I never get to specific with people when they ask why I like shooting weddings. There are a ton of reasons that make it fun and make me love it... but the real reason is something I have a hard time saying. Why, you ask? (You are asking right now...right?) Well, I think the real reason sounds cliche. I feel like people will give me that "yeah right dude" kinda look. I feel like you will think I am full of BS.
Well, here it is the real reason I shoot weddings (drum roll)...
I shoot weddings because MY wedding photos SUCK!!!! They don't just sorta suck... they mega suck. They suck so bad that I am super motivated to make sure that no one has to go through what my wife and I have to every time we look at one.
I want to make sure you have wedding photos that rock your socks, and continue to do so for the rest of your lives. I work hard to make sure you do.
Not because I have to, but because I want to.
Bunnie and I got married in Maui just over three years ago. It was one of the happiest days of my life. She really is a awesome person. We spent a couple months doing our best to put everything together from the mainland. Chose the location, chose the ceremony specifics and selected other fun details. When it came to our photographer... well, our coordinator promised she had just the person for the it, and they would do an amazing job. So we trusted her. We where married on Kapalua Bay Beach at sunset in a ring of flowers with our closest family and friends looking on. Sounds awesome right? It was. It was amazing. Too bad you can't tell from the photos...turns out our "Professional Photographer" was our COORDINATOR with a 20d and a kit lens (and a flash set on full blinding blast).
For the love of god, please do your research. Pick a reputable Professional Wedding Photographer. Take the extra time to look around and make the investment to pay a little extra for a pro. You won't regret it. These are your memories. Don't let some one screw them up.
We are able to laugh the whole thing now, and I am betting you will to... because the are posted below.
Over expose much?
Can you say blurry? And who are those people in the background? Locals eating KFC. no joke.
Ultra blurry...
Okay, so cute composition on the first one of my awesome little step son... but blurry again... and there is just something up with the exposure.
More blur, one of the oh so many blinking pics and I am totally confused by bunnie's pose... is she getting arrested?
Okay, Okay enough with the chuckling. I know I was a bit more of a chub chub back then. You done giggling yet?
In all seriousness I am not posting this to bash our photographer. I am such a supporter of people picking up a camera and going for it. I just want this to be a cautionary tale. If you skimp on the photography and let things like price and convenience make the decision for you... well you end up with crap photos like ours.
But don't fret about Bunnie and me. We love each other more than two people ever could and I have a disc full of motivation to make sure you have the most awesome wedding photos ever.
Chacka! (P.S. this photo was taken with my sisters point and shoot... better than the "pro")
Oh man. Thanks for posting these. What makes it even worse is that it was such an amazing location, and you should have got extraordinary shots! Thanks for saving other people from the same fate :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your wedding pictures, it looks like it should have been a great opportunity for a talented professional.
ReplyDeleteHope fully people heed your warning :)
wow... insane! I love your motivation, though! That's awesome :-)
ReplyDeleteAmazing post! What a wonderful reason to be a wedding photographer!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm in the same position. My wedding photos are horrible and I've made it my goal to NEVER leave a client feeling the way I've felt over the past 5 years. It's not like I can just go back and have a re-do.
ReplyDeletei love when people say, "You can't go wrong with that scenery." Um, yes you can. lol Sorry for your photos. Mine did turn out better than that, but mine still suck. However, I'm not at the level where I can feel comfortable shooting a wedding. I don't want folks to ever feel like I do about my wedding album. Until then, I'll keep practicing and refering quality photogs!
ReplyDeleteWow. Just wow.
ReplyDeleteSuch an informative and eye opening post. I wish every bride and groom would read this and look at the photos you've shared. There is certainly more to this photography thing then buying a shiny new camera!
ReplyDeleteI'm always saddened when I hear that people hate their wedding photos. They're just too important.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! It's good you can laugh about it now, I wouldn't be able to! I don't think you are alone with your reason to become a wedding photographer. I hope this helps some brides & grooms out there.
ReplyDeleteoy vey!!!! you poor kids! the wedding biz is so lucky to have you paul, and i can not stress enough how important choosing the right photog is!!! brides! grooms! read this!!!!
ReplyDeleteoooooo my goodness. speechless. seriously, that's just wrong!
ReplyDeleteGood reason to find a pro! I always cringe when people call me up saying they their uncle just got a new camera and is going to take their wedding pictures. yikes... I almost always hear back with them wishing they would have stuck with me.
ReplyDeleteWow I'm really happy you posted this, I'm sure it's your motivation but it adds to my motivation as well :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a compelling story to share...thanks for putting this out there. People need to know that there is a difference when you hire a professional photographer. If you would have known this was what you would get, I bet you would have found someone else to take the pictures...
ReplyDeleteOh how completely heartbreaking for you. My photos aren't great, but they don't suck like this. Yes, a great reason to always get a pro. Like you, I'm determined that my clients never, ever feel disappointment with their images.
ReplyDeleteHating my own wedding photos was a huge motivation for me getting into wedding photography as well. I never want other couples to have to go through what we have. When it's all said and done, the photos are all you have left.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's really too bad. It almost looks as if the photographer shot your wedding with an slr that had an auto mode in JPEG... yikes. I too had that same experience. SO many blurry shots, underexposed shots, overexposed shots, and worst of all?? Photos from BEHIND people. There are more photos of the backs of people's heads than anything else. What's interesting about that?? Her portfolio showed nothing like what I received from her. When I questioned her about them, she told me that the location was a difficult location for her to shoot in. Which MAY have potentially meant something to me, if I hadn't shot a wedding there once previously. Yeah. So kudos to you for posting yours, and reminding all fellow photographers, why we strive to be the best we can be, not settle for any excuses.
ReplyDeleteWow they're worse than my photos. My wedding planner also recommended my photographer, and she wasn't that great, but at least it wasn't actually herself!! So sorry that you had to experience that! But thankfully, now we have your awesome photography!!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe there are so many of us out here, the "I'm a wedding photographer and my wedding photos blow" club (better name anyone?) Now, websites were sketchy when I got hitched, the bad thing is I got sold on him being a good photographer because he was a photographer for the Greatful Dead. Don't know what I was thinking, I did get him to turn over the FIVE rolls of film he shot. Great idea posting your photos Paul. = Chris
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I think many of us in the industry have a similar motivation. Mine was seeing all my friends get crap photo's from people that should not be in the business. Too many times did I see them being disappointed.
ReplyDeleteYeah..my own wedding photos are awful as well. I have 0 on my walls. It's an awful feeling!
ReplyDeleteOh. Dear.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to see but supremely helpful to your clients now since you understand the importance of great photos.
Awesome post! I wish I had of done a bit more research when we got married!
ReplyDeleteWow. The shot with the point and shoot is definitely the best one! Thanks for sharing this. As a new photographer, this is motivating me to really make sure I know my stuff and can get the job done right to make sure none of my shots come out like that! I would die if I had to hand those over to a client.
ReplyDeleteokay, so this makes me feel a teeny tiny bit better. I told my sister (BG) I wish it were possible for you to re-shoot wedding shots for me. We had who I thought would be great, but I hated most of the pics. I didn't even want to put my album together it just made me sad. Lovin' your work, it's fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen "professional" wedding pics that bad before! They were better off just taking pictures with a point and shoot! Wow, so sorry to read about your experience!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I found out this lesson from others before I got married.
ReplyDeleteThe photographs were in the top 3 priority in my $3,500 wedding budget (we spent about $2,500 on photography lol). Glad you get to help other people! Sorry you had to go through that. :(
I'm glad I have become a wedding photographer before I vet married although it's goingto be verrry hard to find one I like!!!
ReplyDeletePaul, those photos make my eyes hurt!!!
ReplyDeleteThis sucks. Dude, call me. I'll shoot you and your wife for free. Seriosly.
ReplyDeleteI just got my wedding photos back and they're horrible. We had a friend of a friend offer to give us a discount. I saw her photos from previous weddings and they looked really good... but must have been the only ones of hers that were.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part is that she honestly thinks the photos she took were nice. So when I point out the flaws she's like "well, that's to be expected.... I couldn't get a picture of your dad's face because you two were twirling around and it's really hard.... Well you can't expect everyone to be looking at the camera in a big group shot and of course someone's head will have a post coming out of it (okay, maybe that's true but a post coming out of the bride's head?).... I was in the bathroom and gave the camera to someone else while they were toasting, but we might be able to zoom in.... the lighting in the church wasn't quite what I expected so that didn't really work out well... I was taking a candid of them (you were taking a candid of people posing for someone else's picture?)..... we can probably edit them but I usually charge extra for that..."
I'm asking a new in-law who is a very skilled photographer to look at them and see if she can fix them this Sunday and take some shots of our wedding rings or something while we're there.