Planning Your Wedding Photography – Amateur vs Pro?

If you’re in the process of planning your wedding photography, and are looking for the right wedding photographer, once you start looking, you’ll soon find yourself inundated with information about photography styles, approaches, current trends,  packages, and will also have a host of suggestions from friends and family.

In short, there’s no shortage of advice. But professional wedding blogs and magazines all agree on one thing, and that is that wedding photography is the one thing not to scrimp on.

Why? Because it’s worth the investment. No matter how big or small you’re planning your wedding to be, whether it’s a small garden DIY wedding or the full monty in a big posh venue, one thing you can guarantee is that you’ll be looking at your wedding photos for years to come – for a lifetime and you want them to be the best they can be, to remind you of what a special day your wedding was.

Amateur or Pro?

Everyone knows someone who professes to be good with a camera and would love to shoot your wedding, often for little or no payment. The question you have to ask yourself is how important are your wedding photographs? If photos really aren’t a priority, then don’t be afraid to go for a less expensive photographer who is starting out or building their portfolio. Or a family member or friend who’s keen.  Yes, you may be saving money, but make yourself aware of the risks.

Experience counts

Your friend may have a really good camera, but it’s not a good camera that takes great photos or makes a good photographer. Just like it’s not a state of the art kitchen with all the best equipment and great oven that makes you a good cook!

It’s the photographer’s years of experience; their trained eye, knowledge of composition, framing, understanding the light in each and every situation, knowing where to look and when, and getting the right shot at the right moment. Timing is everything!

Your friend or family member with a camera won’t be invested in the day in the same way a professional wedding photographer will be, who’ll be fully focused on the job and nothing else. A friend may well miss moments as they’re chatting or maybe they’re itching to join in the celebrations and have a few drinks. They’re a friend after all. The professional is an outsider who knows how to blend in and look like one of your guests whilst still doing their job and not being distracted.

They’ll be shooting all day and may take thousands of photos during the time they’re booked because they’re watching what’s going on all the time, capturing moments, emotions, details, interactions, setting the scene throughout the day. Experienced professionals understand the flow of a wedding; they know how to ‘read’ a wedding; anticipate what’s going to happen and being ready to capture those memorable moments. Your friend may just take a few shots then walk away or put their camera down, for a moment, not knowing the magic is in these ‘in-between non-moments’, moments the professional photographer is still tuning into and capturing.

It takes years of investment and training to understand the flow of a wedding and how to best capture the day without intervening and setting up all the shots. A professional wedding photographer does this full time – their business and reputation are based on the quality of their work and service. They’ve shot lots of wedding, handled all sorts of wedding day hiccups and won’t fluster easily. They’ll be fully insured and have back up equipment, different lenses for different situation and lighting. They’ll know when to use what and won’t be phased by blinding sunlight or dark candlelit rooms. If the worst happens and they’re taken ill they’ll have a network of other pros ready to step in. Your friend won’t.

Emotions can run high on a wedding day and an experienced photographer knows how to handle people gently – how to stop the bossy bridesmaid from taking over, or the nervous mum from making the bride feel more nervous than she already is, or the best man who’s had one too many and you need him to cooperate for group photos. All done with a smile and without yelling!

So how much?

A good guide is to expect to spend approximately 10% of your wedding budget on your photography, so you can expect to spend between £1800-£2500 for a seasoned wedding photographer. You’ll always find someone who can do it cheaper, but as with most things in life, and especially in this industry, you get what you pay for. If budget is an issue, rather than making a compromise on hiring a professional photographer why not explore having your wedding off-season or a midweek wedding which can often work out cheaper with your venue. Or go for a digital package only, shorter hours of coverage and order an album the following year once you’ve saved up for it.

It goes without saying that a friend with a camera won’t have the same extensive experience of shooting weddings as a professional will and you run the risk of being badly let down by the results.

When you know, you know

When you find a photographer’s work that you love, look at full galleries to satisfy yourself that they can shoot weddings in lots of different circumstances and different lighting conditions, winter, summer and all year round. You don’t want to see just the hero, the best of the best shots. Ask to see some full wedding galleries to check high quality and consistency throughout the day. See what other couples have to say about their work, look at their reviews and social media. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get chatting with them – you want to feel relaxed and comfortable with them like you’re talking to an old friend who’s on your wavelength and understands what’s important to you on your wedding day. You need to totally trust them and connect with them. When you know, you know.

It’s worth investing in a photographer whose style of photography you love and fits in with what you want; one that will help make the day plain sailing and be a calm presence on the day; a photographer who’ll take great pictures, ones you’ll love looking through for years and will become the memories you pass on to the next generation. If great wedding photos are important to you, then make them a priority. Spend as much as you can to get the best you can afford.

As one of my recent couples have said so succinctly…

“Mona was the perfect wedding photographer. She planned exactly what we wanted with us well in advance and on the day was barely noticeable (in a good way). She captured the story of the day amazingly and we ended up with a huge range of crystal clear quality photos. Would highly recommend, well worth the money. I’ve been to plenty of weddings where the photography is an after-thought or “my friend’s doing it”…. Don’t skimp on the photography, you only get one chance to get good photos, go with a professional, thank you so much Mona!” Andy and Lucy

If you want help or advice in planning your wedding photography get in touch by email or via my contact page.