority for us, so we cut our budget in other ways to accomodate exactly what we wanted.

carlyanne05 · February 2011

This may really be a long shot but I'll throw it out there anyways...our photogs from DC LOVE travelling to PA and we are thrilled with them so far. They are a young, newly married couple and fairly new to the business but did a FABULOUS job on our e-pics. The prices are good and they were willing to work with us. If you'd like more info, send me a PM.

shortyhartz · February 2011

When we were looking Randi Voss and Jenni Grace were the least expensive photographers, but I think both are more than $2000. I know some people have had luck finding photography students to do their wedding.

carcrashheart · February 2011

we used jenni grace and had her alter a package for us so that we could afford it. those edits, plus her winter discount, came to 2500.

in hindsight, i wish we had just coughed up the 500 for the albums though. i wish we had the nice albums that the photogs have made. i tried to use a site that many photogs use for their albums, but not only did i find it to not be user friendly, but it was going to cost more than i had anticipated. in the end, i bought the blurb groupons and made albums that way, though it still cost me about $40-70 each. which is still good. but we are kicking ourselves for not having worked some extra shifts for the extra 500 to get the nicer quality albums for ourselves and our parents.

fwiw-when you pay less for a photog, the quality will tend to show. photogs will usually alter their packages to make them affordable to your budget. do your research and google for reviews before deciding!

lindsaystewart6 · February 2011

I'm using Jennifer Heymers.. her work is absolutely wonderful and her pricing is very reasonable - $1850 for the day with full copyright to your images and a coffee table book. I think she actually got picked a few years in a row now for the knot's "best of" photography. Check her out!

ginny814 · February 2011

thanks everyone!! i'll definitely keep all of your suggestions in mind.. i think i'll talk to some of the photogs we really like and see if they can alter their packages a little (i.e. not include albums). my friend also suggested to contact our local newspaper to see if any photogs do weddings on the side and to put an ad on craigslist- maybe some art students are just starting out.

i'll keep you all posted!!!

map624 · February 2011

As Panther said in an earlier post, I am planning on using Matt Blassey and I am very impressed with his work. If you go to his website and then click proofing you can see pictures of full weddings (not just his best shots like most others show). He is very reasonable and even with a BEAUTIFUL album it will be less than 2 grand. I would check him out. I met with several other photogs and he was my fave. Maria Palermo was a close second.

lseemiller · February 2011

I am using Lime-Light , they are a husband and wife team and I love their work. There prices are very reasonable. They are from Ohio but travel and do Pittsburgh Weddings all the time (they dont charge a travel fee either).

punk-Ness · February 2011

I'll throw in my $.02 since md listed her. I used Lyndsay from ElleBee and we were very happy our choice. We had well over 600 pics from the wedding and about 80 from the e-pic session. She was a blast to work with, had a lot of great ideas and helped us tremendously with the timeline. My only complaint is she took too many amazing photos.

Y I Oughta · February 2011

http://rnkphotography.com/

They have packages for all day, no time limit, two Photographers, starting out around $1200. We didn't care much for their website but the books they brought to the meeting were really well done and had some beautiful photographs.

AubreyLynnM · February 2011

Hi! I met with Muse Photography, who is a sister studio of Kimberly Reed...they have a lot of different packages to choose from. I think they started around 2,000 but that included a lot of stuff. They might be worth a try. http://themuseisyou.com

And don't worry, I feel your pain entirely. I budgeted 3,000 and it's kind of impossible to find quality under that, too. I think we might give up some other things to try to get better photos, but I honestly don't know what at this point. Good luck!

AshNoel8 · February 2011

I don't post on here too much, but I do have a rec for you! My good friend has a photography business based out of Florida, but she travels back to Pittsburgh to do weddings sometimes because she is from here and her family and her husband's family still live here. She did my engagement photos and is doing my wedding and she is amazing! I love her work! She studied under and was assistant to a photog for 5 years or something like that before she started her business and I want to say her business has been around for something like 2 or 3 years. Since she is newer, her prices are very affordable and the quality of her work is wonderful! You would just have to find out if she will be in the Pittsburgh area during the time of your wedding.

PM me and I will give you her website and contact info. I can send you some of my engagement pics too if you want!

dalecnar · February 2011

I was totally in the same boat and did not want to shell out $3000 which was the top end of my budget. I found Kerri from Kerri's Kreations on the Knot and I met with her and found her super personable so I'm excited to work with her. I think my total package (minus any albums but I have the ability to add those on later) for $2,100. You should check out her info.

hj1479 · February 2011

We are using - Dana Monticelli - http://www.danamonticelliphotographyweddings.com/

Love her! We are paying around 2500...but she has a few packages to choose from. Price also included a DVD of all the images, plus rights to reprint...which was really important for us.

ginny814 · February 2011

Wow, everyone! Thank you for the suggestions! I have contacted Amber Marie Photo and Mike Henniger (from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette) about their prices and availablity... let's hope for the best! *fingers crossed*

photographer help!!

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