The Best Way to Remember your Wedding

The difference between a professional wedding photographer and ‘your friend with an expensive camera’ can be a wedding saver.

Your photos are the most significant last memory you will have of your wedding day, and if they don’t turn out as you want, then your memories will be ruined. When people first start planning their wedding and researching prices, many think that a photographer comes with a hefty price tag.

“’You only do one day’s work a week’ or ‘Your job is so simple’ are the two most common reactions I get when would-be customers see my prices,” says Dragoje Markovic, a professional wedding photographer, “now let me explain what goes into these ‘ridiculous’ prices.”

A photographer will meet with you for an initial consultation, they will then have email or Skype contact with you before the wedding, and they will listen to your plans and answer all your questions, in some cases acting as an unpaid wedding planner. On the day of the wedding they will be with you for the 12-14 hours it takes. After all this time spent taking the photos and videos, they will put their editing skills to work, going through thousands of images they took and cutting it down to roughly 500 for you to look through.

“All these images will be edited individually, which can take anywhere from 2 days to a week, and another day or two to design the wedding album,” says Markovic.

Other options include hiring your friend to shoot your wedding or letting your guests shoot the wedding photos for you. “We put a disposable camera at each table and let our guests take their own photos. At the end of the day we took all the cameras and looked at the photos,” says Christina B., who just recently got married. “In the beginning we thought it was going to be a brilliant idea.”

Yes this sounds like a really good idea at first, seeing your friends and family take drunken photos, but is that what you want on the biggest day of your life? “Sounds more like something college seniors would do on their graduation day,” says Markovic.

There are a countless number of thing that professional photographers will be able to do differently than you friend with an expensive camera. The most important is working with the lighting. “I can walk into a room and know within seconds where the best spot is to stand and where the best light will be. Every time,” says Markovic. This is important because you want consistently good photos, across the whole of the wedding day, and that means working with someone who can take great photos in all situations, be that dark venues, rain, back lit, or mid day sun.

Still the biggest mistake with hiring your friend to take those photos is just that, they are your friend. They are there not only to take pictures, but also to enjoy your day and celebrate with you, including drinking. Now what good is a drunken photographer? A lot of good photos and moment can be missed because they are too drunk to take the photo, or aren’t there because they are busy saying hello to other guests and enjoying themselves.

“Years ago we went to the wedding of a couple who decided that booking a photographer was a waste of money, so they asked a friend to do it. They ended up with just one photo of the two of them together and none at all of either the groom’s or bride’s parents. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much disappointment,” says wedding planner Heather Leach.

Originality is always encouraged at weddings, because no two weddings look the same. However, when it comes to photography and keeping the special day in memory, some things are better left the same, and to professionals. So yes they may be pricey, but at least now you know what you’re paying the big bucks for. It is up to you now, how you choose to remember the biggest day of your lives.

#photography #wedding #memories #hiring