"Why do professionals charge what they do?"

"A photographer went to a socialite party in New York. As he entered the front door, the host said 'I love your pictures- they're wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera.' He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: 'That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove." -Sam Haskins-

Many people call themselves 'professional' wedding photographers. This is my definition of a professional wedding photographer:


A professional wedding photographer is one that has vast experience in wedding photography; that knows how to shoot with all manual settings on their camera (and does so most of the time); someone that has taken wedding photography seminars and classes in the past as well as continually strives to learn more skills, styles, techniques, tricks; someone that has a natural artistic talent combined with technical abilities; someone that loves shooting brides so much, they would do it for free if they could afford to; someone that has lots of back up equipment, tax licenses, and business insurance; and finally someone that you can check references for (past clients AND vendors).

All of these things cost a ton of time and/or money to attain and maintain. So if you find a photographer that will shoot your wedding for a lot less than many other photographers, just remember the list above. You will be giving up some if not most of those qualities listed!