Checking out Massachusetts Wedding Photographers at the BE Entertainment Expo

I went to another bridal show to check out Massachusetts wedding photographers, and this wedding expo was...interesting.  It was very different from Spinellis.  (Yes, Spinellis will be the bridal show I will hereby gauge all other bridal shows by).  There were way fewer people here, and not as much food (though the cheese and wine was VERY good).  And though I thought it was going to just feature Massachusetts wedding photographers, the company has DJs as well.

So mom and I sat through this DJ’s hour long presentation, when we just wanted to see the wedding albums done by the different Massachusetts wedding photographers.  They played music, did the whole, "How are you all feeling tonight?"  (Which wore thin by the time the 5th guy asked as he came up to introduce himself). And then they did lame stuff getting people up to dance.  UGH.  I told mom after that I didn't even want a DJ, I want a musician(s) playing classical music at my wedding.  She said "Oh thank god, because those guys were terrible."  Haha, I didn't feel like I was a good judge since it's just so not my scene, but there you go. 

The only good that came of the spectacle was when I won a raffle!  Luckily it wasn’t for the DJs, it was for any one of the Massachusetts wedding photographers present.  The trouble was they said I had to book THAT NIGHT, so of course that was out since I can’t set a wedding date yet.  Made me feel a little down that since the visa application process is so at the mercy of the government that I can’t even take advantage of deals by booking early.  But again, it wouldn’t have wanted to be pressured into booking the first Massachusetts wedding photographers company I saw; I need to see what’s out there in terms of price and talent.  It was a shame though, because it was a good prize: a $150 "parents" wedding album.  Oh well. 

Once the silly program was over it was REALLY interesting seeing the photos/albums done by different photographers.  One of the Massachusetts wedding photographers albums I looked at was, well, lousy.  Lots of blurry photos.  I guess some think that’s artistic, but I think wedding photos can be nice and crisp and still artsy, but blurry photos look like you don’t know how to keep your camera still.  Talking to the photographer was awkward too, because I didn't know what to ask. He asked, "Do you like candids or posed photos?"  Uhhh?  I never thought about that.  I just picked one, (apparently the wrong one) because he said, "Well that can get boring after a while" and turned around to talk to someone else instead!

I didn’t realize photographers had different “specialties;” I thought they take some photos of the couple, some of the family standing in front of somewhere pretty, pictures of the ceremony, and pictures at the reception.  So basically I expect that the photographer will do both.  Is that too much to ask?  Besides, it might be boring to HIM since he's shot (presumably) dozens or hundreds of weddings, but this is going to be my one and only.  I want all the classic shots, and if that means boring to the rest of the world, so be it.  I'll cherish it always.

Another of the Massachusetts wedding photographers were equally as rude to me, but for a completely different reason.  He asked me when my wedding is, and when I told him August 15 2011, he said, “Oh,” and just turned around to talk to someone else.  Again, this was NOT a really big bridal show, so while I understand that they want to get as many clients as possible, I was pretty shocked that they’d ignore me just because I’m looking so far in advance!

The next Massachusetts wedding photographers album I looked at was really strange.   Few, if any, of his photos were straight on.  And to make things even more strange, he seemed to be overly into the Photoshopping.  He used this effect, like “bloat” or something, so that the walls seemed to curve, and it just looked trippy.  And others had the lighting exaggerated so it looked like a rainbow was vaporizing in the forefront.  Just awful. 

I was about to give up.  The photos Adam and I took on our trips through England were better than these; maybe I’d be happier with an amateur taking pictures at my wedding.  When finally, I looked through one of the Massachusetts wedding photographers album and it was EXCELLENT.  He clearly had a nice sense of balance and composition.  None of them were blurry.  I told him that his were the best photos I’d seen, and he was very nice and outgoing.  He told me that he isn’t obtrusive at the reception, but he will ask someone to move a beer out of the way if he thinks it will improve the shot.  That’s the guy I want.  He’s going to make my wedding photos look good.  I got a price list and I'll keep his name, but I still plan shop around at these bridal expos to see equally talented Massachusetts wedding photographers for cheaper.

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Photos courtesy of:
Deusxflorida                                                                Joanna8555               Wili_hybrid
Wedding Photography by Jon Day             Hotmeteor                    W C Lybbert
Wedding Photography by Jon Day             Tobyotter                      W C Lybbert
Wedding Photography by Jon Day             Charles Chan            W C Lybbert
Wedding Photography by Jon Day             Jerry Liu                       W C Lybbert
Joanna8555                                                                 Yummiec00kies