Have you seen the new commercial for a camera with the slogan “for the pictures you love”, as opposed to “like”, as in “like” on Facebook, or any other social media? This commercial is particularly intriguing because it goes against the standard “look at all my cool/different/new/unusual/amazing features” ideology that the camera markets have been following for so many years and focuses on the pictures you will be taking while taking into account how easy it is to take pictures today. Well what about photographers? Even movies have suggested hiring a friend as a photographer rather than spending the money to hire a professional. For all clients, this may not be the best advice to follow. Will you like your photos or will you love your photos? Making this decision is an important part of planning any life event (especially a wedding.) How do you want to feel about your photos and what does your budget allow?
When should I hire a photographer?
There are photographers, then there are studied, certified, professional photographers. There is a difference and if you ever want to see it, work with one of each over a period of more than a day. You will see, hear, and feel the difference more and more dramatically as time goes on and the proof will obviously be in the pictures, but, be warned, by then it will be too late. So if you want to truly test the idea truth of this, make sure you are okay with less than quality results on the event being photographed. With that in mind, here are some ideas:
- Special occasions: this may seem like the most obvious, especially with weddings, but what about family reunions, vacations, attending events like Comic Con or other conventions, or any other occasion where too much may be happening for you to take it all in.
- Business: every business needs a face. Are you going to let your product stand alone or add the human factor to it? Studies show a dramatic difference to a business’s appeal when a human factor is included.
- Father time: Those school pictures are nice, but one child at a time and what about your parents, grandparents, siblings beyond school years, friends, and other loved ones that you just don’t have a photo of or with, but there is something else that goes with those photos. How long have you known those friends of yours? Photos will be the testament of time and reliving those timeline photos is priceless, but who will be around to take them?
Stay tuned next time for part two on hiring a photographer.
Staff Writer
