Do I even need a wedding photographer?

The invention of the digital camera has ushered in a new age of wedding photography for both the consumer and the photographer. No longer can only the professionals afford to purchase a nice camera capable of photographing a wedding. Now a days everyone is a photographer. Everyone has a camera. From the nice prosumer point and shoots to the spiffy new camera seen on most cell phones. So if everyone at your wedding is going to have a camera, do you really need to hire a photographer?


Many of my friends who are getting married recently are having to do so on a budget, and who else isn't? They are trying to cut corners wherever they can. From getting a much smaller cake, to even forgoing getting a bouquet at all. More times than not, the first thing to be dropped from their wedding budget is a wedding photographer. As a wedding photographer what do I think about that. Well my reaction to that is "you get what you pay for", or in this case, what you don't pay for at all.


When you hire a photographer your not hiring him for all his fancy equipment that has all the bells and whistles. Your hiring him because, hopefully, he knows what he is doing and can capture all those special moments of your wedding. Her or she knows what they are doing because they have done hundreds of weddings before.

I hope my customers and potential customers do what ever makes them happy and works in their budget. If you are ok with getting mediocre photographs of you walking down the isle taken from the vantage point of your guests as your only memories of your big day, then by all means don't hire a photographer for your wedding. If that's what works for you then don't let anyone talk you into hiring a photographer! If you want epic shots that you will look back at in your wedding album every week for the rest of your life, then the only way you are going to do that is by hiring a photographer. Remember, you get what you pay for!

If your not hiring a photographer for your wedding, then don't expect photos like these!

Film or Digital?

I often have the debate with clients and fellow photographers over the use of film or digital medium when photographing weddings. I want to share my experiences with everyone regarding the age old debate.

Let me start by saying the most important thing : photos taken using film and photos taken from a digital camera are not the same. With photos taken on a film camera your going to be getting much more detail. Your going to be able to see the pollen on each of your rose pedals in your beautiful bouquet; your also going to be able to see the pores on your skin if the camera is close enough. The next most obvious pro with film is the colors. With digital photos, your not going to get the amazing dark blacks and radiant reds that you are accustomed to with film.

So why doesn't everyone just shoot in film since the photos that you get look so much better? I have my own reasons why I only shoot digital, but I decided to ask my fellow wedding photographer Jeff his views on the subject. Jeff told me "While film does offer the superior image quality, what it lacks is how fast it captures the image. In lament terms, when I am photographing a wedding, I need something that can take up to 10 shots per second. I need to capture the precise moment in time that the bride is throwing her bouquet and it is at the top of it's flight towards all the single ladies. With digital I can do that, with film, I can't". Jeff brings up a great point here. Film is great for capturing still moments in time. It suffers when objects are moving.

My main reason for not using film is cost. It does not cost me anything to "develop" my digital photos. With companies that produce film going out of business each week it seems, it keeps on getting more expensive to purchase and develop film. If I were to incur the cost that comes with using film, then I would have to past that cost onto my customers, which is the last thing I want to do.

With film, it would be much harder to capture precise moments like this.

Am I getting my money's worth?

You found that super awesome photographer that fits all your needs for you wedding day. He shoots amazing photos, shoots in the style you like, and falls within your price range. Perfect! Now what's the last thing left to do? Contact him! But, before you do, I recommend keeping a couple things in mind during your meeting with this photographer before you make your final decision. We all want to get our money's worth, and wedding photography is no different! Follow some of these great tips to see if your getting the best bang for you buck.


1) Does the quality of the images warrant his pricing?
2) What is the quality of the albums like? Are they real leather or fake leather? How many photos can fit into an album?
3) Does he have a passion for what he does? The worst thing to have is a photographer on your wedding day that feels like he doesn't want to be there. Make sure they are not just in it for the money, because their passion will reflect in their work.
4) How many hours of work does he provide compared to other photographers in his price range?
5) How many weddings has he done in his career?
6) Does he provide a second shooter with him? If so, how talented is this photographer?
7) This may be most important of all - does he provide referrals? Referrals are a great way to get other customers experiences from the same photographer.

What can I expect out of the photographer on my wedding day?

A lot of my clients ask me what exactly a photographer does on the day of the wedding and what they can expect out of them. Of course they know a photographer takes photos, but my clients are curious as to how photographers get the photos that I get. Does the photographer follow the bride around all day? Does the bride follow the photographer? Does the photographer roam around incognito all day? Well let me share my answer to this question.


The most important thing to do before a wedding is sit down with my client and plan their day. We discuss all the details - from what time I arrive to how many bridesmaids she is going to have. The worst thing any photographer can do is arrive at the wedding without a plan. Generally I show up to a wedding about an hour before the bride puts on her dress. The first things I shoot when I arrive is the bride putting her makeup on, the groom getting ready, and small details of the brides outfit such as her shoes and the garter. When the bride is ready to put on the dress, I am there for that to capture the emotion of putting the dress on.

The first thing I tell my brides on the big day is that I am there for them and that she has every right to tell me if there is a shot that she wants that her or I did not discuss. I have an idea of what shots I want to get depending on the location and time of day that the wedding takes place, however I am open to everything.

One thing that the bride and groom don't realise that a wedding photographer does sometimes during s a wedding is that we try to take charge. Not in the fact that we tell the bride and groom what to do, but in the fact that we keep the wedding and the reception flowing so that their guests do not get bored. Most wedding photographers (including me) try to act as the wedding planner if there is not one in the fact that we tell the bride and groom when to start things like the money dance or the bouquet toss.

Being a wedding photographer is much more than taking photos. We plan, coordinate, and assist in every facet of the wedding. I hope after reading this you have a better understand of what we do on your big day.

Why is a wedding photographer so expensive?

I want to use this blog to answer some of the most common questions I get from clients so that they can ask more specific questions pertaining to their wedding when they meet with a photographer they are considering hiring for their wedding.

One of the most common questions I get asked when I meet with potential clients is : "Why is it that all wedding photographers are so expensive? After all, were only paying you for 1 day of work!" I agree with my clients that it is not cheap to hire a wedding photographer. It's not something that everyone can afford. However, it is not cheap to be a wedding photographer either. One common misconception of our profession is that we don't have much (if any) overhead. That couldn't be farther from the truth.

I strive to give my clients the best image quality possible while keeping the cost down for them. Professional photographers like myself don't go out and buy consumer camera equipment. At the start of my company, over 50% of my profit went back into my equipment. It's not cheap to take great photos.


Once you lay your head down on your pillow and go to sleep on the night of your wedding, your wedding day is officially over for you. It's just starting for me! Your wedding day is MUCH more than just the one day for me. The editing process is a long and tedious one. Here is a breakdown of my process :

1. Upload images from wedding to the computer (1 hr)
2. Back up images (1 hours)
3. Process and edit all images(8 – 9 hrs)
4. Upload gallery for clients and blog my favorite images (3hrs)
5. Create slide show from wedding (2 hrs)
6. Create wedding albums if the wedding calls for one (3-5 hrs)
7. Make changes to wedding album that Bride and Groom request(1 hr)

 As you can see, it takes someone who is dedicated to their craft to be a wedding photographer. I hope this blog entry gives clients a better perspective of what it takes to be a wedding photographer.

Tips on choosing the right photographer for your wedding

Before I start I want to introduce myself to my readers of my new blog. My name is Cody Meyer. I have been a professional wedding photographer for over four years. In that time I have seen everything there is to see in the industry – the good and the bad. I hope this blog helps connect me with those that are previous, and potential clients.

Right now is that time of the year where couples have gotten engaged over the holidays and are starting to plan for their upcoming wedding. Getting a great photographer for your wedding is high on any bride's list of things to do. The photos of your wedding will be some of your most cherished  memories from your big day, and you hope these photos will capture all of the excitement and romance of your wedding day. As a successful wedding photographer, I want to share my top three secrets to finding the perfect wedding photographer for your wedding.

1) The most important thing to identify when looking at a potential photographer for your wedding is their style of photography.  If you can identify the style that you like, then it will be much easier for you to find a photographer  that matches you. As you look through a photographers portfolio, keep an eye out for certain styles. Just about every photographer will fall under a certain style: photo-journalistic, artsy, vintage, or formal.

2) No matter how many amazing photos the photographer has in his portfolio, you must pick a photographer that you get along with. If you don't get along with your photographer, you won't have a pleasant experience (and the photos your receive will reflect that). You and your photographer are going to spend many hours together during your wedding day, so take time to chat and get to know your photographer and his personality. 

3) Consistency is the name of the game. There are so many wedding photographers out there. The bride and groom should be worried about finding a professional wedding photographer, not someone that has extra money and went out and bought a flashy new fancy camera and only takes photos on the weekend. The best way to weed out the pros from the amateurs is to look his his/her sample albums. This way you can get a good idea of all of the shots that the photographer takes at a wedding, and view the consistency of their shots. Anyone with a camera can take an amazing photograph every now and then, but the real pros take amazing shots with almost every shutter click.

As you may notice I did not mention the one thing that every person will be looking at then choosing a wedding photographer - price. In my experience of the hundreds of other wedding photographers that I have meet and viewed their work; you get what you pay for. This is an important thing to keep in mind while shopping.

            I hope that these tips will help steer you in the right direction when choosing the right photographer for you big day.