How to Save Big Money By Not Hiring a Professional

<p>Shows just how much professional wedding photographers gouge their clients.</p>

<p>http://petapixel.com/2013/10/04/save-big-money-hiring-professional-wedding-photographer/?fb_action_ids=10153304890195494&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210153304890195494%22%3A459222144191506}&action_type_map={%2210153304890195494%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map=[]</p>

<p>The author was partly being funny there, but he did miss the fact that there are amateurs with FX cameras and 2.8 constant zoom lenses who'd happily shoot weddings for free if given the chance. Will they give the same quality as a pro? No. But people who cannot afford 2500 for a wedding photographer don't care about the quality as much as making sure they have some memories captured. </p>

<p>It seems to me that you shouldn't do that unless you don't care too much how the pictures come out. </p>

<p>Judging what I see on Craigslist.....bride/groom wants pretty much something for nothing. I mean 200 or 500 for wedding pics and $15K for the gown. This undercurrent is so severe, that unless you're really good and innovative, most wedding 'togs are put in a strange position...and that alone creates stress....and the wedding hasn't begun yet. :>)</p>

<p>Les</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Entertaining! Thanks, Josh.</p>

<p>People who've been raised on iPhone snapshots can't tell the difference between a good photo and a bad one anymore than someone raised on McDonald's hamburgers knows what real food tastes like, so any photo that's not too out of focus or overexposed looks OK to them. You have to know what real quality is to know when it's missing. </p>

<p>Seriously, over the past few years, I've found that for most couples I know and their circle of acquaintances, the pro wedding photos are rarely looked at again but the ones taken by guests with phones and little point and shoots get seen and passed around endlessly. Who cares about a bunch of posed photos when you have photos of the real thing. It's almost like the official wedding photos have become just a necessary formality.</p>

<i>People who've been raised on iPhone snapshots can't tell the difference between a good photo and a bad one anymore than someone raised on McDonald's hamburgers knows what real food tastes like, so any photo that's not too out of focus or overexposed looks OK to them.</i><P>

People over the past several decades were raised on shots from Polaroids and Instamatics which were largely inferior (as far as sharpness and accurate exposure) to iPhone photos. People are probably much <b>more</b> visually literate than they were in the past. That's one of the reasons that people will no longer pay lots of money for someone whose primary skill is getting things in focus and properly exposed. The same tired poses, compositions, and lighting formulas aren't hallmarks of "real quality;" they're just hallmarks of a traditional approach that's largely fallen out of favor.

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<p>People are probably much <strong>more</strong> visually literate than they were in the past.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That's true but the technological advancement overwhelms this factor. I've done over 100 weddings and engagements now and I'd never needed to figure out the correct exposure for the hundred of thousands of shots I've taken. With a full frame camera, you can overexpose by 2 stops still have nil side effect in the final jpg. As long as you get the focus right, you have to really mess up badly not to be able to use that shot.</p>

<p>And it's not hard to get a thin DOF artsy picture with the large aperture lenses. You still need the knowledge but the camera does a lot for you already.</p>

<p>And the iphone selfie trend actually helps my job. Long as I am able to beat those selfies, the clients generally will have no problem with the final product.</p>

<p>I see very often a guest upload instantly a grainy iphone photo about the ceremony or a pose I made. They'll get tons of likes or "great pic" comments without fail. That's the standard people are accustomed to nowadays.</p>

<p>I enjoyed the article actually. I thought it made a case FOR getting a professional photographer. Let's not forget how much work is put into planning a wedding. As if any couple would go through the measures stated in the article. And that's where I think the point was. All that work to save $1/hour? No way... If anything it would make people realize that a photographer is well worth the money.</p>

<p>There is a fine line between artistry and service. I think we all need to think that we are providing a service with guarantees and insurance. We are also selling peace of mind. The only thing that really sucks is that when it comes to making a decision, there are too many options, too many photographers. </p>

<p>And that's where questions made by the photographer are important during the consultation. Know what the expectations are of the couple and provide that. Don't go above and beyond if they do not need you to. That's where many of us get all worked up. We continue to assume we are being under valued, but maybe it's because too much work is being spent on the project. </p>

<p>This is the business we live in. If you want to sell art, then sell art. Charge up the wall if you want. If you want to run a service business and make money by offering the best service for their dollar, then do what you have to do. Bridging the gap is what I hope people would strive for, but that's the challenge. </p>

<p>We've seen this happen to the music business. It is happening to the photography business. If there is a lesson to be learnt is that we all have to adapt and stop trying to get people to understand and appreciate our talent. Get them to appreciate your business and make them understand the value in reliability and make your art become a second thought. This may be the only way we all get to continue to express ourselves creatively. Yes, it's a little bit about selling out. I don't like it, but I'm trying to accept it. TRYING....</p>

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<p>We continue to assume we are being under valued, but maybe it's because too much work is being spent on the project.<br>

</p>

</blockquote>

<p>You took the word right out of my mouth and I'm glad someone share the same vision as I have. Photography is a kind of service just like any other. There're ways to make this a profitable business by charging $1000 and there are ways to lose money by charging $3000 a job.<br>

<br>

There's no one way to run this photography business and you have to find a way to make this work if you wanted to stay in business a long time.</p>

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<p>That's one of the reasons that people will no longer pay lots of money for someone whose primary skill is getting things in focus and properly exposed.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I would think those skills are only the basic skills that any professional photographer is expected to have control over, not what they are getting paid for.</p>

<p>Society's priorities are constantly changing. We are being spoiled by "instant, now" lifestyle. Television, movies and commercials give people a false sense of reality, yet they expect that as the norm. It's all part of technology. <br>

As photographers, we have suffered because of technology. The public's expectations are unrealistic due to technology. The huge influx of photographers working in the industry due to technology has mushroomed so that instead of 5 photographers vying for the same bride, it's now 100. Technology created that along with a horrible economy. Inexpensive cameras and websites,, photoshop, and free internet presence. The actual skills of photography has taken a back seat. Technology created that.<br>

And the ENTIRE industry is suffering because of it. Where will it go from here ? Who know's. My prediction is this........and I said this ten years ago, there is the higher end market where one can still earn a decent wage, and then there's everyone else fighting for the scraps........dropping prices to get the job.<br>

Actually, if one can harvest a system for being a high volume, low budget photographer consistently booked, and develop a system of shoot and burn with ZERO post work, once can be somewhat successful. <br>

it all deems on what one deems successful monetarily. </p>

<p>Society's priorities are constantly changing. We are being spoiled by an "instant, now" lifestyle. Television, movies and commercials give people a false sense of reality, yet they expect that as the norm. It's all part of technology. <br>

As photographers, we have suffered because of technology. The public's expectations are unrealistic due to technology. The huge influx of photographers working in the industry due to technology has mushroomed so that instead of 5 photographers vying for the same bride, it's now 100. Technology created that along with a horrible economy. Inexpensive cameras and websites,, photoshop, and free internet presence. The actual skills of photography has taken a back seat. Technology created that.<br>

And the ENTIRE industry is suffering because of it. Where will it go from here ? Who know's. My prediction is this........and I said this ten years ago, there is the higher end market where one can still earn a decent wage, and then there's everyone else fighting for the scraps........dropping prices to get the job.<br>

Actually, if one can harvest a system for being a high volume, low budget photographer consistently booked, and develop a system of shoot and burn with ZERO post work, once can be somewhat successful. <br>

It all depends on what one deems successful monetarily. </p>

<p>I am neither a professional groom or professional photographer, but I have been an amateur at both.<br>

There are great photographers that don't do it for a living, and one can get some decent photos of their wedding from this friend. Though their lack of experience vs. a pro who shoots weddings for a living will be apparent. And to some, that is still acceptable, to others, not so much. The public's perception (or at least my perception of their perception) is that people think digital, so anything can be done. Heck, in a 30 second commercial Microsoft can take people out of one picture, put them in another, change the whole background, save it and e-mail it to a friend (less than 30 seconds). Of course in reality, Microsoft can't even start a program on my computer in 30 seconds.<br>

As a photographer, I can tell you that many years of taking pictures as a hobbyist (though photography is no where close to my number one hobby), I can assure you that I am better than most non-professionals and no where close to the level of a competent professional. The problem is there are a lot of non-competent professionals out there that give a bad name to the real pros. Believe, I've seen it myself. You paid $2,500 for those pictures? I could've taken better shots with a decent point and shoot!<br>

If I were to get married again, I'd place a point and shoot digital camera on every table and tell my guests to take as many pics as they could. Maybe they'd be less perfect, but odds are that there will be a lot of "fun" shots. And it is the fun shots that people want to look back on, "how great was that wedding, we had so much fun!"<br>

In the end, most brides (and that is who matters) want a couple of really great shots that make them look beautiful (and in some cases, that aint so easy!) and happy.<br>

Another point, if I were a pro wedding photographer, I would be more than happy to sell all the digital images, untouched, at a very reasonable price. I would include with that, one completely re-touched and ready to print image for them to compare and have printed. They'll come back after trying it themselves and give you more business, to post process and prepare for printing properly.</p>