Portland Wedding Photographer

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winning storytellers

Your special day deserves beautiful storytelling. Finding the best wedding photographer in Portland, Oregon can be overwhelming. But you've come to the right place.




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Storytelling lasts forever.

You deserve wedding photography you'll absolutely love. I'm Dan Cassuto, Portland wedding photographer and videographer, and head storyteller at Sound Originals. We've earned 5-star reviews from 100+ thrilled couples across Oregon and Washington. Oregon Bride magazine picked us as 2021 official storyteller. I'd love to chat about your special day.

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You deserve the best wedding photographer in Portland. 

But here's the catch. There's no such thing as the best Portland wedding photographer. That's not what couples should be searching for. Instead, look for the right photographer for your wedding.

Oregon wedding photographers bring unique styles and approaches to wedding photography. Some bring a candid and photojournalistic style. Others focus on fine art and artistic imagery. 

We tell engaged couples they should explore many different Portland wedding photographers until they find the style that's a perfect match for their vision.

It's easy to make a long, long, long list of photographers in Oregon. The Knot lists more than 900 photographers in Oregon, including Portland, Bend and Eugene.

We prepared this guide to help you appreciate the value of investing in a professional, experienced and highly-rated Oregon wedding photographer.
 
We hope you'll consider us. There's a reason Sound Originals earned the endorsement of 100+ thrilled couples across Oregon and Washington.  We also recognize we're not the right match for every couple. And that's OK! Hopefully you'll use this guide to find the perfect photographer to create the images you've always dreamed of.

Narrow down your list using these factors: Wedding Photography Style, Artistic Approach, Personality, Experience,  Price, Reviews and Ratings, and Availability on Your Wedding Date!

Wedding Photos from Golf Club at Newcastle, a gorgeous luxury PNW wedding venue.

Best Portland Wedding Photographers

Ultimate Guide to the Best Wedding Photographers in Portland, Oregon

01. Best Portland Wedding Photographers: Top Picks from Popular Websites & Magazines

02. Portland Wedding Photographer Prices: What's a Reasonable Price?

03. Affordable Portland Photographers in Portland, Oregon: Is Anyone Under $2000?

04. Questions Couples Ask Before Booking

05. Wedding Photography Packages in Portland, Oregon

06. Important Pictures on Your Wedding Day

07. Oregon Wedding Photographers: PNW Venues

08. We're also Portland wedding videographers!

"We are so thrilled to have chosen Sound Originals for our wedding! From the beginning, we wanted to make sure our photographer captured the moments with family and friends that we would otherwise miss during the festivities of the day. Sound Originals understood that and was so easy to work with. Wedding photography really is an investment but I felt that Dan had both reasonable packages and overwhelmingly positive reviews and experience. I am so glad we booked him for our wedding! Day of, he was easy to work with and incredibly patient with our large families. He gave great directions for photos and also captured many of the natural moments between my husband and me. We had so many incredible photos after our wedding that I can't even pick my top 5 - they are so amazing! I also love his editing style since I found many photographers that had either an overly moody, dark style or were extremely bright and white. I know that my wedding pictures will look great for decades to come (and not look overly edited or styled). Also, the turn-around time was fantastic. We had a collection of initial images the next day (!) and our full album in a few weeks so I was incredibly impressed with the speed during a time when I know he had many other weddings he was working on. The one thing I wish we did differently is hire Dan for a longer time frame and also plan for specific pictures with us and our guests (we don't have enough with our favorite people). Overall we are so happy with the experience and we will treasure these photos forever!
~ Jonica + Kel

100+ Excellent Reviews

Our artists pour so much passion into every wedding. You'll love your photos. It's worth it. Let's chat about your special day! 



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Be confident you picked the right wedding photographer.

Portland Wedding Photographer Prices

The Kelley Farm, rustic barn venue in PNW. Photo & Video by Sound Originals. Rustic barn venue with meadows, forests and expansive views.

The cost to hire an Oregon wedding photographer varies A LOT.

We know how expensive it gets to throw a wedding. You probably have a set budget and need to stick with it. Besides for hiring a Portland wedding photographer, you need to pay for the venue, catering, DJ, decor, flowers and invitations. 

Couples say they're surprised that wedding photography prices vary so much from photographer to photographer even within Portland and the rest of Oregon. After all, aren't photographers providing a very similar service? Yes and no.

Many Portland, Oregon wedding photographers are full-time professionals. Others consider it a side hustle or hobby, a chance to earn extra cash in addition to a regular 9 to 5 job.

Expect to pay more for a wedding photographer who is a full-time professional in Oregon. 

This is a good thing.

A full-time professional takes your wedding seriously. They have to. Their reputation and livelihood are on the line. They pay taxes and insurance. They follow the law.

If wedding photography is a part time gig, the photographer may not place as much value in serving clients. They may be more willing to cancel a wedding - or, worst of all, not even show up! It happens.

Wedding photographer prices reflect local costs of living within the larger Portland, Oregon region and Willamette Valley.

You might find value by hiring a photographer who lives and works primarily in a local region that's less expensive. For instance, wedding photographers in Salem might charge less than photographers in Cannon Beach. It's a direct result of cost of living.

Couples often say that wedding photographer prices in Southern oregon are a bit lower than Oregon photographers in the Portland and Vancouver metro area.

Picking the best wedding photographer in Portland is sort of like buying a car.

Why? You can find photographers with a wide range of prices, styles, quality and reliability. Same with cars. There's a big difference between a Jaguar and a Honda, a Ford and a Ferrari. There's an even bigger gap in quality and reliability between a new Telsa and a $200 clunker you bought from Craigslist.

Even with all the differences, most cars still perform the same function. They transport you from place to place.

The same principle applies when evaluating the prices of Oregon wedding photographers.

Most photographers can take pictures. Most cars can drive on the road.

But that's where the similarity ends. 

If you were leaving on the most important road trip of your life, would you buy the 29-year-old rusty used car with 119,280 miles from the stranger who posted an online classified ad? Probably not. The car might break down. It might be uncomfortable, noisy and dirty. It might be unsafe. The wheels might fall off when you're thousands of miles away from home.

Sure, you'd save a bunch of money, but you might not make it to your destination.

Portland wedding photographer prices reflect quality, reliability and experience.

Couples  sometimes overlook the importance of reliability.

You can trust seasoned wedding photographers with great reviews. They'll show up. Their cameras work. They'll deliver your images in a timely fashion.

That's how we earn a living - capturing memories for couples on the most important day of their lives. At Sound Originals, wedding photography makes up the bulk of our income. It goes without saying that trust is everything. Trust is worth every penny!


Portland Photographers

The best Portland photographers use light to tell a story. The Lavender fields near Hood River create dynamic backdrops for your story. The evening sunlight shines on Mount Hood. The purple flowers attract bees. It's a wonderfully romantic setting for a wedding and engagement photographer in Oregon. Enjoy these intimate engagement photos from a recent session at Hood River Lavender Valley!

Portland Engagement Photographer

Oregon Elopement Photographer

We love engagements. They're exciting, passionate and romantic. They're bursting at the seems with emotion. We'd love to be your engagement photographer in Portland. We know the best spots for engagement photos. Check out our recent beach session with Haylie and Matthew in their Cannon Beach engagement photos.

Yes, we photograph elopements, too! Sound Originals is proud to be the top Oregon elopement photographer. Be sure to check out our guide to Oregon elopements. You'll also find a list of the best locations to elope in Oregon. Our list includes Cannon Beach, Hood River and Sisters, along with Silver Falls State Park. You can't go wrong!

Affordable Portland Wedding Photographers

Our friends at Oregon Bride magazine wrote an article several years ago with their advice for wedding photographers, "A Moment in Time: 8 Photographers You Can Trust To Capture Your Big Day."

We used the magazine's guide to compare pricing options for the photographers with investment costs posted on their websites. (Sound Originals was honored to be Official Storyteller for Seattle Bride's Best of 2020 Awards and is an Oregon Bride storytelling partner.)

Sound Originals photography pricing is affordable for Portland couples. It's worth every penny to have hundreds of gorgeous images you'll love forever.

These are all terrific, well-known Oregon photographers, certainly worth what they charge!

Acorn Studios says wedding pricing begins at $1695. It doesn't say what this includes - especially how many hours of coverage.

Aralani's wedding photography packages begin at $3,350, and include 5 hours of coverage. (In our experience, 5 hours isn't enough for most 'traditional' Oregon weddings.) An 8-hour package is $4,250.

Deyla Huss Photography lists a starting price for Portland wedding photography at $5,000.

Jessica Hill Photography says her Oregon wedding photography collections begin at $3,900.

Jos and Tree does not list pricing on its website.

Kimberly Kay Photo doesn't say how much she charges for Oregon wedding photography packages.


Are you searching for an affordable Portland wedding photographer under $2000?  In our experience, if a photographer doesn't list pricing at all on his or her website, it means you can expect it to be on the higher side.

Hey, we're biased. But we think Sound Originals offers the perfect sweet spot between affordable prices and absolutely terrific quality.

My fiance hired Dan to take photos of our proposal, and then our engagement pictures followed. I was blown away by how beautiful the pictures turned out. Dan was incredibly professional, and spent a lot of time with us to make sure we got all the pictures we wanted and had a lot to choose from. I can't express how happy I was with the final product, and our friends and family loved them, too! Plus, we've had to reschedule our wedding for next year, and Dan was so flexible in working with us to make our new date work. Dan is a great talent, and we highly recommend him for your engagement and wedding pictures.
~ Megan & Ty
Lincoln City, Oregon

See our reviews on The Knot in Portland

100+ Excellent Reviews

She Said Yes!

Delaney thought her boyfriend, Evan, was going to show her a tide pool. Nope. When they got to Proposal Rock at Neskowin, he got down on one knee. He proposed! Sound Originals was there to (secretly) capture the moment. There's nothing more magical than a surprise marriage proposal on an Oregon beach. Delaney was shocked, stunned and overjoyed. After saying yes, we captured gorgeous engagement photos of the couple getting ready to plan their wedding!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a reasonable price for a wedding photographer in Portland, Oregon?

A reasonable price for a wedding photographer in Portland will be different for each couple. What's expensive to me might be dirt cheap to you. "Reasonable price" means something very different to everyone. It's based on your own personal background, beliefs and cultural expectations for value and what something should cost. Based on our experience with PNW weddings and hundreds of Oregon couples and their wedding budgets, we think the "typical" rate for a trustworthy, reliable and experienced Portland wedding photographer is in the $2000 to $4000 range. WeddingWire's guide says the U.S. average photography investment hovers near $2500. That's just an average. You can find Oregon photographers charging much less and much more.

Is 4 hours enough for a wedding photographer?

Four hours is enough for couples planning an intimate wedding, a small, backyard gathering or an elopement. It's usually not enough for Portland couples planning a traditional wedding with a ceremony and reception. Many Portland photographers only book weddings for 6 hours or more. 

What is included in most wedding photography packages?

Most wedding photography packages in Oregon include many products and services. These are usually built into the cost of the package, collection or hourly rate.

- Planning, guidance and a consultation
- Visits to the venue and site tours
- Maintaining cameras, preparing equipment and charging batteries
- Taking pictures on your wedding day
- Backing up photos
- Reviewing and sorting images
- Applying specialized color technique and editing styles to images
- Sorting images by category, such as, "getting ready" or "first look"
- Uploading the best 500-1000+ edited images into online galleries

When you calculate all the extra hours a photographer spends for each wedding, they're working 20 to 40 hours! That's even when they were only physically present on your special day for 8 hours. So, asking what a wedding photographer charges per hour is somewhat misleading. It doesn't give the whole picture. Sound Originals offers a-la-carte photography packages. You can hire us by the hour. Rates begin at $500. (And, yes, this includes all the editing, color correction and processing of your images.)

Is $4000 a lot for a wedding photographer?

$4000 is not a lot for a wedding photographer. We'd consider this the the middle to upper-middle range of wedding photography investments. You can find Portland wedding photographers charging a range of prices. A professional photographer will typically charge more than $1500.

Can you negotiate with wedding photographers?

It never hurts to ask if you can negotiate with an Oregon wedding photographer. For example, some Portland wedding photographers offer discounts for bookings in the fall or winter. Many photographers also have associates, or trainees, who charge less. Plus, if a wedding photographer is not booked on your date, maybe they'll give you a discount or an affordable rate. 

How many photos do wedding photographers take?

Our team of wedding photographers takes thousands of photos at a marriage and reception. Couples can expect to receive about 700 to 900 edited photos. These include everything from the getting ready process, first look, family formals, portraits, ceremony, reception, first dances, and the party!

Do wedding photographers get paid upfront?

Yes, most Portland wedding photographers get paid upfront. Professional photographers charge a fixed amount, called a deposit or a retainer, in order to reserve a couple's date. Sound Originals charges 50 percent. This is because the photographer holds the date and turns away other couples who would want to book it themselves. Deposits and retainers aren't refundable. This is a good thing for Oregon couples. It means you can rely on us - because we are there for you no matter what! We've held your date. We've turned away other business. We're committed to being your storytelling partner.

Who pays for the photographer at weddings?

Even Martha Stewart agrees! times are changing and that includes who pays for wedding photographers in Portland. To be fair, we don't really know who usually foots the bill for our Oregon photography packages. Most couples pay by credit card or debit card. Some couples open a new credit card or checking account only for their wedding expenses so they can rack up airline mileage or credit card points! It's possible that the parents of the bride or groom or partner could transfer money into various accounts or write a check back to the couple, so the couple can pay for our actual services on their own credit card.

Wedding Photography Packages in Oregon

Here are popular services and deliverables from PNW wedding photographers. We wrote a similar guide to Seattle wedding photographers.

- Kickoff call
- Telephone consultation
- Advice to plan your perfect wedding timeline
- Guidance for best wedding portrait photography
- Engagement session at a location in Portland, Oregon
- 6, 8, 10 or 12 hours of wedding day photography coverage
- Editing and color-correction of photos
- Professional back-up of photos so they're safe and secure
- Sneak preview the day after your wedding
- Online gallery to share images with family and friends
- Online gallery to order prints, wall art and physical products
- Fully edited images
- Print release / printing rights
- Downloadable images in high resolution
- Commemorative USB hard drive in decorative wooden box
- Fine art prints
- Canvasses, wall art, metal prints, picture frames, posters, physical products
- Heirloom album
- Parents or grandparents album
- Guestbook album with engagement photos

We invite you to check out our pricing options! Sound Originals offers wedding photography and videography, available together or separately. Photography begins at $3000, which includes 8 hours of coverge, digital images, full printing rights and a private online gallery. We also offer photography by the hour for $500 per hour.





Junebug's List of Best Portland Wedding Photographers

The Knot's List of Wedding Photographers in Portland, Oregon

Expertise.com's List of 24 Best Portland Wedding Photographers

Peerspace.com's List of 12 Best Portland Wedding Photographers

Photographers have to apply and pay to be listed by Junebug. The editors are selective. They won't even consider photographers who don't pay for memberships and substantial monthly advertising dues.

01. Maria Newman Photography
02. Jonas Seaman Photography
03. Aaron Courter Photography
04. Catalina Jean Photography
05. Lindsey Paradiso Photography

Expertise.com is sort of like the Yellow Pages. We think they use an algorithm to put together its list. Some of the photographers here are wonderful. Expertise has this exact same formula in cities across the country for a huge number of professions. It could still be a good resource for couples who want to check out dozens of websites and portfolios for great wedding photographers in Oregon.

If you haven't caught on... it's big business to put together a "top 10" or "best of" list. We don't know how Peerspace put together this ranking of the best Oregon photographers. Peerspace rents rooms, so they're not in the business of wedding photography, right?

Almost every engaged couple has heard of The Knot. Photographers pay to be listed. The real value here are the reviews from real couples.

01. Sound Originals Photo & Video (5.0 rating)
02. George Street Photo & Video (4.3 rating)
03. A Bitter Orange (5.0 rating)
04. Wedding Photographer Guy (5.0 rating)
05. Dan Rice Photography (5.0 rating)


University of Washington Arboretum. Photos by Sound Originals.

Oregon Photographers

DETAILS, DECOR & SCENERY PHOTOS

Venue, scenery, nature and landscape shots
Ceremony location, chairs, arch and flowers
Bride's dress, rings, shoes, jewelry
Hand-written vows or letters
Family heirlooms
Groom's suit, shoes, cufflinks, tie, bowtie, watch, rings
Invitations, stationery, envelopes with stamps
Newspaper with the couple's wedding date
Detail shots of the rings, earrings and other special items
Bridal bouquet and flowers
Cake, desserts, buffet, place settings, menu, tables
Reception decor and design
Welcome signs, gift baskets, favors


GETTING READY & FIRST LOOK PHOTOS

Bride and bridesmaids getting ready, hair, makeup
Bridesmaids in robes
Bride putting on dress, shoes and jewelry
Bridal portraits
Groom getting ready with help from groomsmen
Groom putting on tie, bowtie, shoes, cufflinks
First look (if you're having one)





CEREMONY PHOTOS

Guests arriving and taking their chairs
Wedding party's entrance and processional
Flower girl walking down the aisle
Flower girl tossing flower petals in aisle
Groom anticipating the bride's entrance
Groom's emotions watching the bride
Bride's entrance and procession down the aisle
Father walking bride down the aisle
Father giving away the bride to the groom
Vows, readings and ring exchange
The kiss!
The presentation!


RECEPTION PHOTOS

Couple's grand entrance
First dance
Father and daughter dance
Mother and son dance
Cake cutting
Open dancing and partying
Bouquet toss
Sendoff and grand exit with sparklers
Couple leaves in limo or fancy car





Oregon Wedding Photographers

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EXCELLENT
REVIEWS

100+

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"Absolutely beautiful. I can't stop admiring the images!"

JM Cellars

Private Residence

rebekah & john

SARA + GABE

"Beautiful works of art. The entire process was excellent."

"Beautiful, Purposeful, Amazing!"

Cassie & jowell

Edgewater Hotel

jonica + kel

University of Washington
Arboretum

"We will treasure these photos forever. So thrilled!"

Lincoln Park

jen + brandon

"Captured the Magic!"