Need Photographer for My Own Wedding

Here's the deal. I'm a commercial photographer that is just getting into the wedding and portrait photography game. I'm actually getting married on September 8th, 2007 in Los Angeles area (Northridge Area). Unfortunately, I don't really know a lot of wedding photographers in my area yet, so I'm having to post this ad here in hopes of someone being interested.

It is going to be a very small ceremony and there will only be 12-14 people there (Immediate family and best friends) at a really nice house/estate.

I would need some pre-ceremony coverage, ceremony, portraits and a some candid shots of the dinner that we are having after the ceremony. I imagine it will be about 6 hours of coverage.

it is hard for me to say, especially because I am a photographer, but I'm looking for someone for about $500. I know this is barely anything, but I'm having to pay for it myself and money is tight for me on this. I would even work trade out if needed (2nd Shooter, post-work, taking out your garbage).

I imagine that this would be beneficial for someone building their portfolio, getting back into the wedding photography game or someone that has been 2nd shooting and looking to jump into the 1st shooter role in a low-key atmosphere.

I'm looking for a mixture of PJ and traditional.

I will also handle all of the photo processing and post work, which means less work for you. You shoot, burn me a DVD and then you are done.

We are also a young couple (mid-twenties) and we are a good-looking couple (meaning you will be able to use the photos for your portfolio).

If anyone is interested, or if you have any questions, please email me at grant@grantklein.com.

If you know someone else that might be interested, referrals would be great.


Thanks,

Grant

Hi Grant,
Congratulations on your engagement! However, you may have more than a little difficulty finding an excellent photographer for your date and budget. You are offering a very small amount for anywhere in the country, let alone LA, where good photographers go for 10 to 20 times what you are offering. I am in no way trying to be a jerk, but rather let you know what you are asking. I wish you the best of luck in your wedding planning and eventual marriage. If you are not too offended, you can read an article I wrote on choosing a wedding photographer here.
Cory

I re-thought my post and removed it

I guess some photographers have a pretty short memory about when they started their careers and how tight money was back then.

There's a lot of Karma being flushed in this thread.

Just my $0.02

Rick

hi grant, congratulations on your engagement and welcome to osp!

while there are quite a few newbies to osp, i don't know if there are many who are willing to shoot and burn without control over the post processing. (I could be mistaken, your PM box may be filling up as i speak.)

An alternative route may be craigslist.com, which seems to have an abundance of such photographers.

good luck, tight budgets are tough, but i'm sure as a fellow photographer you'll at least know how to avoid the pitfalls with new/low-budget photogs.

I would suggest craigslist.. There are definately photographers out there that will do your gig at that price, I just don't know that you will find them here..

Good Luck and Congrats!!

Congrats, best wishes and welcome to OSP!
-Eddie

Hi Rick,
As I stated, I was not trying to be a jerk in any way. I just wanted Grant to realize that $500 is a low figure. I wish him only the best. I don't think that I am flushing any Karma. I do remember how I started, but for his sake, I hope Grant finds someone great that is willing to work for $500. I just think it will be hard.

Grant,
I hope you don't take what I have said as a criticism of you or your budget. Best of luck to you.
Cory

E-mail sent! Would love for the opportunity to photograph a very intimate wedding and not the 100-500 guest weddings I've been doing as a freelancer lately. Lets talk!

-BT

Hi guys,

I want to say that I appreciate everyone's responses.

I have had a lot of people send me some good advice as well as some people who would be interested in shooting the wedding. If you are one of these people, I will be getting back to you later tonight.

I want to be extra sure to clarify that I know that this is greatly under market value. As a business professional, it was very hard for me to write something like this because it is literally heart-wrenching. I am not looking for someone who charges 5,000 a wedding to do my wedding for a 10th of their asking price, I know that I won't find that here.

I'm looking for someone like me, who has shot some weddings, whether 1st or 2nd shooter, knows their gear and can take decent pictures. I know that these people exist, because I am one of them. There are a lot of talented photographers out there that just need to build their portfolio to start booking bigger jobs. Sometimes I personally 2nd shoot weddings for free and look at it as a learning experience. If I could shoot my own wedding, I would. I just haven't been in the wedding game long enough to build solid contacts to ask for favors like this... and I do know that it would be a favor. And unfortunately, the only two friend photographers I know are part of my fiance's family (her father and brother).

So as you can see, I'm kind of in a bind. So that is why I put this post up. I'm also willing to work in Trade, which I know most of us like cold-hard-cash, but for a more established photographer, this might work better.

Thanks,

Grant

Hey Grant good luck in your search! I'm sure you'll find someone who is willing to do it, and since you have the photography background, you'll be able to discern who is just trying to make an "easy" $500 with their fancy camera and who is passionate about creating images. The first three weddings I ever shot were for about $500 each... I'm glad I did it, my couples were thrilled, and I got a portfolio.

Ditto!

PM sent to ya, Grant!

Thank you everyone who responded to my ad. I actually found someone locally to shoot for me and we are going to work out some cash/tradeout arrangement.

Again, I thank you all again for your replies and help. I truly believe that OSP is a wonderful place and again, thanks a lot.

Grant