Subject: Sac/Rocklin/Grass Valley vendor review: Photography by Chris Harada - Highly recommend!
Date: 10/1/2004 at 5:33 am
Posted on TheKnot.com, Northern California discussion board
Last week, I received my wedding photos from my photographer, Chris Harada. I wanted to share my experience with Chris because I have a ton of positive things to say about him. My experience was great from start to finish. Not only did Chris provide service and quality that exceeded my expectations, but with his affordable fees and and all the unexpected perks that he threw in, I feel like I got great value for my dollar.
Chris works out of his main office in Rocklin and also an office in Grass Valley. He was recommended by a couple of members of TheKnot.com discussion boards as well as by the event coordinator at my ceremony site. Here is his contact info:
Photography by Chris Harada
6631 Grand Teton Ct.
Rocklin, CA 95765-5854
Rocklin (916) 780-4931
Grass Valley (530) 274-0462
www.chrisharada.com
When I first met with Chris in person, I was struck by his friendly, cheerful demeanor. He was on time for our appointment and was very professional and helpful. He explained the photography options that he offers and the pricing for each one in a clear, straightforward manner. The fees were very reasonable, especially in comparison to the $1500+ packages that other photographers were quoting. In addition to a more standard photography package, Chris also offers a flexible option of paying an hourly labor rate plus film and development fees, which is the option that I chose. I appreciated it that Chris offered an option that suited my needs and budget better than the traditional photography packages offered by many photographers. I also appreciated his prompt responses to my subsequent email and phone inquiries, as well as his punctuality at the rehearsal and wedding.
Chris has a very flexible policy regarding the use of his wedding photography images. The complete set of negatives is included with his fee, and he delivers them as soon as the balance is paid in full. He does not require that you order all prints through him, and he does not charge royalties for the use of his wedding photography images online or elsewhere. With many other studios, it's the opposite: they often impose a waiting period and extra fees for negatives, if they provide them at all, and usually they also require that all prints are ordered through them.
Chris attended our rehearsal to get familiar with the progression of our wedding and to shoot some practice photos. He did not charge for his time spent at the rehearsal. During the rehearsal, he was friendly and pleasant with the entire wedding party, even taking the time to answer questions when some of our family members who are amateur shutterbugs asked him about his work. Most of the wedding party came from out of town, and Chris enthusiastically shared his knowledge about local events and sightseeing spots, which we appreciated. One particularly helpful thing that Chris did was to basically run the rehearsal. The officiant was not at the rehearsal, so we were pretty disorganized at first, but Chris gracefully took the lead without being overbearing and helped us figure out who goes where at what time during the processional, ceremony, etc. At the end of the rehearsal, he used up his practice roll of film by taking some nice family group pictures (which we don't have enough of, living so far apart from each other) and then he gave us the film, gratis.
Chris was great at the wedding. He had photographed other weddings at our location before, so he was already familiar with the site and the staff there. He worked in a competant and experienced manner. He did a really nice job with both the formal pictures and the candids, even in the tricky lighting conditions at our outdoor evening ceremony. Chris made sure to photograph all of the important moments during the ceremony, but at the same time he kept a low profile to avoid distracting us and our guests. Other brides on TheKnot.com who have worked with Chris have mentioned that he works fast, and I can attest to that. In the two hours that we allotted for the ceremony plus photography, Chris took 170 photographs. He cheerfully accomodated every single one of my special request shots - and believe me, I had a lot of special requests, some of which were unusual. More than one wedding guest commented on how friendly Chris was, and even the groom said that Chris made the photo shoot an enjoyable experience rather than a painful chore. Chris even fixed the groom's boutonniere when it fell apart after the ceremony - what a guy!
I finally got to see the finished product last week. Chris promptly shipped my pictures as soon as he received my payment. He included a second set of prints at no extra charge. The photography, film, development, negatives, archive CDs, and two sets of 170 4x6 prints all came in well under $1000, which fit my budget perfectly. And the photographs were just gorgeous! I've included some samples below. The quality of the photographs really exceeded my expectations. There were lots of beautiful, romantic shots. Also, Chris often took several of the same shot so even if someone had their eyes closed for one shot, there's still at least one and often more than one that still comes out nice. It was especially convenient because, along with the extra set of prints, I had several copies of each shot, and I could then give those prints to friends and relatives.
I'm really pleased with how well Chris worked out as our wedding photographer. He was friendly and easy to work with, the quality and service were excellent, and the pictures were gorgeous. I highly recommend him!
