While I was at the Chillington hall wedding open day yesterday I was told by two couples they were either having their photographs taken by a friend or by someone who was charging them a couple of hundred pounds for the day. I really can not stress enough how much a risk this is.
When things go bad they can have a great impact on your wedding day and for a long time after, an example of this can be found on the BBC’s website and a text version can also be found of the Daily Mails site. A couple have taken their wedding photographer to court, and won damages after the pictures they provided were of a very poor quality. Yes the couple have won their court battle but for the rest of their married life they will still be without their wedding pictures.
With the advent of cheap good quality cameras and even cheaper software it is incredibly easy for anyone to set themselves up as a wedding photographer. With £440 pounds you could buy an entry level digital SLR camera and a copy of Photoshop elements and sell yourself as a wedding photographer. A lot of the people that do this work full time in their day job so they can afford to charge next to nothing to cover a wedding or worse still charge you the same price as a reputable photographer for their services. The main problem with this is for your £440 you do not get a manual telling you all the experience you need to have to be a successful wedding photographer, the fact is there is no book that is able to substitute for years of experience.
The other most important thing missing is back up equipment. I have had two issues this year where I have had to use my back up equipment. These issues are fairly rare but like all electronic equipment, cameras can fail or ‘lock up’. Because I carry back up equipment to each and every event, both times this year I have been able to switch gear and continue shooting without comprising the quality of coverage I pride myself on.
There are several ways you can avoid future disappointment when choosing your wedding photographer,
- Chose an experienced photographer who is able to provide several testimonials and contact details for a couple of them so you can check their validity
- Check your photographer is a member of a photographic society such as the SWPP, MPA, RPS etc.
- Ensure your photographer has adequate back up equipment
- Ensure your photographer has personal liability insurance as well as public liability insurance
- Ensure you see more than one album from just one wedding, it is quite easy to create an album of a collection of weddings images
- Chose a photographer that has a professional looking website, while website are much cheaper these days, it still takes time and effort to keep it up to date.
- Finally, if the price seems too good to be true, it generally is.
If you follow the points I have listed above this will help you avoid some of the issues mentioned in the BBC article posted above.
If you think about it, other than each other and your wedding rings, the only thing you will have after your wedding day is your photographs. Having a wonderful collection of images in a beautiful album that you can look back at for generations after your wedding day is worth spending a little time now making sure a cheaper option will not cost your dearly in the future.
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