Post # 1
Member
693 posts
Busy bee
i still have a long way to go before i have to pick a photographer… but i have been to a few expos and taken stock of photogs there, and honestly… how do you choose? i am sure all the photogs only showed their best work, and i have not yet been totally blown away.
I am completely neurotic about pics (thanks, Mom -__-) and although some of the portfolios have been good, none that were, in my opionon, flawless. granted, i know that brides and grooms aren’t professional models, so the photogs work with what they’ve got and all that…
then, i came on to WB and read some wedding photography horror stories and i am terrified!! i don’t want to end up with stupid looking pics, or have missing pictures…etc. also, a friend of mine got married a few years ago (i was a B.M) & i remember looking through the 1000 pics with her husband and they were pretty bad. even he was really upset, this photog decided to shoot 60% of everything in fish eye, and did this low angle fish eye thing that made us all look big and fat and distorted… ugh. i would die if something like that happened with my wedding photos…
both Fiance and i are fairly photogenic (if i do say so myself 
). so for me, it would be a matter of a photog that paid great attention to detail, and wasn’t a know-it-all, meaning, if i showed them some inspiration that i have found, they’d be willing to work with that too and would be honest… tell me if the face i’m making is stupid, or that my arm looks fat like that or whatever…
so, bascially, how did you choose??? what made you pic the photog you went with?
Post # 2
Member
3586 posts
Sugar bee
I had 3 choices with my venue and right at the end they added a 4th.
one photographer had 2 shooters which was a plus but her work was blah. It’s like i could tell she was really starting to get into her work. The poses were not that great so i skipped her
2nd one everyone used. All her pictures were great.
3 Rd one had so many amazing pictures but what ever he did to edit them just made them look like they were painted.
4th one i just glanced and there was nothing special
so i went with the one that was mainly featured and had great pics with great reviews. I am sure you will find your photographer. I looked at every detail from the pictures of the flowers and the reception table to the first look to see what my likes and dislikes were. The guy had me sold on his pictures and i was ready to pick him but i couldn’t get over his editing tools used And how fake the pictures looked
Post # 3
Member
213 posts
Helper bee
first off, ew fish-eye. can’t handle photographers that use a fish eye lens.
we chose based off portfolio. we saw what we liked, talked to him via phone (he lived in another city, so we couldn’t meet in person) and went for it!
i think the most important thing would be to see 2 full weddings. if you like what you see, and you seem to get along in person, go for it. also, don’t be afraid to look outside your geographic area, most photographers travel these days!
some of my fave photographers:
http://www.jordanvoth.com/
http://www.sammblakeweddings.com
jennifermoher.com
http://dylandsara.com/
http://www.theblissfulmaven.com/
http://www.pablobeglez.com/
Good luck!
Post # 4
Member
813 posts
Busy bee
ashleearielle: I narrowed down who was within our budget based on if I like the style of photos that was on their website. Then I read online reviews from other brides. I then made appointments for the photographer to meet both me and Darling Husband and we picked from there.
I emailed at least a dozen and met five.
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This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by smilestorm.
Post # 5
Member
1670 posts
Bumble bee
- Wedding: Disneyland - January 2016
I think it might be more difficult if you really know your way around what makes a “professional” pictures and what makes a “pretty” picture. For me…I don’t really know the difference. I’ve seen photos that people have posted and thought, ‘Oh! That’s really lovely!’ while other bees are saying that while it’s nice, it looks ammeture. So take what I say with a grain of salt.
Personally, Fiance and I were on a VERY strict budget with our photographer, so our options were quite limited. That being said, even if I’d had a larger budget, I would have still cut out a lot of photographers because I absolutely hate, hate, HATE getting onto someone’s website, only to NOT find any sort of pricing guide. I’ve argued and ranted about it for days with my Fiance (and sister, and mom, and anybody within the vicinity who hears me go off…) and while I suppose in some weird, stupid, warped sense I understand why they do it, I still refuse to waste my time contacting someone about their services when they couldn’t even be bothered to give me a ballpark number in the first place.
So, I stuck with photographers who actually listed their prices and packages online and were within budget. From there, I took a long, hard look at their gallery and reviews and then at what type of personality thier website reflected. After that, it was fairly simple to make the choice. I knew I wanted someone with a softer, more romantic feel than overly photoshoped and harsher shadows, and when I looked at our photographers page it just felt really right. Maybe some people might not think he’s “professional” enough, but I love the photos he’s already taken of us for our engagement shoot, so I’m quite excited to see what else he can do for us.
*Just to add, our photographer is Karl Verkade: karlverkadephotography.com
Post # 6
Member
375 posts
Helper bee
TwinkleBoss: I think your photographer does great work. I can be fairly picky and feel like I spot fauxtographers and your dude looks great…
Post # 7
Member
789 posts
Busy bee
I did some research on Instagram, of all places. I looked at places tagged with our venue name, or our city’s name, and if something caught my eye, I went on their websites to see if their prices were in my budget, and their photo galleries.
I did end up booking someone this way 🙂
Post # 8
Member
1670 posts
Bumble bee
- Wedding: Disneyland - January 2016
doggymom: Thank you! 🙂 I did doubt myself for a short while as I do admit to really not knowing a whole lot about the ins and outs of photography, but then I decided that I really like his stuff, I like his attitude and in the end we have to be happy with our photos. I’m really happy we found him!
Post # 9
Member
904 posts
Busy bee
I started with our budget, and actually did a LOT of web-based research and even contacted a few photographers to ask a couple of questions, but in the end it came down to using the same photographer two of our other couple-friends used for their weddings. Both couples recommended her highly, something she was really touched to hear, and she’s excited to work with another couple in our group of friends. Right price, right personality and photographic style, offered a second shooter, and full printing rights with all images stored on a harddrive for us.
Post # 10
Member
2445 posts
Buzzing bee
We found our photo/video guys through my Maid/Matron of Honor. She was following someone on IG who used them and once she showed us, they were the only ones we went after. Before that, I had kept a small list of photographers who I heard of through friends/family, and people I knew personally who were doing it on the side.
Post # 11
Member
1324 posts
Bumble bee
u need to be BLOWN AWAY first. i hated the vendors my venue gave me and i sought out on my own. also have an arts background so i’m more picky than the average bride. then you have to see whether the photog is in your price range, or maybe you can negotiate your budget (less hours, no engagement shoot, etc). THEN you need to talk to them either on the phone or in person and make sure you like them. this person is going to be one of the most important vendors of your day and you need to have trust in them.
it’s definitely not easy and finding a photographer was one of the most stressful things about wedding planning for me, but it will be so worth it when you find the one. i constantly stalk my photog’s blog and am so blown away with all her recent weddings. it makes me so excited for her to shoot mine 🙂
Post # 12
Member
693 posts
Busy bee
vanessa1359: Phamnomenon: MrsMore14: smilestorm: TonyClifton: thank you for all the advice! i will definitely check out IG!! & tony… that’s very true, looking at the whole weddings, not just the select pics that they display at expos. & i am hoping that i will just get a good feeling… and be able to trust my gut.
TwinkleBoss: i TOTALLY feel you. it’s a huge turn-off when you have to call for prices and give them every detail of your whole life just for a quote. it seems borderline shady… why can’t your work speak for the prices you’re charging? WHY does there need to be a whole song and dance attached to it?!!! ughhhhh. i so so feel you. if i can’t (or won’t) pay your price, then we are wasting everyone’s freakin time by me having to sit through your whole pushy sale’s pitch, then having to fork over my email so you can bombard me with emails for the rest of my natural life, god forbid i leave my phone number so i can get no less than 4 follow-up calls a week… all so i can say, erm, yeah, thanks but no thanks. gaaaahhhhh!!! 
okay, now i need to go find some wine and main-line it hahahaha
Post # 13
Member
608 posts
Busy bee
ashleearielle: I am so photography-stupid that I had to google what a “fisheye lens” was. Not… not pretty.
I enlisted the help of my Man-of-Honor who does a little bit of paid photography work in Montreal, so he knows what he’s talking about. I didn’t like any of the photographers that came “recommended” by the venue – either I didn’t like the pictures themselves, or something in their “About Me” section made me cringe. I ended up stumbling across my photographer on Off Beat Bride while browsing their Friday Shoe post, or something. She actually had a feature on there – so I was a little worried she’d be out of my price range. Also, when I went to look at her website I was SUPER impressed, and my Man-of-Honor definitely approved.
Her price ended up being comperable to the not-so-great photographers that the venue was recommending.
TwinkleBoss: High-five for not knowing anything about photography! I am usually just like, “I like this picture! Don’t know why” or “I don’t like this picture, and I have no idea why”. I guess I just never learned the vocabulary for it.
Post # 14
Member
693 posts
Busy bee
ICallHimFarmBoy: hahahaha yeah, fish-eye is not flattering for wedding photos. maybe like 90’s boy-band album cover photos, but that’s about it … & yeah, i will just have to keep looking until something clicks…
as catpeaches: said, i should be blown away! or at the least pretty impressed! & i think the photog will probably end up being the most stressful thing for me too… i mean, if my centerpieces aren’t perfect or something, i’ll eventually forget about it. but my pictures?? i want to be able to look them over a million times and enjoy them!
Post # 15
Member
546 posts
Busy bee
I went with the first and only photographer I met. (But I had also planned to meet with the photographer who shot my brother’s wedding, who I liked a lot.) I went with her for these reasons:
- Price was “reasonable” in terms of being comparable to other photogs
- She posts almost all weddings she shoots on her blog, and I liked all her pictures, and I liked her style/aesthetic
- We fit personality-wise–she seems down to earth. I don’t want a type A/bossy photog.
- She has many reviews on yelp and weddingwire, all of which are positive.
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