As we all know, the barrier to entry into the wedding photography business is really low. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can go to Wal-Mart, get a $300 camera and say he is a photographer... and I guess he is but would you want to trust him with the most important day of you life??? I don't think so! Why not? You ask. Well, first and foremost he has no experience. He doesn't know where to be, when to be there, or how to use a DSLR camera... Hint: "Auto" is not what a professional photographer uses. The camera WILL get it wrong a percentage of the time. And as luck would have it, that percentage of the time will fall on a crucial shot of that special moment that will NEVER happen again! What's even worse is that in auto the camera only shoots jpg, which means that there's very little that anybody can do to fix it in post! So why would the camera get it wrong? First: it's a $300 camera with a small sensor and not a good quality lens. A good camera with a full frame sensor and a set of high quality lenses will run you $6,000 or more! Let's also keep in mind that any good professional photographer should have a back-up camera in case one was to break in the middle of your wedding, as well as lights and accessories. So a professional photographer should have at least $8,000 in gear, probably more. OK, second: A camera on "auto" is designed to expose for 18% gray. If the majority of the frame is white, the camera will under expose, if the majority of the frame is black it will over expose. So how do you make the camera get the expose right? Two things "manual mode" and "experience!" An experienced photographer will know when to under expose and when to over expose. He will also be shooting in RAW so that even if he gets an exposure slightly wrong he can fix it in post without degrading the image.

I'm sorry to have to ramble on like this, in fact I'm sorry that I even have to write this post. But I just get so frustrated seeing so many brides get horrible pictures on their wedding day because they were mislead into believing that anybody with a DSLR can take good pictures. Typically weddings have the worst lighting (either way too bright or way too dark) in both of those situations you need someone who has the right equipment and knows what they are doing... and I haven't even gotten into posing and composition! You don't have to hire me (but you could) I'm just saying: do the research and make sure that the photographer you do hire has the experience and the right gear to get images you can treasure for a lifetime.