Wedding Photography and Videography Forum

Photographer hiring photographers :-/

I'm a photographer, so hiring a photographer for MY wedding is killing me!! There's very few photographers I like that are available for the day. The one photographer I was referred to by 2 friends who recently married. She charged them $300 and they were given a CD with images and print-release. I contacted this photographer and she wants to charge me $6,000 and I have to order prints! I'm pretty sure she's just jacking up her prices because of my name.
I wanted to ask the local college for some photography students, but the photography teacher is someone new and said that I was trying to advertise and it wouldn't be allowed!
Any other tips on where to find an affordable photographer? I was thinking of asking friends, but none of them really take "amazing" pics :-( My sister and cousin do, but they're both part of the wedding party.
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Re: Photographer hiring photographers :-/

  • We had the same problem. FI didn't want to hire anyone because he wanted editing rights. He ended up contacting a well known photog he went to school with and she gave us a really good deal because we are having a private wedding in the middle of the week. Is there any way you can reach out to the photog community and see if someone would be willing to do something similar for your pics? What about having FI contact the photogs and leave your name out of it? Good luck!
  • I picked a photog closest to my style, and would give me full editing rights. At the end of the day I was still super nit picky bc as a photog I envisioned how I would have shot the day. I'm glad I didn't hire a student, I know I would have been really disappointed. But I also didn't hire the top of my city's price range, bc I knew I'd expect more than I'd end up getting. I didn't deal with any price inflating, that's super unprofessional, unless they just were giving your friends a deal for sine reason...maybe they were just starting out at that time?
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • I had this problem too!  I ended up putting an "ad" out on Thumbtack explaining that I myself was a photograper and what I was looking for, along with a picture of myself and my fiance and what our budget was.  I had several responses, and one photographer really stood out.  After talking with her on the phone, I booked her, and we just had our engagement photos done this weekend. So excited!!!
  • I'll have to check that out and put up an ad! I'm about ready to say screw it and just deal with whatever pics the guests take :-(
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  • I'll have to check that out and put up an ad! I'm about ready to say screw it and just deal with whatever pics the guests take :-(


    Don't give up!  Honestly, I went through probably a hundred photographers before putting out the ad.  You could try finding a student photographer or two or three who would be willing to take the pictures, and then hand you the RAW files to edit as you like.  I would do that before I went with guest photos.  Good luck! 
  • I did contact the local colleges and ask that their photography instructors passed around our information for any interested students. Haven't heard from anyone yet. I found a few photographers in the area, but a lot of them are asking "What's your budget?" Which I find weird. Generally, clients tell me what they want, how long (weddings, ceremonies, etc.), and a location and I give them a price. The one photographer (which I actually really like her work) continually e-mails me asking what the budget is, after I've sent 2 e-mails stating what I wanted and that I wanted to know HER rate for what I was asking for. That makes me think that if I say my budget is $10,000, she'll charge $10K or if I say $500, she'll charge $500! lol
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  • Do you live in or around Los Angeles, CA?
  • I did contact the local colleges and ask that their photography instructors passed around our information for any interested students. Haven't heard from anyone yet. I found a few photographers in the area, but a lot of them are asking "What's your budget?" Which I find weird. Generally, clients tell me what they want, how long (weddings, ceremonies, etc.), and a location and I give them a price. The one photographer (which I actually really like her work) continually e-mails me asking what the budget is, after I've sent 2 e-mails stating what I wanted and that I wanted to know HER rate for what I was asking for. That makes me think that if I say my budget is $10,000, she'll charge $10K or if I say $500, she'll charge $500! lol
    It's strange she wants to know your budget before she quotes her rates... But I would lay out what you need and what your honest budget is (maybe a little less to leave room to negotiate)  If you were in the NYC or Boston area, I'd know someone! Our photographer is a photo editor for a top photo agency that I previously worked at.  He does weddings on the side and is amazing to work with. I couldn't stand the thought of not having the copyright to the images after- if they take your photos, you should just have the right to them and not have to pay to have them released to you.  
  • Same problem! I ended up going with a good friend that has a style similar to mine. I have accepted that I won't ever have "perfect" wedding photos because I am the only one who gets my version of perfect! I ended up really happy with my photographs and they are so special because my sweet friend got to spend my whole wedding day with me! :) 
  • Same problem! I ended up going with a good friend that has a style similar to mine. I have accepted that I won't ever have "perfect" wedding photos because I am the only one who gets my version of perfect! I ended up really happy with my photographs and they are so special because my sweet friend got to spend my whole wedding day with me! :) 
    You should change your username so it's not your email for privacy sake. :)
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • @Misslevk@yahoo.com That's awesome! I would LOVE that!
    I haven't heard back from any of the student organizations/colleges in the area.
    My sister (also MOH) wants to do the pictures of me and my fiance getting ready. She's also taking pictures during the reception. If she wasn't my one and only sister and my MOH, I'd have her photograph the entire day! lol So really the only thing is the ceremony. I think we'll have enough friends and family taking pictures during the ceremony that we'll be fine. I've decided to give up looking for a photographer.

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