You always have the option of cutting out the pro photographer and letting a novice or advanced amateur shoot it.

“My cousin/uncle/friend bought a digital SLR and they take pretty pictures so they will definitely be able to handle a wedding, right?”

“Maybe not.”

If you are not into photography in general then I’m guessing you don’t really want to invest the money in professional wedding photography, and that is ok. As long as there are limited expectations put on the amateur’s work, everything should fall into place. On the plus side, you will at least have some pictures of your wedding day and have saved a considerable amount of money. And what if your amateur turns out to be a natural talent, and ends up being sparked into greatness because of your wedding? There is always that possibility, but the odds are against it, and at the end of the day there can be NO complaints about your amateur photographer missing this shot or that shot. NO complaints about being handed a disk of images that are dark, out of focus and not properly sized. NO complaints about your “online print store” book that really didn’t come out that good. The adage “you get what you pay for” is usually spot on in this regard.

However, if you love pictures and really appreciate the art of story-telling photography, you are going to want to consider investing in professional services. A dedicated wedding photographer will have the sense of purpose necessary for anticipating moments, posing portraits and maintaining a high level of creativity throughout the day. Not to mention the hours a professional will spend preparing your images for preview, print and album design. Consider the overall experience that you receive from a true professional and that is a large part of the investment.

It is a matter of determining YOUR level of appreciation for photography. Every one places their own value on such a subjective experience; but in the wedding planning arena it is often viewed as just another commodity, that can be easily replicated by the inexperienced. So if you choose someone outside the industry please adjust your expectations to match their experience.

If anyone has used a cousin/uncle/friend as their main source of wedding photography, we’d love to hear how it turned out, good or bad, and please post a link to the pictures.

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