Bad Wedding Photography

I am interested in seeing if peoples experiences of wedding photography have always been positive. How good their photos came out when they asked a friend of the family to take them instead of a real professional?

I am a wedding photographer.

I get asked quite often if I can fix out of focus, badly exposed etc. etc. wedding photos taken by either "weekend warriors" (those who have a full time job but also do a few weddings for some extra money on the weekends) or "uncle Arthur". I have seen some absolutely appalling photos.

1) A friend recently asked us to their wedding, as guests (they wanted us to relax & enjoy ourselves, not to work), and they got a "weekend warrior" (read cheap) to do their photos. They were dreadful! He couldn't fit everyone in for a group shot, but didn't know how to make it so everyone could fit in, and took the shot anyway. The overseas uncle and aunt were on the side and missed getting in the shot. The front 2 rows were in focus, the rest not. He forgot to get ANY photos of the groom and his family.... The camera was set to "auto" everything.

2) A couple of months ago we were photographing a wedding "at the church only" because another photographer was doing the family photos and the reception - the couple didn't think it was necessary to do another location for the bridal party (where many of the "magic" shots are taken) to save money.

When the bride's car was just about to arrive, a lady came rushing up to us asking if we had a "camera" battery??? Different model/brands have different batteries! She told us she was the "other" photographer - a friend of the family, and had just discovered her battery was flat. She hadn't used it in the last year!

I could give you many more stories. Brides in tears.... Brides & Grooms with NO photos of their weddings because "uncle Arthur" didn't know what he was doing or his battery ran out or.....

We take 5 cameras to a wedding - 2 each + a spare (i.e. 3 just in case). Triple the number of batteries we need and triple the number of flash cards we will need. etc. etc. Our lenses are freshly cleaned - do you think Uncle Arthur KNOWS how to clean his lens? Why do we do these things? Because we are professionals.

When your wedding is finished, you have your rings, Marriage Certificate, dress and photos - next to your rings, your photo albums are the things you will look at most. Don't risk them!

Many more things I could say......

2009-09-14 00:53:52 by vaio_2002

Newlyweds who had waited six months for their wedding photos, finally have the prints after their story aired on NEWS 9.

Includes-
2 photographers
8 hours of coverage
One Bridal session in studio
One Engagement session in studio
a couple of 11x14 prints
a couple of 8x10s and 4 4x6s
all photos on cd/ proof-free
any poses
To answer some questions:

I have seen the work by the photographers, and it is by far some of the best photography I have seen while looking into booking. Yes, it is with the photographer and his partner, not with the assistant photographers.
The album is a seperate 900 cost. My fiance and I opt to get that after the wedding cost. It is an Leather Craftsman artistic book, 20 pages, all digital matte and very professional. I have seen examples and it blew me away.

Thanks for everyone's input. I'm just not sure what the average is so I'm trying to make sure it isn't over priced (or maybe even under) !

If this helps, this is what I am getting for paying the same amount:

You receive
• Professional Coverage 1 Hour before Bride leaves for Ceremony though to 1 to Hour at
Reception (5 - 7 hrs approx) with TWO photographers
• Approx. 250 to 400 Quality Photographs, including B/W or Sepia & X-Process taken
• 6 x 4” Photographs presented in Quality Leather Look Cover Slip Album
• 3 Free 8 x 12” Enlargement
• 1 Free 24 x 16” Wall Enlargement
• 50 Personalised Thank You Cards
• 2 Coff ee Table Album Books
• Negatives and CD off all Professional Images
• FREE Honeymoon Accommodation


I know it's alot of money, but I don't mind splashing out on the photos because really, what else have you got left after 'the big day' is over and done?? (Besides a beautiful husband.. lol)

2007-11-19 17:59:52 by Jessica

Good-Capturing someone special day.
1.Bad Church lighting
2.Bridal party cooperation

2008-11-06 07:56:47 by joy

im into photography with my nikon d40, and im also very good at editing pictures on my computer with Corel Paint Shop Pro. sometimes i may over edit pictures, and they look a lot different from when i took them. (like lighting, contract, face imperfections that kind of stuff)

is it bad to edit photography?

i showed some photography to a friend and they said its not 'real' phogoraphy because i edited it a little bit.

for example, im only 14 but interested in doing wedding photography. should i edit the wedding photos to give to the client? or keep them as they are?

Edit. Edit everything. However, don't edit too much on one picture. Concentrate more on getting the picture as right as you can. The better you take the picture out of the camera, the less editing you have to do. People want to look as good as they can, so make it happen. Make sure they still look like themselves though. That's definitely important.

Don't let your friend's opinions of what is or isn't photography keep you from editing. If every photo got developed exactly one way, 2/3 of those photos would likely look like crap too. However there are color, brightness and contrast adjustments made to keep those things consistent, or so I'm told. Film has great exposure latitude. Its one of the few advantages of film versus digital. Anyway, do what you need to do with your photos. I think you won't meet too many people who will have a big problem with you retouching them. Good Luck.

2009-09-25 13:54:21 by Jessica

Ok, I'm starting wedding photography, and want your opinion on my work, prices, and possible website layouts.

Prices
Each comes with All photos on DVD (up to 1,000), 100 enhanced photo, copy right release so you can print them as much as you'd like.
$550 - 8 Hour
$450 - 6 Hour
$350 - 4 Hour

Engagement - $75, and that $75 goes into the price of a wedding if you book your wedding with us too. (So you'd be getting them free if you book a wedding with us too...or its just $75 if you don't...I have to work on the wording for that)

I'm still building a portfolio but here is what I've got so far (and I just upgraded my camera gear so it can only get better haha).
Wedding 1 -http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheB ox?sendevent=4f44497a4f5451774e6e77784e7 a63324e5467334e673d3d0d0a&sb=1

Wedding 2 (most recent, I don't like how the slideshow cropped my images though :( ) - http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheB ox?sendevent=4f444d324e7a59354e4877784e7 a63324e5467334e673d3d0d0a&sb=1

Engagement - http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheB ox?sendevent=4f44497a4f546b354f513d3d0d0 a&sb=1

Would you deem my work good enough for the price I'm asking. You would be getting me and an assistant.

Website layouts
-Do you prefer to look at it per wedding (clicking on John and Kates wedding, then another persons etc)
-or just one gallery of different weddings

And how bad would it be fore me to list competitors (with their permission) on my site. Part of the reason I started this is I've studied photography for almost 6 years, and am also a bride. I felt that brides needed an affordable photographer. I thought it would be nice to include a separate section to list venues, hints & tips, etc on my page. So brides who visit, but decide I'm not the photographer for them can still get helpful information. (This is where my fiancee says I'm too "nice" to be in marketing)

Thanks for reading :D And answering.
PS - Smilebox is temporary. lol Until I get a "real" website going.
haha, the guys actually my fiancee. Those were self taken engagement photos. But tell me about it ... he never listens! :P
I am kind of an amateur (still in school & learning). I would not call myself a pro...not yet anyway.
I'm located in Arizona. So send me a message if your interested :D
$50/hr ? for additional hours. I would say 12 max (but of course I wouldn't just leave in the middle of something...by I figure by then its mostly reception)

You've got a good eye, and your prices are about right for the semi-pro photographer market, depending on where you are located. My suggestions...Upgrade your equipment, do a couple more weddings, then gradually start raising your prices once you have a portfolio built up.

Wording for Engagement shots - keep it short and simple:
$75, or FREE with any wedding package. (Emphasize FREE - grabs their attention! lol)

As for your website, if I were a potential customer, I'd want to look at one gallery with all the pictures rather than clicking multiple pages. However, if I were a customer that had already paid for your services, I'd want to be able to see just my own wedding. So the answer is, you need both - one for portfolio viewing and then maybe password protected galleries for each customer, if possible (which would be good for a predetermined amount of time, after which you take them down to make room for the next one). If the budget doesn't allow all this, then I would go with just the portfolio view, and you can always load the individual galleries on a site like smilebox, shutterfly, etc. (again for a predetermined time limit) until you've worked your way up.

2009-03-25 11:21:25 by Living life - one day at a time!