Five reasons to book a professional wedding photographer and why your friend shouldn’t tackle your wedding photography.

I get that the costs of weddings begin to mount up really quickly and soon can spiral out of control.  And I get a few enquiries a year that end with ‘Thank you but our friend said they would do the wedding photography for us’.  And that’s okay… sometimes, but I’ve also been in the position where clients that aren’t happy with the wedding images taken by friends come back to me, to see if there is anything that can be done to improve the images.

So, here are five reasons why you should book a professional wedding photographer.

Number 1:

Professional wedding photographers make a career from being just that, wedding photographers.  For most being a professional wedding photographer is much more than just a job for them.  I have yet to meet a more passionate, dedicated group of professionals.

Number 2:

Professional wedding photographers are insured, both public liability and indemnity insurance.  This protects you as the client and protects us as the photographer.  But more importantly, there are some venues that will not allow uninsured suppliers (even if they are your very best friend with a camera), to work / shoot on their premises without professional insurance.  Also, your wedding insurance could become valid if you use uninsured suppliers on your day.

Number 3:

Your peace of mind.  We’ve seen every kind of scenario; we’ve photographed in every kind of light and in every kind of weather.  We are prepared too.  We don’t just turn up with one decent camera purchased from John Lewis, we bring back – up equipment for our back-up equipment.  We carry enough equipment with us to cover every possible eventuality.  That’s what being a professional means.  Professional wedding photographers only get one chance to get your wedding images, it’s a lot of amazing pressure.  Do you really want to pass that on to your old uni-friend?

Number 4:

You’re also booking our artistic vision.  A vision that may have developed over ten years + of photographing wedding professionally.  Most, with the aid of a camera, can record what’s in front of them.  Professional wedding photographers can see what’s there and create an image that captures the emotion and the feel in that one split second in order that it will still make you feel that way in 20 years time when you look through your images.  We are basically artists with a serious geeky equipment addiction.

Number 5:

It’s the whole professional package, not just showing up on the day to take a few shots.  From the moment we communicate, to the moment you visit my studio to the moment I send you your contracts, to the moment I shoot your pre-wedding shoot, all the way to the moment you receive your wedding images, I hope you feel that I’ve been professional an dyou have booked a professional service.

It’s not just professional wedding photography that you are booking me on, it’s the way I present and run my wedding photography business, it’s the extras you can choose to have from gorgeous albums to signing mounts.  It’s the way that after 9 years (as recently happened) you can back to me to say that you have lost your wedding images and I can get a brand new USB with your wedding images couriered to you the next afternoon.

This is why you book a passionate, professional, experienced and established wedding photographer.  And this is why your Uni-friend can have another glass of Prosecco and not have to worry about taking your wedding photographs.

Book a professional wedding photographer, honestly, it is money well spent.