Worth taking a chance?

julieanne912 · February 2015

I am on a pretty limited budget for a photographer ($2,000 or less). I found a photographer that came highly recommended from multiple people on a local non-wedding board. I am meeting with her in person on Sunday. Her website has a couple of weddings, but it seems she mostly does family photos, babies, etc. I like the style of the posed photos that she's done, and the posed wedding photos she has up look nice too. My one concern is that she doesn't have any "action" shots from the ceremonies and receptions, but I'm finding a lot of photographers don't seem to have those as much, not sure why...is it because they're not good or because they include pictures of people who may not have signed a release to go on a public website? Would it be appropriate to ask her if she has the kind of pictures I'd like to see that she could email to me?

Just trying to figure out if it is worth the risk to save some money and go with this photographer? She's pretty affordable, $1650 for her and a second shooter, for 8 hours. Also includes a free engagement session. Our entire wedding budget is $15,000, and I'm expecting around 150 people, so spending more than $2k on a photographer (which has nothing to do with the guests) is hard to swallow. I've talked to a few other photographers that are up above $2,000, and some of them have more of the photo types I'm looking for on their websites.

I should also say that I'm not really a "picture" person... I don't have tons of pictures hanging around my house and I'm not the type to take tons of photos when out with friends.

kmmssg · February 2015

Show her what you are looking for with examples from the other photographer's websites and then ask her if she can show you some of her work that is similar to your examples. If she can show you a number of examples and you like them, then she might be a good fit for you. If she can't, you need to realize that you get what you get and there are no redos. Good luck!

julieanne912 · February 2015

kmmssg said:

Show her what you are looking for with examples from the other photographer's websites and then ask her if she can show you some of her work that is similar to your examples. If she can show you a number of examples and you like them, then she might be a good fit for you. If she can't, you need to realize that you get what you get and there are no redos. Good luck!

Thank you! I wasn't sure if it was OK to show her other photographer's work. I actually had a first choice photographer that I loved, but she wasn't available on my date, so I guess I could probably show some of her stuff to this new one (without mentioning the first choice thing).

photokitty · February 2015

juliejulezzzzz said:
I am on a pretty limited budget for a photographer ($2,000 or less). I found a photographer that came highly recommended from multiple people on a local non-wedding board. I am meeting with her in person on Sunday. Her website has a couple of weddings, but it seems she mostly does family photos, babies, etc. I like the style of the posed photos that she's done, and the posed wedding photos she has up look nice too. My one concern is that she doesn't have any "action" shots from the ceremonies and receptions, but I'm finding a lot of photographers don't seem to have those as much, not sure why...is it because they're not good or because they include pictures of people who may not have signed a release to go on a public website? Would it be appropriate to ask her if she has the kind of pictures I'd like to see that she could email to me?

Just trying to figure out if it is worth the risk to save some money and go with this photographer? She's pretty affordable, $1650 for her and a second shooter, for 8 hours. Also includes a free engagement session. Our entire wedding budget is $15,000, and I'm expecting around 150 people, so spending more than $2k on a photographer (which has nothing to do with the guests) is hard to swallow. I've talked to a few other photographers that are up above $2,000, and some of them have more of the photo types I'm looking for on their websites.

I should also say that I'm not really a "picture" person... I don't have tons of pictures hanging around my house and I'm not the type to take tons of photos when out with friends.

Being photographed at a wedding implies consent. They don't have actions shots posted bc they don't have good ones - for whatever the reason I would find this to be a concern. Ask to see a full wedding album, from start to finish. If she offered 8 hour coverage, she should be able to show you 8 hours worth of images from at least one wedding - typically photogs have a slideshow or bound album that demonstrates their work from one complete wedding day.

Don't risk it with someone who only has bits and pieces of several weddings. Worst case scenario, they aren't their images and they are passing others work off as their own bc their work isn't very good.

julieanne912 · February 2015

Thank you! I emailed them last night to ask if they could send me photos that were more of what I was looking for (ie reception and ceremony "action" shots), and one of the shooters already sent me some of hers, and the other will be sending hers later. So far so good. I think they're just a small operation. They live in a small town near my small town, and the wedding is in yet another small town about a half hour away, so my guess is they just don't do a huge volume of business, which is OK as long as the work is good, right?

klk111415 · March 2015

I've noticed that a lot of wedding photographers don't post images from the ceremony and reception. It's probably because the posed photos are nicer. I had asked my friend who is a wedding photographer why she didn't have the reception photos posted and only showcased a handful of images and it was because the posed photos come out the best and really show their abilities. Action shots will not take as much work since the photographer won't have to arrange you into the position they need. But I've seen the action shots from my friend and they look great also. I just think it's about displaying their creativity. The ceremony shots will also depend on where you get married (some churches don't allow the photographer to move around) so it's good that you asked for examples. I would be less worried about those action shots though. If a photographer doesn't have creative direction and the posed photos look generic, that would raise a red flag in my mind.

nowittyusername · March 2015

photokitty said:

show previous quotes
juliejulezzzzz said:
I am on a pretty limited budget for a photographer ($2,000 or less). I found a photographer that came highly recommended from multiple people on a local non-wedding board. I am meeting with her in person on Sunday. Her website has a couple of weddings, but it seems she mostly does family photos, babies, etc. I like the style of the posed photos that she's done, and the posed wedding photos she has up look nice too. My one concern is that she doesn't have any "action" shots from the ceremonies and receptions, but I'm finding a lot of photographers don't seem to have those as much, not sure why...is it because they're not good or because they include pictures of people who may not have signed a release to go on a public website? Would it be appropriate to ask her if she has the kind of pictures I'd like to see that she could email to me?

Just trying to figure out if it is worth the risk to save some money and go with this photographer? She's pretty affordable, $1650 for her and a second shooter, for 8 hours. Also includes a free engagement session. Our entire wedding budget is $15,000, and I'm expecting around 150 people, so spending more than $2k on a photographer (which has nothing to do with the guests) is hard to swallow. I've talked to a few other photographers that are up above $2,000, and some of them have more of the photo types I'm looking for on their websites.

I should also say that I'm not really a "picture" person... I don't have tons of pictures hanging around my house and I'm not the type to take tons of photos when out with friends.
Being photographed at a wedding implies consent. They don't have actions shots posted bc they don't have good ones - for whatever the reason I would find this to be a concern. Ask to see a full wedding album, from start to finish. If she offered 8 hour coverage, she should be able to show you 8 hours worth of images from at least one wedding - typically photogs have a slideshow or bound album that demonstrates their work from one complete wedding day.

Don't risk it with someone who only has bits and pieces of several weddings. Worst case scenario, they aren't their images and they are passing others work off as their own bc their work isn't very good.

Bold part!!! If she cannot produce at least one start to finish wedding, RUN! Do not risk it.

Knottie67571355 · March 2015

I would be concerned about a photographer that only showcases portraits. The greatest part of the wedding day timewise will be the prep and the reception. So if you cant have great photos from the reception then you would be missing out on great photo ops

gateruner · May 2015

As a pro I would find someone that has no issues showing you multiple weddings in their entirety. Alot of people starting out or wanna bes will tag along at weddings and get a few decent shots but they were not the primary photog. That is not the photographer I would want to do my wedding. Weddings are alot like runaway trains and the photographer has to be able to control that chaos and get excellent pics. It is NOT an easy task.

I realize you said that photos are not a huge deal for you and trust me we have heard that before. Just wait till after the wedding and the pics are terrible and most brides become very interested in the pics at that point. I personally think it is better to find ways to cut in other areas so that you can afford the photographer that you are 100% confident can do the job. People will forget that you had chicken instead of prime rib but bad pics will stay with you forever.

Best of luck.

edited by mod to remove tos violation

becomingmcclain · May 2015

I am a photography person and wanted to limit my spend on photos to less than $3500 for 8 hours and a second shooter. I did a ton of research on many, many, many photographers. I put them all in a spreadsheet with links to their website...then I hit the column with costs. I ranked them all based on who I liked best, then showed FI the top five. He immediately eliminated two, and I called the other three. There were two I wanted to meet in person. Only then did I look back at the costs and realized that my top pick for our wedding photographer was the least expensive of all of those I researched.

My point being, just because they are inexpensive doesn't mean you won't get the photos you want....and just because you pay a ton for photos doesn't mean they are going to be amazing.

I'd ask for additional photos of weddings they've shot, and also ask to see some prints. It was seeing the prints and books that we went with Danna Frost Photography.

Worth taking a chance?

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