How I Chose Our Photographer

Anyone who knows me knows I love photography. My favorite photographers are Jessica Claire and Jasmine Star. I've been following them for years and I love their work. When we found out we were expecting, I went right to work to find the perfect photographer.

My criteria for a photographer is simple:

I want to hear their heart. Basically, I want to spend hours on their blog, because I truly believe that any photographer that is willing to blog their work, is willing to show how they've grown and expanded. (which is why I love Jessica and Jasmine)

I want to know who inspires them in the photography business. Following Jessica and Jasmine has given me a pretty good idea of those well-known photographers. The celebrities in the photography business. That said,  I want to who my photographer admires. Who he or she blog-stalks.

They can't be expensive. Okay, to be honest, this is Ben's stipulation, but it definitely makes the pool of photographers THAT MUCH SMALLER when you combine this with my picky-ness.

So with all that in mind, it seems impossible, right? In fact, Ben and I have joked that I should just go into to photography to element my exhaustive search! But, wouldn't you know that my habit of Facebook-stalking my friends paid off when I found my photographer?

My college-friend Melissa got married several months ago and as I was creeping through her pictures...(admit it, we ALL DO IT!)...I fell in love with her photographer, Katie Rivers. Okay, so maybe it was more of Katie's work that I fell in love with, but you get the point. What absolutely sealed the deal for me? Katie LOVES JESSICA CLAIRE. Katie was affordable. AND Katie has an awesome blog.

I was barely 4 months pregnant contacting a photographer for maternity and newborn pictures. Call me crazy...but I know a good thing when I see it. Luckily for me, I DID contact Katie right away, because over the summer, she announced doing weddings exclusively. (Which means that future family photos will start the search ALL over again!)

In just a week, I will meet Katie for the first time when we do our maternity session. I am so excited! Katie has graciously allowed me to send her multiple photographer shots that I've loved, so it has been nice to know how approachable she is.

This is only the beginning, and I cannot wait!