Photograph Gifts

Did a friend photograph your wedding, and now you regret it?

A friend of mine offered to photograph my wedding for me, as a gift. He has a very high-quality camera, and loves photography, but he is in no way professional. Im very grateful he is offering this, but I was just wondering if there is anyone who had a friend who photographed their wedding, and they regretted not getting a professional? thx :)

Public Comments

1. I have not had this experience but I have thought about it. The problem with friends photographing the wedding is that they're a friend. Friends who attend a wedding are going to want to have a good time and yes he may take some pictures but will they be the pictures you want or will he focus on his friends who are at the wedding? I can't imagine someone who isn't a professional being able to capture the right lighting and even the right moments. Maybe you could have him take pictures but also hire a professional. This way there will be no regrets.
2. Very bad idea. I am very close to professional in the quality I produce, but have turned down friends that have asked me to shoot an event. It's one thing when casually shooting to miss a shot or two - no big deal. Imagine if your friend misses a shot or two woops - no boquet toss, no vow shots - Also, its not the easiest to get the people into the posed shots. Much much better and safer to have a pro... You could do what I did - have the pro for the wedding and posed shots - then for reception have your friend - I hired two college student photographers for the fun candid shots.
3. Not exactly. My wife's friend video taped our ceremony, and I've never seen the footage (or her). That was five years ago. Not personally a big deal, but I think you should hire a photographer - after all you would feel bad about bossing around your friend (and I assume they have no experience with weddings). After all, you want a professional job. If they insist, then let them take photos at the reception (along with the pro). Worst that can happen is you get a bunch of crappy shots - but the odds are that they will give you some gems as well.
4. No. I hired a photographer and I didnt regret it. Although, several friends with nice cameras sent their photos to me later which was nice... however I was glad we had the professional ones because you just cant compare. If you care about the photos and know the difference between fine and excellent... then you will regret it. Thank your friend, but tell him you would rather he just enjoy the party. Or, that you already got a photog and cannot cancel the contract.
5. Sounds pretty risky to me. Has he ever photographed another wedding? It's not just his photographing skills that would need to be looked at but can he organise the guests.
6. I was a bridesmaid in two weddings where they choose this route. And yes, they both regretted it. Its fine if you want him to take pictures in addition to a professional photographer but I would not skip paying a professional. Along with taking good pictures and knowing exactly what moments they're trying to capture, a good photographer also really helps with the flow of the day. They deal with divorced family members who hate each other but agree to be in a picture because the photographer asks nicely. The photographer helped us keep on track with the reception by making sure to get the key shots and recommend we move on to the next thing when they noticed guests getting restless. Photography was the one thing I did not skimp on for my wedding because that's the thing you have to remember your wedding forever with. You'll forget what the cake tasted like, if the music was any good, but you'll always have photos to remind you of the day...unless a friend takes them and misses half of the important moments and gives you blurry, out of focus, poorly lit pictures.
7. I hired a professional. He was one of my dad's associates. The night before the wedding while we were decorating a random dude came up to me and asked if he could photograph my wedding. He was trying to start his photography business and wanted pictures to add to his portfolio. I don't know if he just does it as a hobby and has gotten really good or if he's been professionally trained. Either way, I told him he could photograph the wedding as long as he didn't get in the way of the professional. I got his pictures on a cd within a month after my wedding. He gave them to me for free. They were wonderful pictures. The professional photographer finally got my album to me last Christmas. I had been married for 2 1/2 years. In addition, the quality of the pictures the non-professional took was much better than the professional's pictures. I still prefer his shots over the hired photographer's pictures. The only concern is that most of the non-professional's pictures are off centered because he was staying out of the photographer's way. It turns out that the random dude was one of my brother's raquetball buddies. My brother is hiring him to photograph his wedding next spring. So in my experience, the "friend" did a better job than the professional. He wasn't my friend so that may have made a little difference- he didn't have to impress me, plus he wasn't being paid. But if I had to do it all again, I'd hire the friend instead.
8. We had 6 friends who gave us their photo skills as gifts. Nearly 1,800 photos were taken. Some of the photos were the usual deer-in-the-headlights look, crooked smiles, space cadet stares, sleepy eyes, etc. Then there were many that were just out of this world awesome!!! The key to photography is taking LOTS of pictures so that you will have enough to fill your wedding album. In our case, we have enough to fill several wedding albums. We have so many to sort through and to choose from. (A good problem to have.) Good luck. * * *