6 Reasons Why You Need a Wedding Photographer
Getting married is a pretty rare occurrence in anyone’s life and typically, all you’ll have left after the day is your rings and certificate. Everything else will alas probably end up in the bin. Therefore, having a permanent reminder of what you experienced on that momentous occasion shouldn’t be left to chance. Here are six reasons why you really should consider hiring an experienced professional to document your wedding day.
1. Photographing weddings ISN’T easy
Now this is confession time. I got my first ‘proper’ camera with interchangeable lenses back in the 1980s and I’ve pretty much taken photos every week since then. Of course, for much of that time I was just an enthusiastic amateur, who’d venture into the school’s darkroom (yes, I was lucky to have access to such a thing) at every opportunity to develop and print whatever images I’d recently taken. Over the course of time I’ve enjoyed pretty much every genre of photography going, from portraits, to landscapes, macro (that’s teeny tiny things, like insects and flowers) and events. Then in 2015, I was made redundant and took a Postgraduate Diploma in Photography as, for the first time in my adult life I had the time and resources to really focus (pun intended) on improving my photographic ability. Anyway, by the time I decided to pursue wedding photography as a career, I felt I had all the skills necessary to be really bloody good! If I’m being completely honest, in my naivety and perhaps arrogance, I thought it would be an absolute breeze. It isn’t.
I quickly realised wedding photography really does encapsulate all the genres mentioned above, but in a single day. Think about the key stages of a wedding day and all the elements that need documenting such as prep, details (rings, dress, flowers), the venue (many churches are very dark), confetti, group shots/couple portraits, speeches, dancing plus ALL the bits in between that contribute to the vibe and atmosphere of the day. Then throw in the fact things often move incredibly quickly, or don’t always go according to plan, and you have a scenario where unless you really know your craft, shots will either be missed completely or be so poorly executed they’ll go straight into the proverbial recycle bin! That, of course, doesn’t even consider the physical toll wedding photography can have. We can be on our feet for 10 hours straight, constantly bending and twisting to capture the perfect angle, while always being aware of the needs of our couple, their guests and loved ones and, in some cases, wedding planners, officiants and other photographers/videographers. In my opinion, communication skills are just as vital to be a great wedding photographer as the ability to take a good picture! Anyway, to cut a long story short, it really will be extremely difficult for anyone (even a very accomplished amateur carrying the latest kit) who hasn’t direct experience of shooting weddings before to simply rock up and deliver images that truly showcase one of the most significant days of your lives.
2. You WILL get better photos
Related to what I’ve alluded to above, no matter how good a photographer your best mate thinks they are, relying on them to document your wedding will likely result in disappointment. A professional, in addition to having all the right equipment, will also have a detailed understanding of the principles of light and composition. They will be able to anticipate what happens next and understand the ebb and flow of a wedding in order to position themselves in the best locations possible. Then when the going gets really tough, such as on the dimly lit dancefloor, they will know how and when to use flash to ensure all the funky moves are beautifully lit and perfectly frozen in time. Taking the pictures is only half the story. When they’re safely on my computer, pretty much every single image delivered by me will have been adjusted to some extent. The main change I make is to the colours and tones, then it’s a case of making tweaks to exposure, white balance and, if necessary, retouching. It’s not a fast process, but it guarantees that your gallery will be the very best it can possibly be.
3. Peace of mind
Your photographer isn’t just there to take photos, but should assist you in the run-up to your wedding with drafting a timeline of your day to help ensure everything runs to schedule. Remember, they will be with you for most of the day, so having a friendly someone by your side to remind you, for example, that the car needs to leave in 20 minutes, or when it’s time for the bouquet toss, can really help you be present on your special day and focus purely on the fun aspects rather than worry about logistics. A wedding photographer will also happily take charge at certain moments during the wedding, such as during group photos or the confetti toss (hopefully in a light humorous way, rather than a gobby Sergeant major) and obviously help guide or direct the bride and groom during couple photos. Remember, you probably haven’t experienced very many weddings (whether as bride/groom or as a guest) but your photographer may well have attended hundreds, thus will have been exposed to pretty much every trap and pitfall imaginable, so will be well-versed in how to avoid or steer around them. Above all, please don’t be afraid to ask for non-photography related advice as it’s very likely they’ll have seen it all.
4. Contingency
This is a biggie that’s often overlooked. Unlike virtually every other field of photography, a wedding is a one-time deal that can’t easily be re-shot. Professional wedding photographers base their entire careers on an abundance of caution. We have everything in duplicate or triplicate and backups of backups just in case. I have two cameras on me pretty much all day, with a spare in the car. My cameras record images to dual memory cards, so immediately I have two copies of every image I take, and when I commence the journey home I separate those memory cards (keeping one set in my bag and another on my person) just in case there’s a crash, I’m robbed or other unforeseen eventuality. Then once I arrive home, before I can even think about going to bed, I’ll transfer all the images to my computer, an external hard drive and up in the cloud. Absolutely no risks are taken with your once-in-a-lifetime photographs.
Thankfully, I’ve never had to miss a wedding due to illness or other major issue, but if something very untoward happened meaning I absolutely could not attend, I’d call upon my large network of fellow professionals and find someone local who shoots in my style to cover for me. I’d still edit the pictures, so the colours and tones would be exactly as you’d expect to receive from me and match all the other images you’ll have seen in my portfolio.
5. The value of photographs RISES over time
Like me, you may well have discovered a little cache of photos in an old biscuit tin under the stairs that had been forgotten about gathering dust. Then when you open it up, there’s faded pictures of your grandparents, parents, maybe you as a kid; and you’re transported back to happy times in the deep and distant past when summers were long and trousers were wide. Perhaps there’s an old birthday party in there or a long-lost bygone friend that hasn’t been seen for years. The thing about photographs, and this is true even for wedding photographs, is that they don’t mean nearly so much in the days and weeks after the event as they do in the years or decades after. In fact, rather like a fine wine, photos improve with age.
There are people in my family who have nothing to remember their wedding by apart from a handful of old, grainy pictures taken by a friendly uncle and developed at the local Boots. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can rely on guests to record the day as it unfolds because their job is to enjoy the day WITH you, rather than document it. This will likely end up with you being emailed or WhatsApped a handful of underwhelming photos which will inevitably be left languishing on a phone or hard drive before being entirely lost or forgotten. Probably nothing to get too hung up about initially, but one day, and that day may be years hence, you will greatly miss not having a beautiful gallery or album of professionally taken photographs enabling you, and the generations to come, relive that amazing day once more. It’s worth remembering that apart from the rings and faded memories, all that will be left of your wedding day will, in many cases, just be the treasured photos you can show friends, family and grandchildren.
6. Professional wedding photos aren’t a cost, they’re an investment.
After a wedding, the flowers will have wilted, the cake will have been eaten, the balloons will be popped and the dress will go into a cupboard. Think about how much you will have spent on the items above, only for them never seeing the light of day again. Compare that against the ongoing joy that can be derived from a set of beautiful photographs, allowing you to relive your special day alongside your loved ones in the years to come.
