Why hire a professional wedding photographer?

Professional wedding photography requires experience to successfully capture and produce quality images that you will treasure as time goes on. When you hire a professional wedding photographer who has the passion, skill, experience and equipment necessary to capture your wedding day, the resulting products and services will be one of the best investments you’ve made. Hiring a professional wedding photographer will guarantee the photographic experience on your wedding day will be a positive one--captured snippets of time that you will cherish for the rest of your lives together.

"...I have a Friend who has a nice camera and wants to shoot my wedding...":

This is a generous offer and something I hear from time-to-time. It is a risk at best and most likely, unfortunately, will turn out badly. I photograph between 45 and 50 wedding events per year in Rochester and Upstate NY including Finger Lakes such as Seneca and Canandaigua. I meet with a wide variety of people. When the wedding is completed and I meet the couple to deliver their wedding album we chat in general terms, one of the issues that comes up from time-to-time is the couple will tell me that "…we have a friend who used a friend or relative to shoot their wedding and were very disappointed..." and go on to say "...we're glad we didn't make that mistake…."

In these difficult economic times your wedding photographer is one area you should not cut back on. Reputable professional wedding photographers pay their taxes, carry insurance, pay for advertising, hosting services, continually update their equipment, service their equipment; many are members of PPA and WPPI and stay current on the wedding industry’s trends; they purchase expensive software packages to help deliver high quality products; they know where to stand in a venue and when to be there—to patiently anticipate a shutter release to capture that special moment; they mitigate equipment failures, have backup equipment, most are keenly aware of digital file preservation and data backup. Lastly, experienced professional wedding photographers can help you plan your wedding day timeline merely due to the number of times we have photographed weddings.

Professional Wedding Photographers know what to do…

When you hire a professional wedding photographer--and there are many quality choices here in Rochester--you can rest assured that your wedding day will be captured eloquently, but there is more to it than that. A professional photographer will--among other things--interact with your families and posses people skills that are equally as important in the overall experience you and your guests have with your wedding photographer. I always encourage a meeting with the couple before they book me. If they book me from out of town, I meet them when they are in the area--well before their wedding. It is important that your wedding photographer understands the things that are important to you before your wedding day arrives. This vital information helps photographers customize their coverage on your wedding day to understand what you like and don't like. I have a details meeting with every couple three weeks before their wedding to make sure I understand everything about each couples' wedding day plans and their photography expectations.

Tell me more about your cameras and backup strategy…

The equipment a professional wedding photographers uses is a key element to be aware of; although, many of the “canned lists” from places like TheKnot don’t encourage couples to ask detailed questions about equipment when they meet a professional wedding photographer--nor should they have to--after all, that's why you're hiring a pro. Here's something to consider: the concept of “no flash” photography in churches. Most churches have strict guidelines for photographers—another reason why hiring a professional photographer is essential—but the “no flash” rule necessitates the need for expensive camera equipment and in particular lenses. There will be times when even the best equipment is incapable of shooting “no flash” or what professional photographers call “available light,” but these times are somewhat rare. In general, you would never want to use a flash during a wedding ceremony in a church not only to meet priests’ requirements, but to provide more natural and consistently lit photographs of the most important photography on your wedding day. Professionals can and do employ techniques with a flash to achieve a well lit scene and in some cases (in church) it helps overcome shadows on faces from overhead lighting, but all of this is irrelevant if the priest says "no flash in church," hence, the need for the right (and costly) equipment.

Backup camera equipment is an essential element and most professional photographers pay very close attention to the real possibility of equipment failure while photographing a wedding. To take this a step further, carrying multiple cameras throughout your wedding day not only provides frequent and more varied perspectives of your wedding day, but also assures that a failure can be compensated for immediately eliminating the need for reenactments. Given the tight timeline on a wedding day, there’s little time for “re-creation.”

The little photos on Facebook, blogs and websites...

Are fun to look at, but a professional photographer should be eager to show you large prints of their wedding photographs. You hire a professional wedding photographer to captures quality images of your wedding day capable of enlargements (larger than 5x7) to printed paper media with stunning results.

I am looking for a non-intrusive wedding photographer…

Every client I meet wants non-intrusive wedding photography. Couples do not want to be overburdened with their photographer on their wedding day. When you hire an experienced professional wedding photographer, we already know this fact and take it very seriously. Most people want a mix of traditional and “candid” photography on their wedding day; traditional photography in my opinion means posed family pictures in church and what I call on-location photography at some other off-site location, such as a park, water’s edge, etc., where photographs of the bridal party and couple are performed. During these times you will welcome the professional photographer’s interaction, help and guidance, but afterwards that the mode of photography should switch to candid or photojournalism. The reception is a prime example. I rarely talk to the couple at their reception for one reason and one reason only: so they can enjoy themselves; the last thing any couple wants to do at their reception is leave it to take pictures. It’s incumbent upon the professional wedding photographer to use this time to capture in real-time all of the key events including emotive interactions and things special to your wedding throughout the remainder of the reception.

Why not Hire Two Professional Photographers?

Recently there's been a shift in Wedding Photography. Many companies offer two photographers and will sell you on the notion that two is better than one. Two means more than one which means your photographers have twice the chance of being noticed throughout the day. Style should be a prime consideration and if you like a particular photographer's style then having two or five photographers will give you something different. PhotoEmphasis offers a second photographer option on the price list so that you only have a second photographer if you really need one; moreover, second photographer through PhotoEmphasis are contracted out--they've shot weddings--and is not a relative.

"...I like your photographic style…":

Whatever attracts you to a particular photographer invariably includes style. In addition to the points mentioned above, a wedding photographer’s style is probably one of the key ingredients in your search for the right wedding photographer. Style in my opinion is the culmination of the photographer’s ability to see and technically capture images through the "eyes of his (or her) lenses," and the post-processing--what the photographer does to each image after your wedding but before product delivery--that equates to style. The term style and artistic don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand; in other words, a wedding photographer’s style doesn't necessarily mean the resulting images are artistic. Only you can make that decision.

What does “All Images included on DVD really mean”?

This topic varies greatly from photographer to photographer and every photographer has their own reasons for doing it one way verses another. For this section I will tell you what PhotoEmphasis offers. Your DVDs include a print release that states the images on your the DVDs can be used for printing and passing out to family members and friends but not for commercial use or distribution for commercial purposes. DVDs from PhotoEmphasis include ALL of the fully processed images delivered for your wedding. Each image is adjusted and manipulated and close-up pictures of the couple are retouched if necessary at no extra charge. The filenames on the DVD correlate directly to your online gallery which you will have available for 270 days.

Do you offer proofs?

PhotoEmphasis does not use the word “proofs.” Because you receive all of the full size fully processed “digital negatives” on DVD, there’s no need to discuss proofs. No images are stamped “copyrighted” on your DVDs. The timely release of your DVD with the release is important too; couples don’t want to wait months to receive their high resolution digital wedding photographs. PhotoEmphasis releases DVDs and print releases between three and four weeks after your wedding. This is an average and a function of workload, but has proven to be accurate thus far.

Do you provide full album design and production?

PhotoEmphasis offers a large selection of wedding and parent album options which can be mixed and matched. We did away with so-called “packages” some time ago in an effort to give clients more customization and control over their final product selection. We use top-rated album manufacturers whose names are clearly indicated on the contract. If for some reason that particular album becomes unavailable, you will be upgraded to the next album at no extra charge. We refrain from statements such as “Includes a large wedding album” in our price list so you know exactly what manufacturer’s album you’re receiving.

Professional wedding photographers take great pride and care in their printing process. Many use professional labs that have been recommended by professional organizations like PPA, WPPI and the Digital Wedding Forum; still, there are those who prefer printing in-house to maintain tighter control over color calibration and other aspects of printing and print quality. When printing is complete, it is a good idea to have your prints coated to minimize the risk of damage to prints in your wedding album through handling and over time. All of PhotoEmphasis' prints are coated to make sure they hold up over the years.

PhotoEmphasis (Photo Emphasis) is primarily considered amongst wedding photographers in Rochester NY or Rochester NY wedding photographers or Rochester NY wedding photography but covers Syracuse, Geneva, Canandaigua, Buffalo, Rome, Utica, Binghamton, Painted Post, Corning and parts of New York City. For those interested in some of the currently released Nikon gear used by PhotoEmphasis check the D3, D3x, D3x, 14-24, 24-70, 70-200.