Good photographer who delivers RAW and will do NDA

Jane, good luck finding a photographer who will give you RAW images.

Ok Jane, be right in your rightness.

Pretend you posted your "I need a heart surgeon that will do a CABG without an angio" on a board full of doctors. You're going to get industry norm answers and cautions. Then pretend you got snippy and complained about all doctors. Then for good measure you said that for some mystifying reason, you're not developing good rapport with doctors.

Again, I don't think it's us.

.....

Honestly- with as big as your budget is- buy a spare camera that you think is appropriate- hire a upper level student- and tell them to shoot the wedding then hand everything back over. You get your pictures- and your equipment and your "professional" photography.

Because not a single fucking real professional is going to do what you want.

And that's the only way you're really truly going to get what you need. So just do that.

Remember- this is just a party- nothing more. nothing less.

The actual wedding ceremony can be done anywhere by a professional and requires none of this crap.

And yes- all in all it's crap.

it's wonderfully awesome crap- and I'm totally buying into it- but it's still extra and not NECESSARY.

All you need is a license from your state- someone legally required to marry you- and your SO.

Period.

The rest of it- extras. Stop pretending it's the second comming - you're making this about a milion times harder trying to be a special snowflake- hire professionals to do their job and wash your hands of it.

OR- pay mid level people who don't have a brand- hand them all the tools and then direct them on how to do it- but good fucking luck because you're going to be stressed as hell.

The industry exists for a reason- half that reason is convenience. They are a pros for a reason.

Jacks, I suppose you're right in that I posted here not expecting answers from wedding pros but rather other planners looking for the same thing. Perhaps I'm on the wrong track as to what these boards are. If this is an industry forum then I sincerely apologize because jacks is right, you'd get harassed endlessly posting BS like that on a Dr. forum. Might you be able to recommend a forum where I could get vendor recommendation from other people planning weddings rather than those in the industry? I'm really not trying to cause trouble. Yes, I get pissed at the condescended attitudes, and I've responded in kind which I shouldn't do. I'm really just looking for recommendations and I don't want to offend any vendors. I'm sure you do great work that makes your clients very happy. We just want something different. I hope we can show each other some courtesy.

This is a combined board. We have planners and vendors mixed. There are many types of expertise represented here..

Fwiw, I believe it is against TOS to direct people to other wedding boards. At least it was at some point.

Hmmm....well, I suppose some people never change. I've photographed doctors' weddings, they've been lovely. They also know they are hiring me to do the work and would not want to try to do my job. That's what they are paying me for.....just like I don't do MRI's, grab peoples nutsacks and make them cough, do their surgery....it seems you're the only one who thinks you are smarter than everyone else in what they do. It has nothing to do with wanting something different being bad. I just booked a couple whose wedding will be at a town square classic movie theater, and that is pretty different. If another picked something even more different, I'd welcome it with open arms. Different being insulting and micro managing, not so much. You've misdiagnosed your own problem, careful about that.

-------------------#notavendor

HA-

#neverhaveIevergrabbedanutsackandsaidpleasecough

best new joke ever.

thanks jay- that was priceless.

And Jay is correct. Your problem is not evident to you because you're needing insight into how you come across. To everyone.

#notavendor either, if someone inserts a dollar in me, I don't spit out a bag of potato chips

Almost spit my wine up.

it's to late for these shennanigans. But I am so amused.

nice one. that was most excellent my friend.

#nutsackgrabber

Jorocka, totally agree with it being just an event and the ceremony being the important part. Honestly, I think that has lead to some push back because, while we want a nice, inventive dinner and some great photos, we aren't doing a lot of the other traditional wedding things (cake, dance party, big flower arrangements, bouquet toss, etc). It seems the more you deviate from what 90% of people want the more people get angry that you don't want that. We just want to have a nice evening with our guests. I've found it's almost easier to tell places we are putting on a dinner rather than a wedding because it puts them in the right frame of mind for what we are looking for.

I'm doing exactly that. Ceremony- nice dinner- no DJ- no dancing- no huge giant flower orchestrations.

Still getting what I need.

I genuinely think you're making this harder than it needs to be.

Most of us LOVE different. Asking a caterer to share recipes or letting your aunt help them cook, well....some kitchen utensils would fly over that one. We want you to have an enjoyable party with your family and friends, just not take advantage of creative artists and micro manage them. THAT is what your problem is, you still don't see it. Wait....why am I trying?

Jane, you're smart but you have much to learn. Try lurking around for awhile, you might learn some things that will make it easier for you to get what you need (this may not be = what you want).

My opinion of a nice evening is twerking on the dance floor to Beyoncé and eating amazing food.

Jay, I don't know what to tell you. I felt you were pretty rude in your first posts replying to me. I could have been looking at through the lens of my recent bad experiences with some photographers. I also could be reading anger into text that isn't there. That said, I don't think it is insulting to ask for something. I don't want you to change your business model. I'm not asking you to like what I'm looking for, but I also don't care that you don't like it. I totally understand you feeling the way you do about your industry. Frankly, those same feelings of hating other people doing work that I felt was shady led me to leave practice and go into management. That said, I really do think there are some great photographers who will sell their RAW files. I'd like to speak with a couple more so I know I'm getting the right one for us. Please don't take that as an insult. Like I said, I'm sure your clients love the work they hired you to do. I'm just hoping to find someone willing to do the work that I hire them to do, and for me that includes RAW files.

Good luck finding the golden vendor.