Let me start by asking a simple question. Why do you hire a photographer? You might have an expensive iPhone or a Galaxy note or a Google Pixel3 which are capable of taking really good photographs. Then why even bother hiring a photographer.
I will tell you why. Because it is your special moment, your celebration, your memory. You don’t want to hold back tucked away from all the energy this moment bring in your life, rather you want to be part of this energy, feel it and enjoy it with your loved one. The same individuals for whom you go through the pain in this world to provide them a better life. This is why you hire a photographer.
While hiring a photographer, you must be looking for certain characteristics which will give you an assurance that you are in safe hands and that down the line in future when you revisit the same memories, you will feel the same energy as it had happened in the day. let me put it this way, say you are getting married. It is your special day and it is going to come only once. You want it to be perfect. What would you do; a) get a cheap photographer and hope everything goes well and he will spend all the time in this world to produce the photographs you were waiting for b) get a photographer who will charge you reasonably well and spend the amount of time required to produce the mirror image of your special day. I think you know the answer.
In order to understand it well, let’s dig deeper into the whole process of photography and understand it from a photographer point of view. Don’t just go by my words but understand this and then tell me how much you should be paying to a photographer.
Use case:
On average, a simple event runs somewhere from 3 to 6 Hrs. During this timeframe, a photographer takes a min of 500 shots. Wedding shoot can go till 1000-1500 shots. Yes, you heard it right, we have to document everything in order to produce a compelling story. A photographer is standing for min 3 Hrs with a 5kg min piece of equipment in his hand. After his, he goes through all of those shots individually and shortlists promising shots (shots that are sharp, not blurry and duplicates). During this process, 40% of the images are eliminated from the equation. Now start the real work of color correction and post-processing. If we only consider color correction a single image takes at least 5 min to be color correcting. Post processing can increase it to 10-20 min/image. Multiple that by total shortlisted images, you can do the math.
So what you should keep in mind while hiring a photographer? First and the most important thing; time your event. Check how long is your event is going to progress, from start to finish. Make sure you leave 30 mins either before or after the event for couple or family portraits. If you have more family member this time may vary. Do speak with your photographer before the event, so can plan and set the expectation. A photographer is not a god and can not predict your expectation. Think of him as your friend. The more you tell the better results he can get you. Talk about every single detail. How many individual and group shots? What is the color theme? Is it going to be indoor or outdoor? How does the setup look like? Do you have any theme in mind? Is there any props required. Do you want back and white version as well. Find examples on the internet and show it to your photographer.
Photography is a combination of art and hard work. It takes real effort and team play to create timeless memories. Do not take it lightly. Spare time and effort and I believe you will not be disappointed.
Hope you all beautiful people look forward to an immersive experience in your next photo shoot.
