A frequently asked question, and ranks alongside "I am a young actor/model/singer/performer and have limited funds. Can't you just do the shots and give them to me? You'll get loads of exposure" (we'll address this question later)
This is a true account of a wedding
which recently took place. It was sent to me by another photographer;
“A good friend of mine went to a
wedding last Friday. The wedding was for 40 people, cost around £4200
for the venue. The bride spent over £1500 on a Charlotte Balbier
wedding gown, she had a Jenny Packham hairpiece and amulet, she wore
Jimmy Choo shoes of more than £1000.
The cake was “Amazing” and
apparently there were “flowers and huge swags everywhere”. The
earrings cost “an arm and a leg”. There was a horse-drawn
carriage and fireworks at the end of the day.
However, the couple decided they didn't
need a wedding photographer as a 'friend' had a camera and could do
the job. First of all the camera battery died during the vows, but it
was ok as she had a spare. Unfortunately she was using a 'cheap and
cheerful' CF card which became corrupted leaving only 23 images
available from the 'thousands' taken. All 23 images are of the
flowers.”
This couple are left with no
photographs of the people who shared their wedding day, but they do
have some lovely photos of some flowers they once bought.
Moral of the tale?
Professional
photographers offer a 'professional service', and as with every
professional service there are charges. Those charges are there for very good reasons, but ask yourself this - “What price memories?” because in
the end photographs are memories made tangible.
