Dawn and Mike recently had me do a 20th anniversary photoshoot at the site of their wedding, Rainbow Springs State Park. We often offer to recreate some of the wedding poses during an anniversary shoot, but Dawn and Mike have no photos from their wedding.

Dawn and Mike approached me about a year before their 20^th wedding anniversary to start planning a photoshoot to commemorate the occasion. As we talked, Dawn suggested that we have their session at Rainbow Springs State Park because that was where they married. My immediate thought was that we could recreate some of the photos from their wedding day.

Well, it was just a thought. Dawn and Mike did not have any photos from their wedding day. They had a “friend” take the photos, and they didn’t turn out. If you know Dawn, she is the sweetest person! It made me really sad that she did not have any photos from her wedding day. I asked a few more questions to see if maybe there was some type of photo and maybe it could be fixed with modern technology. So maybe they could have something. But I quickly learned that there was nothing that could be done.

So here’s how to avoid being in the same situation of having no good photos from your wedding.

• Hire a professional, even if you’re on a budget. Did you know that most photographers have an elopement package? We offer a two-hour package that is very affordable. If you were to have us at your wedding for just two hours, you could have us arrive right before the ceremony, take group photos and bride and groom photos right after the ceremony, and photograph your reception entrance and first dance before we depart.
• If you do have a friend or uncle who has a “nice camera” and offers to be your photographer, at minimum find out the following:

How many weddings have they photographed?

Ask to see photos from their previous weddings.

Do they have liability insurance, if your venue requires it?

Will they be shooting your wedding in RAW?

Do they have the lighting necessary to properly expose your reception venue?

How will they handle it if the entire wedding party is drunk and can’t follow directions?

Are they prepared to pivot if there’s bad weather?

If the friend or uncle is not experienced enough in wedding photography, don’t be afraid to tell them that they’re welcome to take photos, but that you want them to have a good time, so you’re hiring a professional.

• Don’t assume that your friend who took your engagement photos is going to be the best choice for your wedding photography. An engagement photo session is not the same as a fast-paced event like a wedding. We use our engagement sessions to coach our couples in some posing techniques to make the wedding day go more smoothly, but we have observed weddings that have been held up — sometimes for hours — due to an inexperienced photographer stopping the show because they can’t get the shots in a timely manner. You don’t want your wedding day memories to be that you spent all your time away from your guests because your photographer monopolized your time.
• We see people at weddings with cameras who we can clearly see have no idea what they are doing. Once, we were competing with a relative who had a fancy camera with an expensive flash which they had pointed up. When you point the flash up, and it bounces off the ceiling, you often produce a very natural looking light. But when there is NO CEILING, then there is nothing to bounce the light back into the photo. You would have to know a few things about photography to know this person was pretending to know what he was doing. Your wedding is not the place to rely on somebody who thinks they know what he is doing but does not!

A professional photographer, no matter how many hours you hire them for, will do the best they can to tell the story of your special day!