a must read before you choose a photographer

This article is a must read if you’re planning your wedding and starting the search for a photographer. I have so many potential clients tell me “Well my uncle has a really good camera and he likes photography so I was thinking about having him shoot my wedding”. Or, even worse, those clients that come to me after their wedding for a reshoot of some couples portraits because they weren’t happy with the wedding photos that their uncle/cousin/friend of a friend took. This article is a testament to the skill, time, and experience it takes to shoot a wedding in an artful, professional, creative, and high quality manner. These aren’t skills you pick up soon after you pick up your first camera, they are developed over months and years of experience of different lighting conditions, wedding situations, challenges, etc. Weddings are such fast paced events, and there are so many important moments not to be missed.

Just recently I photographed a wedding that had very challening lighting situations, the ceremony was outdoors after sunset. There was no lighting in the ceremony area and it was essentially pitch black. An amateur probably would have freaked out in this situation, but as a professional I was aware that this would be the situation in advance and my assistant and I took the necessary steps to prepare for that situation. Additionally, for the couple portraits after the ceremony, an amateur or aspiring photographer might have just used straight on flash, but I pulled out my arsenal of tricks and skills and used some off camera directional flash, ring flash, video light, and high powered strobes. I think the results, despite the challenging conditions, will be very pleasing. Stay tuned for some of those pics coming up on the blog.

In the meantime, take a look at the article if you have time!