Photographers

I am interviewing JoVon, Mark Kaufman, VIP Studios, and Fine Arts all within the next 2 weeks. Can anyone give me any heads up or feedback on any of them. Thanks!

VIP

I really liked Johns style and I got to see one of the brides on this boards pictures that he took...he really offers you ALOT for your money!!! (2 photographers is a big plus) I hear good things about Mark Kaufman, but never went to see him.

Photographers-Fine Art

We are using Fine Art. I know several people that have used them and were very happy with the results. Definitely negotiate with them. I found them to throw alot of extras in if you ask for it.

Photographers

I looked at Fine Art when I was planning, and they were good, but didn't impress me very much. I also didn't like the way they structured their packages. JoVon is very pricey and their work is creative, but lacked a little something in the final cut. One of my best friends used them, and we all felt the color of her dress didn't come out quite right in the photos. I have heard good things about VIP and a lot of the girls on the boards rave about Mark Kauffman. Mark posts on the vendor site, so if you have any questions before you meet with him, I'm sure he'd respond. Good luck, and let us know what you choose!

We used Mark Kauffman

Our pictures from our 9/2/01 wedding were absolutely incredible! Tony & Lynn were our photographers and we just loved them. We have close to 1500 of the most beautiful proofs. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to help. Good Luck! Michele I

Tlcoady- what type of budget range do you have? (long)

I ask only because someone gave me some great advise: If you know that you cannot afford a certain vendor's services then don't meet with them because it never fails that you will want the one you cannot have. Then the rest never seem as good and you will feel as if you settled. I looked at all by JoVon. I have some good friends who used JoVon though. VIP- For around $2500 you get a lot; two photographers, nice size albums, proofs, plus you can get him to throw in more elargements too. John is very nice and easy to talk to. He also offers a video for around $900. The video is okay but not great. His work is very nice. He used to work for Mark Kauffman. Fine Arts- I agree with MiniBride (That is just my opinion) But lots of girls rave about them. I felt that were overpriced. You only get one photographer. There work is nice but I felt it did not warrant their price tag. JoVon- You are going to spend at least $4000, most likely closer to $5,000. I know some girls love the work but I never thought it was really awesome. And for that much money you should be WOWd. Mark Kauffman- This is who we booked. His work is top-notch and I was very impressed. You will need to budget around $4-5000 for him when all is said and done. He does not have standard packages so you need to work with him to customize what you want. You get two photographers. He gives you the option of paying for just the photographers upfront and then deciding on your package after the wedding and you have time to see the proofs. I decided that I wanted to negoiate a package upfront. I am just not comfortable with the idea that after the wedding I have no negotiating power left. But it is an option that some girls like to chose. I also saw Ray O'Connor and he was way overpriced for the quality of the work that I saw. I know that Verdi does not work and is in the same price range as Mark Kauffman. For video- definately check out Wild Rose. I saw 6 video companies and they were the best by far. I could not the quality of the video/DVD. No matter who you look at make sure you have them put in a full wedding video, not just a sample demo, and ask them to fast forward to the vows. Then stop and listen. If you cannot hear them clearly you should think twice before picking that vendor. The most important part of your whole day is when you take your vows. Sound quality is just as important as image quality. I hope this information helps. If you need more, just ask.

Wild Rose

Has anyone used Wild Rose? My fiance and I will probably want a video, but we don't want the videographer in the way. We may be using VIP for our pictures- if we're looking for something simple for our video, do you think we should go with them? I appreciate any advice! Thanks! By the way, next weekend I'm meeting with VIP, Imagine, and Patken!

We are using Mark Kauffman too! *NM*

Wild Rose- We are using them but that is in Feb. *NM*