Thread: Resort photography or outside vendor, who do we choose?

We are getting married Sept 15, 2010 and we need to pick our photographers. Has anyone used the resort photographers? How long do the take pictures for, are they creative, do they edit your photos like other photographers. This is out wedding and family members are not able to go, so we need great photos, but at the same time we are on a budget
Any suggestions would be great!! Thank you very much!
We are so excited, we can't wait til Sept. We are staying at CSA and are staying in the Atrium rooms, any input on this is greatly welcomed as well.... this will be our first trip to CSA!!!

I just created a thread with a list of photographers in Jamaica. We are in the same boat as you! Only the 2 of us, and don't want to spend a ton of MONEY..but want nice memories of our wedding day!
**everyone has different views about the resort photographer...
I contact the resort and was told you only get one hour with them! If you hire outside you get about 2-3 hours depending on packages (but the resort fee applies!)...you can get more time for more $$$$! Here's my list...search...read...read...think..think...this list is in random order!! good luck!!
Misha Earle http://www.mishaearlephotography.com/
Sungold http://www.sungoldphoto.com/
Brian Nejedly http://www.briandesign.com/
Stacey Clarke http://staceyclarkephotography.com/
Diana Campbell/Digital Memories http://www.digitalmemoriescollection.com/
Marcia Roberts http://www.jamaicanphotography.com/
Michael Chen http://mchenphoto.com/

MichelleM, I would keep researching the weddings MB and look at other brides' wedding photos and videos. My weddingmoon isn't until May 2011 and like you most of our family and friends won't be there, so I want to be confident that I chose the right photographer/videographer to capture the memories and best moments of our special day. From what I've seen so far, the resort photographers do just as good of a job as the outside photographers at a reasonable price. If you want to look at a really good resort wedding video, go to Our weddings on the MB and type in "Meg & Bill Tied de Knot - CN, June 12, 2010", and look at their wedding video. It's really beautiful and the resort videographer did a great job.

We chose a destination wedding specifically to save money and to alleviate the stress of financial burdens and planning a "traditional" wedding. So paying a $500 vender fee plus $1000 + for a photo package, didn't seem worth it to me and especially to my fiance who gave me a big NO to this idea! LOL BUT it's your wedding day. You know what matters most, what you're looking for, and what you are expecting on your special day. Go with your gut and what you think fits best for you and your future husband. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! I'm sure it will be lovely!

My daugher is getting married at CSA August 16 and after going back and forth a ton of times between which to choose, we hired Marcia Roberts. Yes, it was more expensive than the resort photographer, but since only the parents are going to the wedding, we wanted everyone at home to see the whole day captured. She has no time limit, which I like, so she will be available from the beginning of the day till the end. Its all in what you want to pay for.

I think the resort photographer pictures don't look has good as the outside photographers. Most of the resort photographer pictures look cheesy, I would not want them to take my pictures! We hired Misha Earle to do our pictures, worth every penny to me! http://www.mishaearlephotography.com/index2.php?v=v1
Now if I had $6000+ for photos I would hire this lady http://tracyturpen.com/ most amazing photos!! I love them! :O)

We chose Misha Earle, and she takes the vendor fee of $500 off of her package prices...she is really reasonably priced and does AMAZING work! personally I want 100's of pics to choose from, not 30. Good Luck!

I checked out the Misha Earle website but didn't see a price list. How much did ya'll pay that used her? I'm just trying to get a bearing for rough cost. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Molly229

I checked out the Misha Earle website but didn't see a price list. How much did ya'll pay that used her? I'm just trying to get a bearing for rough cost. Thanks.

I am paying $1000 for 3 hours, plus I have to pay the $500 venders fee. You have to email her for prices. :O)

Just to clarify the resort photographer does not only take 24 or 36 pictures. They take at least 100 pics and you choose your favorite 24 or 36 (depending on the photo pkge choosen) out of the total pics taken. They then print the ones choosen and put them in an album and you also get a CD with these photos on them as well.

We used Paula and Damian of Sungold and were very happy with them. Considering we ended up with over 700 photos, after them spending more time than originally planned with us, we thought the cost was very reasonable, particulary when you do the math of cost divided my number of photos. They shot not only the ceremony, but before the ceremony, after in the garden, on the beach fun and candid shots, shots of guests, and they came on the cat cruise. So much nicer than cheesy stand under that tree and smile posed shots. We will have those photos to capture the memories for ever. Well worth it I think.

my fiance and i are using the resort photographer at CTI on Oct 26, 2010... but the way i understood it, you get a CD of the proofs and just pick the 30 or whatever for the album... but don't you get a CD of all the pictures they take, or am I mistaken?

I got married at CN last year...you have an appointment the day after your wedding to view all of the photos taken by the resort photographer and then you choose the photos that will be put on the CD. You do NOT get a CD with all of the photos. They took almost 200 photos of us...a lot are ones that you may not want where eyes are closed or mouths are open...etc....This way, you get to pick the BEST ones...I did not get an album made...I just got the CD and then uploaded the pictures at walgreens.com and had them do all my prints...they were AWESOME and I could get all the sizes I wanted and crop the pictures the way I wanted...they were very inexpensive too...

Originally Posted by emily_y1

my fiance and i are using the resort photographer at CTI on Oct 26, 2010... but the way i understood it, you get a CD of the proofs and just pick the 30 or whatever for the album... but don't you get a CD of all the pictures they take, or am I mistaken?

From what I was told you only get the 24 or 36 pics on the cd. We were going to go with the resort photographer, but with the 1 hour time frame (and having to pay an extra $100 for an additional hour), and the pictures being unedited, I am strongly considering an outside photographer.

Make sure if you are getting an outside photographer you check with CSA or CN to see what you have to pay to get them in for the wedding. I think there is a fee for anyone from outside the resort that you want to allow in on your wedding day. (maybe a fee per hour?)

When I asked about the resort photographer I was told their website was down, has anyone seen the CSA photographers website?

I also have the problem to decide...
We will be alone on our wedding, no friends and no parents. That´s why the photos are very important!
But we don´t have so much money to spent.
Sure the photos of the outside photographes are much much better. But they are alos much more expensive.
I also wolud like to see the homepage of the CSA- photographer.
Is there any adress???

I really don´t know what to do...
Please HELP me!!!

I finally found the web adress of the resort photographer:

www.aquasunjamaica.com

But I think i gonna take someone from outside. Because we are without our families and friends -just the two of us-. So we need real good photos and a DVD would be fine
Yesterday I telefoned with Diana Campbell- she phoned me to Germany!!!- wesurely take her- the photos are great!!!

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/...&id=1031126254

you will LOVE Diana!!!!!!

Mary