Can You Picture That?

Yes, that's a reference to "The Muppet Movie" song, which is now going to be stuck in my head all day so I had to share.  Oh well, "moving right along"...

I've written plenty about our engagement pictures, I haven't yet shared who will be following us around on the wedding day capturing all of our favorite moments.  From the beginning, I figured it would be easier logistically (and cheaper) to choose a local photographer for the wedding, instead of Concept.  So we booked them for the engagement package and set our sights closer to home for someone to cover my bridal portraits and the wedding.

You know the drill: there was lots of Googling, looking up reviews, staying up late to "just look at one more page," and of course I made a spreadsheet to keep everything straight:


A line for each photographer's package - cost, hours, what was included, and how much do I like them.

I compiled my list by looking through New Orleans wedding magazines and the info that I received from a bridal show back in January.  Bonus for bridal shows - a lot of photographers handed out cards with their prices and packages which weren't listed on their website! That's a few less people to email!

This may seem like overkill - what's the point of keeping photographers on the list that I might not even like?  Besides the fact that I usually make things way more difficult than they need to be, it also gave me a good idea of what the norm is in my area for photography and what is included.  I don't know about you, but I had no idea of what to expect as far as photo packages so the more information I had, the more comfortable I felt.
I also wanted to look through as much info as I could because I was going up against Momma P and Nanny about who to use for a photographer.  They were pushing me towards using someone that is an old family friend and an experienced photographer in the area, since they were thinking we could get a discount from him, but I don't know him very well.  I didn't like his style, but I was worried that I was being too snobby, so I took it to the unbiased party - Sphinx! We sat down and looked at pictures side by side and decided that while he was experienced and probably would cover everything we wanted, we were not a fan of how traditional and posed his photos were and that it wasn't worth a discount to hope that were happy with how the pictures turned out.

With that behind us, I was able to focus on what photographer I did want.  Several had the same problem as the first, they were just "traditional." I didn't want full out artsy-fartsy photos, but after seeing so many blogs and Weddingbee posts, I knew that I was aboard the photojournalistic train. There were so many photographers that looked like they did the exact same thing for each wedding with nothing new and different.  I didn't want someone who would tell me they couldn't do something I wanted because they were stuck in their ways. And there were some with amazing wedding photos but the prices were a little higher than I wanted. 

In the end, I kept coming back to one photographer who had reasonable prices, beautiful photos, and she had been very helpful by email.  I met with Sandra of Eau Claire Photographics one afternoon and I was very pleased.  She was very sweet, and showed me several albums and talked about how she used lighting in her photos, and how she likes to just capture moments as they happen in the wedding.  She is also familiar with our church and reception venue, and had sent me a link to a full wedding at both.  It also worked out that her full wedding package included either an engagement session or a bridal session, not both, so we didn't even have to worry about adjusting that.

Even though Sandra was the photographer I wanted from the first time I checked out her site, I admit that I wavered a little.  Her prices were reasonable for wedding photography (and included a full album), but that is a LOT of cash and I entertained the idea of going with a newer (and thus cheaper) photographer.  As it would happen, in this time period I had two newly-married brides express to me their dissatisfaction with their own photographers when they heard I was looking for ours.  Both had chosen to go the new and cheap photographer route. One photographer had gone missing during their wedding, then quit the business and moved out of town and now sells cars.  They have very few pictures from their wedding and were in the middle of legal action with her.  And the other was just generally unhappy with their photos, she wishes there had been more candids throughout the day.

That gave me the push to fill out Sandra's contract.  I had found someone whose work I loved, had been doing it for ten years, and had great reviews.  Let's check out what impressed me so much!

All of the following photos by Eau Claire Photographics.

That's a ceremony in the Board of Trade courtyard!

I'm so excited that we will have Sandra and her new husband Sam photographing our wedding next year!  I just really like their style and I think it will fit our wedding well.
In my opinion, I think when looking for a photographer, it is important to like the photographer's style and personality, and also make sure that the type of photos you like are similar to what you can achieve on your wedding day. I mean, there's no point falling in love with beautiful beach wedding photos when you have a chapel.  Sandra's experience shows that she can highlight the beauty of a church and I love how she uses New Orleans backdrops in her couples and bridal party photos.

What was most important to you when looking for a photographer?  Did you go with a deal or with your gut (or both!)?