Why You Shouldnt Hire Me, or any other Wedding Photographer for that Matter!

Maybe if you’re reading this you’re thinking, “sorry come again?, are you saying that I shouldn’t hire you?”, and I’m saying “Yes!”.  Don’t Hire Me! Please…..unless you WANT to hire me, and only me – specifically!  That is the most important factor that you as a potential client to me, and myself as a potential photographer to you,  should take into consideration.  There are so many factors that made you decide to hire a photographer, and if that is not the biggest and most important reason that you landed up hiring the photographer for, then you have very likely made a bad wedding day decision.  Don’t get me wrong, you may be surprised and be very happy with someone you chose, but didn’t want to hire specifically.  And maybe you don’t care…in that case, this is where you can stop reading my article and go look at the nice pictures here.

Did you know that Wedding Photography, when I started in 1993, was one of the hardest industries to get into, just one or two big mistakes and you were out of business…Instantly!….and it was one of the most revered forms of photography.  It was one of those industries, where the cost of doing the job was so high and so critical that there was no room for error.  The cost of film, processing, pro lab printing and the cost of salaries were all dependent on doing a perfect job every time, and only having one shot at it.  This was all after you had the right gear, and the right gear in those days was more expensive than buying a nice car.   A wedding photographer was someone who often owned a massive downtown studio in the poshest of districts in the city.  He or She was someone; when hired, seen as the most important purchase for the wedding day.  A wedding photographer was someone who had proven for many years consistently, that they were a highly skilled technician, artist and someone who had tremendous amounts of experience.  Creativity and high end products were unmatched, as each photographer was unique and was known for their style, service and albums.  Someone who had a team, from assistants, artists and technicians. Someone that basically you would have to change your wedding date for if they were booked, as there were only 2 or 3 of them per city that could work at this level.   In those days very few wanted to do this job…. it was too scary, too highly skilled, and demanded years of professional training.

The rewards were big and the risks were bigger.   It would take many years of experience to get to this point (if you were wanting to become a wedding photographer), and that was only if someone would believe in you, let you assist them and basically, to let you in.   There were no websites then, no blogs and no free help, for photographers or clients.

Lets fast forward now to the current day wedding photographer.  It’s a revolution!! A Digital Revolution!  All the barriers that existed, have instantly disappeared.   All of a sudden the photographers that had invested millions over their years, were now being competed against and sometimes ousted,  by young people without training and cheap equipment opening up shop, and that were fully able to compete.  It has allowed all sorts of people to take a shot at the big time, but this time without the risk.  It is an entrepreneurs paradise, an untapped market open for a free for all! It has created the celebrity photographer, the life coach, the bloggers, the haters, the complainers, the artists, the wanderers, and the emulator photographers, and most importantly it has recreated wedding photography from what it was and started something completely different.  However it kept the name….Wedding Photography.  And it’s not all bad….It’s mainly all good….With all the barriers of risk taken away it has really opened the door of  creativity, and a zillion new products.  Now a wedding photographer can be as creative as they want and can continue their creative exploration to new levels, unimagined expectations of what wedding photography could be, have become an ever changing reality.

This revolution has opened the flood gates into the profession; and the photographers that ignored digital are all but a distant memory.

So why am I writing this?  Why do I care?  I’m doing well, I get the bookings I want and my life is alright.  I still can drive a nice car, I have my own house, I can surf almost every day, I can even support my family and I don’t need the big downtown studio anymore.  But how can I do this if there are new photographers showing up every day?  The majority of wedding photographers today are self taught from the internet and rely heavily on their cameras and computer software like photoshop and lightroom, and can choose a few hundred images from thousands of images they shoot at a wedding.  The cost of doing business is now time, and not money.  But Time is Still Money, for those that are going to survive!

There are so many services for photographers now, and photographers, just like brides are targeted.  Photographers see what other photographers do, and they try and recreate it.  Some of the photographers that do well, focus more time on selling to photographers than to clients.  Photographers now can make many mistakes until they get it right and just keep the images that worked.  They can then complete their entire order for their clients online.  It sounds perfect.  It sounds easy, and you know what?  It is easy.  You can do it too, and if you want to do it, then you should.  The only thing is.  You’re not the only one doing it, you’re not the only one who has seen the light at the end of the “Im gonna be a wedding photographer tunnel”.   Now, as a bride or groom, have thousands of websites to look at, & photographers to choose from.  The biggest problem however is that very few of these photographers (for whatever reason, maybe some I have mentioned here) stand out.  They don’t stand out because they are not artists in their heart – they are dreamers.   Dreaming is all good, but they are simply doing what they think they are supposed to do so they can work from home and take photos, supplying low cost printing because its easy, and buying albums at the same place thousands and thousands of other photographers are buying them…..and also at the same place that you can too…. Making their products and their images mundane and, basically the same as pretty much all the other photographers in their “category”.  Hence the clients that hire them, also fall into that “category”.

So to cut a long story short.  There are many photographers to choose from.  However, just like in the old days, there are still only two or three.  Two or three, that don’t pay attention to the trends, don’t pay attention to what’s hot this week and what the current cost of a wedding photographer is, what they charge, and how cheap they get their prints and products for.  There are photographers out there, that focus  purely on unique products, using the latest technology to create products that are exclusive – they don’t spend their time editing through thousands of images.  They dont need to, they shot professionally as if they were shooting on film, and they rather focus on their work and making sure they are climbing their own creative ladder, that (like a beanstalk) is far above from the ground where the tug of war of the emulators exist.

To me, I am unique.  I don’t know what other photographers are charging any more.  I don’t know what the latest vintage trend is, and what is pretty this week.  I have invested all of my money in superior printing and albums – the most advanced results are what I provide, I know because I now outsource, Nothing!  I now spend my time on my products, as after all besides my work, which has taken me a better part of 18 years to perfect, its all about my products.  My products are very expensive and my in house employees are very well trained, and in terms of technology, I have spent all I earn, to make it a reality.  I have quality control at a stringent level, and I sell experiences along with the most unique products.

So why should you not hire me, or any other photographer for that matter?  Because if I am not one of the 2 or 3 photographers out there in your mind, then I am not the one for you.  If the photographer you wanted was booked for your day and you came to me, hoping I could do what they do, then I don’t want to shoot your wedding, for I am unable to.

You should only hire me, or any other photographer for that matter, if they are unique – if they fit your profile and can provide you with something like you, something Unique, Beautiful and something you can be proud of.  If they can’t, then you should not hire them, or me for that matter.