The first time we ever hired a professional photographer was for our wedding – almost eight and a half years ago! Though it seems like such a long time ago, I still remember how stressful it was; researching different photographers for our needs, meeting with photographers, making sure they were within our budget. We didn’t have a very big budget, but looking back now I wish we had put more into it. Obviously I love looking back on my wedding photos, but now I am into photography myself, I realise that we could have chosen one with better skills. The end results weren’t great, and I had to edit some of them myself. This is not something you want to have to do after your wedding.

A few years after, we hired a different photographer for a maternity shoot when I was pregnant with Jacob. I put more care into finding a photographer in this instance, and I was absolutely ecstatic with the end result. He was within our budget, and he had a superior set of skills. He worked with us to produce shots what we wanted, and worked with our ideas (I say our, I mean Pinterest).

Recently I’ve been thinking about having a family photo shoot done. Though we do have photos of all 4 of us, they are usually selfies, so they’re not great! It would be an new experience for us as a family to go into a professional studio and have some photos taken; I think J would love it as he’s forever asking me to take photos of him!

Bidvine

A few weeks ago I used Bidvine to search for family photography services. The premise of the site is that you request a service, submit your requirements for the service, and then Bidvine will match you to professionals listed with them. Up to 5 service providers will then bid for your custom. This means no phoning around or writing down of quotes. Once service providers in your area have received your service request, they will then personally email you with a response.

I found the service really quick & easy to use. It asked me questions such as my budget, if I would travel or would like them to travel to me, the type of photography I required. Once I had submitted my request, it took 3 or 4 days for my first response; but, I did submit it on a Friday and the site says it could take up to 5 working days for responses to come through. The professionals that emailed me were very personable and polite, and there was no bog standard response.

As well as photographers, there are a whole other variety of professionals such as dance lessons, cleaning, wedding planners, and locksmiths. Whatever service you need, you will most likely find it on Bidvine.

*PR collaboration