The Truth about Wedding Photographers and What They Really Get u

Time and time again I hear and see comments online about the cost of wedding photography. Is what a wedding photographer does really simple? What are you paying for?

What Wedding Photographers Really Do…

We hear so often that couples hire a semi professional, a hobbyist or a family friend who ‘likes’ photography and are left with disappointing photos of their day. What’s the difference with a professional?

Setting the record straight!

There is more to wedding photography then just turning up and taking photos. It is an art. The camera of a photographer is just a tool to do the job, like a set of chef’s knives. It is what you do with them that makes the difference.

We can all cook an evening meal, it will vary in standard and quality, however does that mean we can all get a job in a michelin star restaurant as a head chef? Surely being a chef is easy right? The same with photographer, we can all use a camera, and with every phone having a camera we are all photographers, but that doesn’t mean we can all be a professional wedding photographer.

Most people can walk. We take it for granted, but when we were young and first learning it was difficult. However over time you get better and better. You become more confident on your feet and walking becomes easy. It’s the same for a lot of things, you learn the skill of how to do something and the more you do it the better and more confident you become.

The fact is with years of experience as a wedding photographer it doesn’t become easy. You just become more confident. Knowledge and experience has developed. You learn what works, what doesn’t and what to consider when just taking a single shot. You gain the experience of knowing where to be at the right moment to get the perfect shot as you kiss your partner for the first time after tying the knot.

There is no second chance, there is no ‘sorry everyone can you just kiss each other again so I can get a good shot of this’. It is all about experience and a developing knowledge.

Once the photos are taken the work doesn’t stop there. A photographer will take hundreds if not into the thousands of photos, these all need examined and culled, and edited to ensure they look the best they can.

As you can see in the photography infographic above, most photographers will spend between 8-12 hours editing your photos. So once your wedding is over some photographers spend more time editing than they were at your wedding taking photos.

Even before the day itself your photographer may go and visit your venue to hunt out the best spots for those romantic photos and beautiful couple shots. They will spend time the evening before ensuring all their kit is ready to go, back up batteries charged, memory cards are empty. There is more to it than a single camera.

Wedding Photography is ‘Easy’

Some people think that wedding photography is easy. You turn up with a camera, take photos , go home, upload onto a memory stick and pass them on. Job done. Easy. It’s not that simple.

Anything is easy when you look at it in its most simplistic and rawest form. Playing the piano, it is just tapping keys. Being an author, it is just words on paper. Being a chef, it is just throwing ingredients into a bowl. The list can go on and on. Think about your job and what it looks like in its most simplistic form. Is your job easy?

Think Again

Some of you may have got to this point in the article and maybe thinking ‘well this is site about wedding photography, it is a biased article’. The aim of this article isn’t about ‘bigging up’ wedding photographers and what they do, the aim of this article is to raise awareness of what the job entails. Why? Because you only have one chance to capture your wedding day, it is a once in a lifetime chance to capture these moments on your big day.

If you think it is easy and do not appreciate the art and value of wedding photography, the chances are you are looking for the cheapest way to capture your day, be it through a friend, family member or someone that does it as a hobby.

Taking photos is easy, taking beautiful photos that tell a beautiful story is hard. It takes years of experience.

If anything I hope this makes you think twice. Don’t be left regretting your wedding photos and realising what you really wanted was a beautiful story of your day told through photos.