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?