Local photographer or one from somewhere else?

Question

FI and I are in the process of looking for photographers and we've narrowed it down to 2. One is located locally, in San Francisco (we live 45 minutes away in San Jose) and one is located all the way down in Los Angeles.

They're both about the same price, but I like the LA one slightly better. If any of you have had experience with out-of-town photographers, please share!

Generally, is it better to go with a local one, so you can communicate and meet with them as needed? Is it hard to coordinate things with out-of-town photographers?

Answer 1

always stick with local because you never know about outsiders they could be scam artist and you may never see from them again! goodluck!!

Answer 2

If you have a good choice from your local photographers, go with local.  However, sometimes photographers just aren't what you want.  A lot of people are looking for more documentary-type photographers.  (I think that's the right term.)  These are the ones who document your day like they're shooting for a magazine.  Sometimes, people want the more old-fashioned photographer who will take family photos and the normal shots.  Look at their portfolio.  If it's what you want and in your price range, go for it.  

Something else to think about is how long you get the photographer.  One of the BIGGEST reasons I went with my photographer was because I got 2 of them all day for one base price.  A lot of them will do the whole "1000 for the first 4 hours and 300 for each extra hour, and an extra 750 if you want a second photographer" or some sort of deal that just adds up anyway.  

Most of all, go with who you are happiest with.  

Answer 3

In researching photographers for my wedding, I am definitely sticking with a local person.  There are so many to choose from, I'm not worried about quality, but they are so expensive and MOST charge major milage for traveling.  Since you will be spending so much on photography anyway, don't add extra expense.  I don't think there will be a noticeable difference once you get your beautiful wedding photo album back anyway.

Also, traveling to met with him/her will be a pain in the but.  You usually have to meet with a photographer at least 2 or 3 times before/after your wedding, so the 45 minutes there and then back will be a pain in the butt!

Good Luck!

Answer 4

We live out of the country but married in CA so I only spoke to the photographer on the phone-- never met him before the wedding day! He was local though, and had shot weddings at our location before. Of course we connected on the phone, and I liked his examples on the website. We werent on a budget though, so we had the privilege of choosing by quality.

I guess what Im saying is, if you are paying for quality, then go with the photographer you like more. If they are really professional, you wont need to walk them through and check up on what they are doing. If you need to communicate and coordinate that much, then maybe they are not the right photographer for you.

We paid a lot for our photographer, but it was worth it to just leave everything up to him and let him do his job-- and he did. We were very satisfied with the pics.