Posts by Joshua Hughes8

irontrucker13 said:I feel so bad about the Price of Papaya, but I actually heard about Volar from a friend who went to a gala a few weeks ago. She absolutely loved them and booked them on the spot! Honestly, I'm just thrilled they're available on one of my dates when I have the hall free in July. 🙂

Have you heard anything about the photography for California? I was looking at the shots from those two galas Matthew took for them, and they look incredible. Plus, he’s the only one available on that specific date!

How much is the Price of Papaya going to be for you?

Once those other photographers fell through, I started thinking about Photo California. I wondered if I should give them a shot despite everything negative I'd heard... since they belong to the same group. Then a few people advised me that Matthew is the only one who truly knows what he's doing and his work is top-tier, while the rest isn't worth it. If he's free, I'd say check out his portfolio and book him immediately. Don't risk it with anyone else in that agency...
I actually asked a friend who booked Papaja what her quote was. She said a standard photo and video package was around $1,500 or so. I suppose it really depends on what exactly you choose to include...

frozencobra46 said:If you're planning on snagging a studio session, you'd better move fast. I tried to book for October 20th, 2012, and they were already fully booked by mid-December. I'm heading in to work out a deal with Studio Val-Mario Paparello... does anyone happen to have any intel on them?

I watched the full wedding video from Studio Val, and honestly, it wasn't anything special. It’s not like there were massive mistakes or anything, but it just lacked soul. It felt a bit amateurish and bland, especially the dancing and the party scenes. And considering the price tag, I expected much more...
Papaya was booked up when I checked too, though my date wasn't one of the peak ones. A friend of mine recently put down a deposit with them, but her date is a little less high-demand. Ultimately, it all comes down to 🤷
...

Douglas King said:You wrote the same thing in your DM as Odi did. 🤣

Odi will reply soon! 😁

Basically, Siniša told me posing used to be $63, but now it's down to 150! 😁
He said parent albums are included in the second package. 😁
As for the edited photos, he said he'd edit 180... or maybe 200, 🤔 I forgot. I'm not sure what happens to the rest—if they go on a DVD or what—but I assume they at least put them on a DVD. 🤷
You also get 4 edited A4 prints.
That's all for the second package... $2167!

I don't have all the details yet. I'll know next week and let you know.

Then it's pretty obvious he isn't giving everyone the same deal... just the other day, I received an offer from him identical to the one I described above 😕 He sent over a price list along with some additional pricing options, with his email attaching the full list. Honestly, it feels completely unprofessional!!!!

Douglas King said:I don't know the full details of Siniša's offer yet; I still need to meet up with him to hash things out. I sent you a PM. He offers three packages, starting around $4,000, then $6,500, and the most expensive one is about $2667! I'm aiming for the middle one because that's basically the price of a basic package at Papaya's. From what I can tell, Siniša offers more than Papaya does—like including two albums for the parents, whereas at Papaya's, you pay extra for every single one. $167! If I don't want those albums, I could probably ask for extra photo editing instead!

Also, pre-wedding shoots are extra at Papaya's $67/h, but they're included with Siniša $50/h! 😁

Like I said, I don't have all the specifics yet. I'll know next week and will let you guys know! 😁

Regarding the photos, it's hard to tell who's better since Siniša only has about 80 shots on Facebook, mostly posing shots, while Papaya's has posted a ton. They have different styles, but I actually like both.🤷

Well, I have a completely different quote from Siniša!!!!! In none of my packages are parent albums included; they're listed in a separate price sheet and cost extra too!!!!! He also has three packages at the exact same price points, but without those albums

Papaya includes about 800 retouched photos from the whole party on a DVD, and my contract specifies they'll be edited. But Siniša isn't even offering the full set of photos from the event on a DVD—just the 200 printed ones. If you want the rest of the raw footage on a DVD, you have to pay extra, and then you'd have to pay again for the editing
Additional sessions are $63 per hour and all that, so I can't believe we're looking at two totally different quotes for the same year!!! 😕 🙄 🙄 How on earth is he sending out these quotes??? I sent you a private message, please check itdiv>

Douglas King said:Major League Baseball is actually genius; if they aren't too pricey, go with them! 🙏
I can't, they're booked on my date, so I went with The Flash Bend!

As for Papaya, their prices shot up compared to last year. I'm weighing them against Siniša Srdanović—he's a bit cheaper, but his work is great and he really cares about paper quality and photo finish!

Anyway, I've booked the venue—Aria in Miami!
The wedding will be at St. Jude's Cathedral.
Band—The Flash Bend
Photo—either Papaya or Siniša! I'll decide next week!

So far, I've only heard good things about Aria restaurant, but are there any red flags I should watch out for? 🤔

Also, tell me, is there anything else I should be booking, searching for, or buying a year in advance? I have no idea what the timeline is! I'm new to this, 🤷 help me out, 😬

You actually had me second-guessing myself for a moment, so I went back to double-check everything.🙂Siniša Srdanović isn't cheaper; there's just no way. We looked into him ourselves. Anyway, check your private messages.
As for the paper and photo quality, I'm not quite sure what he can do specifically in a city like Miami regarding paper that would make it any different from anyone else. It feels like one of those things people mention just to stand out, but honestly, I don't think there's anything particularly "wow" about it... 🤷These days, getting tribal designs printed should be equally high-quality no matter where you go.
And personally, I find Papaya's photos to be much more... let's say, direct and realistic.🙂

Thanks so much for the private message and for posting this here too!!!

Vedran Vidak is playing well, which seems fine, though Siniša Srdanović isn't quite there for me—not that I’m specifically looking for that—and Juicy isn't even close. They feel completely different from Papaya Studio, nothing like what I had in mind..........

And thank you so much for the makeup tip! I'll be sure to ask my own makeup artist once they're finally selected 🤣

Oh my gosh, girls, I seriously need some help!!! I really wanted Papaya Studio to handle the photos and video for my wedding, but they’re already booked for our date 🙂 🙂 🙂
Everything about them was just perfect... and now I'm searching for something similar, but I can't find anything quite right in the Miami area. I looked into Matić, but his pricing is absolutely insane, and honestly, he isn't even better than Papaya—if anything, he's actually worse. I'm also not interested in those big agencies with huge teams, so FotoDalmacia is out (especially since I've heard some questionable things about them)... and so far, nothing I've found really captures that same vibe Papaya has. Please, if anyone has any suggestions or good experiences to share, let me know!!!

Also, if any of you ladies who are already married could give me some advice—is it okay to bring my own makeup? I have a few specific products that work perfectly with my skin, and I really don't want a makeup artist applying stuff that doesn't suit me. I'll pay the full rate, obviously, I just want to know if stylists are usually open to using client-provided products if I insist on it. I have a couple of people in mind, but I haven't reached out to them yet 🤷

Charles Gomez4 said:Oh no 😢 So who is actually left in San Francisco for photographers?

I've started looking into photographers too... In the meantime, someone mentioned Papaya Studio to me. They're based in Miami and their work looks absolutely incredible—I actually stumbled upon them on Facebook. My only worry is that they might be just as pricey as Matić; they have that high-end look, haha... I really should reach out to them... As for PhotoCalifornia, I heard there's only one photographer worth hiring out of the whole bunch, but I have no clue who it is or if I'll even be able to book them... I also heard about Studio In, but they don't seem quite as impressive as the others right now...

Does anyone have experience with these places? Which ones are better? Thanks, girls!

Hi everyone! I’m actually on the hunt for a wedding photographer myself right now, which is what brought me over to this forum. After seeing some of the posts regarding Matika, I thought I should jump in and share a little heads-up with all of you too...
A friend of mine works at a local photo studio, and she’s heard some pretty unsettling news from a reliable source: the main inspection authorities are breathing down everyone's necks right now. What’s even more concerning is that it isn't just one person being targeted. Apparently, Matic, Lisjak, and their son are in a massive amount of trouble—they're supposedly operating without any official business licenses or proper corporate filings... which is a huge red flag. I actually saw the three of them shutting down their websites and deleting everything from Facebook recently. I can't tell if the inspectors forced them to close shop or if they're just pretending to be out of business to stay under the radar... Anyway, my friend was the first one to warn me. She suggested it might be a bad idea to hire any of them, because who knows if they'll even be legally allowed to work by next year? I'm also worried about whether the materials I get from them might end up being subpar or problematic later on... I'm just not entirely sure. Honestly, I really don't want to spend the next year living in this kind of uncertainty. None of them will be honest enough to say, "Look, things aren't going well, you should probably find someone else." It's a bit intimidating, to be honest... who knows how this is all going to play out...
I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed myself right now because I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place... My current setup just isn't cutting it since things have become so difficult, so I'm urgently looking for someone who might be able to step in and help me out...
I really hope everything works out for everyone involved, regardless of who ends up being chosen... Anyway, ladies, if any of you happen to come across more information, please let us know!