My cousin got married this Saturday. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding, and my cousin looked stunning. It was beautiful - I cried. But I'm a sap too (seriously, never tell an emotional story to me, because I will struggle to keep from tearing up!)
I have worked in photofinishing now for 5 years. I have printed more than my share of weddings. Weddings prove to be an interesting industry for photographers. I would definitely say I have seen all kinds of weddings, and all ranges of talent when it comes to wedding photography.
Now, I do my share of photography, and I very much enjoy the hobby. I have never had any desire to make it a job. If I sell some work, I sell some work. As far as I am concerned, there are professional photographers out there who are far more talented, and I would much rather they make some money doing what they do, than I undersell them and give someone amateur photos (thereby taking some business away from a quality photographer).
I look at my photos now, and I look at the ones I was taking 4 years ago when I really started in photography and I definitely must say I have shown some improvement. I'm not great by any means, but I'm comfortable saying I've progressed beyond the level of a snapshot photographer. I really enjoy candid photography of people - and now that I have a wide angle lens, I have really been liking landscape photography.
My family just could not understand why I did not look forward to the opportunity to shoot my first wedding for my cousin. I tried to explain it to them. I have such strong feelings about this industry and it comes a lot from working on the consumer level. I can't even begin to count the number of weddings I've developed photos for, where the person says "I was THE wedding photographer" and all the rolls are underexposed, photos are out of focus, and the backgrounds overtake the subject. I swear, sometimes the only reason photos looked half way decent is because at my work, we still take the time to do color correction.
It absolutely breaks my heart to think that on one of the most special days in a couples' lives, they have only mediocre pictures to show for it. Because, if you think about it, in 10 years...all you have left is the photos. The cake gets eaten, tents get torn down, music stops and flowers die. All you have is the photographs. Sometimes, you need them as something to burn if the marriage becomes part of the statistic.
But I feel so strongly that every bride deserves a few things on her wedding day. 1) That she look her absolute best. There are very few times in a woman's life that she can really feel her most beautiful and most like a princess. Speaking as someone who missed her prom - I just want to wear that freaking dress and have my hair and make up done beautiful! It's the only other chance I really have. Most of us do not get to attend the Oscars and dress up again later in life. 2) That her photographs reflect that fact and express the joy and celebration of the day.
I have read a number blogs recently that criticize the wedding photography industry claiming that they are in a long line of wedding related purchases that have gotten drastically out of control. While, I do agree that the wedding industry is getting blown out of proportion, especially in a country where the divorce rate is close to 60% (seems we should focus more on the MARRIAGE rather than the party), the photography is in a class of its' own, purely for the fact that it is the only thing that is not consumable.
Being that the photography is the only thing that lasts and becomes a part of a family record (much like the family bible), the pressure that is on the shoulders of a wedding photographer is tremendous.
The other thing I look at too, for that $6000, you are not paying for just YOUR wedding photography. You are paying that photographer for the YEARS they have spent LEARNING how to take those photos.
A part of me cringes when I get people coming in to buy a camera and they say to me "I want a good camera because I want to take wedding photos" or "We don't want to hire a photographer, so I'm just going to buy the camera and take them ourselves" and by all means do not waste your money giving your guests disposable cameras - in 5 years I have NEVER printed anything worth ANYTHING from a disposable wedding camera!
Anyway, despite my better judgement I ended up agreeing to shoot my cousin's wedding. I offered to help them find a wedding photographer, I tried to convince them to do otherwise, but in the end...I'm a sucker.
I spent weeks going through photography websites, reading books with guides...getting advice from my fellow camera club members. I thought I was going to throw up as I boarded the plane to head home for the wedding. The sheer pressure I felt from having to capture such an important day, plus the fact that, unlike normal customers, I have to SEE these people again should I completely screw this up. I was so nervous about it, that I spent so much time going through the checklist (heir and spare for all my camera equipment) that I left my pants at home.
I rented myself a 70-200 f2.8 lens (Canon "L" glass!! *drools*) for the ceremony as I did not want to use a flash and distract from the ceremony. And I went to the rehearsal to test out shots and get an idea where I needed to stand.
To shorten this already getting too lengthy blog, this was the result.
This is where I see the difference between myself - an amateur who has never photographed a wedding before, and a professional who has trained and has years of experience. Overall, I enjoy this shot, I like the pose and the wide angle. However, that little alcove in the background draws my eye from the shot and I fixate on the music stands. That is something I should have seen PRIOR to hitting the shutter button and should have moved to get it out of the frame -or- gone and cleaned it up in the background. Several photos had to get rejected because of the open door to the office that I missed until about half way through the photo session.
I think someone with a point and shoot camera could have taken this shot.
Now granted - the posed pictures are merely hack shots. They are shots that you need to have, but most people only print a handful of them. Even still, I do not know the first thing about posing people. I ended up hitting the "x" button [in lightroom] to reject several photos because people were too far apart and I had the guys facing the camera square on.
This is why I feel like people should work alongside an experienced photographer for a number of weddings before trying to branch out on their own. When it came to the posing session I was just winging it and trying to pretend like I knew what I was doing.
I also was not able to get control of all the other people around me with cameras! Flashes were firing off at Jaime throughout the session that many of the shots have a strange shadow going across her chin! *sighs* and some shots I have people looking in multiple directions.
Anyway, I was glad to be done with the posed pictures. I have always preferred candids and the reception was certain to allow for many opportunities.
All in all, I am glad I did the wedding for my cousin. I am touched that she trusted me enough with her photos. I don't mind doing it for family, but I feel I still have a long way to go before I would ever consider doing a stranger's wedding.
But, considering all the time I spent weeding through photos, running around the church - and the sheer stress/pressure of shooting a wedding - I can completely understand why photographers charge what they do.
Lord knows I would be more than willing to pay for a photographer who has the experience and the talent to give me the photos I feel every bride deserves for their wedding.
Oh, and I am probably going to photographing my other cousin's wedding next summer too. *shakes head*.
