I'm not quite sure about that. You choose to go with the definition of amateur as lacking in experience. But there is another one: "one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession" and I've know a few of those who were much better photographers than the so called pros.
I would agree that there are many good amateurs out there, some better than many pros. However, just like there is no way to become an excellent macro shot taker, there is NO way to become an experienced wedding photographer... unless you do it over and over.
Now, if you are learning wedding photography by screwing over wedding couples many times before you get "good", *that* is what I am saying is totally wrong due to the nature of weddings (once in a lifetime and never again). That flower will be back and won't mind if you took 50 times of 50 blurry shots of it to get down your technique. Those first 50B &Gs are now dealing with uber-crap while you were "practicing", no matter if you were the best general photographer in the world, until you've sat down with a pro and been guided through the process as it *should* be, you are going to not be ready... no exceptions. Until you are ready, I feel that you have no right to screw up someone's lifetime memories.
With my friends and family I do the same but only after I have pushed for not doing a traditional wedding and break the bank. I was once part of the wedding industry as a photographer and I know it's a racket.
"Rackets" are everywhere. In particular, my PRIME example is Jasmine Starr. Someone that didn't even know how to hold a camera at her own wedding, talked a predominant good photographer to mentor her in it, shot to the top of the wedding photography food chain, and now spends more time in front of people in lecture halls selling her time as a speaker than behind a camera. Marketing tells people that her photos are untouchable by anyone. My brain screems "MEDIOCRE!" when my eyes see her work.
A racket. There are a million other ones out there too, trust me, I've spent the last 2 years studying *all* aspects of this game.
When I started I attended a workshop by the top US wedding photog of the time. All his weddings were the same. If it wasn't for the color of the bride's maid dresses, you could almost have pasted the heads of the bride and groom on a set of photos and be done
There was absolutely nothing in those photos of the personality of the couple. I just could not believe this guy was the top of the profession.
There are cookie-cutters out there, that is true, but also do not forget that the people that select him, do so just for those reasons, they want to look just like the brides that are in his portfolio. Now, I personally do not want all my weddings to be the same and they won't be, but my style will be the same from event to event. This is why the client chose me, this is why they wanted me.
Anyway, not everybody is the same or has the same expectations or desires. A lot of times, hire a pro is the right suggestion but not always. If we really want to help, shouldn't we ask a few questions first?
Of course! I never say to find out if they are against it or not, I say that if they are spending $50,000 on a wedding (the *average* amount to spend on a wedding in the USA... add another $25,000 to that if you live in California), and want to save $3's on a wedding photographer, but have $6Gs in the wedding cake... to think a little. After the cake is eaten and crapped out, what do YOU have for your money? NOTHING. The differences in quality of the pictures between your guests and an experienced good wedding photographer are not even comparable. What do you want to look at for the rest of your life... blurred, washed out underexposed pictures or memories that glorify the event and make you smile each and every time you look at them?
Of course there are weddings held by people of much lower means, people who do NOT have the money as perhaps that $3G photographer is 50% higher than the budget for some bride's ENTIRE wedding... in her case, she may not be able to afford a photographer.
In my *own* case, at my wedding, I did not even want one there, even if he was Jesh de Rox and offered to work for free. At the time, I could not care less and would not be bothered with it. Today, I repent my attitude and thoughts because it was a special moment that I cannot ever repeat again.
I had no photographer at my wedding. We had no desire to pay for photos we don't even find appealing.
Sorry, there is no such thing as an unappealing wedding photo when done properly by someone who's style
you like and chose. NO ONE goes "oh, he's a crappy photographer, but he's $100 for the week, let's take him!"
And I can just imagine the answers if my nephew had come on this forum saying: "my uncle, a professional photog, asked me to shoot his wedding, I've never shot one before..." By asking some questions you may have found out we had asked everybody coming to the wedding to do the same, with their P&S cameras.
I never said not to ask. I do say that the vast majority of couples that want memories need to understand that there is a difference between Nephew Larry and a trained, experienced photographer and to understand the consequences and results of both sides of the coin.
If they do not care about the quality of the shots, they are entirely free to choose to have all or none of the guests do this for them, or they may choose to honor and preserve the memories in a manner befitting such an important even in their lives. If they do want memories... there is only ONE way to do it... and that is to choose someone who cares and lives with a mantra... do it once, do it right... or don't bother with doing it at all.
Under those circumstances, who would you rather have doing it?
). I never interrupted my mentor with a question while he was at work. I took verbal notes and questions and asked later or while in the car, going from location to location. This info is all transferred into a Word document (my own personal secrets of wedding black book, if you will), along with the matching pictures from the pro after he makes them available to me (usually the same time as they are made available to the bride or as we are doing the post processing together).
