Comments on: Why hire a pro wedding photographer when everyone has a camera phone?

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 07:23:21 +0000

Great post. Totally agree

By: Sarah Hannam

Sarah Hannam — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 15:36:45 +0000

A great post and I love seeing the amateur & pro shots side by side. I’m a wedding photographer and always sigh a little when the odd prospective client decides to go cheap with Uncle Bob and his new £500 camera, as anyone but pro photographers knows that £500 on a camera body is nothing. I think that with guests having cameras, they can take the personal candids, but that the professional photographer is there for the moments and well, the professional looking shots, with their knowledge and experience of how to deal with the various lighting situations. My bet is that Uncle Bob is also going to have his camera on full auto settings, which definitely isn’t going to yield the best pics.
The thing that I always say to clients is that the value we place on photographs only comes to the fore when we might have lost them. After fire or flood, the one thing that most people try to save are their photographs. Therefore at something so important as a wedding, it’s imperative not to scrimp on the photography, because all that planning, the money spent on the dress, the venue, cars and cake will be forgotten if you don’t have decent photographs to remember it all by.

By: Sara

Sara — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 09:07:48 +0000

I have just stumbled across this while looking at prices to hire digital cameras. Although now I may have changed my mind. Seeing the photos side by side and reading your points really has given me food for thought.
So far the cheapest quote for a photographer I have been given is £695, which is for half the day. It’s not ideal for our tight budget and maybe I should shop around a bit more. It certainly seems worth it. And these comments have confirmed that the guest should be relaxed and not worried about capturing a moment.
Really helpful and informative………anyone got any spare cash?!?

By: Sandy - Bath Weddings

Sandy - Bath Weddings — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 13:52:18 +0000

This is great, I might send this link to some clients. I often try to encourage people to suggest ‘unplugged’ weddings to their guests. How many times have you taken a walking down the aisle shot and there is nothing but camera phones and iPads lining the aisle? I think guests will enjoy the wedding more if they don’t watch it through their tiny screen.

By: Rob Harris

Rob Harris — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 10:26:41 +0000

A fundamental problem with camera phones, tablets and non SLR cameras is Shutter Lag. You’re right that many other features can be similar in the right situation but shutter lag often means that the moment you want to capture has passed by the time your camera actually reacts.

By: Dilip

Dilip — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 16:20:08 +0000

Great comments
I’ve heard that phone cameras, consumer and pro cameras are very similar IF the ‘scene’ is stationary, the light is good and luck is on your side.

At a church wedding you’ve got to be very, very lucky to get a good result but, at least the vicar is on your side even if the pro has been banned from taking photos!

By: Rob Harris

Rob Harris — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 09:50:44 +0000

As a professional wedding photographer I couldn’t agree more and have written a similar article on my own blog to try and educate couples about the dangers of relying on friends and family with smart phones, tablets and the ever enthusiastic ‘Uncle Bob’ with his brand new D-SLR and kit lens.

One of the points I like to make, not yet covered, is that a professional won’t miss any shots for reason of being away from the action drunk at the bar!

By: Jo @ SO-Jewellery

Jo @ SO-Jewellery — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 14:21:18 +0000

I completely agree. To me, photos are the only real thing you will have to look back and remember your wedding day for the rest of your life – apart from your spouse of course. As they are such a huge token and of course can be treasured forever, I would thoroughly recommend couples invest as much of their budget as they can to get the right photographer for them. My wedding pictures are nice and everybody else says how lovely they are but 7 years on I really wish I had spent the extra money and chose with my heart not my budget conscious head.

Friends snaps are lovely but certainly can not replace a professional photographer at your wedding. Great post, well put, as always Sara :)

By: Paula

Paula — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 21:27:40 +0000

Great post! As a wedding photographer, another point I’d like to add is that when images are displayed online they only need to be low quality to look “OK” but if you print those same images they can look terrible.
What might look a nice snap on Facebook could be a waste of money when enlarged to put on your lounge wall.

Very few people ever compare them side to side like this. One of things I sometimes hear from couples is that they want a pro photographer for the “important parts” of the day but they will take their chances on friends photos for the evening do – that’s basically kissing goodbye to any decent photos unless you have a brightly lit summer wedding!

By: Sara - Darling Lovely Life editor

Sara - Darling Lovely Life editor — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 20:12:32 +0000

I think putting them side by side you can completely understand the difference. They both have their place, but neither can replace the other. And great idea with the smart phone course! x