Dear brides and grooms: Save yourself some grief and build a relationship with your photographer before you hire them. I am surprised at how many times I’ve asked a married couple who photographed their wedding only to hear them say, “I don’t know.” Your photographer will affect the way you look back on your wedding day for the rest of your life.
Case in point: One of New Jersey’s largest photography/videography vendors recently filed for bankruptcy. Clients are now forced to scour blog forums in the hopes of locating the name of their particular wedding photographer. Many couples will not get their photos or their money refunded. Others are searching for a last minute photographer to shoot their wedding. Going with large photography studios like this one has its risks—especially since many of them are going defunct. Let’s talk about the differences between hiring a smaller boutique over a larger wedding vendor.
Does Bigger Mean Better?
Smaller businesses tend embrace new tools more readily than larger corporations. Tools like digital technology and the internet increase the speed at which we communicate and execute our work as photographers. This means spending fewer hours at the office and more time creating art as well as working directly with clients.
Larger vendors tend to offer more “pre-packaged” services that cannot be exchanged, customized or altered. Customer service is often minimal and interaction with the artists (photographer & videographers) before your wedding can be limited. The simple reality of running a large business is to closely measure and drive profitability.
These companies experience large profits by streamlining their services and maintaining a large-scale operation. This corporate approach to management usually consists of very specific teams within the comany: administrative, sales, marketing, project management, and photographers. With all this business talk, it’s easy to see why these vendors insist on booking clients quickly and offer minimal pre-contract consultation. Now don’t get me wrong, some couples are well aware of this approach and appreciate that these vendors tend to offer a uniformed service that is generally less expensive than working with a boutique vendor. It’s just good to know what you are getting for your money.
Why Small is Beautiful.
In order to stay inspired and continue offering premium services, smaller vendors (like me) must be a little more creative. We rely on our ability to customize services to meet your individual needs. When the internet exploded onto the scene in the early 9o’s, many established companies simply did not know how to merge this new platform with existing ones. Smaller vendors tend to have more intimate websites that set a more personal tone. This unique creative touch is what makes us stand out amidst the white noise.
As an artist, I question the ability for a company to provide “inspired, fine art” photographs to couples when they are forced to take on 100+ weddings per year in order to stay profitable. Some companies book as many as 400 wedding per year! When your scale is this large, accidents are bound to happen. Just search your local Craigslist region and see how many “professional” studios are looking to hire a shooter to photograph already scheduled wedding events. Usually an amateur photographer is contracted; without personal equipment, the studio lends acceptable gear to shoot with. The result is an underpaid, unaccredited photographer, and a couple who expected one thing and got another. The larger vendor is forced to juggle high overhead or face collapse. This practice is more common than you think. There are many photographers and couples who are deceived by these actions. In light of this information, there are some exceptional large-scale vendors that carefully nurture their select group of photographers.
Additionally, there are a growing number of individuals who simply purchase a new camera and declare they are professionals to make a quick buck on the side. The best thing is to do your homework—no matter who you choose.
The bankruptcy incident involving the large photography company in New Jersey should be a wakeup call to all of us. Size does not equal success or quality. My heart goes out to all the people who have been affected by this unfortunate ordeal. And I hope this helps you in choosing the perfect photographer for your big day.
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