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8 K is A LOT, even if you have the money. 1,000/hr?? They are making a killing.. But, many brides biggest regret is not spending the money on a good photographer but the 2nd one sounds good too so it would be hard for me to rationalize going with photog #1 as long as you still like hte pics
As I'm sure has been said before, they are NOT making $1,000 per hour! Actually shooting the weddiny is a tiny fraction of the work that goes into photographing a wedding, most of the real work (and it is way, way more than one day's work) happens away from the clients.
Your decision is a tricky one! I'd say try to meet with both of them, look at examples of full weddings they've done, and see if you aren't happy with no. 2's image quality. Maybe you'll be surprised and think she can do a great job.
If not, is there somewhere ele you can cut back to afford no. 1? Maybe still get videographer but limit your dress budget, etc.
Don't worry about no. 2 being younger/less experienced, though. Just so long as you think the photos are good, the rest doesn't matter. A photographer doesn't have to be married to her 2nd shooter to still work as a great team.
You want to know something funny? Even before I got engaged, I heard of "THE" photographer of the area and immediately went about trying to set up time to meet them. When I called the studio to set up a time to meet or get more info, I was kind of shrugged off and definitely was treated in a manner that I was kind of shocked by (ie it wasn't AWFUL but it really made me re-think handing that amount of $$ to a vendor). I even got a call back from the photographer themself who still did not seem excited at ALL to shoot my wedding. I started exploring our other options and I am SO glad I did...our wedding photographer is probably pretty comparable in the experience/price range as that first one, but it's that same old "if it's not meant to be..." thing and I wouldn't trade our current photographer for anyone because we have had a wonderful experience with them so far!!!
I think you should definitely meet both photographers and figure out your options, as you said. It would be great to be up front with them about your budget and talk about what you can afford. Also, you should probably ask both photographers what is included in the packages (ie, find out how much the images would be on a CD and is that on top of the #s you have already been given?) Ie the 3K shooter's day cost may only be 3K but the CD of images may be 1000+.....and the 8K shooters may include the CD of images in their price? Good luck!!!
how do the packages look are they the same? if they are the same kind of packages i would go with the number 2.. meet with both see how the vibe is between them and u and ur fiance... we had 10 companies to choose from... one wanted 5k for an all day- 8 hour shoot 2 people. others wanted less but for less time shooting, no second shooter, no printed photos, or u got photos but no book. fiance and i met with all of them in a months period. some who were really rude at the client meeting started hounding my emails saying if i dont book with them now i cant get the quote he had given at the meeting.. some were nice and patient with us since we both really wanted to think it through and go with our gut. we are going with some one who is 2300 with a really nice package deal. that was a special for going to the bridal show booth of theirs..
how do the packages look are they the same? if they are the same kind of packages i would go with the number 2.. meet with both see how the vibe is between them and u and ur fiance... we had 10 companies to choose from... one wanted 5k for an all day- 8 hour shoot 2 people. others wanted less but for less time shooting, no second shooter, no printed photos, or u got photos but no book. fiance and i met with all of them in a months period. some who were really rude at the client meeting started hounding my emails saying if i dont book with them now i cant get the quote he had given at the meeting.. some were nice and patient with us since we both really wanted to think it through and go with our gut. we are going with some one who is 2300 with a really nice package deal. that was a special for going to the bridal show booth of theirs..
how do the packages look are they the same? if they are the same kind of packages i would go with the number 2.. meet with both see how the vibe is between them and u and ur fiance... we had 10 companies to choose from... one wanted 5k for an all day- 8 hour shoot 2 people. others wanted less but for less time shooting, no second shooter, no printed photos, or u got photos but no book. fiance and i met with all of them in a months period. some who were really rude at the client meeting started hounding my emails saying if i dont book with them now i cant get the quote he had given at the meeting.. some were nice and patient with us since we both really wanted to think it through and go with our gut. we are going with some one who is 2300 with a really nice package deal. that was a special for going to the bridal show booth of theirs..
Update- Thanks y'all for the advice. I am going to make a little table comparing the packages so we can analyze it - my sense is that #1 is a much fuller package and includes more prints, all the photos, etc, at the end of the day but will post shortly!
@Carolina12: I haven't seen the two photographer's work to compare them, but as someone in the business I can tell you that if you that a budget in the 3-5K area for photography opens you up to multitudes of amazing choices. You can even look outside your area. For instance we have a wedding in Boston where our prices including travel came in less than the photographers the clients were looking at locally, and they liked us more. So you just never know. Good video will cost just as much as photography, but if you are going to spend 8K on a photographer you could easily hire both a great photographer and a great cinema person for the same price. It isn't for me to say if someone is or isn't worth their asking price, but if I were you I would definitely not feel like I was only limited to two options!
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Hello, Bees! This is actually my first post even though I have been reading and think y'all are so helpful. I have run into my first wedding dilemma. On the upside, I am in the blessed position of having parents who are able to (and really want to) give me and my fiance a really nice wedding. The problem - they are prone to saying - oh "just get that", "just do it", etc. etc - when I know what our bottom line is and that we actually do need to stick to a budget! So photography is turning out to be the first budget dilemma. Who would you choose?
1. Photographer 1 is the best known local wedding photographer in our small market. They are a husband and wife team and their going rate for 8 hours is almost 8K!!!! Their pictures are consistently gorgeous and they are both professional photographers. I am going to negotiate with them tomorrow to see if I can get that down, but that is a LOT!
2. Photographer 2 is an up and coming semi-local photographer (from a bigger town a few hours away). Her photos are gorgeous, and her starting price is 3k for a full day. She brings along a second photographer (which, based on reading here, and the size of our wedding, I think I need).
I guess I feel like her pictures aren't half as good as Photographer 1's - they are pretty much just as good, but she's younger, less experienced, and less of a "duo" than Photographer 1. Any thoughts on how to choose? I feel like the 4-5k difference could go to so many things - being able to afford a videorapher, for example, prints, etc. etc.
All your thoughts are so appreciated!!!