I saw two photographers this week and I have an appointment with a third today. I haven't had that 'OMG I have to have them shoot my wedding' feeling. I had that exciting feeling for my venue so am I also supposed to have that for a photographer? Did you girls have that feeling? I have no idea what we should be thinking when we walk out of studio. So far the presentation is nice, their photographs are nice and their completed albums are nice but I have a feeling that we should just keep looking.
mrzsoontobejames
Posted:
Member since
What did you look for in a photographer?
For me, I had two DREAM photographers. One was wayyyyyyy out of my budget then the other DREAM photographer was well within my budget. I had already had it in my mind that he would be my photographer as long as he was personable and easy to reach. He answers all my emails within 5 hours and when we met it was like old friends talking instead of a vendor/client meeting.
I really think you should go with someone that blows you away. For instance when my photographer uploads teasers it makes me more and more impatient so make sure you go with a vendor that you 'LOVE' their work and not just 'LIKE' their work. If you have a feeling you should just keep looking chances are you're not blown away yet. It's similar to dresses when you find the way that's it there's no more looking :) Good Luck this is truly a hard decision good thing is you do have time :)
ChristineNicole
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Member since
Re: What did you look for in a photographer?
Posted by mrzsoontobejames
For me, I had two DREAM photographers. One was wayyyyyyy out of my budget then the other DREAM photographer was well within my budget. I had already had it in my mind that he would be my photographer as long as he was personable and easy to reach. He answers all my emails within 5 hours and when we met it was like old friends talking instead of a vendor/client meeting.
I really think you should go with someone that blows you away. For instance when my photographer uploads teasers it makes me more and more impatient so make sure you go with a vendor that you 'LOVE' their work and not just 'LIKE' their work. If you have a feeling you should just keep looking chances are you're not blown away yet. It's similar to dresses when you find the way that's it there's no more looking :) Good Luck this is truly a hard decision good thing is you do have time :)
Thank you! If you don't mind me asking, who were your two dream photographers? The first photographer we went to go look at my fiancé just loved him and his work and I really liked his personality as well because it was like friends talking but he is pretty expensive. Answering emails within 5 hours is actually a really good thing. Last week I reached out to a photographer that's a preferred vendor from my venue and they never responded back to me so just because of that I don't want to use them.
HesLIgirl
Posted:
Member since
What did you look for in a photographer?
I think you need to decide what is on your 'must' list. I wanted artistic/photojournalistic shooting and my in-laws and FH are VERY big on a fancy album. His parents have FSIL's album on their coffee table and they have their wedding album and both kid's bar mitzvah albums on display in the house. This was REALLY important to them. In fact, we couldn't look at smaller photographers that didn't provide thick, leather bound, fancy albums. We looked at one first, and I LOVED them, but FH knew that his family wouldn't go for them. They only offered thin albums that looked like you would get them on shutterfly. That would be fine for me and my parents as long as the pics were great, but not for the in-laws. Next, we went to an appointment with a larger photographer and the price was just obscene. I think for what we wanted it would've cost like $7K. Totally out of the budget. Plus I liked their photos but I wasn't obsessed. It turned out that when we saw the group we booked with (Silverfox) they were in our price range and their samples made all of us say 'wow'. My FMIL couldn't get over how great the work and the albums were. We decided we didn't need to see anyone else. They fit what I wanted (gorgeous photos, very professional) and what my FILs wanted. Plus they were personable and we got along well with our photographer. And she really would be our photographer. Some places sell you with one person but you don't meet the photographer until your engagement shoot and you don't know how you click with them. My friend had that with Proline and ended up with no usable engagement pics and had to do a re-shoot. I still have my engagement shoot coming up, but I'm really happy with our choice. Every time Silverfox posts a teaser, I think the photos are phenomenal. I can't wait to do the engagement pics!!
rcotter90
Posted:
Member since
What did you look for in a photographer?
The photographer we ended up booking (Lighthouse) was the first one we saw. We had other appointments and wanted to see what else was out there since they were a bit over our budget. But we couldn't help but compare every other photographer we saw to them. Then we made a second appointment to meet the actual photographer and we clicked instantly so we booked then =) If you don't feel it, it's probably not the one and you should keep looking. But if you find yourself comparing others to one of those, then maybe make a second appointment to talk more in depth about all the little details.
Kris724
Posted:
Member since
What did you look for in a photographer?
While their work is important, I also looked for someone whose personality clicked with ours and who didn't seem reserved or shy. They have to wrangle people together for photos, they should be a little outgoing! I agree you should wait for someone who really impresses you!
booie135
Posted:
Member since
What did you look for in a photographer?
I definitely had the ooo I love them feeling. I met with three different photographers. I had really 'ehhh' feelings for two of them and the third I loved, my FH knew right away from my reaction we were going to book with them :o)
killerqueen
Posted:
Member since
What did you look for in a photographer?
For me it was more about how I felt about their albums. I made a point to flip through entire online portfolios as well as a bunch of physical albums at the appointments as well. It's hard to describe what you want until you see it, so make sure you really look at everything they do. If you only like one or two of the pictures in an album they use as a display (meaning that's what they're choosing to represent their style), its likely you'll only like a handful of the ones they do of YOUR day. You don't want to hire someone who you feel will need a lot of direction..
With Silverfox I loved their online albums, the people, and every single album they had on display in their studio. That makes me feel confident in their skills and ability to shoot pictures I like, and I won't have to worry about directing them the day of and worrying if I'm going to like their images.
summerbridejen2015
Posted:
Member since
Re: What did you look for in a photographer?
Posted by killerqueen
For me it was more about how I felt about their albums. I made a point to flip through entire online portfolios as well as a bunch of physical albums at the appointments as well. It's hard to describe what you want until you see it, so make sure you really look at everything they do. If you only like one or two of the pictures in an album they use as a display (meaning that's what they're choosing to represent their style), its likely you'll only like a handful of the ones they do of YOUR day. You don't want to hire someone who you feel will need a lot of direction..
With Silverfox I loved their online albums, the people, and every single album they had on display in their studio. That makes me feel confident in their skills and ability to shoot pictures I like, and I won't have to worry about directing them the day of and worrying if I'm going to like their images.
THIS!! same photographer for us :) I knew when I saw their pictures,they were for me.
mrzsoontobejames
Posted:
Member since
Re: What did you look for in a photographer?
Posted by ChristineNicole
Posted by mrzsoontobejames
For me, I had two DREAM photographers. One was wayyyyyyy out of my budget then the other DREAM photographer was well within my budget. I had already had it in my mind that he would be my photographer as long as he was personable and easy to reach. He answers all my emails within 5 hours and when we met it was like old friends talking instead of a vendor/client meeting.
I really think you should go with someone that blows you away. For instance when my photographer uploads teasers it makes me more and more impatient so make sure you go with a vendor that you 'LOVE' their work and not just 'LIKE' their work. If you have a feeling you should just keep looking chances are you're not blown away yet. It's similar to dresses when you find the way that's it there's no more looking :) Good Luck this is truly a hard decision good thing is you do have time :)
Thank you! If you don't mind me asking, who were your two dream photographers? The first photographer we went to go look at my fiancé just loved him and his work and I really liked his personality as well because it was like friends talking but he is pretty expensive. Answering emails within 5 hours is actually a really good thing. Last week I reached out to a photographer that's a preferred vendor from my venue and they never responded back to me so just because of that I don't want to use them.
My dream photographer is: http://www.luckiephotography.com/gran-coral-beach-club-wedding-photography-layla-and-kayle/ This is whom I'm booked with.
My dream photographer who was out of budget is: http://www.joshuadwain.com/wedding-photos/famagusta-gate-nicosia-cyprus-wedding-photographers/
I'm not into posed cookie cutter photography. I want my images to tell a story I couldn't go wrong with either one however, my photographer is from Mexico so it was literally a 3k price difference. The only issue is my photographer shoots so many weddings so he was honest and upfront that it may take up to 4 months but his images are well worth the wait. I am in love with his out photojournalistic style and he doesn't use much photoshop like other photographers.
I wanted a one man show meaning the person I met with is the person who is going to take my pictures..he also needed to give me an album in the package cuz I know myself and I'm not going to do that afterwords if he didn't and then I felt it's a waste....his style in the albums was creative/ fashion which sold me..his price was reasonable..his personality clicked with mine..match for me..
haw4
Posted:
Member since
What did you look for in a photographer?
Just make sure whatever photographer you use you are able to get full rights to all of your photos. As I was researching photographers I found that although they may give you all of your pictures on a cd, they can watermark them. Make sure whomever you use, you get unwatermarked cd full of your images. I couldn't believe some photographers were trying to charge me extra to have rights to MY photos.
rcotter90
Posted:
Member since
Re: What did you look for in a photographer?
Posted by haw4
Just make sure whatever photographer you use you are able to get full rights to all of your photos. As I was researching photographers I found that although they may give you all of your pictures on a cd, they can watermark them. Make sure whomever you use, you get unwatermarked cd full of your images. I couldn't believe some photographers were trying to charge me extra to have rights to MY photos.
Yes! One photographer we met with wanted to charge us $250 extra for a cd of UNEDITED images and wouldn't give us edited ones. WHY WOULD I WANT UNEDITED IMAGES?! IM PAYING YOU (A LOT) TO EDIT THEM!! I didn't even catch it at first but FH did. Make sure the images you're getting are edited ones.
