Final photography decision needs to be made Honest Opinions and Advise

For photography, I would like 2 photographers all day so I don't feel rush and I can get a bunch of different angles or at least 2! And I want some really great pictures.

My choice is La Te Da Photography! More bang for the buck.

I wish our budget would have allowed for that but we had to use a less expensive photographer but we will do a bridal shoot when we get back from honeymoon.

Have you met with them yet? For me, a big decision was how interacted with our photographers. I mean, they'll be with you ALL day!!!

I met with Story Photography yesterday, Ashley and David, and they are fun to be around. I meet with Kristal of La Te Da later.

Story has only being professional for about 3 years but she, not her husband, used to work with a professional photographer for like 3 years.

FW wants to go with La Te Da and I think they are good as well plus we get more as well as what I would like.

Looking at their websites, I definitely say La Te Da but like Lala said for me it really was about who I felt comfortable with. I am going with Gina McLean Photography. Another husband/wife team and she is so quirky and funny she won my business after our first meeting!

I would have a sit down with them both. But sure to bring FW as they will have to click with her too! And see what kind of vibe you get. You do not want to be with someone all day who is going to get on your nerves!

@Brian, I agree with you. Have you seen the picture for both? Which do you like best? Honestly, I didn't even know she was providing all I said until I talked with her. I would prefer great picures over what they offer.

I'm still in the process of setting up an appointment with Kristal with La Te Da but Ashley and David were cool. I loved their company but not their pricing and/or time limit. I don't want to be bounded to hours. FW asked them what would be their rate if we went over the 6 hours and they said they had to discuss that and get back with us.

I would love to go with Story but I would have to wrap my head around that price plus it's not even close to being in our budget. It's a hard decision to make and I was worried about cake!

Hidden just because for some reason my computer didn't update the comments and I basically asked you questions that you had already answered! lol Sorry!

To be honest, on a technical level, Story Photographers are well lit, well executed and properly exposed images, their detail images are tack sharp, La Te Da is not bad but they seem to have less of a grasp on exposure and lighting If it was my child's wedding, I would go with Story Photographers, they are higher quality and figure my budget, then go with whatever they offer that I could afford. If you also connected well with Story Photographers, then I would go with them.

What do you think Brian. Have you looked through their galleries? One piece of advice, always ask potential photographers to see complete client galleries of all images that were delivered to their clients. Typically, their best images will be on their blog/website, if the entire set of images delivered to their client is consistent, then you know for sure your photographer is good at capturing your entire wedding including candida, formals, details. Look for sharpness of images, eyes are bright, emotion.

I specifically looked at both on the wedding day images represented, that is the true test, how did they perform when you are in crunch time. Wedding days are fast paced and you have to create and capture moments quickly, there are no do overs. Engagement and bridal sessions there is more time to execute the vision. Not saying that La Te Da is bad, she is also good. Just feels like Story Photographers has more experience when I looked through the galleries. I personally like the style of La Te Da better, she has some great images. Just make sure you see several if not all galleries of past clients for both photographers before you make a decision. It should never be a problem for them to produce that for you. If it is, that is a red flag. That being said, I would still go with Story Photographer if I was looking at both for my child's wedding.

I actually like La Te Da's style and eye than Story Photographers. SP's photos look generic to me, LTD seems to have a more tasteful eye. It's even better that they are a cheaper rate!

Thank you all for your help especially the 2 professional photographers. I means a lot to me as I want to make the best decision. I can promis eyou the bungle of goodies are not that appealing to me as I have not interest in a bridal or engagement shoot. I still would like to meet with Kristin (I was misspelling her name this entire post) and ask why she does offer so much for so little?

I wan quality not quantity!

Am i correct to say that these photographers are in 2 different classifications (not sure thats the word im looking for at the moment)? One seems to tell a story, and the other seems to capture all the details. IMO totally 2 different things- and you need to decide which you want more of. OR perhaps find someone who can do both!

I honestly like La Te Da's better

No problem sweetie. My oldest son was married 4 years ago. It was a nightmare and the biggest reason I decided to move into the wedding photography industry from family and children. We were looking at price and trying to stay within a budget. His website looked great. The engagement pictures were good. The wedding, don't know what he did but it was bad, images out of focus, wedding was outside, he took most pictures from the cover of shade for himself and not the best angles for the image. It was a back yard wedding - the yard was a past client that had won best yard in Southern Living but formals all have the house in the background instead of the beautiful pond with waterfall and flowers. Resolution was too low to make a wedding album from images he burned to disc for them. Color was off. When confronted, he said it was extra for edited, high resolution images. Looking through his contract, he has it listed as images burned to disc, even thoughnhe told us verbally, high res.

La Te Da's!

Ran out of room - sorry. Anyway, we could only print a handful of images at 4x6, nothing larger. Really sad. It was $30/image to have high res image. We had already paid him $1200 for engagement and 4 hours of wedding coverage, no prints. Just the disc

There is a big difference between the 2 which is why this decision is so hard. I'm open to the price. I could get more from my mom since she has offered to pay the difference. So my decision is not which photographer but which photography style?

Since price isn't your primary consideration (and it shouldn't be!) you need to go with the one a) whose portfolio you like best and b) who you feel most comfortable with.

As far as the technical stuff goes...I prefer Story over LaTeDa because, as a photographer, I see a higher level of technical competence and stylish composition. Many of LaTeDa's images are blown out, poorly posed, or show dated techniques (like spot colouring). Story's use of perspective, lens choices, and camera settings show a lot more variety and attention to detail, and are more flattering to the subjects. Just my opinion!

I like the first photographer better -- I looked at both before reading about the costs, but I'd still go with the first choice! Hope this helps!