Wedding - Portrait - Senior Portrait Photography

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. This is a good question that is on the minds of many soon-to-be couples, and deserves an honest answer. There are several reasons why I would never recommend having a friend shoot your wedding:

It's your special day! Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime special day that is irreplaceable. You will never have this opportunity again to capture such precious memories.
Professional equipment! A qualified professional will use pro-grade equipment when shooting your wedding. When you see their cameras and equipment, you know they are professionals. Most amateurs do not have the lenses, flashes and equipment capable of providing you with the higher quality photos under many circumstances. It would take thousands of dollars to get the minimum setup that I use at each wedding, not considering backup equipment.
Experience and skill! A skilled photographer will have many weddings worth of experience, while a friend may only have one or two... or no experience with weddings at all. One of the things with wedding photography is that you must be prepared to adapt to almost anything, and I can tell you from experience, sometimes you are thrown odd ball circumstances that would literally cripple an amateur photographer and completely ruin your precious photos. He or she may take good pictures around the house, but what if they were put in a difficult lighting situation that would require skills and knowledge to work around? Would they be prepared to adapt and make the best out of the situation, or would they be caught in an unfortunate scenario that could ruin your photos?
Backup equipment! What would happen if your photographer tripped and his camera fell 4 feet down on a hardwood floor... completely destroying the camera, lens, flash and possibly the photos? Most amateurs do not have two high quality SLR cameras and an array of lenses to fall back on, should anything happen. A good professional photographer will always be equipped with a complete backup set of equipment
Quality photographs! Having experience, skill and the right equipment, a professional photographer is in a much better position to capture your memories with high quality photographs. Your precious memories can last a lifetime, so why settle for less than the best in preserving those memories?
Let your friend or family member socialize! While it is awfully nice of a friend to shoot your wedding, it will tie their hands from freely socializing at your event. They will be busy working, when your other friends and family will be enjoying the special day.
Who will do the post-processing? I'm not talking about developing or printing the photos, I'm talking about sitting down and going through each picture to make sure it is up to quality standards before sending them to print. This can take hours, especially if the photographer is inexperienced and is not used to turning out perfect pictures the first time. Will you do this? Will your friend do this? A professional photographer will naturally go through your photos before handing them over to you.
Procedures and regulations: I am amazed at how many people aren't aware of the common rules that are in place for a professional wedding photographer at many churches. For example, many times you will get in trouble with the priest or minister if you use a flash, come down the isle to get closer for ring shots, or even go along side the church to get various angles. A professional is aware of details of this nature and will help you ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Professional and discreet: A good wedding photographer will usually position himself in areas that are not highly noticeable and yet can capture great shots. There are times when even some photographers will literally make themselves the center of attention while trying to get in on the action. This is not professional nor curious. A photographer should be as unseen as possible, yet be capable of capturing great shots at the same time. This is one of my standard goals at any wedding!