Wedding Photography; You Get What You Pay For; My Personal Experience

This has come up countless times on countless message boards, blogs, Facebook pages (including my own), among conversations between photographers, friends, and anyone who knows any better.  You get what you pay for in life.  This is very true in wedding photography. 

I've made some jokes about this on my page... hoping not to offend anyone. 

I put these out there NOT to offend anyone, but to enlighten people that YES, you WILL regret it.  I want you to know, PLEASE know that you will regret this decision.  Your wedding will happen ONE time.  You have ONE time to capture this ONE special day where you have planned for probably over a year what you are going to wear, who is going to stand up next to you, what you are going to say.  You have waited a LIFETIME to meet someone worthy enough to share this day with and you are going to chance having it captured by a non-professional?

There are about a million things I could say to you from a professional standpoint to convince you to hire a professional wedding photographer instead of an amateur; a hobbyist, or your uncle with a canon rebel, but I am actually not going to do that today.  I am actually going to talk to you today as a bride.

Yes, I have been a bride. Almost 6 years ago I was a bride.  Exactly 6 years ago, I was planning my own wedding.  If I remember correctly, I got my dress first.  Then I picked my date.  Then I settled on a wedding venue and bridesmaid dresses.  I already knew who I wanted as a videographer because I had worked with him prior when I had worked as a wedding coordinator so that was in the bag.  The venue came with a package deal including cake and flowers. Done. And done.  Next we picked a DJ.  I didn't care about the menu so my now-husband chose the food.  The very last thing on our list to do was the photographer and guess how much we had left in our budget?  About $500.  We met with a couple photographers whose packages were in the $4000 range and there was just no way we could work that in at the point we were at.  On the one hand, I did know how important photography was supposed to be-- my Dad was a wedding photographer for some of his career and my husband's Dad was a hobbyist.  On the other hand, I figured I had a good videographer and as long as I found someone with a "good camera" I should be OK.  Plus, I was putting those disposable cameras on the tables for everyone to use.  I honestly thought I would be covered. 

My Dad mentioned he worked with someone (at the hospital he works at) who had done one wedding before and the best part? She charged $500! It seemed like an easy decision.  She had a daughter who I knew and she was going to shoot with another "good camera." I had double coverage! Even better! I thought I was making out with the deal of the century!  The one drawback? The photographer told me she didn't know how to use Photoshop.  Photoshop? Who cares? I didn't! Who needs Photoshop anyway?  Not this girl (6 years ago, anyway).

To make a long story short.  Six years later, we own our own home.  I am trying to put together a photo wall in our hallway and I have no wedding photos to proudly display.  I have a total of two photos that I can fix enough in Photoshop on my own to frame with the rest of them.  I have zero formal photos nice enough to make into a large canvas to hang in our living room.  I don't have a wedding album to sit on a coffee table or to show guests that come over to our home.  I never felt more beautiful than I did on my wedding day, but I don't have photos to reflect that. 

Six years and forty pounds heavier, I wish I could do it over again.  One day I hope to have a trash the dress session or renew our vows so we can take new photos and create new memories, but even then, it won't be the same.  It won't be OUR day.  It won't be 12.23.06. 

My point is this.  Don't save photography for last.  If I had known then what I know now. I would have put photography closer to the top of my list.  I would have cut my guest list down.  I had 120 people there and probably haven't even seen 30 of them since.  I would have had cupcakes instead of cake, made my own centerpieces, even asked for photography as a wedding gift from our family.  The more I think about it, the sadder I feel about it.  It really hurts when you make a mistake this big and you can't turn back time. 

To my wedding photographer(s); You were so sweet to us.  I absolutely do not blame you for my sadness.  You were up front with us and told us what you could and could not do for us! I didn't take the time to become educated enough with wedding photography to make the right decision for us.  I only wish to educate people so that they may know that there are options and consequences to the choices that they make for not only photography, but for all vendors they choose for their wedding day. 

Christina & John Engaged! Lynch Park, Beverly, MA Engagement Session

I met Christina and John for the first time at their engagement session last week.  This isn't incredibly uncommon.  I'd say this is how it happens for about half the couples that I book.  An engagement session is a fun way for me to get to know the couple before the wedding.  I get to find out a lot about the wedding plans and about the couple-- and it goes far beyond what they actually tell me; mannerisms, whispers beneath their breath, glances, and body language between each other and towards me tells me a lot about a couple and how they feel about being photographed.  This couple was a little shy in front of the camera.  Thankfully, even if a couple feels shy in front of the camera normally, on their wedding day, the jitters often melt away and the couple is focused only on each other and on all the loved ones by which they are surrounded.

Christina and John came to me with several ideas already found on Pinterest (have I mentioned how much I LOVE Pinterest?). Pinterest has made my job so much more fun, and allows not only myself, but my clients to become more inspired and become more involved in the engagement session planning process!

Here are some of the ideas we brought to life in the form of a KBP E-session:

Little C

I had the honor of photographing little C last Monday night in Malden.  He is a little model with an agent and everything.  He needed some new shots for an upcoming casting call and I was happy to oblige.  He came sporting just the cutest little outfit and hair do I ever did see on a 2 year old! He was ready to go! Well, for the first 10 minutes anyway.  After that, things became a little bit more challenging, but we managed to get some fantastic shots. 

Thank you, C, and Mom and Dad for being such good sports!