Wedding Photographers Being Sued (Not Us!!)

I heard in the news yesterday of a wedding photographer whose images are so bad that the couple in question have sued and have been awarded damages. I don't know if you've heard, but here is some light reading for you! Oh and by the way - my blog post is a little long, I think it's quite important and covers some good issues surrounding our work so please take the time to read it if you're looking at booking anyone .

BBC's coverage, Express' coverage, Metro's coverage.

Now, this is quite shocking and atrocious not to mention detrimental to our jobs as photographers - I fear that it will show a great deal of us in a bad light to the public - I want to reassure you that this is not the case with every photographer! Generally I wouldn't be posting a blog about this but this guy charged £1450 - I'd expect that sort of service from someone around the £300/£400 mark - but not this.

I feel it's important for me to pick up on something else that has reared its ugly head in the past and in this story - photography associations. Now, I don't mean to preach - more educate when I say this, the vast majority of photography associations (MPA, SWPP, BIPP, WPPI, WPJA and so on) are essentially just photography clubs (the guy in question was a member of the SWPP) - I feel that this is important for brides and grooms to know before they do their research into their wedding photographer. None of them have particularly strict guidelines or quality standards and some even (in the SWPP's case of which the photographer in the story was a member) no quality standards at all. There is no governing body to which we have to adhere to in terms of quality - which is a shame. Essentially, once you've paid your membership you're allowed to put letters after your name - would you hire Joe Bloggs, a DJ with DJCF after his name (DJ's Chat Forum - not a real example!!)

I know it sounds harsh and I have no doubt many photographers will be after using part of my hide as a new belt - but the reality is that many 'associations' are mere clubs, enabling photographers to put letter after their names to bamboozle potential clients - it's like gloss paint, makes anything look shiny and attractive despite what's underneath.

I also feel it fair to point out that there are a great deal of photographers under the belts of the SWPP, MPA, BIPP etc. that *are* worth their weight in gold, many can produce consistent and good quality - but it only takes one bad egg.........I also agree with the fact that it can help aspiring photographers to gain a certain amount of credibility whilst starting out, but does that mean they can give you the goods? So please, when looking for your wedding photographer (even if it's not us) just think about the importance of those letters.

I have always maintained that the best way to chose your photographer is to:

1. Have a face to face meeting, ensure you both get along - I always personally visit every one of our clients at least once to make sure we all click and to ensure you feel comfortable;

2. Look through at least a couple of sample albums. Albums (like ours) should showcase images from ONE wedding each proving that the photographer can provide consistent results throughout the day aside from their award-winning selection of four from the shoot. Also look out for people not looking at the camera - something often missed - because if the bride and groom aren't looking, or if the people in the posed shots aren't looking then that photographer hasn't done a wedding of their own accord - they may have been a 'second shooter' as we call it, but make sure that if they show you a bunch of photos with people looking away that you ask the question about solo weddings, and make sure you think they're being honest;

3. Look through a good selection of images from several weddings too - one of the common pitfalls (aside from people not looking) that bad photographers fall into is 'blowing out the highlights' - have a good look at the bride's dress, can you see the detail? If not then it's more than likely to have been lost forever - is that how you want your dress to look? Occasionally it's done for artistic merit, always ask. Always check for posing, we don't spend an eternity getting it right as we'd rather be efficient in getting the job done, but does the posing look a mess? That can mean a lack of experience;

3. Seek references from past clients - we have a list as long as your arm of people from 2005 to last week that are happy to speak of how they felt about us on the day.

We're not members of associations or clubs, nor do we enter photographs into competitions - we're far too busy actually concentrating on delivering consistently good work - I also much prefer spending the money I'd save joining an association on new cameras!

I know we're not cheap, but I'd like to think that the quality, consistency and standard of the work we supply far surpasses that of anyone else in our price range. Plus we don't take photos like the guy in the article above

Sorry for the rant, any questions?!