Is There Still Value In Professional Photography?

A lot of people are asking this question... whether they verbalize it or not. "Is there still value in professional photography?"

Let's face it. Many years ago when we were all still shooting film, if you didn't know what you were doing, you could end up with a really bad photo. Dark exposures, color shifts, poor composition... You just could not see your end result until it was too late. You'd take a picture, hope for the best and then bring your film to the print lab and cross your fingers that you had a good photo. Sometimes you did, sometimes you didn't. You just didn't know until it was too late.

A professional photographer knows about lighting and knows about cameras to get consistently decent photos. He knows how to creatively get good depth of field or to lower the depth of field to get a dramatic shot. The pro photographer also knows how to compose the photo so it looked nice and people's heads are not cut off on the frame. You didn't have to worry because you knew that his/her exposures were going to be technically correct because he knows lighting.

Today? Well, if you take a shot with a digital camera, just look at the back of your camera and check it out. If it is not good, take it again. Keep taking it until it looks right. Trial and error. Make a few control changes here and there. Eventually, it will look like a photo similar to the professional. So who needs a pro?

Well, this can work if you think about it. Do it often enough, and you don't really need a professional. You don't even need to know much about photography. If you keep changing one or two parameters, the photo will continue to change until you finally end up with the right exposure and the right composition. Perfect! No cost to you by hiring a professional! :)

This works sometimes, but not all the time. Think about a situation like weddings. You can hire a professional and pay thousands of dollars, or you can do exactly as I describe above and ask a friend to shoot the wedding with his new digital camera. Eventually, he's going to end up with some good photos and you would have saved a lot of money. But, do you have the time to stand around waiting while he figures out which buttons to push to get that right exposure? Can he capture the "Kiss" shot at the wedding fast enough by trial and error? Will he be able to shoot the bouquet toss fast enough by doing trial and error? Does he know how to pose people so that they look good in the photos? Does he have "people skills" so that he doesn't offend your Aunt Martha by saying or doing something wrong?

Really, if you want things done fast and right... there is still value in professional photography, especially if you don't have the luxury of time, like at a wedding. Besides, what kind of camera is your friend going to use at something like a wedding? A $200 point and shoot camera with a cheap built-in lens and flash? Or is he using a new low priced digital SLR camera with a kit lens? Can he shoot well in low light and not have grainy and noisy looking pictures?

A professional photographer is going to use top of the line equipment that costs thousands of dollars. He's going to be insured for errors and omissions and liability. He's going to bring backup cameras in case something happens to one camera. He's going to know how to take a good picture consistently and quickly and will have the right people skills so as not to offend your guests. And yes, he's going to cost you some money... but it's worth it.

There is still value in professional photography. You just have to think about it to realize it and to appreciate it.