Saving $$$ on Photography

We REALLY lucked out with both our engagement photos and finding a wedding photographer. I was starting to look at photography packages and was so disappointed in the outrageous costs. I get it: you've got to hire someone good who will listen to what you want, do what you want, and will produce photos of your special day that are more than you ever expected -- after all, this day is only supposed to happen once in your life. But there's got to be a way to combine those things with a cost you can afford to live with, right?

If you are really stuck, contact a local college or university (heck, even a high school) for a budding photographer who can give you what you want for the price you need. I know that my old high school art teacher occassionally photographed weddings for people he knew, and they were beautiful. I was about to go this route when I started asking around, and....I lucked out!

I met someone who was a stay-at-home mom who had just started her own photography business on the side. She charged us $30 for the session fee for our engagement pics and then a simple $4 fee per photo for complete rights. She gave me those photos on a disc in a high-resolution format so that I could make large prints if I wanted. It was exactly what we wanted -- we didn't want anything too fancy, but we were super impressed with her work. She's no longer working for her own business (keep reading). These are some of my favorite engagement photos:

The bad news (for us, good for her) was that she got hired by a larger photography company in the area as an assistant. I was going to go ahead and book the company until I found out that the pricing packages started at $3,000. There's no way we'd meet our $10,000 budget with those prices, no matter how much I love their photography. I had to regretfully say good-bye to our newfound photographer.

One day a few weeks later, an old friend popped up on Facebook. I remembered that he's a photographer in Minneapolis, which is four hours from our wedding location. I went out on a limb and asked him if he'd be willing to shoot our wedding. He was pumped! I was pumped!

Not only have I always loved his photography style, but he offered up his friends and family package. He will bring an assistant with him, which means TWO photographers. He's including a "fauxtobooth" -- a simple black background where our guests can take as many shots as they want for us to have as a keepsake. They'll be available for download by us or our guests after the wedding. (I'm going to gather some costumes/props for this area to make it really fun for our guests.)

Wedding. Photo. Heaven.

You can check him out at http://www.kylesmithphoto.com/!