One thing you did totally missed is Experience!

About two years ago a bride called me asking for help with her wedding photos as all the colours were off and the pictures were less than fab. They selected a Professional Photographer who was a member of the SWPP but she had not shot many weddings. The result was very bad photography, as you probably well know, shooting a wedding and working in a studio are two different things; and much the same is when the weekend photographer or new photographers come on the market who have shot a friends wedding.. they can get lucky with a few shots or make a complete hash of the wedding!.

here is a interesting story about enthusiast photographers and family and friends shooting weddings..

I was booked once by a couple who dad was a enthusiast photographer, he had is semi pro camera a few cheap lens and even a flash gun. They decided to book me for the wedding and the group shots after but he was going to follow on with the cake cutting and reception and I wouldn’t be required.

anyway, the wedding was over the album was ordered and I went to the house to deliver the wedding album they had ordered and the dad turns up with a plastic wrap flip album and showed me his photos that he was so proud of taking.
The first thing I noticed was that the light fell off from the front of the faces to just about their arms and the cake was just visible as was the flash reflection on the knife but the rest of it was black, this was pretty much the theme for the rest of the photos, and this was due to the flash gun being wrong for the camera, thats the only reason I could think of??.

At another wedding, much the same thing happened but I was there to do the cake cutting, the family ordered about 4 albums and when the bride wrote the review, she said that she wished that she had book us for the whole day.
Reason: the photography style and quality against the guest photos and the disposable cameras was so different that the pictures looked so odd together.

I was also reading a post about how a bride worshipped her photographer that she had from the start to the finish of the day, I couldn’t find the post again when I went looking for it, but its a great read and you can tell that she’s very excited and would recommend that people book a real professional photographer.

Then there was the reliance on the guests and the table cameras..
The kids ran off with the cameras, the page boy took photos up the adults skirts, we only had about 4 useable images, the guests took them home, no one used them.. thats just some of the things I have heard..
Then again, thinking about it.. Would they let a drunk take their wedding photos? most people have a few at a wedding, so guests and table cameras may not be the best option as many magazines propose.

On a note about professional photographers.

I have had a bit of an argument with trading standards and the advertising standards agency with the title of ” Professional Photographer” It would see that anyone can call themselves professional photographers regardless if they are qualified or experienced within the field of what ‘we’ regard as professional photography.
I have drafted a legal proposal to try and stop people falling for these photographers that are not what ‘we’ would class as professionals, but it may mean changing titles to expert photographer and setting out some sort of formal ranking system for wedding photographer and other photographers alike so that couples looking for the professional photographer actually get a true professional photographer.