Part 3: Why DIY Weddings Don’t Save You Anything – Photography

Ok, let’s be honest.  Photography is a big ticket item, often very expensive.  So the DIY bride says, “Why am I paying someone $3000  to take pictures for a few hours?  After all, I do it all the time and so do my friends.”  And then there are the magazines and all of their advice.  Here are some of the things I’ve heard.  “Just get the table cameras, it’s more fun anyway!”  “Have a relative that takes good pictures to do your wedding.”  “Hire a photography student.”

Now let’s be really honest.  There are professional wedding photographers out there that I would never recommend for a client and they would be better than any of the above options.  What if no one takes pictures with those table cameras, what if the ring bearer and flower girl get ahold of them (true story!) you are left with nothing!  You may get lucky with a photography student.  It may be someone with real talent and just the right knack for weddings . . . or you may really not.  However talented that person is, do they understand the ebb and flow of weddings?  Is that person experienced enough to anticipate and capture the moment before it disappears forever?  Here is some perspective on that friend or relative.  Vendors are there to do a job, guests are there to enjoy themselves – NEVER mix the two.  It isn’t fair.  You invite someone to your wedding and then you want them to spend the whole day working?  I mean after all, if they are sitting down for a formal dinner, they’re missing a lot of important moments.  Are you going to ask that guest to not drink the whole night because you are afraid of what kind of pictures they will take?  Let guests be guests and professionals be professionals.

The number one complaint from former brides is that they don’t like their pictures.  Sure, it’s painful when you start shelling out thousands of dollars for one day.  You start to think about all the other things you can do with that money.  But that’s just the point.  It is one day.  You can never recreate it, never recapture that moment.  So you really need someone to capture that moment for you.

Your wedding pictures are the only tangible thing you will have left of your wedding when all is said and done.  These pictures will be on your walls and your parents’ walls for years – it should be art.  A good photographer will bring out the best in you, make you look beautiful and keep those memories alive for generations.  The photographer should capture not only what everything looked like, but the spirit of the day, the emotion of the moment and the love story behind the scenes.

There is no way that you can get that with someone just taking some pictures for you.

So let’s break down the technical aspects.

1)      TRAINING:  A professional photographer should know the technical details of photography.  They know how to get the right lighting to make people look their best.  They know how to work a camera to their advantage.  They know how to pose people so they don’t look awkward or stiff.  They know how many shots to take to make sure they have a good shot.

2)      EXPERIENCE:  A wedding photographer has been to a few weddings.  They anticipate the moments and aren’t surprised by “You may now kiss the bride.”  I’ve seen a lot of brides unhappy because a friend was taking their pictures, but missed some key moments and just like that, they were gone forever.  A good photographer has a plan for the day and generally know how long it will take to get the bridal party shots and the family shots and how to keep everyone moving along so as not to waste precious reception time.

3)      EQUIPMENT:  What kind of camera does Uncle Joe have?  Is it going to give you high resolution pictures?  Does he know how to use all the features if it has any at all?  Does he have a back-up camera or battery?

4)      EDITING:  A big part of wedding photography is in the editing.  It is not a six to eight hour job!  Good wedding photographers spend hours with your pictures adjusting them to bring out the best in you and to create something that is beyond a snapshot on a $200 camera – they create art!

5)      PRINTING AND DEVELOPING:  So Uncle Joe took pictures for you.  Now what are you going to do?  Print them out at Costco???  First of all, it is unlikely that the camera they were taken on actually has the resolution to blow up the pictures into anything large enough to put on the wall.  Second, the quality of the paper is not going to be as good.  And what about what good wedding photographers really offer – beautifully designed albums, coffee table books (real books) and seamless flush mount albums that could be in an art gallery.

Obviously, photography is a big deal to me and I think it should be a big deal to any bride.  This is one area where I won’t compare the direct costs because there is nothing to compare – hire the professional.

Agape Weddings