"Uncle Bob's Shooting My Wedding"

Although I have not run across this in a while, I have heard from other photographers who have said that they lost potential clients because the bride found a relative or a friend to photograph their wedding.

I've posted about this topic before on my blog, but I thought it would be worth mentioning it again to any new visitors to this blog.

Here are the benefits for having "Uncle Bob" photograph your wedding:

1. It's a lot cheaper. You may even get Uncle Bob to do it for free.
2. You know your photographer. That is always helpful.
3. Everyone at the wedding knows Uncle Bob.
4. Uncle Bob just bought a digital camera so he's anxious to shoot your wedding.
5. Uncle Bob will give you the digital files of the wedding so you can make lots of reprints for a low cost.
5. Uncle Bob's been taking photos for many years. He's got to be pretty good by now.

These are all great reasons to let Uncle Bob photograph your wedding! But here's the drawbacks for having Uncle Bob do it and reasons to hire a professional photographer:

1. While it is true that getting something for free is cheaper than paying for it, there's a reason professional photographers get paid to photograph weddings. Style, experience and reliability.
2. Getting to know your photographer is easy. Just hire someone personable. A good wedding photographer always wants to meet his clients and get to know them. Avoid those who will not meet with you.
3. Sometimes you get more respect when you don't know someone. Will everyone take Uncle Bob seriously on the day of the wedding and will they cooperate with him?
4. Many wedding photographers will have the digital files available to you as well. Not all do, but many offer this now. So you can always make more reprints later.
5. Although Uncle Bob has been doing photography for a long time, how many weddings has he actually photographed? Was he the main photographer or just taking some snapshots at some weddings?
6. Professional wedding photographers go through lots of training and many have photographed hundreds of weddings. They know what to expect, what to prepare for and how to get the shot. They have top of the line photo gear able to get images with great sharpness, color and contrast. They know how to pose people, get stylistic photojournalistic shots and how to work with a variety of people.
7. Unlike other types of photography, in wedding photography there's often only once chance to capture the right image. There's no second chance to take a photo. An experienced wedding photographer can often anticipate when this moment happens and capture the shot easily.

Don't take a gamble on your wedding day. Hire a professional.