How to Get The Best Bang for Your Wedding Photography Budget

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Have you ever stumbled across a wedding photographer whose work you love, but whose rates are def out of your budget and wondered, “How do I find someone just like them, but right before they blow up and get super expensive?” OR, “Hey, why don’t they just clone themselves and like, have a more affordable price point for the clones?”

Yeah, I feel you. How to find an up-and-coming [insert vendor type here] who is still charging less than what they’re worth is pretty much the most FAQ around here, and there’s almost never an easy answer. Except, drumroll, WE LITERALLY GOT YOU GUYS SOMEONE WHO DID THE SECOND THING. With the cloning!

Meet Apollo Fotografie in the San Francisco Bay Area, whose founder Jonathon Dakarai Towle has assembled a dream team of hand-picked and personally trained photographers and videographers in order to offer gorgeous photography and videography to all kinds of couples with all kinds of budgets having all kinds of weddings:

Now, wedding photography studios are not a new invention, but they still get kind of a bad reputation that’s a holdover from the “old” wedding world that conjures up ideas of a beginner photographer you’ve never met before showing up to your wedding and taking—yup, you guessed it—generic photos from a cookie-cutter shot list.

So allow me to assure you guys that the people at Apollo Fotografie are NOT that. Instead they are a small team of established photographers with a diverse portfolio that specializes in natural and relaxed, yet glamorous and romantic photos, and wedding videos that, well, will have you finding the money in your budget, in your emergency fund, in your couch cushions to hire them.

I mean, just look at that title sequence below with the floating veil, you guys. (More videos from Apollo Fotografie are right here, and I personally recommend looking at these glamorous souls who got married in a freaking planetarium. )

So basically, Apollo Fotografie is all the pros of working with a photography studio:

A one-stop shop for both photography and videography, so you don’t have to go through all that research, interviewing, deciding, and coordinating with two separate vendors (plus the added advantage of photographer and videographer working together seamlessly).
A consistent photography/videography shooting and editing style. What you see on Apollo Fotografie’s website is what you get no matter who you work with.
A variety of packages and pricing options, as well as availability for your date.
Photographers who are vetted and overseen by an experienced industry professional.
Consistent customer service (you’re never left hanging because your photographer is on a two-week shoot to Bali in the off-season).

Jonathon is incredibly committed to making sure that all of his photographers are people he would trust to shoot his own wedding and that all of his clients have a top-notch experience from start to finish:

We all shoot with the same lenses, same camera settings, and same approach to weddings to offer a natural light candid and storytelling style. We are a sum of our parts, and we are always learning from each other to offer our couples the highest quality available in terms of the photography, editing, videography, and luxury albums that we create for our couples at the end of our journey together.
All of this is in addition to being extremely meticulous in the planning phase. A lot of couples mention to me that I should “be a planner” because of how organized I am on the back end to make sure every wedding runs perfectly from the moment they have their first meet and greet with me, to the moment they receive their album in the mail after their wedding.

Which basically eliminates any of those photography studio cons:

All of Apollo Fotografie’s photographers go through a rigorous audition process (including a literal audition shooting Jonathon and his partner), so you can trust you’ll never be paired with someone unreliable or inexperienced.
Your actual photographer and/or videographer is hand-selected by Jonathon based on criteria like personalities, experience with your venue or type of wedding (if you’re getting married by candlelight, you’re getting a photographer experienced with low-light situations, natch), availability, and price point.
You’re paired with your photographer/videographer early on in the process, so you have the option to get to know them through an engagement shoot and consultation with them before your wedding itself.

All of which is why dozens of clients say things like:

Jonathon and his team are amazing to work with. He made the whole process super easy and not at all stressful. Their packages are very reasonably priced (specially for a San Francisco wedding photographer!) and very customizable. I also cannot rave enough about our day-of photographers (Kate, Chantel, and Christina). They were super fun from the moment they walked in our hotel room. I think it’s super important to have great rapport with your photographers, and Kate felt like a friend I should’ve had YEARS ago. They really captured the soft, romantic, and fun/chill mood we wanted for our photos. Such amazing and professional people. Absolutely sooo happy that we decided to go with Apollo instead of any of the other photographers!

Apollo Fotografie offers a variety of photography coverage starting at $2,524 for 7 hours of coverage with one photographer. Videography rates begin at $2,295, also for 7 hours of coverage with one lead videographer. And Apollo Fotografie even offers photo booths, so if you’re going all out with photography options, you can literally cross off three things in one place. Plus APW readers can tack on an extra 30 minutes of coverage for their engagement session or wedding—just mention this post when you reach out!

You can find out more about Apollo Fotografie in all the usual places: go follow their sweet Instagram, and find out more about photography, videography, photo booth rentals, and city hall weddings on their site. And then? It’s time to contact them and book your wedding because these guys’ calendar is going to fill up, up, up.

APW READERS RECEIVE an extra 30 minutes of coverage FROM APOLLO FOTOGRAfIE for their engagement session or wedding! CLICK HERE TO GET IN TOUCH.