Photography Credit: James Melia (full wedding here)
You’ve probably seen similar discussions to this on other wedding blogs, however today I wanted to share with you this cautionary tale from a bride who had personal experience of taking the cheaper option and was unhappy with the results. Now, I know spending £2000 on a wedding photographer isn’t possible for everyone, however the point of this post is not to bully you into paying for someone you can’t afford. No, I wanted to share this story with you so that you make your decision with your eyes wide open. I just want to be open and honest with you and to let you know that, as with most things in life, you really do get what you pay for…and if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is.
If wedding photography isn’t that big a deal to you, the great – who am I to tell you that’s wrong? However it breaks my heart when I hear from newlyweds that say ‘I wish we’d thought more about our photography. We spent more on the cake/my dress/the flowers and now we have no good photos to remember our day’.
OK, Over to you Mrs X…
♥ ♥ ♥
I have asked for this post to be anonymous so that people reading this don’t think it’s a shameless marketing ploy. I may now be a professional wedding photographer myself, but I didn’t want to write this article to promote myself. No, I really just wanted to share this cautionary tale with those of you who might not understand the importance of having great wedding photographs.
It’s been a few years since I got married but when I think back to it I get a sick feeling. It wasn’t the family argument that happened (don’t get me started on that!), nor was it the fact that we funded it with a loan which we are still paying off. Nope, the sick feeling is purely centred around my foolishness and the pretty terrible images we now have to look back on for the rest of our lives.
Here I am a few years later, now a ‘pro’ photographer myself (who knew that would happen!!) and I now have a new found understanding of the skills required to shoot a wedding. I find myself wishing I knew then what I know now. You may have read articles from photographers before staying how important it is that your wedding photographer has experience, knows how to handle lighting and uses the right equipment etc, and while I am here to reiterate these points, I’m not here to say these things to pimp my own services. I figured this article could be a little cathartic for me and I really hope I can help you think a little bit more about your decision – whether that be to spend money on your wedding photography, or to go for the cheaper option of hiring someone with no experience – maybe a friend with a nice camera who has offered to do it for free. Please note that a ‘nice camera’ does not a good wedding photographer make!
We got married in December and I now appreciate that winter weddings, where you come out of the ceremony to the cold and dark, are bloody hard work and really difficult to photograph. I understand that romantic candle lit receptions might look gorgeous in ‘real life’ but require a certain level of skill to capture on camera, and above all I now know that all of the money I spent making the venue look beautiful and cosy was pretty much wasted. OK so our guests will always remember how beautiful the venue looked, but for me the day flew by so fast and I don’t remember much of it myself! Every time I mention my wedding my Mum says ‘But it looked so beautiful’ and whilst I’m sure that’s not just her being kind (it’s really not her style) it has made me hate my own wedding because I don’t look back at my photos and see a beautiful wedding, I look at them and see horribly dark and blurry photos.
You see, not realising the true impact of what I was doing, I asked my friend to shoot my big day. He had a DSLR and could take amazing pictures of cars so he must be able to shoot my winter wedding right? Wrong!
It wasn’t his fault really, I should have learnt more, understood a bit about light (or lack of it) and made things easier. But here’s the worst part, I wasn’t on a £1000 budget, I spent quite a lot more. I prioritised wrongly. I spent more on bridesmaids dresses than I did on my photographer, more on pretty decorations than pretty images…simply put, I was a fool!
Don’t get me wrong, I know not everyone has the budget to pay much for their wedding photographer and this is not an article to make you feel bad. I say use whoever you want – a professional, a friend, whoever…it’s your wedding after all. But I urge you to do your research first and go into it knowing that the results of the cheap option just won’t be the same as someone with experience shooting weddings.
If you aren’t using a professional then you need to take some responsibility and help them out a bit, consider it a creative project. Here’s the things I wish I had done…
♥ Took them to the ceremony venue at a date and time with similar light (light is so important, I can’t stress that enough) and took sample images to get the right camera settings.
♥ Showed them the way I intended to light the reception and had fun taking practise images with them to get a feel for the correct look.
♥ Checked their kit included at least one low light lens (2.8f or lower…it’s the number that’s important) and if not budgeted to hire them one for the day (try www.lensesforhire.co.uk)
♥ Showed more interest in their work and ensured they had practiced shooting in similar lighting situations – shooting static cars in the middle of the day is nothing like shooting a wedding, with loads going on, when its dark!
♥ Had my wedding earlier in the day…to give them a fighting chance.
♥ Turned the lights up a bit for important things like the first dance and the speeches.
♥ Most controversial of all, perhaps I should have held my wedding when the light was better and not in the winter.
Sadly I only realised how important my wedding pictures were after the big day. I waited for months for images that I am now too embarrassed to show people!
My parting words are these. If you can afford a professional wedding photographer then please please please spend as much as you can to get the best! These images mark the start of your family album and they can’t be easily redone. If you use a non ‘pro’, be sure to put some work in yourself, show an interest and consider the previous tips. Oh and finally, if your shooter is using a DSLR (and they have enough memory…RAW files average 28MB each) ask them to shoot and provide RAW images as well as JPEG (they can set their camera to do this automatically). RAW files are much easier to correct in Photoshop afterwards if you do have problems with the images, plus you could always pay someone to edit the RAW files in the future when you have the budget for it. Just remember you’re still not going to get the same results as with photos that were shot by a skilled professional (you can’t polish a turd after all!) but the images may be able to be improved with some clever edits in Photoshop.
My final words of advice are this, please be careful when choosing a friend or family member to shoot your wedding. If they do a bad job it could even ruin your relationship. It kind of did ours, and that makes me even more sad.
If my words don’t convince you then take a look at my wedding photos! If you do recognise me…ssssshhhhh Mum’s the word!
It’s actually hard to put in to words how upsetting it is to look at these but mostly because I know it’s a problem of my own causing!
Tags: photography, wedding photographer
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I read this article just as I was starting to have doubts about photographer I have already booked & paid deposit too. Not because this photographer was not a good one – she’s a pro with good portfolio and she’d have done a good job. But not excellent job and not in the style I really wanted. There always was another photographer I wanted, just out of the reach of our budget.
I didn’t want to mention my doubt to my fiance but he could see that whenever wedding photo was mentioned, I was not happy. And after reading this article together, he’s talked me into what I really want to do – cancel the first photographer and get the one we really want to, because even though wedding is only a day and marriage is what should last after the day, I’d still want my memories on the day and best way for that is to have beautiful photos. -
Going for a ‘friend’ or being sucked in by budget wedding photography offers are a story we hear over and over again.Ttrust professionals and use an agency like ours as a starting point for your search – we have a variety of photographers to offer – for budgets of most sizes….Remember your weddings pics are a one in a lifetime opportunity and not researching or paying for the right service can lead to a host of unnecessary problems
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When I got married, we were on a very limited budget ($5000, and that included my engagement ring and dress, our rings, etc). We cut corners and did whatever we could ourselves to save money. Because out of that $5000, $2400 was for our wedding photographer. Our photographer was AMAZING. Our wedding pictures are stunning and I LOVE them to this day. We could only afford him (photovanbeek.com) for 4 hours but it was worth it. My flowers were bought at the grocery store the day before our wedding and I made them into a bouquet. Invitations were made by us. Cupcakes came from the grocery store and were so yummy instead of paying $5.00 per cupcake from a bakery. We found ways in our tiny budget to pay for our photographer. When all is said and done, the pictures are what you are left with from such an important day. And, yes, the day goes so fast. Beautiful images capture that day and allow you to enjoy it after without the rush of a wedding day. I am so glad that HALF of our budget went to photography. It was worth every penny. Those expensive flowers for each table will be dead in a few days, your wedding photographs will be around for generations.
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Aww this is such a shame. We have spent more on our photographer than anything else in the Wedding.
The photographs are the one thing that will last more than a day after all?
Have you tried taking the images to a professional photographer? Some of them look quite sweet apart from the lighting and it’s amazing what can be done.
Love Rachel
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‘I’m not being funny or nuffink’ but there’s no way that anyone would end up with photographs that bad if they booked someone with a decent portfolio.
Obviously, the lower your budget, the more legwork you have to do to separate the wheat from the chaff but to be honest, I shot my first few weddings by the seat of my pants and for peanuts because I had no wedding experience *BUT* I already had my chops down.
Anyone taking on a wedding should have total mastery of their equipment and know how effectively light and expose correctly for any scenario at the drop of a hat.
But you all know that by now anyway.
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Columbo Mode – Oh and just one more thing.
It seems a bit of a pity that there seems to be a lot of replies saying that they were really happy with their photographers but no specifics.
Why not share in your good fortune by naming one or two of them?
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We ignore all this advice and a) got married in the late afternoon, in the winter and b) got a friend to do the photography for mate’s rates. The resulting pictures were amazing. Both brilliant quality, and pictures wich really captured the atmosphere of the day.
The only negative was that they didn’t do the family-by-numbers shots with every permutation of guests, to the vague disappointment of the in-laws. But instead we have absolutely fabulous photos which show what an amazing day we had, and I love them.
Not everyone has a bad experience of hiring an amateur. My friend had her wedding shot by a burlesque dancer, and has the most amazing wedding pics I’ve ever seen.
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My family and even my OH keep saying I should just ask “a friend” or “family member” to do it for me instead. I’m sure my brother or my father-in-law or even my OH’s boss do have great skills in photography but none of them have worked on a wedding and I want to be able to look back and see these images and for my son to see them when he’s older, his children to see them and so on. It’s not just for me to remember back on but for future generations who wish to look at their family tree. My dad has found some wonderful photographs of his family whilst working on his family tree that have survived for many years and still look amazing. I want the same.
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Pingback from Why DIY? « on January 17, 2012 at 11:29
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This is a very, very helpful post for me! I am moarrying my love next June and although it is well over a year away I am stressing most over the photographer, I went to university with someone who is now professional, she knows me inside out, her photographic style is what we want but she is so hard to track down and I dont have much faith in her actually being the photographer, other ‘photographer’ friends have offered to do it for free, but they are pants! So I am stuck! this was a wicked read though and I will keep a reference for the tips of taking the photographer to the venue etc! x
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Sadly, I have a very similar story. We had very little money for our wedding celebration (initially we eloped and got married on the beach with just the two of us, but then wanted something to share with friends and family), and I was talked into doing a favor by hiring the son of one of my mum’s friends who was out of work and badly needed the money. He didn’t even like shooting weddings and preferred shooting nature / landscapes. While our pictures aren’t blurry or overly dark, they’re nothing special and he didn’t document any of the details I spent so much time assembling (vintage art deco glass, flowers from a local farmer, vintage French postcards, homemade cookies, my sequined silver Dorothy-esque flats etc).
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what an absolute tool that ‘photographer’ was! I just shudder looking at those images…
I feel bad for you because those important images are garbage, but on the other hand, it is your fault as well. Hopefully your story will help some future brides/grooms into not making that same mistake.
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Pingback from Snapshots » Should you hire a pro photographer? on January 18, 2012 at 16:18
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Precisely! However i got a “professional” to do mine and they turned out pretty much like yours. He was great for my best mans wedding but seem to have un-learnt his skills for our wedding! So much heart ache! Little did i know that 13 years later id be helping those with photographic disasters. I has to be said though i couldn’t even fix mine! Focus point was always out, barn doors on the medium format lens leading to very very dark images, flash fall off so bottom half of images black! I had a degree in photography too but couldn’t take them myself!!!
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I haven’t read all the responses so forgive me if this is redundant; but it probably bears repeating. I always recommend brides look through 2 or 3 complete weddings from the last year from their prospective photographer. I mean the complete collection of images that a bride takes delivery of. Most photographers should be able to produce something of this nature whether its in an online gallery or a set of proofs. Why images from the last year? Because you want to make sure your photographer…even though they may have a great reputation, has not lost the passion. Any photographer can show you 20 great images from a wedding. Can they show they can consistently produce hundreds of great images? There is no good reason why any bride should have this happen.
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thats a very good point david!
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Interesting discussion. LOVE my pro wedding pix; undoubtedly expensive but undoubtedly worth every penny spent.
I’d like to add a point about the “friend with a camera”. I’m not bad with the camera, but I’m not a pro. It’s just a hobby and that’s all I want it to be. I take pictures at friend’s weddings for ME and they’re always welcome to a copy of whatever I took. That’s the way it’s always been.
Bearing this in mind, I got asked by an old school friend to take pictures at her wedding. I said yes, whilst I explained that I always take pictures at friend’s weddings anyway (as above). Some weeks down the line she said that she wanted me to be THE wedding photographer because “they’re not worth 2K and you’re free” (How to make someone feel great eh?!!!) at which point I told her that I had never agreed to be THE wedding photographer, simply the friend with a camera. Cue major strop Harry Enfield style and a complete rant at how if I didn’t do this I would cost her 2K and she didn’t want to spend that amount on a wedding photographer because there are better things in the world to spend 2K on. *Didn’t want* being the operative words her – she came from a well off background and had a good budget, so affordability was *never* an issue.
No matter what I said to her, I could not get through to her that I was not a professional wedding photographer and didn’t feel comfortable with that responsibility to guarantee the results she wanted. This was apparently not an acceptable answer and sadly I had to distance myself from the whole situation. The photography situation became a moot point anyway, since it turned out that her groom to be had never agreed to getting married and the arrangements she’d made were all behind his back anyway. The wedding never happened.
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Jesus Caro, what a story!!
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thanks for this article (and ones like this on your site) b/c they shed so much educational light on this side of the business. i know not everyone can just dish out the money with no worries so it really helps them to prioritize and decide WHERE they will spend their money and what the true INVESTMENTS are vs the COSTS!
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Thankyou! Im a photographer myself, and the amount of people I get telling me – no we’re going to get Uncle Whatsit to do it. My brain screams NO! They never listen though, they just think its a marketing ploy. I will however save this link and email future Brides who say this now!
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I have told similar story’s to brides who only want to spend a few hundred pounds on something which cost them thousands, I say photos are the only memories left. So spend the correct amount and get someone who knows wedding photography.
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I’m a full-time wedding photographer in the USA (Maine). Wrote this a few years back. Maybe it’s useful.
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Weddings tend to be joyous but pricey events. Unless you’re independently wealthy (or can count on parents who are), you’ll have to find a way to stay within a limited budget. So if your uncle Fred, who owns a nice camera, offers to cover the wedding for free, that’s great, right? Just think of the money you’ll save!
Boy, you’re onto something here. If you ever need an apendectomy, why not ask your cousin Bob to do the honors? After all, at Thanksgiving, he’s pretty handy with the carving knife!
I’m kidding, of course (kind of). Photography is rarely a life-or-death matter. Then again, on a wedding day, it is mission-critical. Fact is, you simply don’t get a chance to do it over.
So, all joshing aside, may I suggest you ask your camera-toting relative or friend some important questions? In no particular order:
• How many weddings has he successfully covered?
• Does he have experience telling a story in photos, rather than being able to snap a great picture now and again?
• Will he bring two or three professional camera bodies and an array of pro-quality lenses?
• If he shoots with one camera, what will he do if, as Murphy’s Law predicts, it starts acting up?
• Does he have the gear — and the chops — to go from a fisheye to a tele lens in three seconds flat?
• Will he bring a second shooter or an assistant to guarantee total and complete coverage?
• Does he shoot RAW photos (a pro format offering maximum quality and flexibility) or JPEGs (a consumer format whose compression causes imperfections)?
• If he has to shoot in low-light conditions where flash may be out of the question (for instance, in most churches), how will he avoid blurry photos?
• Does he know the difference between shooting at ISO 100 and ISO 6400? Does he have the software tools and the skill to minimize the grain and digital noise that inevitably show up in pictures taken at high ISO numbers?
• Does he bring remote-controlled flash units? Gelled flashes? Other location lights? Diffusers? Reflectors? Umbrellas? Softboxes? Other light modifiers? Photography is about controlling light, after all.
• Can he fire flash shots with a recycle time of a second or less (which requires an external battery pack), or does he have to wait four or five seconds between shots before his flash is ready again? What number of missed photos would he say he’s comfortable with?
• Will he shoot continuously and with unwavering concentration, as a pro would, and end the day with 2,000 or more photos? Or will he figure that since he’s doing you a favor, it’ll be fine if he shoots a few minutes here, a few minutes there, for a total of maybe a couple of hundred shots?
• How many of those shots does he predict will be magazine-quality?
• Since memory cards are vulnerable to anything from wine spills to hardware failure, does he shoot with ultra-robust, pro-level cards? Does he shoot with cameras that have two card slots (for instant backups)? And to keep your images safe, will he make at least one additional digital backup copy of all your wedding photos, before he even leaves the wedding location?
• Has he logged at least a few hundred hours, preferably more, using Photoshop and other powerful industry-standard photo software?
• Once at the computer, does he know how to soften or remove skin blemishes; how to bring out shadow detail; how to sharpen images without ruining them; how to apply natural-looking blur to backgrounds in order to isolate the subject; how to correct lens distortion; how to color-correct images; how to perform top-notch conversions from color to black-and-white; how to apply creative borders, et cetera?
• Will he volunteer to spend three to four days tweaking the images to perfection in Photoshop, considering that most weddings take a professional photographer 20–30 hours of post-production (retouching and the like)?
• Once he’s finished, will he put up a website for you with an electronic shopping cart, so that your guests (as well as the people who couldn’t be there) can watch an online full-screen slideshow of the event, and order archival-quality prints directly from the site?
• How many wedding albums has he designed?
As you can see, asking someone who’s not a pro to take the official wedding pictures isn’t without risks and possible downsides.
I speak from experience.
There’s this guy I know who got married in the mid-1990s. His wedding budget was tight, so he and his bride decided to see if someone might shoot the wedding for a small fee, or for nothing. He got his wish, and found an amateur photographer who was grateful just to get the experience. A few weeks after the event, the pictures arrived. The photographer had decided, without prior consultation, to shoot only in black and white because that’s what she was “comfortable” with. And unfortunately, a lot of her shots were murky, grainy, and underexposed. None truly captured the exuberance of the day, or the heart-tugging beauty of the man’s bride.
That guy was ME. The wedding was sixteen years ago, long before I ditched my journalism career and took up photography full-time. But since then, on a hundred occasions, my wife and I have regretted not hiring a professional to make a fitting photo record of our day.
Finally, consider this: When the wedding food, the flower arrangements, and the honeymoon are long gone, what remains? Hopefully, moving photo mementoes of your wedding — yours for life. Picking the right photographer is important.
I think Uncle Fred will understand.
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It is sad that you were not educated enough to know how to choose a professional photographer. I am a professional photographer and you want to make sure that you are choosing a real professional not just someone who has a good portfolio – how can you be sure that the person in front of you took those images? Thieft on the internet of images is common place. What you want to look for in addition to the portfolio is does this photographer belong to professional associations like Professional Photographers of America or Wedding and Portrait Photographers International – don’t just take their word for it look them up on the association website. Does the photographer carry liablity insurance – any real pro (at least in the USA) carries liablity insurance. Does the photographer you are considering have Award winning images? Are they a Certified Professional Photographer – this designation says that they are a techically sound and competent in their craft – Certified Professional Photographer have to pass a 20 image portfolio review and pass a written exam – there are less than 3000 world wide.
All of these will insure that you are getting a real professional – And yes you will have to pay for this. But have the cake is eaten and the dress is stored and the flowers are dead -What you have left from you wedding is your photographs. My advise is to get the best photographer you can afford. This is something that you will not regret.
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I am a hobbyist. Yes, there pictures a horrible. The main problems I see are:
1. No bounce flash
2. No raw
3. Blur for still shots – no tripod/monopod/ISI saw in some other comments people were worried about their own wedding – you can help. Ask about their gear, rent some lenses – it is your wedding, don’t think, why should I rent lenses/equipment to my photographer – it is his/her job. The result is what matters.
Consider using strobes for lighting. Low light always affects photos – one can never achieve high quality – deep depth of field – reasonable shutter speed in low light due to the laws of physics.
Better equipment makes you have a choice of exchange – less depth of field for better low light performance; higher quality for longer shutter speed; higher quality for stronger flash/ambient light
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Sorry that happened to you.
That’s the grossest looking piece of chicken ever. EVER.
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Oh, and looking at the EXIF. Looks like they had high expectations of themselves in the morning and shot manual. Then by the end, they were like, “Oh sh*t. Eff!” and put it on full auto.
f/11 and 1/4s??
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Talking from the other side of the coin here… I was the friend who was asked to shoot a friend’s wedding last August. My photographic experience up to that point was, in my mind, not exceptional but I had been shooting landscapes and nature photography for a good 6 or 7 years before hand. I am completely self-taught (although doing a photography course now which I am learning so much from!) mostly from magazines, books and the internet. My experience, as far as portraiture and weddings went though, was virtually nil.
When they first asked me, I quickly refused because I knew how important wedding photographs were and I didn’t want to do it and disappoint them. But they were persistent (and poor!) and, after a lot of discussion, I finally agreed to go ahead with it. I had something like 4 weeks notice so I promptly got online and did some research. I also got talking to a work colleague who does wedding photography on the side and he was invaluable in both his advice and the loaning of some decent equipment (full frame camera, decent flash gun etc) and I went out of my way to meet up with the couple and visited the venue to get as much info as possible prior to the day. When the big day arrived I was more than a little bit terrified but, once I got into the flow I actually really started to enjoy it!
Uploading my photographs for the first time was nerve-wracking, to say the least, but the beauty of digital meant that I shot nigh on a thousand photographs and, with some luck and a little bit of post processing, I was able to produce 400 decent photographs for the couple. Luckily for me they were ecstatic with the results and have since passed my name on to quite a few people and recommended me for other weddings. And since that day I have been doing lots more research and practise and am really looking forward to the next wedding I now have lined up. When I look at my first experience I am pleased with what I managed to achieve but I also think, now, that I could do so much better.
I’m so sorry that you ended up with photographs that look worse than if they’d come out of a little compact camera. I agree with you 100% that spending some money on your wedding photography should be high on the list of priorities because, at the end of the day, these are all you will have to remember you big day. But I just wanted to tell you about my experience too, to let you know, and others reading this, that it doesn’t always end up as bad as your photographs. But if you are going to ask a friend or someone with experience in a different area of photography, do as Mrs X suggests and work with them doing as much as you can to optimise the experience for everyone involved.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.210172019077789.48626.147757388652586&type=3
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Those pictures are truly awful, but its not just the kit which is the problem its the setup of the cameras and the composure. You don’t need top end kit to take good wedding pics, though it certainly helps. I would advise any newbie who is doing it for a friend to do the following:
1- really get to know their camera and be familiar with each setting
2- buy or borrow a decent external flash its more important than an “f2.8 lens”
3- download as many wedding pics as you can from photo sharing sights and work out how to recreate them.
4- practice, practice practice, do a few trial shoots at the venue just to work out where all the mirrors, windows etc that can enhance or impact the shot.
5- take your time, check each shot and ask to take them again if you are not sure
6- take at least 3 or 4 of each shot. in case people are blinking or looking away. -
I work as a web designer and because of that I do a fair amount of photo retouching. Some of these photos can be saved by a little retouching. If anybody can put me in touch with our author I can fix some of them for free. Nobody should have to be ashamed of their wedding photos!
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Hiring a wedding photographer doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg! There are many good professional photographers out there (including myself) who have very reasonable rates and great style. The cheapest photographer around will not give you the best results, there is no doubt about that. However it’s up to you to do your homework; find photographers within your budget range, ask for references, see the photographers work and even meet with them to discuss your requirements. You can tell so much from a face to face meeting. I cannot stress the importance of working with someone you immediately click with (it’s not a long term relationship that you can work on!). Your photographer needs to be able to put you at ease, allow you to feel relaxed and be yourself otherwise your photos will not look very natural and you won’t look your best. Wedding photography should be a fun part of the wedding day, and the bride and groom should feel like they are stars of the show!
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I don’t understand the complaints, I think these photos are great and really tell a story. I am thinking of using this person for my wedding, I am willing to pay top dollar.
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Excellent Kat.. have reposted it as I get asked this a lot..
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Wow, when I first started reading the article I thought that Mrs X was probably being a little overly-dramatic because she is now a professional photographer and probably a bit nit-picky.
I reaslised how wrong I was when I scrolled down and saw the photos! My heart broke for Mrs X.
This is probably one of the most important pieces of advice for anyone planning a wedding. Thank you for putting yourself out there so that we may learn from your mistake. -
Pingback from Mad ♥ Monday : Megan Welker Photography on February 13, 2012 at 22:35
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Sorry to break this news to so many people, but just because you have an (D)SLR and/or a Facebook ‘photography’ page it DOENST MAKE YOU A PHOTOGRAPHER!
Im so tired of these morons. But if you’re dumb enough to let these kind of people actually attempt to document your wedding then you really should expect sub-par results.
I truly miss the days when ‘photography’ was more of a niche, and not just a listed sub-profession by any div with a couple of apps on their phone.
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Great article. I’ve been asked by a friend of a friend to photograph a wedding. I instantly refused as i’m a hobbyist & have no experience in this area but the woman has persisted & I have agreed to meet to discuss. I’ve been upfront & told her this is something I’ve never done b4 & if I did consider I would only charge expenses. My question is… how do U gain experience if nobody will hire until U have experience? I read about photography all this time & have read many articles on weddings etc but until U physically shoot one how can U learn? Definitely given me questions to ask when I meet & shall also forward this article on to her!
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God almighty! Must be so hard for you looking at these, never mind posting them. It goes to show that for a bride, doing your research is so important!
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Pingback from Smile! It’s free! « shapingpromises on February 17, 2012 at 17:43
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A very useful article and resource for people who underestimate the skill it takes to photograph a wedding…
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A very good article, so sorry your photos came out that bad.
I’m not a pro (yet) and a friend asked me to shoot their wedding last december. Well, I wasn’t too sure, but after a few years of wedding videos under my belt, and 2 years of college Photography behind me, I agreed to the shoot. Got to start somewhere, and her reasons for choosing me were not just because I was a friend and it would be cheap, but that she and her partner were very impressed with my college work and my small, but growing, portfolio of photos from candid and easy going outdoor portrait shoots of a friend’s children.
I knew I only had once chance to get it right, so I made a trip to the church and reception venue with the couple a few weeks before. I took light meter readings in the church, took some test shots with 3 different lenses, and also went to a bandstand on the seafront where they wanted photos taken after the wedding. The only unknown was the lighting on the day of the wedding, as the church only had small windows. But as it turned out, it was a clear bright december day, and plenty of light in the church for shots with a reasonable focal length, and a flash with diffuser. I took around 900 photos in all, in RAW and on manual mode throughout the day and evening, mainly using a 50mm prime lens and a 25-70mm ‘walk around’ lens. I batch converted all the images to Jpegs and sent them to the new couple, who then flagged up the ‘keepers’ and I spend 3 weeks working in the evenings in Lightroom and Photoshop. If there was something I wasn’t sure on how to correct, I went out and found out. CS5 is a complex program, and even after 2 years of using it, I’m still finding new things.
The photos looked great to me, but it wasn’t my opinion that mattered. It was all about Paul and Sarah and what they thought. Well, they loved them. From the orchestrated and posed shots outside the church, to the sneaky little shots, like a lovely one of Paul taking Sarah’s glasses off to wipe away a tear from her eye. I’m glad I prepared and the experience of wedding videos certainly paid dividends as well. As a result, I’ve been asked to shoot 2 more weddings this year, a family and new born portrait shoot, and have had enquiries about one more wedding.
This isn’t my job….yet. I’m still an amateur, but I’m moving in the right direction.
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Hello and welcome to my little blog. My name is Kat Williams aka the Rock n Roll Bride and my aim is to provide a little haven of kick ass weddingness in a cookie cutter, pastel and often puke-worthy wedding world. If you’ve ever picked up a bridal magazine and felt queasy or trawled the internet and felt disheartened by what you didn’t find well, my friend, you are in the right place!
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