We're a little bit (well a lot actually!) behind with the blogging at the moment. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly we are right in the middle of what we call our "silly season". Not only are we busy photographing weddings but also in the throes of album designs and orders and we are absolutely inundated with wedding photography enquiries - some for this year but mostly for next year.
I can honestly say we've never had so many enquiries at this time of year. I think some couples have sadly been disappointed with their wedding photography in the last couple of years and their friends, eager not to find themselves in the same situation are seeking out good and skillful photographers.
So I've been thinking about how we photograph weddings and including some more information about this in our literature for next year.
To us a wedding is all about the love between two people (call me mushy if you like but it's true). By this I don't just mean the bride and groom. It could be the bride and her father - weddings can be incredibly emotional for dads as they in effect pass over the care of their daughter to another man or it could be the pride and love between mum and dad as their children start a new path in their life, or could simply be the excitement bubbling over in little flower girls and page boys as they rush to pick up the confetti your guests have just thrown. Whoever it is we aim to capture and document that special moment, that special look or that special touch to enable you to relive the moment forever.
Photographing a wedding is a huge responsibility - and not one to be taken lightly either. It's not as if you can repeat the day afterwards is it? We only get one shot (or two in our case if you count Andy and myself!) at getting it right and being in the right place at the right time.
We've heard this year of more couples than ever before relying on photographs from their guests or asking a "talented" friend or relative to photograph their wedding. To be fair some of the pictures we've seen are not bad at all and to the bride and groom they must be extra special because of who it was who took them. But we have also, sadly, had more than ever before couples approach us with photographs which are unusable in their native state. We have been asked "Can you fix these pictures?" or "Can you make an album like the ones you offer with these pictures please? We don't know what to do with them." The short answer is "no" - we can't. In addition to this is it fair to ask a relative to have the responsibility of photographing your wedding? It's a massive amount of pressure and the chances are it will impede them from enjoying the day fully with you. What if something goes wrong and the pictures don't come out? How bad will your relative feel?
You may think this is an unlikely scenario but it happens to the best of us. I will never forget, years ago my sister was in a charity raft race down the River Ouse. It was a fancy dress race and she was dressed up as a red indian Squaw girl, little skimpy suede outfit, face painted, feathers in her hair - the lot. My husband at the time ran all the way along the river bank, at times hanging out of trees taking her photograph as she paddled her Indian Canoe along the river. We had some amazing pictures - or so we thought. When we came to rewind the film (this was an SLR before the event of digital SLR's) it didn't sound right. I had not put the film in correctly. To this day she has never quite forgiven me (or my ex husband come to that since he went to such effort to get his shots) for getting it wrong. Imagine if that had been her wedding day and I was her only photographer!
Strange things are happening in the wedding photography business at the moment. I believe that this year will see many would be photographers fall at the first hurdle. Already I have heard, via a photographer friend of mine that she has been approached by two different couples in her area (Lancashire) asking for help. Not only has the photographer (two different ones) stopped replying to any emails/phone calls or other communication but they have also seemingly disappeared - taking with them all of the unhappy couples money. This is before the wedding has taken place. In both instances the photographers they booked were not members of Professional Photography bodies (namely the MPA (Master Photographers Association) or the BIPP (British Institute of Professional Photographers)) - via whom there would have been some recourse. Sadly for these couples it is unlikely that they will ever see their money again.
Then we have the email which dropped into our inbox last week from a very well-known, successful and respected photographer in our area. It seems they have overbooked (deliberately as it's more money for them) many of the weekends this summer. The email had been sent to several other photographers besides ourselves. They wanted to know if we would like to photograph some of their weddings for them. Some were for one main photographer to work on their own, others for a couple such as Andy and myself and then they were looking for competent second shooters.
The couples who have booked will have seen a portfolio of work and booked on the strength of that portfolio thinking they have booked a very good photographer. The photographer who turns up to shoot their wedding on the day however will not be the author of the work they have seen and think they have booked. It's wrong - very wrong. It is one thing to book a wedding for a couple whilst explaining to them that their photographer will be allocated to them nearer the time but quite another to show them a portfolio of work which they believe will be the one photographing their wedding if this may not always be the case. It should be made clear from the outset.
So a few words of wisdom when booking a photographer for your wedding:
* Always ask to see complete weddings and albums and check that the work you are viewing is from the photographer who will be shooting your wedding.
* Where possible book a photographer who is a qualified member of the MPA or BIPP.
* Check the photographer carries both Professional Indemnity Insurance and Public Liability Insurance.
* Check the photographer has adequate back up gear should any of his cameras either fail or get broken (many don't).
* Take out independent wedding insurance and make sure it covers you for the possible failure of a supplier.
* Choose someone who's work you love and with whom you "click".
If you have found a wedding photographer whose work you absolutely love then get them booked now before someone else secures your date. Judging by the way our diary is filling up many couples stand to be disappointed next year. From all your expense on your wedding day, the cake, flowers, cars and venue they only last that one day. The photography will be your only true lasting investment from your wedding and perhaps this is why you will find it being one of the most expensive.
A photographer friend told me the other day that he had attended a wedding where the flowers alone had cost £4000. He had been paid £2500 to stay until the beginning of the wedding breakfast and to include the speeches. To have him there for the evening to include the first dance would have cost the couple an additional £450. They chose not to book him for this and said on the day that one of their relatives was going to photograph that part of the day for them. Their album will not tell the story of the full day and the photographs from the relatives, no matter how good they are will not even come close to matching those my friend (who is recognised as being one of the top photo journalistic photographers in the UK) would have taken. He was, by coincidence, at the same venue the following day. The £4000 flowers were in the bin behind the hotel kitchens as he drove up. The couple had forgotten them, the venue staff were not allowed to take them home and the couple who's wedding it was that day did not wish to see any flowers from another wedding. Nevermind - he made sure he had taken a picture of them for the couple to remember them by.
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