finding a wedding photographer

[aesoprock00]

How does one go about finding a decent wedding photographer? we're planning a wedding for October of this year, and have had a few people recommend photogs, but they all seem way overpriced. I understand you pay for quality, but really, $7000 for 4 hours? that seems way out of line.We're located in Pittsburgh, Pa. i could understand if we were in NYC or LA...

how do we find someone in the $1000 - $2500 range who isn't a complete amateur, will give us a few good hours of shots, and will be worth it without spending several thousand dollars? is just viewing someones portfolio and finding out about their equipment enough? I consider myself a pretty good amateur photographer, but i've never done any weddings or really though about what's involved. i'd like to talk things over with photographers, but outside of checking out their gear and past work, what should we look for?

Also, we recently went to a wedding reception where the photographer was taking pictures of everyone, and then would print a copy of the pictures for them right there (well, within 20 minutes or so). This seemed like a great wedding gift to the guests. The pictures had a custom frame on them that had a picture of the married couple, the date, and some other details in the border/frame of the photo. How would we find someone to do something like this? Is there a term for this? can only more expensive photographers do this? could anyone with a mobile photo printer do something similar?

thanks DPS!

Google is your friend. Search for photographers in your area, and look for ones that are in your price range. Look at their style...is the light soft? Are the photos sharp? How's the post-processing? You can learn a lot about a photographer by just looking at a few of their photos on their website.

Meet with the photographer, and make sure you like his/her personality as well. Ask to see an album of one wedding, which will give you an idea of how they shoot overall (not just their best shots from all the weddings, which is what is on their website).

As for the photo printing thing, you might consider a photo booth. I rent out photo booths for weddings, and it's pretty fun for the guests. Usually run around $800-$1500, depending on your market. When looking at those, try to find a home-built, non-sit down version. They will have the best image quality (usually use Canon S2s or S5s) and can fit more than 2 people (mine can fit up to 13, which is the current record).

[gturner]

for $7000 can can fly out from Africa, with all my kit, do the shoot, process print and fly home.
Interested??

Seriously. You often do get what you pay for and it is LOADS more than 4 hours work. If it is a proper pro he is looking at 4-5 hours prep, and 12-20 hours of post processing work. If they are using serious equipment you will get the benefit and the bill!

Google, reference from friends and speak to the venue. Meet the phototag, check the portfolio and be VERY clear about what you expect. If they are promising the world for $1500 bucks, it should be flashing a large red warning light.

[DigUpHerBones07]

If you are willing to take a slight chance, you can always contact your local art school and see if there are some students interested in wedding photography. I was lucky enough to find someone who was just starting out and she had some really great work and we loved our photos. She only charged us $800 for 6 hours. It was a really great deal.

[bethard728]

I am far from a professional photographer but I am someone who got married and regretted going with the "cheap" photographer. Keep in mind that their portfolio is a sample of their best work and does not necessarily mean that your photos will be as great as their portfolio. The photographer that shot my wedding took shots of all the poses that I wanted...however, she didn't take 2 shots of anything. People had their eyes closed in LOTS of the pics. Lighting was poor even though she brought her own..most proofs were very dark. It took us 5 months and several phone calls to get our proofs and when we were ready to order prints, she had fallen off the face of the earth. Phone was disconnected, etc. I really regret not cutting the budget somewhere else to beef up the photography budget. If you think about it, photos are the only wedding item you will pay for that you get to keep forever. The flowers will be thrown away, cake will be eaten, etc. All that being said, I think you can find someone closer to your price range but you'll probably have to do a lot of research to find them. Good luck and congrats on your upcoming wedding!

Edited to add: This photographer was recommended to us by 2 other couples so it wasn't like we just picked her out of the phonebook.

[aesoprock00]

Thanks for the input everyone! We're meeting with a couple of local folks who so far seem very promising (though we also met with a couple who were absolutely out of their minds crazy, but i guess you'll have that).

and we're looking into the photo booth idea, that's a great one too!

[bethard728]

Good luck!

[Jim Bryant]

Give a call to the Pittsburg Press or whatever the local paper is now called .Most of their photographers also freelances like most staff photographers and it'll be shot creative and photojournalistically, much better covered than a usual wedding photographer.

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by DigUpHerBones07

If you are willing to take a slight chance, you can always contact your local art school and see if there are some students interested in wedding photography. I was lucky enough to find someone who was just starting out and she had some really great work and we loved our photos. She only charged us $800 for 6 hours. It was a really great deal.

No, no, no no no............bad idea............you might get a good student, but most are just that... students with little or no experience.

[Raoul Isidro]

Wish you the best of luck in finding a great wedding photographer. I would also recommend inviting a person (or persons) that you know is good or enthusiastic in photography and give permission for them to intrude in all ceremonies (as well as eat in the tables...). Some jaw dropping shots have been done by invited guest instead of the official photographer! I don't do weddings, but my photos are displayed on the walls of friends who invited me to their weddings. The official photo book is under the bed...
Cheers and all the best!