01/28/2025
“A $10,000 photographer can make a $1,000 wedding look like a $100,000 wedding” is a phrase that I hope dies soon and never comes back, especially for us documentary wedding photographers 😅 especially in light of the recent TikTok bashing of a GORGEOUS documentary photographer that just captured what was there and got dragged for it.
Yes, photography is SO important and hiring a competent professional is one of the most important things you can do BUT… your wedding is YOUR wedding. It’s unique and beautiful in every way, even if you don’t take out a second mortgage on it and your photos are going to reflect the realness of your wedding. We don’t want to make your wedding look like something it isn’t.
Here’s the hard truth: your $10,000 wedding is not going to look like a $60,000 wedding in photos, even with the best of the best.
Your design choices, venue, colors, DJ lighting that you choose, flowers, ceremony location - literally everything - makes your wedding photos what they are.
The most expensive photographer on the planet won’t make your average Joe (because let’s get real, that’s what most of us are) wedding look like a celebrities wedding because that wouldn’t be true to you or your event.
I have so many brides that send me inspiration photos and want to achieve X, Y and Z don’t realize how much time, money and planning went into the wedding behind those photos and all of those elements make a massive difference in your final photography product.
Not to mention brides that are stressed, frazzled and upset all day aren’t going to get those beautiful, organic moments if there aren’t any 😅
We aren’t magicians and I think the industry is moving away from curated perfection and into capturing REAL.
Be okay with your wedding. Be okay with your budget. Be okay with photos that capture YOUR day the way that it happened. Because it isn’t anybody else’s and expecting your photographer to make it something that it’s not is doing a disservice to everyone.
