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WHAT MAKES A GREAT
Wedding Photograph

Your wedding from a photographer’s perspective ~ nothing we would ever want to show anyone. They are bad. It is
Things you should know, professional advice, mistakes and the only regret I have of our wedding day.
some fresh new ideas. In retrospective reflection of writing this We live in a very image conscious society and compared to the
article I refer to my personal experiences of my own wedding photographs of our parent’s weddings, which looked stiff, and
in addition to the many observations while photographing the super posed portrait style there has been a dramatic shift to
events of others. more creative advertising styles of imagery. There is no reason
How important are great photographs on your wedding day? why your photographs should look stiff, boring, contrived or
Extremely. What lasts the longest from the most memorable technically incorrect. Choosing the right photographer should
day of your life? Certainly not the party, and all the money you be paramount to anything else for a wedding. It is the only
spend on alcohol lasts until the hangover the next day. non-temporary expense. You’re hiring someone to capture the
The music is over that night and chances are you will never wear most important day of your life. A true professional photog-
that dress again. While some will fork out huge sums of rapher is proficient in the use of lighting that compliments the
money for a fabulous reception party and a 7-course dinner subject, and is competent with art directing to create an
that will impress the guests, often little concern is given to the amazing image.
only thing that has longevity. Lets talk about price vs. talent ~ Photographers are not like
The photographs ~ Photography is one of and probably the plumbers and assuming you can price shop a photographer is a
most important decision for a wedding. Some people book their silly accretion. No offense to the plumbing trade but the cost is
date depending on the abilities of a great photographer. While basically the same and you make your decision based on who is
others feel they can save money by hiring a cheap photogra- available to unplug your potty. Contrary to this idea, photog-
pher. This is a very unwise uninformed position to take. Case in rapher’s fees vary drastically based on talent and professional
point, take my own wedding experience. When Lisa and I were experience. Or the lack there-of. So instead lets use a compar-
married we had very little in the finance department. I had just ison of photographers to cars. An "economy model" (cheap car)
finished school (yes I actually went to university and majored can still get you from point A to point B. However most of us
in photography) and had very little experience in shooting real base how much we are willing to spend based on performance,
world applications. My ignorance and lack of something import- reputation, reliability and most importantly style. While the "El
ant like cash, led me to accept a friends offer of volunteering to Cheapo" does the job; a Mercedes or a Porsche is much more
shoot our wedding. Unfortunately his lack of experience yielded appreciated and enjoyed. There is a satisfaction found in style,
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Article by Mark Staff • Photography by Mark and Lisa Staff
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