Quality of Wedding Photos.

ps3man

Hey everyone.

Haven't posted in a while but I saw something that I thought was worth a mention. A girl I am friends with on FB got married recently, just posted the official photographers pictures on her page there. Going through them I couldn't but help noticing how for lack of a better word, how terrible they were. Bride out of focus, feet cut off, colour not corrected, vignetting etc etc.

Loads of comments, 'awh these are amazing' and the like. I was horrified looking at them. I have always wanted to do a bit of wedding photography, been asked a couple of times but have always declined for fear of not getting it right but having seen these and the standard of other photographers doing weddings at the moment, I could 100% do a better job. Has anyone else noticed this slip in quality?

PLL

If you're into photography, you're going to be a lot more critical of issues like the ones you mentioned. For example for fiancé is a chef, so he is a lot more critical of food than your average person who will accept a lesser standard of product/service. Same goes for photography.

I know nothing about the technical side of photography, but I am still able to see unsatisfactory work in many wedding photographs. As I'm getting married in a couple of years, picking the right photographer is very important to me.

I would definitely say go for it in terms of doing wedding photography yourself. It's that attention to detail that you appear to have that will make your work stand out.

Synchronicity

ps3man wrote: »

Hey everyone.

Haven't posted in a while but I saw something that I thought was worth a mention. A girl I am friends with on FB got married recently, just posted the official photographers pictures on her page there. Going through them I couldn't but help noticing how for lack of a better word, how terrible they were. Bride out of focus, feet cut off, colour not corrected, vignetting etc etc.

Loads of comments, 'awh these are amazing' and the like. I was horrified looking at them. I have always wanted to do a bit of wedding photography, been asked a couple of times but have always declined for fear of not getting it right but having seen these and the standard of other photographers doing weddings at the moment, I could 100% do a better job. Has anyone else noticed this slip in quality?

You get what you pay for in the wedding photography game. It's full of chancers. The top end is getting better all the time though, as far as i can make out.

ps3man

PLL wrote: »

If you're into photography, you're going to be a lot more critical of issues like the ones you mentioned. For example for fiancé is a chef, so he is a lot more critical of food than your average person who will accept a lesser standard of product/service. Same goes for photography.

I know nothing about the technical side of photography, but I am still able to see unsatisfactory work in many wedding photographs. As I'm getting married in a couple of years, picking the right photographer is very important to me.

I would definitely say go for it in terms of doing wedding photography yourself. It's that attention to detail that you appear to have that will make your work stand out.

I have toyed around with the idea for years, always threatened that I would but was never brave enough to take that step. I would just be terrified of something going wrong and making a balls of it.

Synchronicity wrote: »

You get what you pay for in the wedding photography game. It's full of chancers. The top end is getting better all the time though, as far as i can make out.

I have noticed that alright, there are the lads offering 1300 photos anywhere in the country for 300 euro who are for lack of a better word, a disgrace. Then there are the photographers on the other end who blow your mind with the sheer quality. Unfortunately people seem to be opting for quantity over quality.

CabanSail

ps3man wrote: »

I have toyed around with the idea for years, always threatened that I would but was never brave enough to take that step. I would just be terrified of something going wrong and making a balls of it.

You could try working as a second shooter for someone else. You will get the experience and see if it suits you. You can also try doing it for a friend, friend of a friend, etc. first. Be up front that you are inexperienced. You will do the best you can but apologies in advance if there are any problems. Either way feel free to put a post in the Services Thread.

ps3man wrote: »

I have noticed that alright, there are the lads offering 1300 photos anywhere in the country for 300 euro who are for lack of a better word, a disgrace. Then there are the photographers on the other end who blow your mind with the sheer quality. Unfortunately people seem to be opting for quantity over quality.

These would generally be someone who owns a DSLR and maybe a flash. Knows how to turn it on and set it in Auto. Then will load the files directly on a disk and the job is done. No insurance, no editing and probably cash in hand. They can probably seal a few drives and repair some gutters when in the area too. They will always be around. What annoys me is when it inevitably goes wrong and the customer starts whining about how it ruined their wedding etc. I wonder if they would do the same if the catering was contracted to the Golden Arches and they felt let down as they only got burgers.

fret_wimp2

ps3man wrote: »

Hey everyone.

Has anyone else noticed this slip in quality?

There is no slip, there has always been some terrible "photographers", some ok ones and some very good ones. Your friend either tried to cheap out on the photographer or didnt do any research.

When I was looking for a wedding photographer i spent a few days getting a list of various photographers around the country. I ended up with a list of about 60 web pages.

I went through each one, and if the images on the main page didnt grab me it was struck off the list, my logic being that their website is their shop front, they want their best material up there. If its not almost immediately visible I dont have time to go searching.

This narrowed me down to about 5 photographers who's work i liked. I rang them, 3 were available when i needed, we met for coffee and we chose one of those 3 based on their personality, ability to communicate and lastly, price.

We were massively happy with the quality of work, the final output & our photographer really gave his all on the day, 14+ hours work and still stayed upbeat and held the ability to get great shots.

I cant see how anyone can spend 1500+ euro on a photographer and not do considerable research into many photographers portfolios to see if the quality is good enough.

homerun_homer

I feel just like you OP. I've refused offers from the odd person in work or someone wanting to suggest me to their friends in the past because I don't have the confidence to take it on solo for fear that I'll not meet the couple's expectations. A lot of that is in my own head.

I've seen some god awful wedding photo sets on Facebook etc and wonder how people like them. From the framing, unflattering shots picked, technical issues with the images and of course, terrible post processing. Like the above poster says, it's down to what people know makes a good photo. Some people are just happier that it's better quality than a pic taken on their phone and nothing else. Others will be more picky, and rightly so but I think they may be the minority.

I've helped a friend in the past by being the second shooter at weddings and I enjoyed it, always felt I did a good job. It's definitely a good way to start and see how you'd feel taking it on properly. I moved away since then so stopped helping out on those shoots so that's why the nerves crept back in since.

Bacchus

OP, if you want to PM me I've gone through (I suppose technically still am going through) the first steps of becoming a wedding photographer. It was my cousin who asked me last year that got me to bite the bullet. I haven't looked back since. It's a tough gig though. There's lots of competition out there and it is hard to get your name about. All the weddings I have booked for this year are direct recommendations from the two I did last year. Trying to build a presence on the web to appear in Googles search pages has been a major challenge and really I'm counting on more recommendations for 2017.

screamer

Synchronicity wrote: »

You get what you pay for in the wedding photography game. It's full of chancers. The top end is getting better all the time though, as far as i can make out.

You get what you pay for in ANY wedding supplier, but the problem is they only want to spend X amount, they don't compare to see what they are actually getting for X. Also there are LOTS of people who dabble in wedding supplying as a hobby with no insurance, no qualifications, and worst of all no talent, it goes right from florists to cake bakers and back to photography.
Yet, people are willing to trust their big day to low cost chancers and then cry because they don't get what they expect......
Worst I ever saw was someone who had booked a wedding photographer for a destination wedding out of Dublin, paid the guy in full and he never showed up and couldn't be contacted. Here was the hotel trying to call a photographer they knew well to come and help. When I was there, setting up my stuff, the groom was hopping mad and the bride was in the hotel crying......

Synchronicity

screamer wrote: »

You get what you pay for in ANY wedding supplier, but the problem is they only want to spend X amount, they don't compare to see what they are actually getting for X. Also there are LOTS of people who dabble in wedding supplying as a hobby with no insurance, no qualifications, and worst of all no talent, it goes right from florists to cake bakers and back to photography.
Yet, people are willing to trust their big day to low cost chancers and then cry because they don't get what they expect......
Worst I ever saw was someone who had booked a wedding photographer for a destination wedding out of Dublin, paid the guy in full and he never showed up and couldn't be contacted. Here was the hotel trying to call a photographer they knew well to come and help. When I was there, setting up my stuff, the groom was hopping mad and the bride was in the hotel crying......

Ah jaysus. It's a stressful enough day at the best of times without that headache on top.

pullandbang

There is no "slip in quality" as such, it's just that nowadays we're subjected to seeing all the crap that is produced via social media. The crap has always been there but we happen to see more of it now.

Thankfully there is still some amazing work out there but for every decent job done there is double or more utter sh1te produced. We have photographers posting these on their FB pages and getting all the "oohs" and "aaahs" which then reinforces the belief in their own crap.

What I will say to ps3man is go for it. If you feel you have the capability to handle a wedding then do it. Do it for free for a friend to start with. Do it as a second shooter.

Wedding photography is incredibly tough but also incredibly rewarding and I don't mean financially. It's a fantastic feeling to put in your 12/14 hours on the day and know you've done a great job for your couple.

ps3man

pullandbang wrote: »

There is no "slip in quality" as such, it's just that nowadays we're subjected to seeing all the crap that is produced via social media. The crap has always been there but we happen to see more of it now.

Thankfully there is still some amazing work out there but for every decent job done there is double or more utter sh1te produced. We have photographers posting these on their FB pages and getting all the "oohs" and "aaahs" which then reinforces the belief in their own crap.

What I will say to ps3man is go for it. If you feel you have the capability to handle a wedding then do it. Do it for free for a friend to start with. Do it as a second shooter.

Wedding photography is incredibly tough but also incredibly rewarding and I don't mean financially. It's a fantastic feeling to put in your 12/14 hours on the day and know you've done a great job for your couple.

Bacchus wrote: »

OP, if you want to PM me I've gone through (I suppose technically still am going through) the first steps of becoming a wedding photographer. It was my cousin who asked me last year that got me to bite the bullet. I haven't looked back since. It's a tough gig though. There's lots of competition out there and it is hard to get your name about. All the weddings I have booked for this year are direct recommendations from the two I did last year. Trying to build a presence on the web to appear in Googles search pages has been a major challenge and really I'm counting on more recommendations for 2017.

Since I put the original post up, two of my very close friends have gotten engaged and both have asked me to do photos for their weddings, won't be for a while but I have agreed to do them so I have to get my act together. Going to do a few engagement shots with both of them. I also know their families so that takes a bit of the pressure off since I know most of the families involved.

Bacchus

Cool, congrats and best of luck with it. You never know where this door might lead.

Do your research, shoot as you always shoot (that's why they asked you) and stay calm and alert through the day

glenfieldman

Good luck in your new venture ps3man,
I have done about 15 wedding all have been recommendations.
The best advice I can give is prep, prep, prep,
A few days before the big day take some time to visit the church hotel and any location that they want photos, make yourself known to the priest / hotel manager,that way if you need to use church balcony or a specific place in the hotel they will be more accommodating.
I carry a few props such as a nice silver pen for the signing (sometimes the priest only had a bic), and a few funny props to break the ice with the couple (Just Married sign etc)
RAW files are a must, have a small step ladder in the car, deodorant and mints and plenty of battery's.
Two umbrellas, white one for the bride and a golf one for your gear if the weather is bad.
Very comfortable but smart clothes are a must too.
Give me a PM if you need any more tips

Ger

ps3man

glenfieldman wrote: »

Good luck in your new venture ps3man,
I have done about 15 wedding all have been recommendations.
The best advice I can give is prep, prep, prep,
A few days before the big day take some time to visit the church hotel and any location that they want photos, make yourself known to the priest / hotel manager,that way if you need to use church balcony or a specific place in the hotel they will be more accommodating.
I carry a few props such as a nice silver pen for the signing (sometimes the priest only had a bic), and a few funny props to break the ice with the couple (Just Married sign etc)
RAW files are a must, have a small step ladder in the car, deodorant and mints and plenty of battery's.
Two umbrellas, white one for the bride and a golf one for your gear if the weather is bad.
Very comfortable but smart clothes are a must too.
Give me a PM if you need any more tips

Ger

Cheers for all that. Fantastic advice.

cowboyBuilder

I remember I was at a friends wedding and the photographer was a nice chap, I was chatting with him and he was using a 5DIII and a 24-70 MKII 2.8L lens, + a longer telephoto (200L I think).

Despite this expensive equipment his photos were average, and the composition was awful, including bins and ugly fences in some of the bride and groom portrait shots.

I didn't say anything to my mate when I saw the album - I was embarrassed to.
But they were happy - not knowing any better.

I could have done a lot better myself, but I wouldn't be able to handle the pressure.

amdgilmore

Very much in agreement with the sentiment expressed here so far. I've been asked to do this kind of work before but always refused and told them to hire a real wedding photographer.

But I think we all know that one guy-with-a-camera who has no comprehension of his own lack of skill and will unfailingly say yes to requests from people who don't know better. And of course you can't say anything...

Edit: that wasn't a dig at anybody in this thread BTW - I just noticed that there was somebody above doing their first wedding, whom I wish well etc.