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I am taking a chance with mine, two girls who are just getting started, and I am PUMPED!! I love their work, and I love that I am giving them a chance to build their portfolio. YAY!
Yes, we went with a photographer who recently graduated. My sister had worked with her on a photo shoot at school and recommended her because she knew we couldn't afford a professional. We had our engagement session a few months back and the photos turned out AMAZING! I think some people just really have it when it comes to photography, they are naturally talented and have the eye for good shots, I don't think the price of a photographer predicts how good they will be!
@futuremrshildebrand: I couldn't have put it better!
BTW you're getting married on my birthday!!! :P :P
My only warnings are to make sure you have a contract and that you get everything in writing and check that they have back up gear (just in case). Otherwise, much luck with your weddings and I hope the images come out beautifully.
Realize MM portfolios are mostly portraits which are taken under controlled lighting. Also, many of the port images were taken at workshops where the shot was set up. The wedding images......was she a second shooter or main? For a second shooter it's not hard to shoot over the pro's shoulder once the shots are setup.
I would just be careful, I cringe every time I hear a horror story on here. Are the insured? Do they have backups? Is this a real business or just a hobbie that may get old or non profitable and they basically quit before your big day? Def get a contract and spell everything out clearly. Best of luck.
Thanks for the heads up but I'm fortunate that few of your warnings apply to my particular situation. We are currently working up a contract. As for the portfolio + wedding album, they are both very much in her style, so I am not worried about having particularly unrealistic expectations.
I understand that you're trying to bring up several valid points, when choosing wedding photographers, but I can't help but feel a bit unnerved by professional photographers hounding people looking for alternatives. Reminds me a bit of this thread I was just looking at.
You shouldn't feel that way, and I honestly don't care who you hire. I am looking out for your best interest, and if you read the horror stories posted here after the day of and regrets, those are typically the main reasons why. Just throwing some info out so you cover all your bases and make the arrangements as bullet proof as possible. This will minimize the chance of you having a horror story to share after your big day.
As a pro photographer I try and talk people out of hiring amateurs. However, if you have your heart set on one, go for it. It's important to have an icon-clad contract and at least two photogs if you're going the non-pro route. Weddings are completely different to portraits, seriously there are SO many variables with weddings, the two are incomparable which is why two photos is so important (best chance of having heaps of good pics) I hope thye work out for you and wish you the best of luck.
I think its great that you are giving them a shot. They will always be amatures if nobody gives them a chance!! I think this is going to be good, just do an engagement shoot before your wedding, so you can get comfortable with them and they can get comfortable shooting you!! Then you can see the results of that and that will give you an idea of how your wedding pics may turn out. Good luck!!
I say give him a chance. You can always see if you can hire photographer as a second to catch the photos that he may miss. We asked an almost brother in law to take ours even tho he really has never shot a wedding before. I chose to not have any expectations of the outcome and hoped I'd just get a few pics out of it. He did FAN-effin-TASTIC!! I loved almost every pic out of the 2000 he took, and I have a friend who edits photos as a side job and so she offered to frill it up a bit. SO SO GLAD I went with him rather then the obnoxious-my-head-is-really-far-up-my-own-a** photographer in our area..
I hired two amateur photographers and I loved the pictures they took. The pictures they took were better than the pro photographer that flaked out on me 6 weeks before the wedding. If you are happy, I say go for it! You might also want to look into a budget friendly 2nd shooter.
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Hello bees,
Our original plan for our wedding photography was to hire a friend of ours (a sports photographer) and just pay him for his time. And then I started researching. I heard the voice of reason loud and clear: THESE WILL BE YOUR MEMORIES! DON'T CHEAP OUT!! Upon looking at his more artsy portfolio it became clear that this was not the guy for us.
So now I was screwed! There was literally no budget for a professional and how could you trust an amateur with such an important event.
Well my DIY resourcefulness has reached it's apex, ladies! I decided to think outside the box. I went on Model Mayhem and scoured through hundreds of amateur portfolios. To my surprise, some of these students took AMAZING and CONSISTENT photos.
I contacted several, one of which had already worked as a wedding photographer’s assistant. So we met at Starbucks yesterday and she showed me the photos from a wedding she shot and they’re amazing. In fact, they’re better than some of the professionals I’ve seen charging over 1k.
Anyway, I’m so pleased right now. I thought I would have to throw my budget out the window but I’ve gotten better than what I expected.
Anybody else going the amateur route? Want to share some experiences?