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Annoyed re: Maternity/Newborn photographer! Help me choose...
So I am looking into photographers for maternity & newborn photos.
Not sure I am doing maternity yet...but we will see.
Anyways, I have 3 in mind. One is an acquaintance, and she is just starting out (wicked cheap). But not sure her skill is where I want it to be....yet. Services are very affordable and everything is a la carte.
Here is her site Kellyswieckphotography.com
Then there is this other woman... helenmakadiaphotography.com
She is awesome, I love her style and has lots of experience. Except with experience comes $. We can afford it, but she only edits 25-30 images and with the price of the session i either get 1 file to do my own announcements or 50 5x7 flat announcements. All else I need to buy a la carte.
Then there is this other woman. perspectives-photography.com So, I know she just had a baby, but she also has been scheduling group sessions in the interim (I know this because she belongs to another forum I post on). I have emailed her 3 times within the past 2 weeks with NO response. WTF?!? Her packages are definitely the best, though.
WWYD?
Do I go with her if she ever contacts me back, or just go with the second chicky who is much more attentive, although a bit more expensive?
Re: Annoyed re: Maternity/Newborn photographer! Help me choose...
Okay, my first instinct about the third woman is RUN THE OTHER WAY!! I get that she just had a baby, blah blah blah, but her lack of response reminds me very much of my wedding photographer, and I ended up hating him. His photos weren't bad, some of them were actually very good, but he was a complete pain to deal with. Took him forever to schedule things, get us stuff, etc. It was aweful. I wish I had gone with someone else.
I would go with the second lady. It's nice to help out someone who's just starting, and it's great that the first girl is cheap, but you know you probably won't be happy with the results. But then, it doesn't seem like you get much for what you are paying.
Is there a 4th option?
Just want to say, I had this nice long response and the nest just ate it...grrr
So now you get the short version
Option #1
If this is not what you think you want don't do it. These are pictures your going to be looking at for the rest of your life and your LOs life.
Option #2
Try to talk to her, the economy isn't the best so photogs might be willing to work with you and give you what you're looking for especially since it's for baby pictures, they might actually realize in the long run it will produce a lot more work for them if you get what you want.
Option #3
I think I would give her a little bit more time to respond, especially if she just had a baby. Maybe she's actually on maternity leave.
Planning and Married Bio
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I think I'd wait a little longer for #3 to contact you back. Like Vikki said, she may have just self-imposed a maternity leave once she realized how crazy having a newborn is.
I'd hate paying so much for #2 and get so little, but I think she's a better choice than #1 just because of what you get in the long run.
The Sand in My Snow Boots
Not responding to you is not a good sign. Ok, she just had a baby, but no response? I had an auto-response set up in my work email when I was on maternity leave, and I wasn't even trying to run my own business...
#2 is great! Looking at #1, the shots seemed pretty standard, but not really a quality I'd pay money for. Well, I haven't paid a photog to take pics of Nate at all, but if I did, it should be worth spending money on.
ETA: deleting where I repeated myself.
Why don't you try a maternity shoot with the newbie and if you like her pictures go with her for the newborn shots? If she ends up stinking you can ditch her and go for the more expensive photographer. I wouldn't be update about bad maternity shots (though I hated and thought I looked terrible pregnant).
I'd avoid person #3. You don't want to stress about hunting her down once baby is here.
Thanks guys.
Maybe I will try to negotiate with # 2.
I think it's bullsh!t the #2 woman did not get back to me- when I KNOW FOR A FACT she is working (her FB photography page, the fact she has done a newborn photo shoot like, oh, 3 days ago).
Whatever, that's just ridiculous...not thrilled with that!
I would go with #2, and then use #1 for the "not as important" baby pics...like 3 months and 9 months. (If she's great, use her for 6 months and 12 months, but if not, go with the expensive lady and see if she'll give you a deal for packaging shoots).
ITA with the ladies who said run as fast as you can from #3 as possible. I love my wedding photographer to death but she can be bad about responding and then is not so quick to get proofs back. It is infuriating. I'm hoping she's better with the pics we just had taking because I'd like to get them back before May is a year old...you know what I mean?