Don't Let This Happen To You!
Why should you choose a Professional wedding photographer – a true story
One Friday evening last fall, I was sitting in the waiting area of my studio at about 5:00 pm working on a project, and a panic stricken face appeared through the glass of my front door.
Recognizing this face as belonging to the groom who was getting married in the ballroom just up the steps from our studio, I opened the door with a feeling of curiosity.
“What are you doing right now?” he asked me in a stressed voice.
Thinking this to be a rather odd question, I answered “Just working on a project, why?”
“Well, I just called our photographer, who was supposed to be here half an hour ago, to ask him where he was, and he told me my wedding was NEXT Friday”, he answered. “He knows better, he was here earlier in the week” he added.
Apparently they’d hired someone who was going to do both the photography AND the video for them. But he does it “on the side” while running another business, totally unrelated to weddings or photography.
Warning sign number one-
as someone famous used to say “You can’t successfully ride two horses at the same time” meaning no one could possible do a good job of BOTH the video AND the photography, especially at the same time. Each is a specialty in it’s own right, and requires a constant and diligent training just to keep current. Plus, how can you artistically do both simultaneously.
Warning sign number two -
When the groom had talked with him, he was told “there’s no way I can be there tonight”.
You can imagine how the bride was reacting – the most important day of her life, and she would have NO VISUAL MEMORIES of the day. Plus, imagine the huge amount of extra stress that was piled on her 2 hours before she was supposed to be getting married..
The groom asked if there was any way I could photograph the wedding for them. Having nothing on my schedule that evening I told them, with much trepidation, that I could. Obviously not an ideal situation, since I’d never met the bride, and didn’t know anything about the couple (other than knowing the groom when he went to high school with my kids). Plus I wasn’t dressed appropriately for a wedding, but I wasn’t going to let them suffer from someone else’s actions.
So, I went upstairs to meet the bride. The maid of honor met me at the door and said “The photographer just called. He’s going to be here, but won’t have an assistant, and can’t do the video”. Still a far less than optimal situation, but at least she wouldn’t be left with nothing – just far less than she should have, and with very bad memories of the whole situation, which will cause her to never fully enjoy the photographs, even if they turned out well.
Admittedly with a sigh of relief, I went back to the studio to finish my project.
About an hour later, I went outside to walk to Starbucks for my evening coffee, and I saw the couple being photographed in the alley behind our studio. Curious, I took a look, and was frankly taken aback by what I saw.
The “photographer” was there all right, about an hour late, and looking like he’d just come back from a 3 day camping trip. Unshaven, wearing shorts and sandals, he was in fact photographing them, but how relaxed and natural could they possible be feeling after the stress he’d put them through. How much creativity could he possibly be putting into the photographs, given the situation.
I’ve never seen the photographs, so can’t comment on them at all. But even assuming they were reasonably good, how much do you think this couple will enjoy them? Every time they look at them, what will they remember? How wonderful their wedding was? Or how bad an experience they had with a less-than-professional photographer.
I ran into the mother in our elevator about 9:00 that evening (one of those late nights in the office for me), and she said resignedly “We should have hired you! I wanted them to call you from the beginning. I knew better, but they were trying to save some money, so I didn’t say anything.”
Unfortunately, we hear stories like this all the time. I can’t begin to count all the people who come into our studio for other purposes, look at all the display prints, and say something like “Oh, I WISH we’d hired you for our wedding.” Followed by one of the following; 1) “We had a friend do it to save money, but we still don’t have any photographs”; or 2)”My uncle owned a good camera, and he volunteered, but they just didn’t turn out” or perhaps a story like above, or some other variation on a theme.
Believe me, we fully understand budgets. Mine is not a high paying profession, it’s a profession of passion. We’re very middle class, and suffer from the same financial pressures most families experience.
I recently had one daughter get married, and have another one getting married this Augustl. We know the financial realities of putting together a wedding, and the decisions that need to be made.
But when Hollie, my oldest daughter got married, we hired someone who charges significantly more than we do to create the photographs. It was the biggest single expense of the wedding, but very well worth it. My wife cries from the emotion every time she watches Hollie’s presentation. Hollie and and Tony love what was created for them, and will appreciate them more as time goes along and memories begin to fade. All the emotions, all the wonderful expressions, the moments between people the little details and the big, momentous happening – they’re all captured in the photographs.
When Chelsie gets married, we will again place top priority on the photographs. Why? Because all of the other expenses of a wedding are COSTS – you get one usage of everything else; the dress, the tuxes, the venue, the food, the DJ – everything. All of it is only enjoyed ONCE, and you never get to enjoy or use it again.
But the photographs and the memories that flood back every time you look at them will last a LIFETIME. Every time you open your album, or watch your presentation, you feel every emotion you felt that day.
It’s not always the case, but it’s not at all unusual for us to be the single biggest investment of the weddings we photograph. We even had one couple who’s dad took out a car title loan just so she could have us photograph her wedding (we don’t want anyone to go to that extent – please work within an affordable budget - but it was THAT important to her).
Budgets are realities, but we recommend that you look inside your heart and put your needs in priority order. If photographs and memories aren’t all that important to you, then place your budget priorities elsewhere. But make sure and think in the long term. Which of the expenses will be most important to you in retrospect.
Will ANYONE remember that you had chair covers at your reception 20 years from now? Will they be able to tell you exactly what you served for dinner, or what your cake tasted like? Probably not. I can’t even tell you exactly what was on the menu at Hollie’s wedding, only one year later.
All these things most certainly add to the ambiance of the day, and that’s important. But how important is it in relation to a lifetime of memories? Only you can answer that question.
Wedding photography is a specialty.
It’s not something typically done successfully “on the side”. To be really good, it needs to be a central focus of the “photographers” life. It requires constant training to keep up with or ahead of the trends and techniques.
It requires the right kind of attitude.
Too many people are “wedding photographers” simply to make some extra money on the weekend”. They aren’t there because they have a passion to be a part of the most important day in a couple’s lives.
I once was at a golf tournament in Portland, and watched Greg Norman put a 350 yard drive deep into the woods. “He’s no better than me – I do that all the time” was my immediate thought.
But then, I watched him take it out of the woods and onto the green in one stroke. I”d still be in the woods to this day.
What’s the point of this? Weddings, by definition, never occur exactly as planned. Things happen, in spite of the best planning. It’s the nature of the beast.
The mark of a true professional is being able to take any situation thrown at them, and still be able to get the job done – WELL. Still be able to create wonderful photographs, even if the bride is two hours late getting ready. Even when it POURS on what was supposed to be an outside wedding in July. Even when the best man decides to go visit his girlfriend instead of show up for photographs. Even when the brides divorced mother and father can’t be in the same room at the same time. Even when the bride and her mother get in a big fight on the way to the wedding. Even when the officiant is an hour late arriving. Or even when a camera goes completely south during the pre-wedding photographs (not to freak you out, but all situations we’ve seen happen).
The point of all this is if you have a true, dedicated, professional wedding photographer, they’ll be able to handle just about any situation that occurs with grace, style and skill. They have the training, the background, the demeanor, the attitude, the preparation, and the back-up equipment to still get the job done. They’ll know how they can get results in spite of circumstances, and they’ll do it without stressing you out.
These are just some thoughts for you to consider as you put together your priorities. But we want you to have the very best experience you can possibly have at your wedding. Most couples have never been through the planning process before, so they have no idea what to expect, or what to consider. We have, both professionally and personally, and we simply would like to lend you the benefit of our experience.