Remember a camera does not make someone a photographer no matter how good the camera is.
Will they be there even 12 months down the line if you need backup copies of your wedding photographs ? Will they even keep back-up images or will you the bride and groom have the only copy of the images and God help you if you lose or damage them ?
Some part time operators "do a few weddings a year to pay for their annual holiday". Some do it to provide a secondary income to suppliment their main income. Some do it because they have lost their job and will try it for a while until something else turns up. Sadly some brides to be have booked snappers like this to record their special day and you will from time to time read about their experiences on these or other forums.
A reputable professional photographer will invest in professional equipment with back-up equipment to cover all eventualities, proper training and will keep up with the latest trends, proper advertising on reputable sites, a proper website rather than simply a flickr or facebook site alone (though most professionals now use facebook in addition to their main websites) A professional will know how to deal with the many people and other suppliers involved in a wedding in a professional and mannerly fashion, they will be fully insured and use a contract for all wedding bookings.
Remember the cheapest price is not always the best deal when you want the best for your magical wedding day.
To sum up the title of this post I will leave you with a little story that someone sent me recently, it was to do with a conversation over the table at a dinner party. The hostess for the dinner who also cooked the entire meal was commenting to one of her guests who was a professional wedding photographer about the photographs in a wedding album that she had seen recently (the photography on this occasion was done by her guest) She said " They are stunning photographs that you took at that wedding, you must have a great camera" !
The photographer after a moment replied, "That was a really delicious meal, you must have a great oven" !!
I think that little story says a lot.
Thanks
David
www.dmcphotography
www.smiles@dmcphotography
