Wedding Photographer -vs- Cell Phone

Home / Wedding Photographer -vs- Cell Phone
When it comes to documenting your wedding, cell phones are the go-to option nowadays. However, unless people want to make the extra effort to go to the nearest CVS and print out all of their photos for you – and most people don’t – you’re probably going to be receiving your wedding photos by way of being tagged in them on Facebook or Instagram.
This can be a pain and, honestly, downright scary. The annoyance comes in trying to retrieve your photos, as you will have to save them to either your computer (where you will print them out later on) or to an SD card, and then it’s up to you to go to the nearest CVS and print them out.
This can get very pricy very quickly, especially considering how many photos can be taken digitally in one clip. Now you can take 2,000 photos in no time at all, especially if you have the option selected where your phone continues to take pictures at a rate of one per second just by holding down a button. And if you’re one of those folks who likes to hang on to every photo of your events, this process can easily become even more expensive than simply hiring a photographer – someone who will take better pictures.
And we all know how scary the tagging process can be. Sure, it’s your wedding, and you’re allowed to have a good time, but if you got really, sloppy drunk, and there are some photos you would rather your friends and family not see, you may not realize they’re even looking at them until you wake up the next day and find them online.
If you’re more of a private person, maybe you don’t want those who weren’t invited to the wedding to see the innermost details of its goings-on via social media. But unless you’re near a computer 24/7, or subscribed to updates on your phone that you receive the second a photo goes up on the internet with you in it, people may be seeing more of your private life than you like before you ever have the chance to un-tag yourself.
While you can’t control who posts pictures of you online, you can control how you remember your wedding. This is why it is so important to hire a great wedding photographer. While today’s cell phones can take some stunning photos, photographers are professionals who know all of the great angles to snap and how to add or filter out light when appropriate. This is what they get paid for. And when it comes to getting what you paid for, you’ll want to shell out those few extra dollars to ensure that level of professionalism.
When you are interviewing photographers, it is important to choose one whose personality you enjoy as much as his or her portfolio. This is because he or she may not be amused by the same things that amuse you and your groom and may not wish to capture similar moments on film.
For instance, a photographer who is touched by romantic moments is more likely to get that great shot of you and your husband’s first kiss, while a photographer who laughs at the same jokes you do may be more likely to snap more intimate shots of the Best Man when he’s clowning around as the garter belt is being thrown. This subtlety makes the difference between hiring a good photographer and hiring a great one.
When looking to hire a great photographer, you will want to spend those extra dollars that you could have saved by having your aunt (who has one photography class under her belt but swears she knows what she’s doing) shoot the wedding. Sure, you might have only paid $200 to have her for the whole day, but what happens when you get the album back and you aren’t happy with a single picture? Maybe she left your dad out of a bunch of the photos because of a recent argument they had. Maybe some shots are too close up, or too far away.
You know she means well, but unless your aunt has a diverse portfolio and/or certification or extensive education on the subject, it’s probably best to let her down gently, rather than take the chance on her ruining your wedding just so her feelings aren’t hurt. After all, you only get one chance to document your wedding, so it’s best to be 100 percent happy with the person you choose to photograph it.
When it comes to your wedding, leave out the amateurs out and hire a professional. The less money you spend, the more disappointment you risk on photos that will be viewed for a lifetime – and not just by you, but by your friends, family, and even you and your husband’s future children. Save money on other areas but not on your wedding photographer.