In the past few years it seems wedding photographers are EVERYWHERE! There are so many! the pricing varies so much!!!!!! WHY??????? How do you choose?
Well, in the past few years since digital photography has grown more popular, it is easier for the average person to take a decent picture. "Film" is cheap so making mistakes is less costly for the average person as he or she does not have to pay to have film developed only to find out that they completely messed up. Computers have made it easier to "cover" mistakes by using photoshop where as film was permanent. People go to weddings and take shots while the official photographer is organizing the posing of the photo. They snap a few shots and think "Wow that was easy" I can do this as a part-time thing for extra cash on the side. Of course it was easy....someone else was doing the work!!!!!!!! So it begins............
They advertise for a price far below the standard cost...giving away all of the photos on a CD. Word gets out and people book this person like crazy based on the price thinking...I've just got such a great deal! ......WRONG!!!!!!
- A great deal isn't governed by price and how much you get (quantity). It is governed by the QUALITY you get for your dollar. What good is 700 photos on a CD for you to print if you can't print any of them? Everything looks good on a computer..it's only 72 dpi. You may as well have given that $600.00 or $700.00 to the first stranger you saw on the street because you've just wasted that money. Where was the deal in that?
Then we have the consumer that thinks that it isn't important to hire a professional but we'll just get a friend to do it. They take nice photos at parties and they've taken a couple of nice portraits......WRONG AGAIN!!!!!!
- Why would a friend care to make sure everyone got photographed? They are a friend and a guest to, so their priority is going to be having a good time. They're not a photographer and getting paid properly for it, so what do they care? These "couple of nice portraits" they took with their digital took hours to get and then a lot of playing in photoshop after. What are the chances of them getting a perfect shot when they only have minutes to do it because of deadlines? They only have one camera...why would they need two it's just a hobby? Their camera breaks at your wedding. Now what?
The key everyone...is to prioritize when planning. So many couples will lose site of what's important and spend money unwisely. Everyone has a budget. It doesn't matter what your income is. The more you make the more you spend!!! If you have a tight budget, why would you spend most of your money on a limo or decor and not have a professional to document it for you? Your photos last a life time! Yes food is important, but not the most important. How many of you remember what you had to eat at your last wedding reception? Most people only remember it if it was terrible. You don't want cheap or awful food...I understand that but why spend $100.00 or more per person? You can have great meals for much less. Why would you spend $1700.00 on a limo for only three hours and try to find a photographer for 10 plus hours for $1000.00? Doesn't make sense to me. I don't know...call me crazy but I think the most important things are that you are getting married and are together, to look your best, be surrounded by friends and family and have it documented to have forever by a true professional.
Why do people think it's okay to have a student or someone learning to photograph their wedding. I wouldn't want to be any one's practice!!! I know that everyone has to start out somewhere but they wouldn't be starting with me. You can't do it over if it all goes to hell because cameras break with no back up, they don't know how to control a crowd or they can't take photos in the time constraints of a wedding. Before digital photographers trained for years with another professional before doing a wedding on their own. Digital cameras can't create miracles! You can't make a photo look good enough for printing with photoshop if it wasn't taken right to begin with. Digital has made people lazy. Everyone can take pictures of people.....even a 5 year old, with a digital camera, but only a true professional can take a photograph.
In closing...don't make your decision based solely on price. Find out if the "photographer" does this for a living or part-time. Ask to see more than one or two complete weddings. Ask for references. Part-time photographers don't care if you come back..they have another job. A person who has made photography their profession will care about making you happy as they depend on referrals to survive. You REALLY DO get what you pay for............................
