There is a lot of talk about ways to save money on the cost for a Gulf Shores photographer.
Some people are saying why not just have a friend shoot your wedding. They go on to say that the new crop of digital cameras are so good that you just need to point and shoot and you will end up with great photos.
From someone who is a Orange beach photographer and has shoot hundreds of weddings and experienced all the problems a photographer can run into at a wedding and reception please do yourself a favor and read all this before you make a serious mistake and have a friend shoot your wedding.
One of the first things we see is that many people especially brides seem to think just because a friend has a good camera and that they took a camera class that they now know how to shoot a wedding. Or their friend is a landscape photographer or some other type of photographer so they think they must know how to shoot a wedding. It's just a photo right? Well NO its not the same. Yes its a photo but making great wedding photos is not easy it's a job and takes training and experience along with good professional equipment.
Someone with photography experience may know how you use a camera but that dose not in any way suggest that they know anything about shooting a wedding.
Why a wedding so different to shoot then another type of photography.
First off a true professional photographer will specialize in one type of photography.
They will study this style of photography for years and years to become in the top of their field A landscape photographer will study working with slower shutter speeds, working with color and enhancement filters and will use different lens and even different cameras then a wedding photographer will.
Looking at a sports photographer they will be studying shooting fast moving objects like people running and will study using overhead off camera lighting inside large gyms and indoor stadiums. They will also use and have a lot of high powered zoom lens not the kind of lens used for weddings.
The wildlife photographer will be studying shooting fast moving objects, studying different kinds of animals and birds, Using filters, camping out for days at a time just to get one shot of a hard to find animal this is nothing like a wedding.
A wedding is a social event with people moving around and from wedding to wedding is different in many ways its not like shooting a non moving landscape photo or a photo of a brid in the wild or even like a runner.
The Fort Walton wedding photos.
A good wedding photographer is on a learning life experience. We study off camera lighting, On camera lighting, Natural lighting, Posing people and posing groups of people like the wedding party, The wedding photographer needs to shoot in the widest of conditions.
We need to go from a dark church that has photography restrictions that a friend photographer may never even know about till its to late like the day of the wedding.
Or we may be shooting a wedding on the beach in super bright sunlight shooting on into sunset into the dark and then going into a low lit reception.
Wedding photographers have to shoot in many different lighting conditions that a friend photographer or even a experienced photographer that is not a wedding photographer will not be able to understand and deal with.
The wedding photographer needs to know when to use flash and when not to use flash or when to bounce the flash or use a off camera flash. All things a friend photographer will have no clue how to do.
You need extra battery's and lots of them, good quality lens not kit lens that come with camera kits.
A good wedding photographer will know how to pose everyone for the group family and bridal photos after the wedding and will know how to light up the photos to look their best. Shooting large groups is not a easy thing to get right.
He or she will also know how to then pose the bride and groom into romantic poses and know how to let the bride and groom be themselves for a more candid style of photo.
Then on to the reception the photographer many times will coordinate with the DJ so the photographer knows what is coming up next and is on top of everything at all times.
Many photographers bring in supplemental lighting to the reception as off camera lighting. The cost of the extra lights in most cases cost more then the complete camera set up many friend type photographers even have invested in their complete system.
Lets talk about camera lens.
The average friend photographer will be shooting with a Canon digital rebel or a Nikon D40, D50 or D60 or even a Oly camera of some sort all cameras in the $500 to $1200 price range that come with kit lens. The cameras can take good photos but the kit lens are not very good.
A good wedding camera just the body with no lens starts at $1500 and on up to $5000.
The kit lens that come with all the lower priced cameras are beginner lens and none of them are good for wedding use. None of them are what is called a low light lens and the image quality of the lower priced lens or kit lens are very poor.
Good quality lens cost a lot many times more then the camera body.
A wedding photographer will or should have lens that are good in low light and be able to go to F4 or even 2.8 or 1.4 consistent at any zoom setting.
The average cost for pro camera lens for a wide angle zoom starts at $1200 to $2000 and every wedding photographer need a great zoom lens that is a 2.8m lens for shooting in low light - this will set you back $1400 to $2000. Many wedding photographers will also have a few special lens just for creative shots that no other lens can get. This kind of lens is called a prime lens or even some use a Fish eye lens and they range from $300 on up to $4000 each.
So the average pro wedding photographer will be shooting your wedding with around $5000 to $10,000 in camera equipment just to take all your wedding photos. They will also use 3 to $5000 in software to edit your images and create a on line gallery and make custom wedding album designs. Editing the images and designing a album can take 35 to 40 hours of work after the wedding day.
So if you really want great wedding photos don't risk your once in a life time wedding photos to a friend it's not worth it.
A friend with a $500 to $1200 camera kit with good intentions but really no clue on what they are doing or a real professional with all the right camera equipment including lens and lighting with experience and the know how to make your photos something you will love for a life time.Mississippi wedding photos