Finding a photographer

I still haven't found my camera, but I really want to start working on our Save the Dates (we're probably going to order mini-magnets from MagnetStreet) and guestbook (we'll have small photos from the engagement shoot with lots of blank space for guests to sign and leave their words of wisdom, which we think will be more interesting to look at again than a blank book with signatures). So today, instead of Googling "wedding photographers los angeles" like I have been doing, I finally decided to try Craigslist.

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I'm really glad I did, and I will totally use this resource for our actual wedding photography, too. I love photography and I have very specific tastes. I don't want photos that simply document the day—any friend with a point and shoot can do that. I really want a photographer who has a good sense of composition who will give me images I couldn't have gotten, or maybe even thought of, myself! But what I've found with photographers is that you really kind of get what you pay for—the photographers I've liked have ranged in price from $350 to $600 (for ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS). I can find a few who would do it for $200 or less, but I haven't been impressed with their pictures, which are boring.

Maybe it's the bad economy, or maybe vendors are willing to lower their prices more than I thought, because I found lots of good deals, and at least one photographer with a lovely portfolio in exactly the style I'm hoping for who is advertising engagement photos for $170 (a big discount off the rates of other photographers whose photos I also liked). D and I are in the process of scheduling a session with her, and if it goes well, maybe we have found our wedding photographer, too!