10 Reasons Why Hiring Friends to Photograph Your Wedding May Not Be the Best Idea
There was a time where I followed up with a bride who informed me that they have booked another photographer who fit more into their wedding budget. For business feedback purposes, I asked them if there was anything that the other shooter offered in their photo package that mine didn’t deliver on?
They informed me that the photographer was actually a friend of theirs who gave them a good deal. I thanked them for the feedback and wished them a wonderful wedding.
Was I angry or upset at her? Not at all! There is no ill-will intended from these brides, they’re just trying to save money, and sometimes getting a sweet deal from a friend seems just too good to pass up.
There are many brides who have professional photographer friends, myself included. And sometimes a bride will choose a friend who is just starting out in photography and “could use the experience”. Whether your friend is a beginner or a professional, here are a few points to consider before immediately choosing to book with them.
Do they have the right gear?
This is a big one! When photographing your big day, do they have the equipment necessary to capture those precious moments that you will treasure for years to come? Do they have the right kind of camera, lenses, and lights?
If the answer to any of these is no, then it’s a much smarter decision to choose a professional over a friend. Not only will the professional have all of the necessary equipment, but in the event that their camera shuts down, or one of their lenses breaks, they usually have a secondary camera and lens for backup.
Can you imagine if your friends camera or lens breaks during your wedding, and they have no backup for either one? That’s it, your wedding coverage ends right there and you’ll have to rely on a smartphone, and that’s something that no bride wants.
2. Do they have a trained eye?
While the current age of smartphones has made it easier to be a “photographer” for Instagram and TikTok, the reality is that it does not always translate the same when documenting a wedding.
A professional has trained themselves not just by studying how to use a camera, but have spent countless hours reading photo books, listening to podcasts, and watching photography seminars to help fine-tune their photographic style.
Because of this dedication, they understand how to frame a beautiful photo using a variety of compositional techniques. And lighting? Yeah, they know how to utilize all types of light to produce a gorgeous photograph.
Unless your friend is a professional photographer themselves, or an up and coming photography student in college, your friend will most likely not know the technical aspects that make true art in wedding photography.
3. Can they handle the stress?
I’ll be blunt about this, wedding photography is not easy! Not only is there a ton of planning involved, but does your friend know how to handle stress when things don’t go according to plan?
There are countless scenarios where things can just go wrong and there is a strong chance that a friend won’t know what to do that a professional could easily solve. When things don’t go as planned, which happens very often, you want a professional photographer there to problem solve and help save the day!
4. Are they professional?
For the brides who have friends that are professional photographers, this question isn’t really addressing that. What I’m talking about is that because they are your friend, there is always that possibility that they might not have a professional work ethic when providing their services to you.
For example, the guests at your wedding will most likely be their friends too. How tempting would it be for your friend to stop everything that they are doing to talk to your other friends. How frustrating would it be to miss out on having some amazing memories in your wedding album simply because they were chatting and not shooting?
Not only that, but there is also a danger of them taking a long time to actually deliver your photos. If they are doing it for free, or for a much cheaper price, they may prioritize the higher paying projects and clients first before finally taking the time to edit your photos. Are you willing to wait months, or even a year, when a professional could have just given you all of the edited photos in a couple of weeks?
This can lead to those awkward conversations of, “When am I getting my photos?” No bride deserves to wait for long periods of time, and hiring a professional increases the chances of you getting your images a lot sooner.
5. Do they want money?
Usually a friend will photograph a wedding for free, but sometimes the friend may just tell the bride, “Pay me whatever you can give” and they are shocked and upset when they are only given a Starbucks gift card for the photography services that they provided.
Some couples may even give $100 to their friend, and even that might still cause some grief as the photographer may think to themselves, “Wow, they thought that I was worth just $100?” it may sound funny, but it’s situations like this that could cause some resentment between the friend and the couple. This is a real situation that happens, and nobody likes to have awkward conversations about money and services.
Having a professional photographer means that everyone is clear on pricing and services, and you could work with the photographer to see about what pricing packages work for you.
6. Can you fire them?
So you’ve already hired your friend to be your photographer. Then somewhere down the road during the wedding planning stage you come across another photographer whose work that you really like and can afford. Do you really want to have that awkward conversation with your friend basically telling them that they’re fired?
What if the friend is acting a certain way before the wedding, and you realize that it would be better to not have them be your photographer after all? After you let them go from that position, do you still invite them to the wedding, or not?
Things happen, and it’s easier to fire a professional who can handle it as opposed to releasing a friend from being your photographer, and then having to see them at every socializing event from that day on. Talk about awkward!
7. What if you don’t like their photos?
When brides hire a professional photographer, they are a fan of the work that they are seeing. The poses, the compositions, the colors, etc. Very rarely do brides provide feedback as they already trust that the photographer knows what they are doing. But, in the event that a bride does offer feedback, a photographer is usually more than willing to do whatever they can to meet the brides need.
What happens when you are not happy with your friends work? Do you let it go, or do you call them up and tell them?
What happens if they get offended? Will they still fix your photos, or are you stuck with the photos that you were not happy with for life? This can be a very touchy subject to discuss with your friend. Are you willing to have this kind of conversation with them?
8. Do they have liability insurance?
There are a lot of wedding venues that require vendors to have liability insurance. If your family member does not have it, then that’s a sign to hire a professional photographer.
I’ve had to sign multiple agreement contracts from venues that included things like not being able to drink alcohol. This is more than understandable as what if your friend gets drunk while on the job and knocks over a sound speaker that somehow causes a fire that destroys the wedding venue? The venue is going to go after the photographer for everything that they’ve got, and if your friend isn’t protected with insurance, who knows how much money they’ll have left over to their name after the lawsuit is made against them.
Protect your friend, and get a professional with insurance. That will provide peace of mind for everybody.
9. What about legalities?
Most of the time when a friend agrees to shoot a wedding, there is usually no contract involved. You can trust the “honor system” as much as you like, but not having a contract is the worst thing that both a photographer and a couple can do.
What happens when they purposely hold your photos hostage until you pay them the money that they demand of you? What do you do when your friend purposely deletes your photos out of anger? Without a contract, are you willing to sue your friend? This is not something that most brides consider, but it’s a real possibility that could ruin lives.
10. Is risking a friendship worth it?
Think about how far back you and your friend go. Have you been friends since kindergarten, or college? However long you’ve known someone, would you really want to risk ruining a relationship based on any of the points that I listed above in this article?
Every bride thinks, “Well my friend isn’t like that” and you may be right, but is that something you are willing to find out? Save yourself peace of mind, and a loving friendship, by hiring a professional photographer so your friend can enjoy the wedding as an actual guest with no stress on them, or you.
