Why you should hire a professional photographer for your wedding

In these times of tightening the purse strings it’s interesting to see where folks spend their money when planning weddings and where they are cutting back. There’s also a rash of articles in wedding mags and associated websites about how to cost-cut when planning weddings. Many of them advocate cutting a pro-photographer and getting a friend or student photographer to do it.

Obviously it’s not in my personal interest for this to happen, but this article is about why it usually turns out not to be in the Bride and Groom’s best interest either when they choose not to hire a professional.

In a nutshell you get you what you pay for.

I’m a member of an online professional Wedding photographer forum that has around 5000 worldwide members. You would not believe the number of stories I’ve read concerning brides in tears coming to a pro-photographer post wedding with shocking photo’s to try and fix because they went with a “friend who got a nice camera for Christmas”. I’ve also seen many similar sad stories on bridal forums.

I myself have been approached several times to either try and fix a ‘friend’s’  wedding photo’s or to re-shoot with the bride and groom. I’ve even booked last minute weddings because the ‘designated friend’ got cold feet and backed out 2 days before the wedding.

Your wedding photo’s are literally priceless, they cannot be replaced, even if you were to re-do your wedding, the original record cannot be duplicated. It’s probably one of very few occasions in your life where all your family members will be together and photographed. If my house was on fire the first thing I would grab is our wedding album, and my backup hard drive of our personal family photo’s, everything else can be replaced, but those photo’s can’t.

So first of all I guess it’s worthwhile defining what a professional photographer is. I’m sure some of my colleges will disagree with some of my definitions, but here goes :-

• It’s their full time job – I am full time,  I shot 71 weddings last year as well a numerous family/commercial portraits.
• It’s a paid job -  I’m paid for all my work.
• They protect themselves and their clients with contracts – I use contracts for all my work. This way clients know exactly what they are getting.
• They have business/Liability insurance – I’ve insured my business against various losses. I also have $2 million Liability insurance in case I injure 3rd parties or property whilst I’m working.
• They are properly equipped for the job – I have 4 professional digital SLR cameras, 2 on me when shooting, and 2 backup in my car. I have duplicate pro-lens/equipment that can cover any single piece of equipment failure. I have backup batteries. I am a member of Canon Professional Services which gives priority equipment repairs/loans to pro-shooter in emergencies. All my work is duplicated and backed-up off-site.
• They know what they are doing – This is the big one, and I will expand on this below.

The difference between a Pro and a ‘friend’

I’ll be honest, I’m deeply offended when I see magazines suggesting you should go with a friend (or in some cases a Student photographer). The implication is that simply putting a half decent camera in someone’s hands turns them into a pro-wedding photographer who will deliver comparable images to an actual full time photographer. If only it was that easy.  I’ll think I’ll try that with Formula1 racing. I’ve always fancied myself as a racing driver. I’m sure if I just sat in the racing seat I’d compete quite happily with seasoned F1 drivers .

These magazines are doing their readership a major disservice giving out this type of advice.

So why am I different from the friend?

…I know what I’m doing…

I’ve shot nearly 200 weddings, I’ve seen it all.

I know how my cameras work…backwards. I know how to use my camera in virtually any wedding situation. I know what to expect, and when to expect it, I only get one chance, I can’t ask the bride to walk down the isle again because I screwed up. I know where to position myself for the best images, I’ve had lots of practise at anticipating that perfect moment, I can deal with every different lighting scenario that will probably be thrown at me. I know how to compose the image for maximum impact, how to ensure it will be in focus. I can deal with the unexpected, e.g. equipment failures. I know how to arrange folks for group shots. I know how to be diplomatic, how to put people at ease, how to pose brides, when to take control and when to go with the flow. I know how to be unobtrusive to allow me to shoot great candid images. I know I have top of the range pro-lenses/cameras that just blow away consumer SLR cams/lenses. I know my professional editing tools will get the very best out of my images before I hand them over to my clients. I know I have access to high end wedding album vendors that joe-public doesn’t. I know if I injure someone on the job or damage property I know my insurance will cover it and the bride and groom won’t get sued.

In short I’ve got 5 years and 200 weddings worth of experience behind me to allow me to deliver stunning images that my brides love.

How many weddings has the friend shot again, or are they used to shooting inanimate nature landscapes? Some other questions you might want to ask your friend if you are considering this route. Will they actually turn up or get cold feet? What are you going to get at the end of the day? Do they have pro-lenses, or crappy consumer lenses that will fail them miserably in low light situations? Do they have a backup camera?  Do they know how to use their camera in different scenario’s, or have they only used it in auto-mode? Do they know how to look for ‘good light’ and how to pose brides? Do they know how not to blow out white wedding dresses.  Do they know how to bounce flash to create flattering lighting?  Do they have enough batteries? (had a ‘friend’ videoing a wedding recently, and the batteries died as the bride was coming down the isle, missed the whole thing). Do they have enough memory cards, etc, etc, etc…..you get the idea.

Ultimately of course it’s the couple’s choice. But as many brides have commented to me, their photo’s are the only tangible thing they have to remember their wedding by, and they were glad they hired a professional.

Comments are most welcome below