Derek Smith Photography: 2008

With digital cameras becoming more affordable these days and megapixel counts going through the roof most people know someone with a decent quality camera. As such I am often asked why couples need to hire a professional photographer when 'my uncle has a great camera and will shoot my wedding for free' or 'my friend has offered to shoot my wedding and give me all the images on a disk'.

This logic kind of makes sense until you follow it through to the rest of your wedding... You probably wouldn't ask guests to bring a plate to the reception and cancel the catering, or hand pick your bouquet from your neighbours flower garden.

Your wedding will be one of the most precious days of your life. And once the flowers have faded, cake is eaten and dress is packed away your photos and video are all you have to remember the big day by. Who do you trust more to capture the beauty and emotions of the day? A professional who specialises in capturing these moments or a guest whose real job is to celebrate with you and friends?

The team at Derek Smith Wedding Photography and I have spent countless hours honing our craft and learning the intricacies of the gear we use. Despite best intentions unless your 'uncle/friend' is a full-time professional photographer they simply can't have put in the leg work to ensure your photos are priceless keepsakes for yourself and future generations.

Nowadays it is all to common for me to receive a call after the wedding day from a devastated bride saying 'a friend shot my wedding and it was terrible, we're no longer on speaking terms because the photos are so bad'. It's really sad getting calls like and I wouldn't wish this on any bride.

I think the author John Ruskin summed it up best over 100 years ago when he said...

It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little.

When you pay too much you lose a little money. That is all.
When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything because the
thing that you bought was incapable of doing the thing that you bought it to do!

The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot.
It cannot be done. And if you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add
something for the risk that you run. And if you do that, you will have enough
to pay for something better.

There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little
worse and sell a little cheaper. And the people, who consider price alone,
are this man's lawful prey.