How to find a good wedding photographer on strict budget

[JML0413]

Hello Everyone, I'm hoping you can give me some good tips on how to find a good wedding photographer on strict budget. I would also be curious to know what a reasonable amount of money to allot for the photographer would be. My fiancee and I are planning a May 2010 wedding in Rhode Island. We are much more focused on quality vs. quantity and don't need a very fancy wedding album. Our intention is to simply capture the important moments with our friends and family. We would love the standard photos plus capturing some impromptu moments in time from more of a photojournalistic perspective.

This is our first time - ANY and all advice is welcome. We were hoping to keep the price below $2,500. But, again - we're open to all suggestions.

Thanks very much!
JL

[4everphotographyanddesign]

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[Dennis_Hammer]

Having a very specific idea of what your looking for will help you find the right photographer for you. Some of the factors that directly effect cost are products you want, time you want spent photographing and anything additional you wanted done like, rehearsal photo'd or getting ready in the morning. The amount you mentioned is not an insignificant amount but realize if you are requesting ten hours of shooting the wedding day and another twenty hours editing and on top of that the cost and time it takes to assemble and prepare your products. It's not just the time you see the photographer on the wedding day its a lot more time he/she are working to get you your memories return as photos.

That said I and several other photographers I know do weddings in the $2000-$2500 alot it is actually my most common price range. Not sure of the market pricing in RI but I am very close to you in CT so it shouldn't be that much of a difference. Just do yourself a favor stay away from Craigslist, make sure you see a portfolio of more than one wedding and get a reference or two (even though no one ever gives you the names of the unhappy ones). This is not someplace were you can save a couple of bucks letting someone try out their skills on you, get a little experience at the very least.

[tim]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=wedding+photographer+Rhode+Island ;)

$2500 isn't a bad budget, you should be able to find someone decent. Just make sure you see a couple of full weddings or albums, and make sure you like them and get on well with them.

Cheap photographers can be found at photography schools, but having had a few photography school graduates work for me I can say the local schools churn 'em out and they're about as useful as a bicycle is to a fish. Some do well, most have trouble even getting photos in focus at a fast paced event like a wedding. An enthusiast would usually do better than a new graduate.

[WhatIsHip]

Check out Steve Depino.
Stevedepino.com
He's a great guy and has some skills. I'm pretty sure his bottom package is 3000, I know a little above your range, but you will cherish these memories forever.