I correspond with hundreds of Los Angeles area wedding photography clients every year. And over the course of that year, one or two folks will share that they didn’t select me because a family friend offered to photograph their wedding. Although I can only speculate as to a client’s motivation, I’m hesitant to agree that hiring a family friend to photograph a wedding would be the good choice.

Experience

I photograph an average of 35 weddings every year. And, over the course of my career, I’ve photographed hundreds of weddings. This means that I’ve worked in hundreds of different locations, in challenging lighting situations, under all kinds of weather conditions, and all the while living and working through countless wedding day “emergencies.” Although a family friend may be quite good at holiday photos or family photographs or even fashion photography, can they cope with a wide range of rapidly changing situations and still capture amazing photographs of the hundreds of special moments that are your wedding day?

Skill

I’m an experienced camera operator. Over the course of a single year, I’ll take over 75,000 photographs. And, on a typical wedding day, I’m changing equipment settings constantly. After my many years as a professional wedding photographer, my cameras and lighting equipment have become extensions of my body. I no longer consciously think about camera adjustments or lighting situations. I simply view a scene and adjust my equipment automatically. And because of that skill, I’m able to capture rapidly evolving wedding moments as they happen. Without those skills, important wedding moments can be missed—moments that can’t be recreated. You only get one chance at weddings.

Equipment

I invest heavily in equipment. For example, my primary wedding equipment includes two Nikon D3 cameras (carried at the same time), a 24-70 f/2.8 lens, a 70-200 f/2.8 lens, two SB-900 flashes, and 32GB high speed memory cards. And in addition to my primary equipment, I also have a backup camera (D3x), four backup lenses, four backup flashes, and a host of other lighting gear. To put this in perspective, at a typical wedding I arrive with over $25,000 in camera equipment with about $15,000 carried on my person at any one moment. This equipment allows me to create amazing photographs in extremely challenging lighting conditions—conditions where lessor cameras and lenses struggle to keep up. Has your family friend invested in the professional cameras and backup equipment necessary to ensure the best possible photos, even when the lighting is horrible or when something goes terribly wrong with one or more pieces of gear?

Insurance

Good professional photographers carry insurance. My insurance coverage includes general business liability ($2M), equipment insurance ($100k), and professional liability insurance (aka errors and omissions). If the unthinkable happens, I want to be prepared. That means peace of mind for me and my clients. As an aside, did you know that many venues won’t allow photographers on-site unless the photographer carries adequate liability insurance? Is your family friend insured? Are they underinsured?

Motivation

My reputation is on the line every time I photograph a wedding. Therefore I have a strong incentive to do an amazing job—especially in the age of the Internet where every aspect of customer-service is a matter of public record. My livelihood is at stake every time I photograph a wedding. Is your family friend similarly motivated?

Focus

When you a hire a professional to photograph your wedding, we are typically focused on one thing—capturing excellent photos of you and your fiancé. If you hire a family friend, then one may assume that they’re going to be friends with several of your guests (or perhaps many of your guests). In those situations, that family friend may sometimes end up distracted by those guests. It’s only natural to spend a few minutes chatting with friends at weddings. And it’s only natural to share a drink when offered. And it’s only natural to photograph people you know more frequently and with greater enthusiasm than people you don’t know. But, if you hire me, I’ll be focused on the single task of creating beautiful photos of you and all of your guests and working every second of the day (except when I spend a few minutes to grab a quick bite during your reception) doing the job you’ve hired me to do.

Service

As my business is photography, I’m relying on your patronage in order to meet my financial obligations. As such, it is in my best interest to provide good service before, during, and after the wedding. This service includes providing deliverables (digital negatives, albums, proofs, physical prints, etc.) as well as using my experience to advise you on a wide range wedding related planning considerations. This is my job. It’s what I do every day. Can your family friend say the same thing?

I’d like to admit that I fully realize, that for some clients and for a variety of reasons, a family friend may be your only choice. However, I’m hopeful that this brief essay will empower some clients to ask pertinent questions of that family friend before making their final decision.

Today I found out that I was featured in the Spring / Summer 2012 issue of The Knot Southern California magazine. The irony of this appearance is that I didn’t solicit anyone for inclusion in the magazine! If I had more time I’d love to submit my work to the plethora of wedding magazines out there. Unfortunately, my work as a wedding photographer is never done and I just can’t carve out the the free time! Anyway, if you happen to read this particular magazine, you can open it up this month, point out my wedding photography to your significant other, and say, “Hey, I know that guy!” Just as a FYI, this was a photo from a recent (relatively speaking) Palm Springs wedding I photographed at Korakia Pensione.

Lan & Dean’s wedding was at Korakia Pensione bed and breakfast in Palm Springs, California. As a Los Angeles wedding photographer, I’m not always presented with lovely locations like the ones found around these restored historic Moroccan and Mediterranean-style villas. This wedding was a small affair with fewer than 12 guests, but that didn’t stop Lan from pulling out all the stops to make a day to remember! Here are a few of my favorite photos from their wedding event.

I always photograph a bride’s wedding dress hanging somewhere neat, but I think this is my favorite
dress photo of all time. I’m thinking that this image may even be worthy of being entered in next year’s WPPI
wedding photography competition (in the “Details” category)!

Lan and Dean got ready together in their suite at the Korakia. In my work as a wedding photographer, it’s kind of
unusual to have it happen this way. In fact, I don’t think I have any other images of a groom with his bride’s dress in the background.

And continuing with “getting ready together on the wedding day” theme …

Dean’s dad arrives.

Lan & Dean’s dog dons his bow tie. Well, it’s done for him, but that’s just a technicality.

Lan & Dean branded their own wine bottles.

Dean’s last name is _________. Insert your best guess here.

Yippee! I love jumping on beds in hotel rooms!

Dean appears to be pretty happy about those earrings!

Dean’s mom adjusting Dean’s dad’s tie.

And since they were so cute, I also took another one when she was putting on his boutonniere.

Lan is quite tall.

Awwww.

Hear no evil. Speak no evil. See no evil.

Don’t look now, but somebody’s coming. Damn, the neighbors here are noisy! Ooops, I didn’t mean to say he dresses kind of funny!

My famous 1, 2, 3, 4. With the “4” missing.

Stop telling me dirty jokes honey!

The Moroccan styled pillows were just sitting there so what else is any self-respecting wedding photographer supposed to do?

Dean was getting kind of crazy with the veil.

Apparently this jumping shot is a tradition with Lan, Dean, and the couple in the photo.

Look at how the wind gently lifted her veil to create this special portrait!
(or did it?)

Bench. Wall. Succulents. Mountains.

Bougainvillea + Laughter

Bocce Ball! Just so you know, it was kind of scary squatting there at the end of the court while they threw heavy balls at me!
(and believe it or not, the fact that the chairs matched the groom’s wedding colors was purely coincidental)

Fire!

Tuere and Danny were referred to me by one of my past wedding couples, Genevieve and Jose. Tuere and Danny’s wedding day started off at the InterContinental hotel on the Avenue of Stars in Los Angeles and ended at The Mark for Events on Pico Boulevard. Tuere is a physician at the Los Angeles jail and Danny is a Sherriff in East LA. As their wedding photographer, I was thrilled to find out they met on the job and it was love at first sight. Well, it wasn’t really love at first sight but lots of people think that makes for a cool story when you write about it in a wedding-related blog post. Here’s a small sampling of photos from their wedding.

This was the moment that Tuere’s father saw her for the first time on her wedding day. It was an emotional
moment for both of them. Tuere has told me that this is her favorite photo from the wedding day.

We were a bit limited in terms of time and location availability but I was able to put together this
stylized photo by simply using furniture sitting outside the front of the InterContinental hotel.

My second photographer captured this photo of me showing one my photos to Danny And Tuere.
I wanted to make sure that they knew how awesome they were looking in their photos!

The now famous Number 3. One of my signature photographs.

The lobby of the InterContinental hotel was crazy busy, but I was able to capture this
image in the split second when nobody was standing behind them.

Kissy, kissy!

Tuere wanted to honor her grandmother and grandfather, so her bouquet
features her grandmother’s ring and her grandfather’s dog tag. He
was a distinguished veteran of World War II.

Tuere and Danny taking a moment alone in front of the InterContinental hotel.

The bride and groom during the recessional after their wedding at The Mark for Events in Los Angeles.

Tuere’s mother and father share a moment in the midst of the family portraits. Her mom doesn’t like this photo very much but
everyone else loves it and says it really shows off the spirit of their relationship. I go with “everyone else” on this one.

Tuere’s Girls

Danny’s Boys

Tuere’s dad delivers his toast. He’s a funny guy!

The father / daughter wedding dance. Notice Tuere’s mother and bridesmaid in the background?

As a wedding photographer, I’d like to thank the bridesmaid in the back for the supplemental flash!

Elona and Paul were married at the La Quinta Resort & Club (near Palm Springs) on the cusp of summer. I say it was the cusp of summer because it was only Africa hot instead of unbearably hot! But even with the heat, a good time was had by all. The wedding party was a great group of folks and I really enjoyed spending a few hours with all of them. Elona was a gracious bride and Paul was ready to get married! Here are a few select images from their wedding.

I don’t often include “details” in my blog posts, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t take detail
photos. Details like these help create a sense of place. In fact, these photos become particularly
important as the years pass and the landscape / locations change their shape and / or character.

Here are the girls walking from Elona’s room over to the “first look” where Paul will see Elona for the first time. I took this
photo while walking backwards quickly. I’m just super lucky I didn’t stumble and fall. Not that I’m a klutz or anything.

The Traditional Wedding Portrait

The Non-Traditional Wedding Portrait
[and Paul’s pants are too long]

It’s really difficult to find “good light” in Palm Springs. At least the kind of light that
I prefer in my wedding photography. But I’m super pleased with this photo
even though it was taken in super harsh direct sunlight near noon.

These stairs led up to the rooms held by Greta Garbo when she used to folic here with the other stars of her day.

This is my favorite image from their wedding. Colorfully casual showcasing their happiness.

This was a technically difficult photograph to capture because of the challenging, spotty light peeking through the leaves of the tree.
But given the conditions, I’m super happy with this result. I also find this photo interesting because there are TEN people
with phones and camera photos in this photo (not counting mine). I guess they didn’t trust that I’ll get the shot! ;)

Yeaaah! We’re married!

The father of the bride offers his congratulations to the bride and groom in a air-conditioned
(thank goodness) reception hall at La Quinta Resort & Club.

The mother of the groom whispers something naughty into the ear of the groom’s father.
[I didn’t ask what she told him]