Help me choose a photographer!

[bobbin]

I *think* I have narrowed it down to two choices. One is most likely going to be $1000 more expensive than the other, although we are still negotiating a price.

Which set of photos do you prefer?

Does the $1000 price difference sway you at all?

We are on a tight budget so the cheaper one would obviously be better for that, but we still want really good quality photos and we know we may need to pay a bit more for that.

First photographer

Second photographer

 

[lilylover]

First photographer, hands down!

I don''t know which is more $$ but I would DEFINITELY go with the first.

 

[honey22]

Date: 1/11/2010 2:32:02 AM
Author: lilylover
First photographer, hands down!


I don''t know which is more $$ but I would DEFINITELY go with the first.

Ditto. The first one has really nice pics!

 

[bobbin]

Yep, that is my gut feeling too. The photos just seem to show emotion and are more alive than any other ones I have looked at.

Problem is that she is the one that is $1000 more expensive, and also $1000 over budget! I am currently negotiating a price with her - she is asking for $2300 for six hours with photos on disc, plus an album and guest cards directing guests to the digital album, but I have asked her to scrap those and only have the coverage and the disc.

She has agreed to negotiate the price for that amount, but I don''t know how much to ask off. Any ideas? If it helps on her website she charges $1000 for the album alone, but her package price is already discounted. This is also for a Friday wedding, and the other photographer seemed keen to reduce the price in order to get me to book with her for a Friday.

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Hi Bobbin!

Can you tell the photographer you love what your budget is and see if she can tailor a package for that amount? I would rather get the photographer I want with less extra bits than a photographer that has all the trimmings, but not as good photos. Hope
that made sense!

 

[princessplease]

Definitely the first one. The pics from the 2nd one seem rigid to me I guess because the 1st one has more of those candid shots. Fi and I were in the same boat. Two photogs, one $800 cheaper but the style of the cheaper photog was much like the 2nd one you have so we went with the more expensive photog. I love the candid, photojournalistic style, so the choice was very easy for me to make.

 

[YSQueen]

Definitely the first one!!! See what you can do about negotiating the price down.

 

[Bleed Burnt Orange]

I too think the 1st!

 

[Maisie]

I loved the first one. The photos were well thought out and very vibrant. I love colour in wedding pictures.

 

[vc10um]

First one. Hands down.

Perhaps she can meet you in the middle somewhere? Get you a coverage-only package for about $300-500 over your budget, and then you can re-allocate funds from somewhere else? Centerpieces, cake, food...none of that stuff lasts. The photographs of all the love surrounding you on that day are what you will have forever and if they''re important to you, then by all means go with the first photographer and see if you can squeeeeeeze some funds from elsewhere.

 

[lucyandroger]

#1 for sure.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I really like the first one. I would tell her a firm budget and say you want full coverage and rights to all the images on disk. You can do a gorgeous album yourself online later when you have more money (I did mine for around $300 on mypublisher.com and got a second album for free they are huge and GORGEOUS!)

If she won''t negotiate then go with the second, the pics are lovely just not quite as fresh and modern.

I negotiated really hard and got a photog into my range (she had to knock almost 50% off her price) b/c we got married 6 weeks after we got engaged. I ended up deciding to go with another photographer who we found on craigslist. I liked her shots just as much and she was only $900 b/c she was building her portfolio.

Good luck!!!

 

[pocahontas]

Yep, here''s another vote for #1. I love how much more candid and alive these photos are compared to #2. I hope you can negotiate a price/package that makes you and FI happy. Good luck!

 

[lulu66]

Date: 1/11/2010 10:24:05 PM
Author: pocahontas
Yep, here''s another vote for #1. I love how much more candid and alive these photos are compared to #2. I hope you can negotiate a price/package that makes you and FI happy. Good luck!

ditto. #1 hands down. i hope you & the photog can come to a price/pkg agreement to make everyone happy! keep us posted!!

 

[UnderBlue]

#1 is definitely the better photographer. #2 has potential, they just need to refine and fine tune their technique.

Lots of artistic shots and moments caught in the first one, while the second one hasn''t mastered depth of field, flash or candidness.

Is there anything you, your finance or someone in your families could barter to make up for the price difference?

 

[tyty333]

I guess I''m the only one who likes the second one better

?

Maybe I like more traditional photos.

 

[shertz1981]

I like the first. IMO, photography is something worth splurging on -- to the point of cutting elsewhere (which is sort of what I was planning to do).

 

[bobbin]

I am happy to say we went with the first one

We didn''t really get a discount per se but she threw in some extra items for us.

When we met her she was very professional but also really warm and friendly. We felt very at ease.

We met with two others - the 2nd one there and one other. The 2nd one was also very friendly, but not quite as professional (she forgot we were coming).

The other one, when I told him we were going to have lawn bowls looked like he thought that was the most stupid idea he had ever heard, and at the beginning asked FI for his last name and then said "That is the most important one after all." Um, I don''t remember telling you that I was going to change my name? I don''t want to share my wedding day with someone who thinks we are stupid and that there is a SET way to do everything that you HAVE to follow.

So even though we are spending double our budget on her, I am happy with our choice. Unfortunately, there is nowhere else for us to cut back on as we are already cutting back everywhere else! So just more saving for us this year I suppose.

Thanks everyone for giving your 2c. It definitely confirmed what we were already thinking.

 

[cleokizzy]

i vote for the 1st one!!! if you could squeeze in a 1k for it, go for it!