Just a Reminder

Your wedding is around the corner and you are looking for a photographer. So you can ask your friend who owns a very expensive and fancy camera to be your wedding photographer. You assume that with a good camera, he can do as good a job as a professional. Best of all, it is free! If your friend can indeed do that well, go for it, forget about this article. But if you are unsure, read on.

Behind the Camera

Indeed, the technological evolution of today's camera had helped the photographer take pictures at ease and with better results. But one fundamental rule has not changed, it is not the camera that takes good pictures but the person behind the camera.

So your friend owns a very good camera and he can take pictures but...

Beautiful photograph does not just show you the appearances of the subject, it is also a visual biography, capturing the couples revealing their moods of that day. This is not by accident. It is a result of skilled and experienced photographers who knows how to take advantage of all kinds of light, colour films, black and white films and a variety of photography techniques. They see and relate to a chosen subject and use the various skills and compositional elements that will combine to make good photograph. Most of these abilities to take superb portraits come from the photographers' passionate interest in their subject and cumulative practical experience in and dedication to the medium.

But my friend does it for free...

All those months of decision-making, booking, coordination and scheduling can feel like a geological epoch, while the ceremony and reception sometimes seem to be over in a flash. Because you won't get a second chance to record these important moments, you need to be sure that the camera is rolling and the right person is behind it.

When choosing your wedding photographer, you are not just paying dollars and cents, but also your own time (and your family's) on the wedding day. That is why you should not settle on the most economical photographer, but seek out a skilled artisan whose style matches your vision of your wedding day, one who has an eye for superb images. You see, a skillfully photographed wedding album will recapture the memories by conveying emotions, romance, humor and the story of your special day. So whenever you revisit your wedding album, it will bring out all this elements for you to re-live time and time again.

Relationship

Successful photographers often depend upon good relationships between the photographer and the wedding couple. Unfortunately for most people, there is a natural apprehension of the camera and the lights. A professional photographer will try their best to calm your nerves and make you feel comfortable before they take time to pose you to create either formal or candid images while your friends click away, capturing your nervous moments...

Right Place, Right Time

I have provided enough film to capture every moment...

Not all-great moments are captured by chance alone. Most of the successful shots were anticipated where the photographers had stationed themselves at the right place and at the right time to capture that very important moment. All this require fore-thought and planning and can only happened because of the skill and the cumulative experienced of the professional photographers. So if your friend missed a few previous moment, it is not his or the camera's fault. You should have told him/her.

Your Decision

Your wedding album is not just pictures, it contains visual records of your special day. It should contain all the moments that you cherish and want to visually re-live again in the future. If your friend can do all this, great! Pay him if you have to. If not, for goodness sake! pay someone who can do it.