Wedding Photography - Things you should know

Warning! We're diving head-first into some very cynical behavior...

We've all been there before...Your best friend gets her wedding photos back three months later and stands before the monitor awe-struck...Not at how amazing they turned out, but at the sudden realization that all her money just went right down the drain!

It's very similar to going to a new mechanic and getting shafted out of money while your car still sits in a state of disrepair, but is has that shiny new muffler! Your money flies out of our pocket and the service you've received in return is comparable to the service George Bush has provided our nation these past 8 years - Zilch! Sorry if I've offended with that stab...I'm getting off track here, and possibly reducing my future customer base (Call me, I promise I really am a nice guy) :-P

So here are some problems I have with my "competition" in general and a few things you should keep in mind before making your choice...But you guys keep it up please, because you're making me look friggin awesome:

A.) You hire John Doe photography to shoot your wedding, only John Doe has been dead for 10 years, and they send the apprentice-in-training, Joe Schmoe.
Even assuming they told you John Doe wouldn't be shooting your wedding, why did you agree to have some random person come in and shoot your wedding without meeting them first and getting a feel for THEIR individual style?! Every pro shoots their own way - Every amateur shoots the same way you do...You figure the moral to that story out on your own.

B.) You hire a wedding photographer because they charge the most money.
Good for you - There's an 80% chance you'll have some amazing photos to share afterward, because most people who put themselves in that bracket are legit. But in all honesty, I've seen the other 20% show it's ugly butt more often than not. Does that mean I personally would not love to be paid $5000 per wedding?! Heck, that would be awesome...But I'm also not out to screw people over. If you've got the money and you roll lucky sevens like no tomorrow, then go for it! If not, call me (I promise I really am a nice guy).

C.) Do I want the Rose Package or the Silver Spoon Package
This translates into - Do I pay $4000 for $70 worth of product or do I pay $3500 for $70 worth of product? Profit is a beautiful thing - don't get me wrong, but believe it or not I make money shooting weddings without cutting any major arteries.

D.) The paparazzi tag-team approach
I just love going to a wedding and seeing four or five photographers, because that obviously means you'll have even more amazing photos, right?! Well no, not exactly...It just means you'll be paying more. And unless the bride will be teleporting between the Moon and Mars (I've seen it happen), then one photographer "should" be enough to cover one wedding...I say "should" because I can certainly think of several situations where a second assistant would come in handy.

E.) The amazing photographer who doesn't have to edit a single shot!
It's true...Some people are just so amazingly talented that they can snap a digital photo in horrendous lighting, dump it into their PC and email it to you without a single touch of editing, and the photo is a masterpiece of utter beauty. I mean, I've done it before - It's really quite incredible...

But nine times out of ten I usually like to review and edit my photos before I send them away...Some require extensive editing to get the look and feel I'm going for, and others require just a second or two of minor work. But you would be amazed at how often I see wedding photos that are completely unaltered that would have taken maybe two or three extra minutes to go from ho-hum to bada-bing!

Why is it that these people don't take that extra time? Oh that's right...It's because they have ten staff members working photos from two months ago from a wedding they weren't even at while their photographers are out carelessly snapping photos at ten more weddings that weekend and consultants are busy collecting money from their next unsuspecting victims...er I mean clients.


F.) You let your cousin's nephew's brother-in-law's roommate take the photos because he took this one amazing photo of the sunset five years ago.
Maybe this guy will blow you away with natural ability that has been masked all these years with his point-and-shoot Nikon. He'll become the next Gary Fong of wedding photography and you'll all laugh together and tell stories about how you paid him in beef stroganoff that night. Or maybe you'll get diddly squat...If you're on such a tight budget that a photographer isn't an option, then I suppose that's your only choice. But try to remember - As my brother-in-law Jimmy Gillis (amazing musician) often says to me, after it's all said and done, the cake and flowers are gone and all you have left are those photos...So budget appropriately. Your cousin's nephew's brother-in-law's roommate can still eat the beef stroganoff and you can still laugh and tell stories...


G.) You hire solely based off the photographer's online portfolio
A lot of us have reached that point where doing business solely online and through email. It's such a breeze, and we enjoy it so much that we forget we're human...And humans err! And lie!

How do you know the person you're hiring is the same person who took those shots you loved so much in the online portfolio?! Even if it is the same person, can you be sure that the majority of your photos will be that good in your full gallery? Or will you just have one amazing photo and 200 crappy ones? If you're laughing at that right now, stop...I've seen it happen. A portfolio consist of photos from many different weddings...You need to ask your photographer, "Show me a full gallery from one wedding." If you're still impressed after seeing the full gallery, then you've got yourself a winner!