Either let a friend or relative shoot
your wedding, or a hire a recommended professional shooter. There are pros and
cons to either choice, plus some important points you may not thought of yet:
PRO - FRIEND:
·
Free
or cheap
·
Friend
gets a favor: he can give this as his wedding gift
·
Almost
unlimited for time shooting whenever
·
If
you like, you probably can micro-manage a friend
·
Comfortable
with very personal photos; it’s a familiar face and energy
·
Usually
takes your suggestions for poses
·
May
get clever “inside” shots from being in-the-know with your group’s politics
·
Some
have experience as wedding photographer and associated challenges
·
Photographer
might party with you
·
Favoritism
– might get your photos delivered sooner because you’re friends
CON - FRIEND:
·
May
expect to be compensated elsewhere (i.e. big tip, free drinks, barter, use your
images in his ads)
·
You
are kind-of “the boss” but not really—because you are friends first
·
May need micro-managing if inexperienced
·
May resist micro-managing by stopping
shooting, or arguing, sulking or feeling insulted
·
Expections
for his goasl are loose—may miss important shots
·
Chatting
and distracted by other guests—may miss important shots
·
If
you don’t like his behavior and say something, you risk hurt feelings, arguing
or embarrassment
·
Can
refuse your suggestions for poses
·
Can
take embarrassing pics or may tell confidential/private things to other loved
ones
·
If
friend gets sick, injured, too drunk/high, has travel problems at the last minute--good
replacement is limited
·
May
not handle challenges (i.e. bad weather, rain, poor lighting, embarrassing
guests, dead batteries, hairdo and make-up failures, meltdowns, etc.)
·
May
not know how to help people relax and be comfortable—feels awkward, add stress,
wastes time
·
May
not know how to pose people to look their best
·
Without
good recommendations and seeing samples, you risk your photos being
unsatisfactory.
·
If
you don’t like his photos and say so, you risk hurt feelings
·
If
you don’t like his photos and say nothing, you risk having no great wedding
photos
·
May
not have truly high-tech equipment or editing skills to either take pics, or
re-edit photos you don’t like
·
If
someone breaks his equipment or gets injured during shoots (tripping/falling),
or he damages property (drops the borrowed & blue bracelet down a drain),
you may need to pay for the camera, the doctor visit, or the property lost
·
Because
this was a free/cheap project, other paying projects may get priority over finishing
your pics
CON - PROFESSIONAL:
·
You
pay money upfront
·
May
not feel like a familiar energy behind the camera at first, takes a few minutes
to settle in
·
Usually
not open to being micro-managed
·
Photographer
will not party on the job
·
Might
not handle challenges the way you think she should (good recommendations avoid
this)
·
Without
good recommendations and seeing samples, you risk your photo results being
unsatisfactory.
·
Unless
you’ve hired her before, you have to trust other people’s recommendations
PRO - PROFESSIONAL:
·
You
choose when the shooting starts and stops
·
She
is your employee and you are THE boss.
·
If
you don’t want to micro-manage others on your wedding day, you don’t have to
·
She
always helps people to relax, be comfortable, happy and genuine for photos
·
No
embarrassing shots; stays confidential about what she saw or heard in private
·
Always
takes your suggestions for poses
