I highly, highly recommend Karl Verkade. Karl did our engagement and wedding photos, and we couldn't be happier. After interviewing 5+ photographers (and researching/emailing ove...r 20), we knew we picked the winner after meeting Karl. Here's why:
1. Personality. For my husband and me, we knew we needed a photographer who "got" us. Our wedding was Game of Thrones-inspired wedding, so someone who could embrace our geekiness was a MUST. (We had discovered that some photographers weren't too keen to shoot a "non-traditional" wedding.) Beyond that, we needed someone down-to-earth and had a sense of humor. Karl's laid-back (but *not* passive) style allowed us to be ourselves, while at the same time provided helpful guidance to make our photos look fabulous. Here's the thing -you are going to be spending A LOT of time with your photographer on your wedding day; so, it's no good if the person annoys or stresses you out! One of the key questions in my mind was - will this person be comfortable with my geeky/zany/wonderfully-weird bridesmaids and me as we get ready? The answer with Karl was a definite YES.
2. Transparency. Karl was 100% clear about what his fees did and did not include. I noticed that some photographers "hid the ball" with their fees - oh, you actually want to SEE (let alone print) any of your photos? That's an extra charge! With Karl, all fees were clearly disclosed and nothing was counterintuitive. He even publicly lists his fees online - something a lot of wedding vendors do NOT do!
3. Price. Not only were Karl's fees transparent, they were also very, very affordable. For a professional photographer, I doubt his rates can be beat.
4. Copyright. You can share your photos on social media WITHOUT begging for permission or paying extra. Karl provides high-resolution images without watermarks, so you can save, share, and print to your heart's content!
Points 1-3 above made us decide on Karl. Having now received our wedding photos, we are even more confident in our recommendation. Why?
Our engagement photos were GORGEOUS. We shot in two locations - Huntington Beach Central Park and Laguna Beach. Both sites were great, but the Laguna photos truly blew us away. You don't need to be adventurous to get good photos with Karl, but if you are, you'll get some especially epic ones with the waves crashing against the rocks at sunset.
Most importantly, our wedding photos were AMAZING! From the shots of our Game of Thrones-stylized details (e.g., giant dragon skull) to our First Look to the candid shots, Karl and his assistant did an awesome job capturing our wedding! Because Karl does a through job processing the photos (but in a natural way!), it took some time, but the wait was totally worth it. (So be patient!) We had over 1100 awesome photos to download, browse, and save (see #4 above) - it was like reliving the wedding all over again. Another great perk - you can download the photos through Karl's online (password protected) portal. This is also how you select photos for your album - easy-peasy!
Thank you Karl!