Our Baby Is Not Getting Married
September 28, 2015 5:32 PM Subscribe
Our kid is turning one-year-old and we're throwing a big party in a couple of weeks at my parent's house in Long Island. We'd like to hire a photographer to document the day and have been looking around, but we're mainly just finding wedding photographers. We'd like to hire a professional (or, at least, expert) photographer -- we don't want to just give a camera to one of the guests.
Are there professional photographers who aren't on the wedding circuit who'd consider doing this sort of thing? Would art or MFA students be interested in doing this sort of work (and, if so, how would we find them)? Are there other non-wedding routes that we haven't thought about but should be exploring?
Most photographers who are on the "wedding circuit" also photograph other types of events. Weddings are just a ubiquitous rite of passage that people almost always hire photographers for, so a steady source of business.
Let them know you're looking for someone to document a smallish family party and they will probably be able to negotiate something appropriate. Weddings cost a lot to photograph because they are usually all-day (and into the night) events that must be meticulously photographed in a very specific way. You are probably looking for something more like one person for a couple of hours getting lots of nice shots of family and friends interacting with baby.
You could also ask one of the wedding photographers to recommend their assistant or a younger/less established aspiring wedding photographer that they know.
posted by Sara C. at 5:39 PM on September 28, 2015 [8 favorites]
Let them know you're looking for someone to document a smallish family party and they will probably be able to negotiate something appropriate. Weddings cost a lot to photograph because they are usually all-day (and into the night) events that must be meticulously photographed in a very specific way. You are probably looking for something more like one person for a couple of hours getting lots of nice shots of family and friends interacting with baby.
You could also ask one of the wedding photographers to recommend their assistant or a younger/less established aspiring wedding photographer that they know.
posted by Sara C. at 5:39 PM on September 28, 2015 [8 favorites]
My aunts hired a "wedding photographer" for a mini-family reunion (a mix of candid and posed shots) and they were extremely happy.
posted by muddgirl at 5:41 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by muddgirl at 5:41 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Agreeing with what others have said about wedding photogs happily doing this, too. But also a friend of mine had a good result by booking an MFA student. She contacted the local art college, and they had an online porfolio of some of their students who were available for hire. There were some communications issues, however -- the MFA student was a very talented photographer but was less experienced in the "running a business"-type issues. It did all work out great in the end, though.
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:42 PM on September 28, 2015
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:42 PM on September 28, 2015
Deal sites like LivingSocial often have photographers (like this one- two hours of photography for $62! And many more expensive options, but still cheaper than booking directly).
posted by three_red_balloons at 5:51 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by three_red_balloons at 5:51 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
You can try searching using the term "lifestyle photography," which seems to be the current way people call this type of work.
posted by girlmightlive at 6:22 PM on September 28, 2015
posted by girlmightlive at 6:22 PM on September 28, 2015
I'm a photographer, and could possibly recommend someone in your area if you want to msg me directly to tell me what town this event is held. Otherwise, I agree with the other posters. Event/Wedding photographers will do best in most event circumstances.
Consider contacting photographers who specialize in child photography - if they have good images on their site that also shows them working at events, parties, etc. that's key. If they only shoot studio and their photos don't seem that great, move along.
I understand not wanting to use a 'wedding photographer' because costs for weddings are enormous. That said, it shouldn't be difficult for you to find a local photographer who is good with kids, shoots events with skill and will charge a great deal lower to photograph.
If you want great photos for this big event, I'd trust photographers that have a great personality and portfolios that show their experience photographing events. But being a kid photographer is always helpful.
posted by zettoo at 6:40 PM on September 28, 2015
Consider contacting photographers who specialize in child photography - if they have good images on their site that also shows them working at events, parties, etc. that's key. If they only shoot studio and their photos don't seem that great, move along.
I understand not wanting to use a 'wedding photographer' because costs for weddings are enormous. That said, it shouldn't be difficult for you to find a local photographer who is good with kids, shoots events with skill and will charge a great deal lower to photograph.
If you want great photos for this big event, I'd trust photographers that have a great personality and portfolios that show their experience photographing events. But being a kid photographer is always helpful.
posted by zettoo at 6:40 PM on September 28, 2015
I did stuff like this as an undergraduate photography major at an art school. Ring the school - ours kept a newsletter/email list of such jobs, though people would also put up flyers around the school.
posted by jrobin276 at 7:20 PM on September 28, 2015
posted by jrobin276 at 7:20 PM on September 28, 2015
Our wedding photographer works out of NYC and she also shoots a huge number of portraits, family sessions, bar/bat mitzvahs, and other life events. If I were still on the same coast, I would hire her for every family event. Most wedding photographers have different and less-expensive packages for smaller and shorter events-- is there a reason why you're not looking for wedding photographers?
posted by jetlagaddict at 7:28 PM on September 28, 2015
posted by jetlagaddict at 7:28 PM on September 28, 2015
I'd be surprised if it was hard to find wedding photographers who aren't also freelance on-location photographers in their spare time. That's probably what separates custom photography business: whether or not you have a studio with the backdrops and the picnic table and the what-not.
posted by rhizome at 8:54 PM on September 28, 2015
posted by rhizome at 8:54 PM on September 28, 2015
Are you on Facebook? Is there a FB Mom's group in your area (here's a hint: the answer is 99.9999999% yes)? Because if there is, this question is right up their alley.
Go into the search bar in FB, type in any variation of Moms of Long Island, Moms Club of Long Island, Long Island Mommy and Me, etc, and you will find a group or two or three to join and ask.
I'm in Los Angeles so I can't give you a rec, but there are about 5-6 photographers in just my part of town that are recommended for these sorts of things regularly. I'm sure it's the same in your (parents) area.
posted by vignettist at 11:08 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Go into the search bar in FB, type in any variation of Moms of Long Island, Moms Club of Long Island, Long Island Mommy and Me, etc, and you will find a group or two or three to join and ask.
I'm in Los Angeles so I can't give you a rec, but there are about 5-6 photographers in just my part of town that are recommended for these sorts of things regularly. I'm sure it's the same in your (parents) area.
posted by vignettist at 11:08 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
You could google newborn photography and branch out from there. One of my friends specializes in kids photography/candid shots and advertises mostly for newborn stuff. (Since that is the most popular baby photography). That might give you a different price point and search criteria to find what you are looking for.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 2:14 AM on September 29, 2015
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 2:14 AM on September 29, 2015
If there is a local camera club in the area, you might check it out, if cost is a concern and you're looking for someone who is competent, and can get good focused shots and do some work in Lightroom to make them look better, but you're just wanting "documentary" photos of the event.
Usually a decent camera club will include some people like that. Nevertheless, see some samples of their work!
posted by randomkeystrike at 12:37 PM on September 29, 2015
Usually a decent camera club will include some people like that. Nevertheless, see some samples of their work!
posted by randomkeystrike at 12:37 PM on September 29, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by bleep at 5:33 PM on September 28, 2015 [6 favorites]