Wedding Photography: What to Do If You Just Can’t Hire a Pro

This is a second part of a two-part series on wedding photography in a recession. See Part 1: How Do I Negotiate? if you missed it!

Sometimes the sad truth is that with some wedding budgets, it just doesn’t work out to hire a professional. Regardless of what your budget is, the photography is one of the longest-lasting investments you’ll make in your wedding day. It’s important to have it done well. Here’s what I’d do if I was in dire straits, and had a minimal budget to work with.

Hire A Talented Amateur

There are a lot of resources on the internet about how to amateurs can go about photographing a wedding. You can probably find a student who already knows a lot, a friend who has taught themselves a lot, or someone who’s willing to give it a go and has a fairly good eye.

The key here is that no one–not even an amateur–should photograph a wedding entirely for free, in my opinion. A friend who is the photographer has the unfortunate status of not being able to fully participate, since the photographer’s job is to capture the moment, not enjoy it. A student in training or a photo enthusiast still has specialized knowledge to put to use.

I’ll reiterate it again: an “amateur” needn’t command professional rates, but their efforts should never go uncompensated! How you work it out with your amateur is up to you; just please, don’t let them work for free.

1. Find Your Amateur

Instead of looking to the omnipresent Craigslist first, turn to your local colleges and universities; each of them has art departments with students who may be willing to give their skills a whirl. In the Baltimore and D.C. areas, a few of the prominent schools include MICA, Baltimore School for the Arts, Washington School of Photography, and Corcoran.

If your student pool turns up dry, you can mine your friends, associates, co-workers, and family members for any photo enthusiast who might be interested in the job. The benefit of looking within your networks is that may turn up someone with whom you feel more comfortable, since they already have a connection with you.

Another great resource, but probably a little tougher to find someone local, would be Flickr: you can search through regional groups and see if you find shooters you like, or someone who dabbles in wedding photography but who may not advertise. It’s worth a shot!

2. Get Comfortable With Your Amateur

Subject your amateur to the same scrutiny that you would as if they were a professional. This is your wedding day, and you want to feel at ease with the person in charge of capturing the moments. Examine their portfolio and ask them why they enjoy photography. Give them your timeline and ask them what their thoughts are. Invite them to come to the location with you on a pre-wedding visit. Ask them what they would do in the event of inclement weather, uncooperative guests, or equipment failure.

Plenty of students and enthusiasts, though, may already have those things in the bag. But just in case, consider providing part of your photography budget for their backup equipment needs, and travel expenses too.

3. Help Your Amateur Get What They Need

Here I’ve prepared a short list of helpful resources that amateur wedding photographers can use to enhance their shooting skills, get the equipment they need, and feel inspired.

Enhance Skills

21 Tips for Amateur Wedding Photographers

The Digital Wedding Forum

Planet Neil: Flash Photography Techniques

Strobist: Lighting 101

Gear Resources

B&H: Photo and Video Equipment

Ziplens: Online Lens Rentals

Service Photo: Rentals & Photo Equipment (local to Baltimore)

Inspiration

Jonathan Canlas Photography

Laura Burlton Photography

Carina Romano Photography

Ellen Warfield Photography

Sabine Scherer Weddings

In Summary

Regardless of what happens with your wedding photography, please make sure that your longest-lasting investment is in each other. In the end, all the beautiful photographs in the world can’t compare to a happy, healthy, and joyous relationship.