Wedding

No Regrets On Your Wedding Day

Many couples make the decision to hire a friend or family member to capture their wedding and while this may help with costs, it can end up being one of their biggest regrets.

Your friends and family naturally have the best intentions when offering to shoot your wedding but having the latest camera is not enough to take amazing photos. Wedding photographers have experience, creativity, and technical expertise, something that takes years to build up.

If you’re considering hiring a non-professional photographer, these are some the risks that you should be aware of:

A LACK OF SKILL

Photographers spend years mastering different types of shots, how to make the best use of lighting, and how to operate a professional camera correctly. When you hire a non-professional photographer, their lack of skills might end up ruining some of the most important shots of your day. For example, taking a photo of your first kiss might mean knowing how to shoot in a dimly lit church or outside in direct sunlight. Will they know how to capture various shots in any environment? Anyone can take nice pictures at a wedding but you can very clearly see when a photo has been taken by a professional versus when it has been taken by an amateur.

MISSING IMPORTANT MOMENTS

A professional wedding photographer knows when to be ready to capture those important moments throughout the day. When you hire a friend or family member to shoot your wedding, there is a good chance that they’ll miss out on some important and memorable shots. Firstly, they don’t have experience shooting weddings and secondly, they’re also there to socialize and enjoy the day. While it’s not ideal to imagine that someone close to you simply wouldn’t show up on the day, it’s important to note that they’re not running a business so they don’t have any contract in place guaranteeing that they have to show up.

A LACK OF EQUIPMENT

Photography is not a hobby that many people can afford. Photographers need a reasonable amount of money to get started, with many professional photographers renting their equipment for years before they can afford to buy their own. The right equipment makes a huge difference to the quality of your wedding photos and also allows your photographer to get creative. Even though a non-professional photographer might have an amazing camera, they probably don’t have any extra or backup equipment. Camera malfunctions happen all the time. Will they be prepared? Professional photographers always have backups in should any technical issues arise. Also, will your friend or family member have the means to edit and print your images after the wedding? Simply put, there is a lot more to photography than pointing and shooting.

While the idea of asking someone close to you to shoot your wedding might sound appealing, it does come with a lot of risks. This is one of the most important days of your life so make sure that you’re hiring someone who can capture beautiful photos that you can proudly look back on years from now.