I knew choosing a photographer would be tough—but I need help! I realize no one can help with my specific situation, so I'd love to know if you ran into similar problems and how you decided! How bad is it to skip an engagement shoot & work with your photographer for the first time day of? Did you regret not having a second shooter (especially if you had around 150 guests and a Catholic wedding)?
We’ve had a huge struggle finding a photographer for fall 2021. Our original ideals were: 8+ hours, 2 photogs, engagement session, great candids (of both guests & the couple), & a positive feeling about the lead photographer. We’ve reached out to 13 at this point, and so many have been booked on our date, ended up being **extremely** expensive, or haven’t responded at all.
We’ve finally, finally, found three good options, but it's looking like we will need to cut back on something, up our budget, or keep searching.
TL;DR
- - Photog 1: within budget & the least amount of stress due to the 10 hours & 2 photogs—but we don’t love all the photos.
- - Photog 2: we love all the photos, but we may end up way over budget if we can’t decide what to go without.
- - Photog 3: similar pricing to photog 2 (but the package details work out better for us); photos are consistently good with good candids.
- - Option 4: keep searching!
Photog 1:
- - Within budget (adding an engagement session will bring us right to our budget).
- - Up to 10 hours, 2 photographers included.
- - Con: The photos are generally good but we don’t love the entirety of the galleries we were sent. However, their great photos are just that!
Photog 2:
- - Pricing is a la carte, starting at 6 hours. A second photographer, 8 hours, & an engagement session would be about $2k over what we hoped to spend.
- - She said we could skip a second photographer if we take most formal portraits (party & family) before the ceremony, but that might be tricky to work out the timing of with our specific situation (we have a different ceremony location & limited access to the reception venue before our rental time).
- - We could skip the engagement shoot, but I really wanted one to meet the photographer/practice having photos taken.
- - Major pro: We love her photos. The formal portraits, the candids, the indoor photos are all amazing throughout every gallery she sent. The colors & editing style are exactly what I want. And she has some super inventive framing & light use, which I love.
Photog 3:
- - Similar cost to Photog 2. Most budget-friendly option would be the base package.
- - We would likely choose her second-tier package, which is nearly $1k over but is 7 hours, 1 photog, an engagement session, and some prints. We may still need an 8th hour.
- - She prefers shooting solo, so I feel a little better about skipping a second shooter with her...but technically the same issue applies of when we can access the venue for pre-ceremony portraits, and so we may need one in the end, which would bump us $2k over.
- - Pro: The full galleries look good, and have really good colors & editing. Lots of great candids!
Or, the fourth option—keep searching, which I don't really want to do!
