Your advice on photographer please!

[NuggetBrain]

Okay so I'm still looking around even though I found a photographer I like - his prices are a bit more than we wanted to pay. Anyways, I ran across the website of this other photog - from what I understand, she deals mostly in baby photography and modeling shoots, but is moving into wedding photography this year. Because of that her prices seem to be spectacular - 2 photogs, 8 hours of coverage, engagement session and a CD with retouched images and copyrights for 1,195. The problem is, while I like her photos, I need some outside opinions as I am extremely easy to please so my eye for details and such isn't very developed. So here's her website - to get to the wedding photos look under the "Galleries" option on the bottom of the screen - take a look and let me know what you think of her work?

http://www.giazatuchny.com/index2.php

 

[wannaBMrsH]

Hi Nugget, I had the exact same issue! My original photographer that I was completely over the moon about is being deployed 2 months before our wedding and we had to scramble to find a new photographer on a much smaller budget. We found a photographer that specialized in baby and family pictures who is looking to break into weddings.

Your photographer already seems to be very artistic and I think the overall feel of her photos shows great quality. We both met with the photographer and his assistant and honestly got the best vibe from them. We are really excited about them photographing our destination wedding and I think you should feel the same.

You happened to find the photographer before their prices skyrocket and it''s someone who has already proven that they can work with very difficult clients and get great shots!

 

[Clairitek]

I think that photographer is a great value! I can''t stress one thing enough though- please please please don''t hire her solely on what you see on the website. I think you learn a lot about a photographer by meeting with them in person and seeing more of their work.

FI and I almost hired a photographer that was a great deal without meeting him and seeing more of his work. Since we couldn''t work out a chance to meet in person he gave me the password to two client galleries. I was shocked about the difference between what I saw on his site and what I saw in the main body of his work. I think we would have been sorely disappointed if we had hired him based on the 100 shots on his site.

Since you are in the Twin Cities area I wanted to recommend an additional photographer. She shot my friend''s wedding and I still enjoy looking at their photos, even a year and a half later.

www.melissalouise.com

I have no idea how much she is but it might be worth a shot.

 

[panda08]

Can be a great deal but I would definitely ask her how many weddings she''s done, whether she can email you a link that shows all of the pictures she''s taken at several weddings, and whether you can speak her past clients. I like to see how the photog shoots the entire day to see if he/she captures the emotions/feelings of the day and to see how interesting/creative the shots are. Google her and see if others have raved/ranted about her. See if she''s part of any professional associations or photography websites/blogs and what, if anything, her colleagues have said about her work or if she''s won any awards.

 

[katamari]

She looks like a skilled wedding photographer to me. I think it is up to you and the risks you are willing to take.
I feel that you could be confident with this person that things would turn out okay, but if you are strongly tied to a particular feel or style of photography, it might be worth the extra cost to get that.

Honestly, for FI and I photography wasn''t a top priority (ducking to hide from the gasps in horror). We wanted some photos, but if it were to come out as glorified snapshots, we were fine with that. We are actually going to be our photographer''s second wedding ever. One of our friends owns an art gallery and she recommended him. He was one of the art photographers she showed a lot, and he just started picking up weddings for some extra cash so his rates are still really low. We also really liked his personality and disposition. I loved his artistic work, but he could be the worst wedding photographer ever. FI and comfortable with that risk.

 

[NuggetBrain]

Thank you so much for the input!

wannaBMrsH - I''m hoping that I can set up some time to go to her studio with FI and go over her stuff. I have a feeling her rates won''t stay that low very long once she gets her feet more firmly implanted into the wedding photography world.

Clairitek - thank you for the recommendation! Her stuff looks lovely, I sent her an e-mail and hopefully her prices will be in line with what we''re looking for. Its always nice to have options!

And thanks to both you and Panda08 for the advice regarding other pictures - I''ve sent her an e-mail and hopefully she''ll not only be able to meet with us, show a full set of photos from a wedding and maybe some references, but will be able to do a "mock shoot" of a couple photos of FI and I at her studio so I can see how she would be photographing us.

katamari - I hope that your photog turns out great! It''s good that you like the guy too - it''s so important to be comfortable with the person who''s going to be following you around all day, LOL.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I think the photos look lovely!
I''m booking a very similar package for 800$ from a wedding photography assistant who''s looking to break out on her own as well, so I say go for it! It''s a great deal for a great photographer!