Needing and Finding a Good Photographer!

In case you don't remember, let me remind you what kind of faces this Giraffe has in most photos, its something like this:

Suffice to say finding good photographers became pretty important to Mr. Giraffe and I as we became planning.

Finding a photographer started off as the biggest headache of all time. It's not easy folks. I mean finding someone that's talented and affordable shouldn't be so hard, but I was dead set on having a second shooter. We all know that that means upping the price a little bit, but I think it'll be worth it. I mean, the girls and guys aren't getting ready in the same place and I can't image giving up shots of the mister (because, of course, the photog would be with me) because we only have one photographer.

Anyway! This story does have a happy ending, because Mr. G and I have hired quite possibly the most amazing and talented photographers of all time.

Our photographers are the husband and wife team Sarah and Ryan Miller of Miller+Miller photography. Firstly, I'm not sure why, but the idea of having a husband and wife team photograph our marriage just make it seem that much more exciting. They're also super nice and super cool, and when I was super late to our first meeting because of Chicago traffic, they were totally cool about it.

I met with them once on my own, when Mr. G was down at school, and I was blown away. As soon as I saw their photos on their website, I knew we had to hire them. I was set on it. I was worried about meeting them, because what if, despite their amazing photos, they would be totally lame in real life? Well, luckily, I was wrong! Sarah and Ryan have a great sense of humor and enthusiasm about their work and, well, I can't say enough good things about them! As soon as I left our meeting, I called Mr. G on they way home and said we had to hire them! We had no other choice!

I know, I know, you guys want to believe me about how amazing they are. Well let me show you!

This couple looks like this normally:

(Source)

But after Miller + Miller took their photo!?

(source)

Okay, okay, I'm totally kidding. Those folks look nothing like gremlins, and I'm sure they're good looking in real life, but Miller + Miller has some crazy ability that every shot they take looks perfect and all the regular people look like models. At first I thought they only photographed good looking people (which would not be a bad job, I think), but in reality, they're just that good.

Once I saw photos by the Millers, hiring them was a no brainer. Want to know why I'm seriously raving so much? Check it out, here are some auh-maz-ing photos from some E shoots by the Millers!

(all of the following photos are used with permission and taken by the Millers of mmfotos.com.)

Ahhhhh, I know, right?! Now you all see why I was so excited! And if you think those are good, just wait until you see Mr. G and I! I think our photography is one of the decisions I'm most happy with for our wedding because our photos will look amazing! Soooo yeah, call the Millers and tell them to shoot your wedding ;-) !

Anybody else ridiculously happy with your photographers? Please say yes!

Do we really need a good Photographer?

In our case, the answer is yes.

You see, when we were trying to budget for this shindig originally, we had not allocated that much for photography. Well, that's not really true; I had allocated what I thought was a lot of money, but when my cash got converted into wedding dollars, it really wasn't that much.

Here's the thing folks. . . we decided that it was worth putting more money into photography. Not only is it our wedding day with details we'll want to remember, but we also want some nice photos of us.

Photography is a hobby of mine, so I'm usually the one taking pictures (of everything), and never in them.

Another thing about me? Wellllll, this giraffe is a bit of a ham. Seriously. Most photos we have of me, aren't the uhhh 'nicest' you could say.

They mostly look a little like this:

Or like this . . .
Okay, don't believe me? Maybe they're a little like this:

If its any consolation to you, hive, I think I've always been this way.

So what's a giraffe to do when she finds her true ridiculous self showing through is all her photos? Well, its a good thing the giraffes decided to re-budget the budget. Do you think that there could be such a photographer(s) that could turn that ham into well, something a little more classy?

Truth be told: there is! But you'll have to wait to find out more!

Any other brides a little ridiculous, but tying to class it up? Is it even possible!

Photooooh no!

Finding a photographer was a headache. I mean, I was frustrated and angry and I stated to feel hopeless. I had searched photogs on and off for about six months and had some results. I found one guy who I thought was perfect... well, the price was perfect. I emailed TB and was all, "Check it out, yo! It's perfect!"

Welllll, it wasn't perfect, exactly. It got to a point where I began looking at prices before I looked at photos. I went back to look at his (we'll call him DP) photo's after I had set up a meeting annnnd I was, really, just underwhelmed. Originally, I had kind of liked his work, but something had occurred to me that I don't know why I didn't really think of before. Here's the thing, a photographer chooses what photos from each wedding or event (s)he posts on his site. So what does it mean if some of the photos aren't great? What does that say about the photos we haven't seen? If the 'best of the best' so to say aren't the best, what do the photos we haven't seen look like?

Exactly my point. Right, which is why I canceled the meeting with DP and decided that he wasn't right for us.

Anyway after mucho headaches, I found the answer to our problems.

Enter: Miller + Miller photography.
I met with Sarah & Ryan Miller, the husband and wife team behind Miller + Miller on a Monday after work. Naturally, I got stuff in traffic, the drive took me 2 hours, and I was 30 minuets late. Yeahhhh, it was brutal.

But despite my lateness, Sarah and Ryan were still incredibly nice and funny. Right away, I felt I could spend my wedding day with them. As soon as I left, I called Mr.TB to tell him that we had to hire the Millers. We had no choice. TB said okay, and I emailed Sarah the next day.

It seems like the Millers have been super busy lately, as their website has been updated repeatedly, and every time I look at a new set of photos, I'm even happier with our decision.

Unlike most other photographers that I looked at, Miller + Miller doesn't charge per hour, nor are we locked into a 4, 6, or 8 hour day. We get them for the whole day and they just snap away without capping their photos at a certain number.

So, long story short, I love them. And you should too.

Talking Photography

So after attending FBIL IB's wedding this weekend, the fantastic TB and I started talking photos/photographers. IB & his Bride MB* had a friend (who looked very talented & had a very expensive looking camera) take photos for them. She did a good job dealing with a large group of people and getting all those people where they need to be. And, not that it matters, but she was super cute and super sweet too. She also had a little accent. . . Russian, I think?

Anyway, there were photos of the B boys and the Moms with boy IB and MB. They were very cute photos, actually. It reminded me that, (don't cringe) I love posed family portraits. Posed portraits just make me smile. I think they're a good idea, especially since TB has such a large family. It's often had to get us all together at one time, so if a token (possibly cheesy) portrait will get us all together, then I say so be it!

The B Brothers and 1 of the B girls (we're missing the oldest B sister here). You don't need to tell me - I am aware I am marrying into one handsome family :)! Mr TB is second from the left - I love that he is all smiles! What a cutie! It looks blurry, but click on to see those good looking Bs in all their glory!

Mr.TB agrees! He's all about the posed photos too. Naturally, we want all the artsy photos and candids too, but portraits are on the must haves. Portraits of the C family, of the B family, of me and the Bs, of TB and the C's, me and the B girls, TB and my sister, etc.

Where is this going, you ask? Well TB and I made our photographer must have list . . . Well, more like I told him what I had to have and he agreed? Yeah, let's go with that. We made the decision together, I swear.

Okay sooo MC + TB = Photography! Here goes nothing!

Want 1) $1500 - We're tryin tryin trying to save money for this wedding and are planning to budget $1500 for photography. It may be too much to ask to get all we want for $1500, but I hoping to make it happen!

Want 2) Portraits! - Like I all ready said, we want a photographer willing to do posed portraits. Quite a few of them at that, because I'm sure TB will want one with each of the B bros and so will I (and so on). . . With his 5 sibs and my 1, it could make for a lot of photos!

Want 3) Candids - I love candids, simple as that. We want a photog that do more than one style, including photo journalistic so that we can get some candid photos.

Want 4) Unlimited Photos - this is very very very important to us me. I don't want someone that will hit 800, 1000, 1500 images and stop simply because they hit a certain number. I want them to shoot all night and stop when the night ends!

Want 5) DVD or CD - I want a dvd (or cd) of all our images with the rights for us to print them out at will. This seems pretty standard, although I've seen a few places that don't offer this.

Want 6) Second Shooter - I need a second shooter, I swear! I want different angles and additional shots. Simple enough.

Want 7) Online Gallery & Ordering - This is actually Dad C's want. I agree too. Since a lot of our family lives far and will be traveling to see us for our big day, it would be great to offer them a place to order their own photos. We won't be able to show our photos to them, but this way they'd be able to see them themselves!

Want 8) Talent - Nuff said? For reallllls.

Want 9) Proofs - I would like a bound spiral of all our proofs to see. This is a maybe. I don't want it as much as everything else, but it would be a cherry on top for sure.

Want 10) All day photos - I want the pre ceremony, the ceremony, and the reception :).

Too much too ask for? We'll see.

*IB married MC, so she is now MB. I'm MC and when I get married, I'll be MB. I know, right? Totally weird!