Can’t I Have My Uncle Photograph My Wedding?

Considering having your family member or friend photograph your wedding? You might want to think twice about doing that, and this post shares lots of the reasons why.

“Weddings are a “live” event where just about anything can and will happen to throw a wrench into the schedule. A professional wedding photographer knows this and can adapt to situations that arise with a transparency and skill that can only come from experience, skill, and training. “Uncle Bob” just doesn’t have anywhere near the experience, skill, and training of a professional wedding photographer.”

There is no do-over when it comes to your wedding day. If your photographs matter to you, invest in a photographer who is running a business photographing weddings. One that knows weddings and all the ins-and-outs that can happen on that day. One that can help you create the best images possible that your family can treasure for generations to come.

One of the biggest problems with having a friend or family member (or the college kid you found on Craigslist) photograph your wedding is that they do not have backup gear. If you talk to any wedding photographer they will tell you that sometimes gear fails when they least expect it. They drop a flash and it will no longer fire. Their camera suddenly has a weird error on it, and nothing will make it go away. They have to be able to think very fast to recover — and sometimes, they just have to set that piece of equipment down and pick up another flash or camera and move on. If someone isn’t a pro, they most likely will not have a bag full of backup gear.

If you truly value your wedding photography – the memories your family will cherish for generations – then make the most of it and hire a professional. Are you hiring someone with no experience to do everything else that goes into your wedding day?

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Tagged as: Photography, Planning, professional, wedding