Why should you hire a professional photographer for your wedding?

Because you get what you pay for!

In almost two decades of photographing weddings, I've met with dozens of brides who have brought their married girlfriends to the wedding consultation. I am struck by how many of them had made bad decisions regarding their wedding photography.  Thinking they were being wise by saving money, they discovered too late that,  "you get what you pay for".  I felt sorry for them. As they would look over my wedding albums with their "bride to be" best friend, they would sadly express these words, "I wish I would have hired a professional photographer, my pictures were horrible!"  These unfortunate young ladies trusted the most important day of their life to a friend, relative or inexperienced photographer.  I understand that brides don't always have "sky's the limit" budgets for their weddings.  If you have a tight budget consider cutting corners in less important areas.  Most brides spend about a year planning every detail of their wedding day.  After the wedding the dress goes in a box, the wilted flowers are tossed, the delicious food and cake are no more.  The photos are the only tangible thing you have to remember every detail and precious memory of the day that you spent dreaming about since you were a little girl. Do you really want to trust these memories to uncle BOB?

Just because someone has a nice camera doesn't make them a good photographer!

I own a hammer and nails, but you wouldn't want me to repair your roof!  Most non-professionals do not understand how their camera's internal light meter determines exposure for instance.  They don't understand that what may look good when they are taking the picture translates very differently to the final image.  The way our eyes see light is very different from the camera's ability to see light.  Have you ever taken a picture of a subject with the sun behind them?  When you're taking the picture your eyes can see both the subject and the beautiful sun in perfect balance. So you are disappointed and confused when your pictures have a blown out sky and your subject is completely dark.  It's situations like this and others that make it hard for people with good cameras to necessarily get good pictures. 

There are other technical considerations as well.  Does this person with a good camera understand: lighting, posing, composition, exposure, depth of field, subject matter, white balance, or how to choose the best lens or camera angle for a given subject or situation? 

What about social skills?  Have you ever been at a wedding and there's a so called goof-ball "professional photographer" who is inappropriately dressed, makes buffoonish blunders and thinks the wedding is all about "him", while embarrassing the bride and groom and irritating the guests? I assure you this is "NOT A PROFESSIONAL"!  A professional should be technically precise, highly creative, organized and know how to properly photograph a wedding and work well with people while keeping the photo flow of the day flowing smoothly!

Professional products and services

True professional photographer's use quality camera equipment and have all the equipment needed to successfully capture a wedding.  We only with with professional vendors and can offer a host of quality products & services. On-line galleries, retouching, special effects and artistic album design are a few of the benefits of hiring a professional.  I met a recent bride, who in my opinion, had been overcharged by an unqualified photographer who had placed her very mediocre wedding images into a cheap consumer album that was already falling apart.  Luckily this bride was not educated enough to know how bad her product was. 

Experience

When you hire a professional, you are getting years of experience & expertise.  Because it takes time to build the necessary skills to really master the art of documenting a wedding to ensure that your wedding memories are preserved in beauty & perfection.  There are many that call themselves professionals, but truly are not.  There are some beginners which lack experience and therefore are quite a bit cheaper.  Just know that you will receive an inferior product. If you are okay with that, that's fine, because it is your choice. As long as you know the risks and are willing to take them, hopefully you won't be disappointed.  Your disappointment is what I am trying to help you avoid. Your wedding memories are a one-time shot, NO DO-OVER"S!

Reputation and successful business

Typically if a person or persons have spent the time, money & effort that it takes to build a successful business, they are going to come through for you.  I have heard the horror stories through the grapevine, like photographers not showing up or a year after the wedding the bride and groom still don't have their wedding images or the dreaded, got their photos but they were horrible!  It can be risky trusting someone with such an important responsibility.  Do your homework.

Last thoughts

You will spend more time with your photographer than any other vendor.  Make sure you not only like their images and trust them, make sure you like them as well.  Avoid arrogant, cocky, "I'm all that" photographers or your wedding day will be all about them and what they want.  You deserve to have the day be about you & what you want! You are the star of the day!

Carefully consider the information above, before you decide to trust the most important day of your life to a well meaning, yet very unqualified "picture taker".  Even the most well meaning people are not qualified to handle all that it takes to make your wedding day a smooth running, photographic success. 

Don't live with regret...invest in your memories!

I hope this was helpful.  I would be happy to answer any questions that you might have, just e-mail me or leave a comment.

Blessings as you plan all the details of your wedding!

Debrah

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Debrah Woods]

Thank you for your comment. You are so right! Many people think they are really saving money by hiring someone cheaper or by letting a friend take their pictures, it's only after the fact that they realize their mistake, but by then it's too late. I will be posting some more on this topic soon. Thanks for reading!

[Florida wedding officiant]

Yes I could not agree more and you can get mad at a family member when the pictures of the wedding turn out bad. spend thousands on flowers that are thrown away and cheap with the pictures. I perform weddings and have almost seen it all....

[Wedding jewelry]

Hi,

I just wanted to say that I love your blog.

As a bride-to-be on a tight budget, I recently discovered an online bridal jewelry store called GlamForLess.com.

Though their website is plain and simple, I found some great deals on jewelry sets for me and my bridesmaids.

I think other readers on a tight budget may also find GlamForLess.com to be helpful.
You may want to check them out at http://www.glamforless.com/ and inform other readers about it.

Keep up the good work.

Best regards,
Lisa Bloom