Our Own Wedding: Photography
Rhonda Gail | June 25, 2008Well, as happy as I am about our decision to elope, I’m sad to wave goodbye to Eric Laurits. I had my heart set on having Eric shoot our nuptials, but deciding to get married this year means that we just can’t afford a top-notch photographer. So here we are, searching for a decent photographer that meets our criteria:
- Local to Orlando, to avoid travel costs.
- Will shoot for just an hour or two, much like an engagement session, with a little ceremony thrown in.
- Will sell us a disc of edited images for a reasonable price.
- Will sell the disc of UNedited images for way cheap.
- Is a good fit with our favored styles.*
- Can be booked with just a couple months’ notice (wedding will possibly be on a weekday, so this isn’t impossible).
- Will do the shooting itself for under $400.
Am I seeking the impossible?
I’m going with NO, and am going to search for the right photographer! I know a lot of photographers read this blog, so if any of you can do this, or know someone who can, please let me know!
*Samples of these favored styles can be found on these photography blogs: Eric Laurits, Susan Stripling, The Image Is Found, John & Joseph – Just a few of my faves.
Related posts:
You could check the Nest photo board and see if they have any suggestions. It’s been forever since I’ve logged in over there. I can email you the link if you don’t have it.
My friend married in Orlando and used Eric Runyon but I’m pretty sure he is crazy expensive and he should be. He is good.
I don’t think your criteria are out of reach- especially if you do the weekday thing. Of course this judgement is based on photographers in my area- it might be a different story in a bigger city like Orlando. I’ve seen work from a photographer in Tampa that I thought was pretty nice- only 1.5 hours from Orlando! I’m not sure what his full pricing list is, but for only an hour or two it shouldn’t be outrageous!
Brian C Idocks
Don’t know what happened to the link I tried to send… here it is!
oof! Ok – i just tried to post a comment and i think cyberspace ate it. ok – quick and dirty recap b/c i dont have time to type that all again.
3 ideas for you:
1 – UCF (or any other school with a photography program) students looking to add to their portfolio. They might not be great yet at editing the photos, but you should be able to get the cd of images for next to nothing or free.
2 – orlando.craigslist.org In the for sale section type “photographer” – i did and found 3 people who are willing to barter for services and one that asked $100 /hour.
3 – Disney! You know the people who snap a pic when you walk in to sell to you later? Many of them are student/budding photographers. Next time you are in Epcot (less hectic – more time for them to talk) strike a pose and then strike up a convo. If they can’t do it, they might know who can.
ok – a little bizarre but theres a couple of ideas for ya! (i just started blogging about my wedding process so mahalo for the reminder about the insanity of ideas I went through before booking my photographer!) =)
Oh yea sure don’t add me in there anywhere. =( I’m glad you found someone!!
Just saw your post. Hope you found someone. If not I’m sure we could refer someone.
I think you are being very unrealistic. You want them to spend hours and hours, and then hours editing, all for a very small sum of $400 for a stressful assignment, but you want it in the style of photographers who charge $6000 or more.
You can in fact find a photographer to do this, and it can cost you EVEN less (maybe free???) but you will probably get a bad, inexperienced photographer – either a student or a computer geek with a new camera using pop up flash. If that is what you want to do with your photos of your wedding for the rest of your life, it is your choice.
Some of the choices here remind me of the McDonalds mentality. Hey it does not taste good but it is at least very cheap (or free)… I have seen the work of these student photographers. Let me tell you, there are very very few who are even maybe somewhat decent. They will be even worse in a chaotic environment like wedding. Half of the money paid to a photographer is for crowd management and experience in dealing with situations.
I would definitely not even spend $400 and save that money. THe photographer you will get for $400 will not be much better than one you can get for free (who does it for portfolio).
I didn’t mean to be a downer, just being honest. I love finding a good deal as the next gal, but with certain things you get what you pay for.
Good luck!
Jason, I don’t think you read my entire post. Hours upon hours will not be required. This whole entire shoot will be 2 hours probably. It is not a wedding where there will be “dealing with crowds” and it certainly won’t be “chaotic.” It is an elopement, pure and simple. Thanks for your input, though.
I am a photographer in the Orlando area who mainly shoots on a referral basis. But after reading your post, I would be happy to help on your special day. My site is still under development, but it does have a wedding gallery for you to see. You can reach me at contact@stacyelle.com. Hope to hear from you, and good luck with your wedding planning!
Website: http://www.stacyelle.com
I was JUST talking to my boyfriend yesterday about how I want to find a wedding in the Fall to shoot for free in exchange for travel so we can have a vacation together (he’s a filmmaker but wants to start shooting weddings with me.) Give me details!
I do not believe this