Help! struggling to find photographer!

Hey there! I went to the Wedding Ring Expo in Oakville today and I found a budget friendly photographer from the Niagara area! I took pictures of the promo stuff incase you or other brides are interested. Good luck!

That's great news!!! Congrats!! Must be a relief to be able to check that off the list

YAY! This is great news!

Congrats on knocking one off your "to-do" list....and with the engagement shoot included, it sounds like you got a great deal Good for you!

I am delighted to say I found one! Tori Elizabeth Anderson, 2 shooters, 10 hours of continuous shooting, engagement shoot. Tax in just on budget at $2,000. Tori had the lowest cost-per-hour compared to other photographers and I loved her portfolio. I also found we had the best "fit" during our first meet-and-greet. http://www.teaphotography.ca/

Thank you so much for participating in this discussion and your help with this!

Hi Emily! How did you make out on your photography hunt?!

$10K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's literally insane!

That's a pretty solid deal Lisa. I got my photopraghy for $2000 and video for $540 (but it's only for 2 hours)

My cousin got a quote of 10k. And my other cousin paid $8k for photo and video! I refused! I paid total for both $3300.

My craziest quote from the GTA was $4,100 for 1 shooter, 8 hours. I almost literally fell out of my seat reading it!!! I mean their work was good but that's just INSANE when all the rest of my quotes were at least $1,000 less!

That's awesome! I found the same thing, outside of the GTA prices are more reasonable for sure!

Oh I'm not worried. Plus I found prices for Niagara photographers much more reasonable than the GTA ones. From her other albums I've seen I'm not worried about not getting enough photos HAHA

Ok well that makes sense on why her price is so agressive! Mine is over 1000 edited, and I believe 100 for engagement as well. I'm sure shell give you enough to choose from.

She doesn't have a guartentee, but she doesn't send any raw unedited pictures, and we got 110 photos from our hour long engagement session

That's a great price. How many edited images?

Great suggestions Melissa!!!

You can check out the photographer I'm using. She has a great package on that's $1,999 for 2 shooters, unlimited hours, 1 hour photo booth, engagement session, and some discounts on albums if you buy through her. Her name is Amy Chamberlain and I know she travels out to the GTA

Edit: I checked out my contract and she travels up to 100KMs from the Niagara Region without changing any travel fees). It specifically says "If wedding or formals are located more than 100 km from the Niagara Region, travel fees apply. This is a 50 cent per km ONE WAY charge."

I hear you!

I managed to get a really great price, because our photographer had a promotion on to fill in his last few dates of 2017...there are some good deals out there for talented photographers. I am sure there will be someone in your budget, like Val said, try outside the GTA to give a wider search area.

You might want to consider not having a second shooter, or maybe reducing the hours of coverage you are looking for, sometimes an 8 hours day is overkill. See if someone is willing to customize a package for you....things like prints and albums make packages more expensive, so you could ask to leave those off and perhaps save, or substitute certain things.

There is also the option of hiring students, but you would want to see portfolios and have written contracts, to keep your butt covered.

I am part of a few facebook group for buy and sell GTA weddings, there are a lot of vendors on there. Maybe you could join, and post a "looking for a photojournalist style photographer- budget- hours- date" and see who responds! if you you this route, make sure to research and read reviews. I think the admins vet the vendors they allow in thr group, but you still want to be extra sure.

You may have to go to the school directly to post on community boards instead of online. Also I remember when I went to the Hamilton Bridal Show there was a guy who was $1500 all in, for the whole day. I just found his work a bit dated. I chose to spend a bit more and go over budget because in my head it was better to spend a bit extra and love it, then spend all that money and hate them for the rest of your life.

Budget has been the toughest criteria so far...trying to stick to $2,000 and under if possible. Any ideas?

Thanks Valerie! Hopefully photojournalistic style..we love the candid shots of people laughing / hugging / etc. I'll definitely look outside the GTA, thank you again for the suggestion!

Hey Emilie,

First - great name

Thanks for the links to the discussions! I'm just taking a look now. Neither of my fiancee or I are very photogenic, so we're just sticking with a photographer

What vendor do most brides find most difficult to book?

Thanks Emilie!

Emily

Hi Lisa, thank you for the referral! Given how expensive everything else is adding up to, we're trying to stick to no more than $2,000, all in. I tried reaching out to both Humber and Sheridan college and I posted a job ad...no bites yet. I'm surprised that more students aren't interested in the opportunity.

Hi Emily , Photography was difficult but when I found mine and say her style I knew right away! Not sure what your budget is but our photographer is Kathy Focca! She's amazing! You can look up her website www.Focca.ca.
Alternatively if budget is an issue, check out colleges and universities that have a photography program. Some students will want the exposure and practice and will charge much less.
Hope this helps!

Hi Emily! I hope we can help you find the perfect one for you. What style are you looking for? You can also take a look at the Real Weddings section to find styles you like and contact photographers. Let me know if it helps! I thought you might also like these discussions for ideas and to talk with more brides on the subject:

Booked our photographer! woot woot!

Are you hiring a videographer and photographer?

Photographer?

Will you hire a videographer as well?

Also look a little bit outside of Toronto. Most photographers are willing to tavel, I'm getting married in the Niagara Region and most photographers I looked into said they would travel to the GTA. Though you may be hard pressed to find someone with your date available, October is peak season

What kind of style photography are you looking for?

I was really lucky and found a photographer we both love really quickly!

What are your criteria? Maybe with a little more info we can recommend someone!