Today I want to talk to you about photography and the importance of hiring a professional wedding photographer, opposed to letting a friend with a good camera do it, leaving it to your guests or hiring a non-wedding photographer.
As a photographer and a blogger I have heard a number of horror stories about wedding photography. People being let down with the results that a non-professional has produced. Couples choosing to let ‘a friend’ do it, or ‘I know someone with a good camera’, or ‘we’re just going to let our guests take the photos’. This is all well and good and you may feel that you will be saving money by doing this, but in the long run I can guarantee you will be disappointed. Your photos are the only lasting memory you will have of the day, and if they don’t turn out as you want, then your memories will be ruined.
I ASKED MANY PHOTOGRAPHERS WHY THEY THINK HIRING A PROFESSIONAL IS A GOOD IDEA…..
1) Good photography is more than a fancy camera. I have spent literally a thousand hours or so photographing weddings.
I ASKED MANY PHOTOGRAPHERS WHY THEY THINK HIRING A PROFESSIONAL IS A GOOD IDEA…..
1) Good photography is more than a fancy camera. I have spent literally a thousand hours or so photographing weddings.
I know how to get the shot predictably every time. I know how to compose the shot beautifully and then execute it with skill and precision. It isn’t the camera that does this – it is me. As I shoot in manual – I tell the camera what it should be doing rather than allowing the camera’s sensors to make the decisions for me.
So if you want that beautiful photograph of you and your new husband or wife gorgeously back-lit by a red sunset – you can only get that with a pro because the camera just cannot correctly read that light.
2) I know how the day flows. It is the experience of being at 100s of different weddings that allows me to know just where to look and when.
2) I know how the day flows. It is the experience of being at 100s of different weddings that allows me to know just where to look and when.
I know the time in the wedding when I can sneak a shot of your dad looking at you with a tear in his eye. I know to expect that moment just after the vicar asks for objections and know the church will break into nervous laughter and the bride will pull a priceless face. These are the things you can only get with experience.
3) I know how to work in tricky lighting.
3) I know how to work in tricky lighting.
I am not flapped by bright sunlight or cave dark ceremony rooms. I can walk into any room and know within seconds where the best spot is to stand and where the best light will be. Every time. Without fail.
4) I am experienced in dealing with the raw emotions of a wedding day.
4) I am experienced in dealing with the raw emotions of a wedding day.
I know how to get mum to stop repeating the time every 10 minutes whilst the bride breaks out into a cold sweat because she might be 3 minutes late for the wedding. I know how to deal with the usher who had a few too many before the ceremony even started.
I can get a big group of people rounded up for photos – cheerfully, cooperatively and without yelling. I know how to advise you on lacing that dress that looked so easy to lace in the shop but now looks like a 50000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
I know how to get you calmed down when the flowers show up and they are the wrong colour. This takes years of experience and finding out what to say (and what not to say!) during a day when everyone’s emotions are sky high.
