In one of the busiest times of my wedding and portrait photography business, I came across an article that stopped me in my tracks. You see, I am a huge fan of photography and the arts in general, and to see an industry struggle in any segment is sad to me. There are way too many amazing artists who are sitting at home without work right now due to the digital revolution in photography. Read the entire article, it will definitely be worth your while, but here is a good quote that sums up some of the “change” that is happening:

Concurrently, digital photography took off. “It used to be you really needed to know how to use a camera,” said Keith Marlowe, a photographer who has worked for Spin and Rolling Stone. “If you messed up a roll, you couldn’t redo the concert.” Now, though, any photographer can instantly see if a shot is good, or whether the light balances or other technical aspects need to be adjusted.

I like to think of myself as somewhat of a purist, even though I’ve had very little formal training (high school, some college), and it does bother me to see *so* much bad work out there. With the realization that “art is subjective” we have to be careful in judging “good and bad” photography so take my sentiment with a grain of salt. Having received several inquiries recently from couples who are having bad experiences with their photographers, it seems that there is a lot of “bad business” going on out there as well. In all reality our job as wedding photographers is to tell the story of the wedding in an artistic fashion and create a great experience for the client in all matters of transaction as well. Simple right? Anyone can take a photograph right? Well, here is where things get tricky and sticky. Here is another quote that stood out to me:

“Can an amateur take a picture as good as a professional? Sure,” Ms. Eismann (School of the Visual Arts, NY) said. “Can they do it on demand? Can they do it again? Can they do it over and over? Can they do it when a scene isn’t that interesting?”

At almost every wedding I have someone, a bridesmaid, a friend, another wedding vendor who will come up to me and say how excited they are for their friend/family member to have a professional wedding photographer because their wedding photographs were a disaster. It makes me feel good about what I do and also reinforces the effort I put into what I do, the rates I charge, etc. I also feel good about the photographs, the art and the experience that my clients are receiving (especially knowing that they could have easily walked the same path as stated friend/loved one).
Back to “how easy it is to take pictures!” There is a saying that says “even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes.” This statement makes me cringe when it is applied to the arts. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, NY does not hold the work of blind squirrels, neither does NYMoMA, SFMoMA or the DeYoung Museum. A great wedding photographer is doing the absolutely unthinkable for their clients on the wedding day. Wedding photography covers almost every type of lighting condition throughout the wedding day. Wedding photographers have to be able to photograph portraits, commercial product photography, photojournalism, editorial, landscape photography, etc. All of this in one day and on a rigorous time schedule that doesn’t allow for “oh, let me check the back of the camera to see if that turned out” moments. The bride only walks down the aisle *one* time, there is no “hey can you go back and do that again, I’m still trying to figure out my settings here.”
Wedding photography is important. As cliche as it is, your photographs are all you have left from that special day and they hold the memories that you will pass down to future generations. I think this article has simply refreshed and reinforced a lot of things in my mind. What a valuable art we provide, what an amazing gift we give. I’m truly humbled. If you’re a photographer thinking about photographing weddings, I encourage you to take the right steps to learn the craft and *then* hang your shingle. If you’re a bride or friend of bride thinking about letting their cousin who is “into photography” carry the weight of photographing their wedding, take a moment and talk to your local professional photographer. There is a lot that goes into making those “pretty pictures.”

Here are a few questions to ask your wedding photographer (whether amateur or pro):

-How many weddings have they photographed?
-Can we see a complete wedding gallery either online or in prints?
-Do you carry insurance?
-Do you have backup gear?
-What is your process for storing/backing up the digital files/film negatives from the wedding day to ensure they’re safety?
-Do you have references from more than one bride and more than one industry vendor?

Have you had a chance to check out Formspring yet? It is a great place where you can ask/answer questions publicly and I’ve been having some fun with it lately. If you have questions about wedding photography, photography in general, skiing, surfing, Louis L’amour novels, etc. feel free to ask away. Its more fun if you sign up and have a username, but you can ask anonymously. Check it out and ask away.

I’ve been up to a lot lately and wish I had a clone to handle my blogging for me. It takes a lot to blog a full wedding and I’m going to have a few up soon. September was officially insane and October is promising to rival September. I photographed some beautiful weddings in Grass Valley, Modesto (at Galletto Ristorante), Saratoga (at Hakone Gardens), some awesome engagement sessions in Stockton and one recently in Lake Tahoe (at Heavenly and Edgewood), some family portrait sessions and recently a high school senior session in Lodi. This weekend I’ll be photographing in downtown Sacramento and at a friends’ wedding at Clos LaChance Winery in San Martin.
In the midst of all of that, I’ve been booking some awesome clients for 2010 weddings and I’m moving into a new studio in Linden. It is going to be a sweet space for meeting clients, working, making photographs, teaching and being creative. I’m super stoked and can’t wait to show everyone the progress. Stay tuned for some big announcements from Scott Andrew Weddings and Scott Andrew Studio. So here are a few frames to tide everyone over until the next epic blog post. Enjoy.

From todays’ high school senior portrait session.

Grass Valley Persian/American Wedding

An engagement session at Edgewood Country Club in Lake Tahoe, CA

I had the day off from my new job and I got up early to go fishing. I’ll never forget the call I got from my wife and immediately going into my truck and turning the radio on. The tone of voice in the radio announcer was different than anything I’ve ever heard. The silence that pervaded the background was stifling. I remember the bitter feeling in my mouth that this terrible thing could actually happen in our country. It was so real that day.
Several weeks ago strolling with my wife in the financial district of New York City, it became real again. We were still several blocks away but the huge gap in the buildings represented a gap of great loss in our country. Not just in concrete, steel and glass but in human life and substance. We walked around the outer perimeter and watched as the building of the new structures took place.
I hope that I never forget. I hope that I can instill something in my kids and help them to learn from 9/11. The fact that an evil, spiteful enemy hated us enough to do this thing is very evident. The fact that they’ll try and try to do it again is apparent. But the fact that America is the most exceptional nation ever born in this world is being tested. We will never forget.

From time to time I try to share some photographs and stories from my personal life in my blog. I may shed a few tears over this one, but it is worth it. Eden Autry is my pride and joy. I could go on and on about how she can read at 4 years old, play the piano, quote whole chapters of Scripture and is almost as smart as your’s truly…but most of you who follow this blog know that already.
Eden has been stoked for weeks about starting Kindergarten (she’s super social and loves to learn) and the day finally came that we walked away from Stockton Christian School and left our daughter in the care of others. I got pretty choked up driving home to think about how fast she has grown up and how proud I am of her. She absolutely had a blast and as soon as she hopped in mommy’s car she was asking how many hours it was until she could go back. Awesome.
I’m glad I’ve taken time to make photographs of my children and family. I was looking through a few of them the other day and got kind of bummed out that I’m not in many of the photos. Duh. But then I started thinking about how I actually was “in” the photos. There is a piece of me in every click I make of the shutter and who knows where these photos will end up. I hope that some great great great grandkids one day will look back with appreciation at the family art that we created and smile. So here are some photos to document Eden’s first day of school.

not too stoked about getting her hair done.