I am enfatuated with taking wedding photos. I'm enchanted with the mastery of the art of portraits, specifically weddings. I leave everything on the court when it comes to giving everything I creatively can to my wedding couples. They deserve everything I can muster from my creative well.
Why?
Because wedding photos are that collection of images you will refer to, look at, and show people for the rest of your life. They are the physical item that triggers the memories of the day your family began. The images are shared with grandparents, parents and friends, then over time they are shared with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
I received this today: "jen i just want to thank you and aaron for doing our photos [referring to their out-of-day session].. i just recieved my other photos [from their other photographer] and realize i would have been absolutely devestated if this is all that i would have walked away with, im so sad about these pictures but so excited to see more from you! i have loved the ones that i have seen!! THANKS SO SO SO much"
Why am I talking about this? I offer out-of-day wedding sessions for a reason. If you couldn't hire me for your wedding day, I can still photograph you and your groom in your wedding attire outside of your wedding day. I have booked a number of these sessions...for a number of reasons. There are some sad stories that accompany these sessions.
The message from my poor bride gets my ire up...because I was one of those disappointed brides after seeing my own wedding photos that were taken by an underskilled photographer. My own wedding images sucked! I went with the cheapest guy and I have had one barely-tolerable wedding image on my wall for twenty years. I've had to live without wedding photos, essentially. I don't show my album. The pictures that family and friends took were no different, often better than the ones the "professionals" took. This was one big reason why I am so devoted to weddings. I don't want any brides to feel like I felt...I want them to remember the happiness that they felt, not how disappointed they were. I want art on their walls, not wondering which images were taken by dad and which images were taken by the hired professional. That is why I offer these out-of-day sessions...to try to fix or salve situations where a photographer let down their client with substandard imagery.
In behalf of all brides and grooms who have been provided substandard imagery of their wedding (because I'm part of that club too) - I say this: If you are a hired photographer, or a well-meaning friend or family member who "is good with a camera" who volunteers to do the wedding photography- PLEASE make sure you are delivering proper imagery to your clients. Get involved in the industry or make sure you have made an honest, non-ego-driven comparison of what you deliver and what others deliver. Do you know the elements of a well-crafted image yourself? Understand where your images stand. Competing your images tells you exactly, objectively where you stand. Just because you own a camera it does not give you the right to be a photographer where you ruin someone's wedding. I learned to check my ego at the door long ago. It's not about me, it is about these brides and grooms who spend a ton of money and time to create a family and it is our job to record it properly. If you are in Canada, visit PPOC.ca (Professional Photographers of Canada) or if you are in the U.S. or other location check out the PPA, Professional Photographers of America. These organizations offer educational opportunities and tremendous growth. There is a lot of raw artistic talent out there, and there are people who absolutely deserve to be professionals in this industry. Just make sure you are one of them.
I was new to the industry too - 9 years ago. In a very short time from my beginning, I compared what I was delivering to what master photographers were delivering. I was NOT ok with what I was delivering in comparison....so I got educated. I remembered how I felt as a disappointed bride and vowed I would never do that to someone. In time I started competing my images and I paid my dues with getting critiqued. I checked my ego and learned to love image competition and the education opportunity it was. Photography is a symphony, not a one dimensional cute and trendy poorly-lit picture. Lighting, posing, expression...I could go on...they all have to be continually refined to get the images that sing. Eventually I started doing well in print competition and bringing home a lot of big awards. I still ate up getting my images critiqued. As a photographer, you are telling a story - you HAVE to do it properly. If you can't afford to be educated to deliver well-crafted photos - move on to something else. I know this sounds harsh - and I don't mean to offend. I just REALLY care about our industry and these poor brides and grooms who feel as I felt 20 years ago after seeing my own wedding photos. I know their pain. It hurts. (I'm STILL talking about it 20 years later. I don't even remember who my photographer was...he decided to leave the business shortly after I got married, but I have to live with his photography (or lack of it) the rest of my life.)
For the non-photographers, look for a photographer that is certified or accredited in some way. Awards are also telling as long as they are professionally-given, rather than an award from a drugstore or gas station. Members of the Professional Photographers of Canada are accredited and professional print judges have judged their work to be saleable. There are SO many people who appoint themselves the title of photographer - how does one know who knows what they are doing?
I hope I haven't offended 90% of the people out there. :-) I'm a straight-shooter and I'm passionate about the artistry of my industry that seems to be quickly being diluted and falling away. If you are a photographer who wants to look into options for learning, send me a message. If I was getting brain surgery, I'd want that person board certified and experienced. A wedding photographer isn't a life-saving profession, but it is a legacy-saving profession. The brain or heart surgeon prolongs your life, but photographers prolong and help tell the story of your legacy - your story, that will last long after you are gone.
This is one of my happy brides because I wanted to have an image in this post, but not from one of the sessions I was referring to.
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