Todd Rafalovich Photography

Here comes my glowing review for my favorite vendor. Todd is one of the best of the best. Photography was very important to us – probably one of the most important things. He was very easy to talk to and you could tell he was confident in what he does (and rightly so). The albums I saw at his studio are gorgeous. His fees are pretty high but you get all photos at cost. Great communication – he responds very quickly. As you can see, Todd did a phenomenal job on our day. He caputured everything that I wanted to capture and many things that I didn't even notice that day. During the ceremony, you don't even know he's there -- he's practically invisible. We were both ecstatic with our pictures. We received over a 1000, and its so overwhelming!

Todd Rafalovich was by far my favorite vendor for my wedding. We booked him without even meeting with him -- we saw our friend's wedding photos and instantly loved his style of photography! He shot over 1000 photos and we had plenty of amazing, artistic shots to choose from (an example is my profile pic). He has a great eye and will do a flawless job on your photos! He shot all on film, but scanned the prints onto disk so we could upload them onto a website and share with our friends. He also did our engagement photos at the beach at Half Moon Bay, which was also a great experience. He is really easy to work with (very professional) and a really nice guy overall. I HIGHLY recommend Todd!

Todd's photos speak for themselves. When I first started wedding planning, I came across his website and found his portfolio breathtaking but I said to myself "with photos like that, it'll cost me a fortune." So I didn't seriously consider him. Then when it came time to actually select a photographer, I looked at many photographer sites that have a lower price range, but none of them gave me the wow factor. Then I remembered Todd's site and looked at it again. I was captivated and the photos gave me emotional chills (in a good way). So FI and I met with him. During the meeting, he answered every question we were about to ask. His professionalism and eye for composition was exactly what we were looking for in a photographer. Photography was one of the most important aspect to us so we decided not to skimp on this. Some people have mentioned that he isn't very chatty but a photographer should be discreet. A lot of people at our wedding was impressed how quickly he took pictures, how he organized the groups together, and how unintrusive he was.

If you leave a voice message, he always gets back to you right away. Our photos were ready in two weeks. He takes film photography in black and white and color. He takes a few pictures in digital. His services are not cheap but I honestly can say you get what you pay for. His pricing depends on day of the week, and time of the year. His pricing includes his all-day service, film, processing, contact sheets, and negatives. Prints and album are optional and at cost; he doesn't profit from it. One more thing to add is that we chose Todd before we even knew of this message board. We chose him strictly based on his work and not what other people have said. Of course reading reviews about Todd only confirms what we already knew.

Paid $4950 at the time we booked in 2005

Photographer - Todd Rafalovich, $6196.50, Grade: A+

Price:

Todd is not cheap, but photography was a priority for us since we felt like the photos would be all we'd have left to remember the day by. The total cost came to $6196.50. Here's the breakdown:

$5,000 for his shooting fee, half of which is due as the deposit when you decide to book him. The remaining half due closer to wedding date.

$412.50 in taxes ($5,000 X 8.25%).

$300 shooting fee for the e-pic session.

$175 for e-pic film/processing/scanning. You get all the pics on contact sheets and a disc. But if you want actual prints, that's separate.

$50 for one 11 X 14 print from our e-pics (used for display at the reception sign-in table). We ordered one, but the lab he used ended up printing two.

$259 for scanning of the negatives from the wedding day. He took a total of 37 pictures, and scanning costs $7/roll, so 37 X $7 = $259.

Pluses:

Todd did a good job on our e-pics. Not the best e-pics I've seen, but we're very happy with them. His wedding pics have superb though, which is the real reason we booked him. We'll have to wait and see.......

Todd is very easy to work with and gives good direction on how to pose, etc.

Todd has a great eye for finding the right lighting, etc for some quality pictures.

Todd is very detailed, noticing when a piece of hair is out of place, etc.

You get your pictures back fast! In about a week!
Deltas:

Todd's e-pics are good, but not the best in my opinion.

Todd seemed a little agitated during the family group shots. But I actually felt the same way as he did because we already gave Todd a big list of must-take family group shots (e.g. a shot with Uncle #1's family, Uncle #2's family, etc.), which was based on input from our parents. But on the day of, DH's family kept wanting to add more group shots with random people, making things a little crazy when we were trying to knock through the must-take list.

Summary:

I didn't count it, but we probably got 1,000-2,000 pics from Todd. Most on film, some digital. The ones he took on film are amazing. No touch-ups even required. I love that. For the pics he took on film, he scans it all onto a dvd for you, plus you get a boxful of 4X6 "proofs" of all the pics. He calls them "proofs", but it's not like they have the word proof stamped on them, so if you want to save money, these pics could totally be used for an album or something. And for the pics he took on his digital camera (not that much compared to the film photos), you get them on contact sheets and a disc. Best of all, you get all of this back super fast. We were gone on our HM for 9 days immediately after the wedding, and when we got back, we already had a message from him that the pictures were ready. Months after the wedding, I still love looking at our pictures, and am still struggling to narrow down the choices for an album. Todd's work is superb! Highly recommended!

Todd was great! The only reason he didn’t do our wedding photos was that we wanted our pictures web hosted, which he didn’t offer.

My husband and I hired Todd for our June 14, 2008 wedding. I just picked up my wedding photos and the pictures are just breathtaking! I booked 2 other photographers before finally deciding to choose Todd. The only reason I didn't go with Todd at first was because he was pricey! After thinking long and hard I didn't want to go half A$$ on my photos. I finally convinced my fiance (at the time) to let me pick the photographer that I wanted or else I'd regret it! He knows how indecisive I can be....Thank goodness I booked Todd! He was very professional, a perfectionist and his photos are amazing! My husband is very happy that we went with Todd and so am I. Let me tell you! I have friends who don't even want to show anyone their wedding photos but I can't wait to brag to everyone and show them mine.... hehe =)

This is what I received from Todd:

A black box filled with 4x6's of all the photos taken by Film (there were over 1000 photos)

DVD negatives of all the film photos.

DVD negatives of all the digital photos (2 Dvds)

DVD Highlights of Todd's favorite picks

Book Todd ASAP because he is the best! He will capture the emotion of the day which is something you really want to cherish forever.

If you are undecided and still shopping around then be careful because when you finally decide to book Todd he will probably be booked!

My friend hired Todd for her wedding. I like his works but I m too expensive for me....
Freeman/R

Got some fantastic pictures, including great engagement pictures. He's very good at framing pictures and doesn't waste film. A bit difficult to get a hold of, however, and definitely a bit impatient with the family photos, which is why I give 4 stars.

Todd is amazing!!!! He has shot all of my friends' weddings and is well worth the premium. His prices range from as low as $5,000 (Sundays or off-season) to $7,500 (in peak season). He is professional and good at crowd control.

The only complaint from my family was that he's so focused on the bride/groom that he doesn't really pay any attention to the parents. Not at all a problem for me, the bride!

We loved his engagement shots - we went out to Half Moon Bay (his standard location) because we arranged the shoot a little late in the game. He's willing to go anywhere in the bay area as long as your schedule is flexible.