Hiring A Professional Photographer VS. Your Uncle Bob

First thing’s first – congrats on your engagement! Making the decision to say “yes” to your future spouse was an easy one, but now it’s time to make some tough choices as you now chose the wedding vendors that will bring your dream wedding to life.

It has to do with the trust as much as falling in love with their work on their Instagram page, which is why choosing a professional {no matter which vendor category they are} is extremely important; especially when it comes to the person capturing all of the important and magical moments of the biggest day of your life. I 100% can understand why it may be tempting to take an offer for a free wedding photographer.

But before you do, take a read through this and see why hiring a professional is the way to go for your special day.

When you hire a professional photographer for your wedding day, the question that you will immediately think is:

“Why is she so expensive for one days worth of work?”  

“I have a friend who can do this for us for free.” 

“Her camera pretty much does it for her, what else does she do?”

Today I’m here to talk to you about what all actually goes into wedding photography from the photographers standpoint so you have all the facts before you let you friend shoot your wedding. 

Now; this isn’t coming from the petty part inside of me that is upset you didn’t book with me. Instead it comes from the sad place inside of me where couples get a friend to shoot their wedding and then are devastated when they see the photos and they aren’t great. You only get married once (most of the time) and you want the wedding photos of your dreams to remember the day from. 

Here is why it’s not all that it is cracked up to be. 

WHAT YOUR MONEY ACTUALLY COVERS:

While it’s normal to question why photography has such a steep price tag, there are actually a bunch of factors built into the cost - all of them are meant to benefit you! Perhaps the more obvious reasons a photographer charges for the value of their knowledge and skill, as well as the cost of their professional grade equipment and programs that help them capture your day in the first place. A Canon Rebel doesn’t count as professional equipment and most non-professional people have one and consider it a professional piece of equipment. A Canon Rebel is a crop sensor camera and doesn’t have the dimensions or the quality and resolution to get the extremely high resolution photos that a full frame professional grade camera does. It’s not all about the camera but also how you use it.  The collection prices also includes the cost of services such as insurance for their gear and even liability insurance should something happen to you or them during your shoot/wedding day. It also pays for their extensive knowledge that helps them run the wedding day, create timelines with you, know how to pose you, how to capture genuine moments, etc. Professional photographers have either gone to college for photography or done courses to improve their skill set to be the best photographer they can be for their clients.

Booking a free friend photographer can leave you vulnerable and open if something bad were to happen, whether it is the gear getting stolen or broken before your wedding day or if something happens to the photographer themselves and they aren’t able to show up on your wedding day. Being a professional is more than just talent, it’s being prepared and accountable no matter the situation. 

THERE ARE NO DO-OVERS:

When it comes to a wedding day, there are no re-dos allowed. Weddings aren’t moments that you can re do to capture if you miss it or you’re not prepared. There’s no re-doing a first look, a first kiss, or first dance. If your photographer doesn’t have experience photographing weddings specifically, they are more likely to become flustered by the quick timeline of the ceremony and may be in the wrong spot during a special moment and miss it completely. Professional photographers have done countless weddings that they know exactly where to be at the right moment so they can capture the moment from the correct angle at the correct time. If you havem’t shot any or many weddings before, you can become flustered by how fast ceremonies fly by and how you are constantly running from side to side, from the back of the aisle to the front of the aisle; all while trying to be incognito to not disrupt the ceremony and the guests.

Being a nature photographer or even a family photographer doesn’t mean you are at the place where a wedding photographer is due to the unique and fast-paced world of wedding photography. There is nothing wrong about people wanting to gain experience but being the sole person in charge of photographing the most important and special moment of your life is not the time or place, and is not a good idea, as nice is it is that your college roommate or uncle Bob has offered to do it for free for you. I would ward caution if you go this route as it can lead to disappointment if there is no experience.

WEDDING INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS AND SKILLS:

Being in the wedding industry as a professional has opened up so many doors for me and taught me a lot as well as forged some great connections with other vendors. The nice thing about me as a professional doing your wedding, I have other vendors that I have personally worked with that I can recommend and actually know how their product or service is like. I am like the Google of wedding vendors, sometimes during consultations with brides I can list different vendors they are looking for and I have personally worked with them so you know they are great! It is like the name dropping celebrities do, but with wedding vendors!

I also have many skills that come in handy on the big day from my countless weddings that I have photographed. For example, I used to work in a bridal shop during the winter time and that has taught me how to secure a veil properly, how to bustle a train, how to tie a corset back tight enough that you won’t constantly be pulling your dress up all night, as well as I know how to re-pin a curl in your hair if your hair comes lose. I also know how to fix a bouquet if something happens to it, as well as the whole timeline for your wedding day from seeing so many wedding planners do their thing.

Out of EVERYBODY you spend time with on your wedding day, you will spend the most time with your photographer, even more then your maid of honour! So it helps that professional photographers are super organized and skilled to keep your day on track, as well as we know how to keep our cool when disasters strike and your timeline goes way off. Professional photographers can roll with the punches and keep you calm as a cucumber, so you probably don’t even know there is an issue going on.

PAYMENT & A CONTRACT SEALS THE DEAL:

Anytime money changes hands, it becomes absolutely more serious. Seeing as it is a major event such as your wedding day, each service hired should be taken very seriously! With no money involved, that free photographer you hired isn’t necessarily held to the same standard and level as a professional photographer. Whether that be a certain level of work or even that you receive your images in a timely manner, or ever at all! With a professional photographer you are making a payment in exchange of services and the photographer is contractually obligated to perform and deliver or face consequences. 

In order for someone to hold up their end of the deal, there was a deal made that needs to be held up. Otherwise, who can determine if your free photographer has to deliver your images in the next 6-8 weeks (which is my timeline), this year or even ever! Your payment goes beyond setting expectations and adds another sense of legitimacy to the deal that was made. A professional photographer will also have you sign a contract that lays out what is expected from you and from them, so there is no confusion. When a contract is signed, the professional is contracted and obligated to perform the services while a friend who is doing this for free may not take it as seriously and chose not to show up. 

GETTING WHAT YOU PAY FOR:

When you think about your wedding day, you focus initially on where it takes place, who attends, and what’s for dinner. However, once the rentals are returned, the cake is eaten and the dress is put away for safe keeping, all you will have left is your new spouse and your photos to relive your wedding day. Your wedding photos are a HUGE deal and need to be treated as such.

You want to cherish your photos for years to come, not get a bad feeling in your stomach when you remember that shot you’re missing and what could have been if you had hired someone else.

Wedding photography is a job that encompasses so many unique skills. Not only are they aware of exactly what needs photographing and what needs documenting at your wedding, but they have abilities to turn whats in the camera into art after the fact using a variety of post-production processes (which cost money monthly, as well as our website hosting service, and a variety of things! I won’t get into each and every breakdown of cost, but it does add up when you are properly registered and running a business.)

A photo can be perfect in camera, but still need some work out of camera to create images that are something that you will want to show off on the walls of your home. Another thing that professional photographers have that amateurs don’t is lots of experience with posing as well as setting up the perfect shot. I have done multiple posing courses to get my knowledge and skills up to par with other professionals, and professionals are always working on upping their skills and knowledge and you can’t put a price tag on that. 

Just like with any other service, invest in a wedding photographer you trust, not only to nail every moment but to be prepared, responsible, and professional. Because I guarantee to you that it will be worth it in the end, and you won’t be able to stop gushing over your wedding photos all over social media.

HERE’S A LITTLE FOOD FOR THOUGHT: 

WOULD YOU TRUST YOUR BROTHER’S FRIEND TO FIX YOUR ENGINE IF HE ISN’T A MECHANIC, BUT HAS A NICE TOOL SET? 

WHAT ABOUT LETTING YOUR CHILDHOOD FRIEND FIX A BROKEN BONE IF THEY WENT TO SCHOOL FOR MARKETING, BUT THEY WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR HEALING PROCESS? 

PROBABLY NOT. 

SO DON’T DO IT FOR YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY EITHER.