“Uncle Joe has a nice camera and takes some really great pics!”

My opinion on this is that I have a set of tools but you probably wouldn’t let me anywhere near your car to fix it. And rightly so. So before you decide you really want to cheap it out and use a family member or friend to shoot your wedding, ask yourself if you are willing to do the same for your wedding dress or wedding rings? I bet the lady down the road has a sewing machine, she could whip up a dress for you or you could make some rings out of melted down aluminium cans!

So to put it bluntly, owning a camera has never made anyone automatically capable of taking wedding photos. It is a highly complicated skill that not even all professional photographers can achieve. Some of my colleagues are terrified of shooting weddings and wonder how I can do it.

You WILL regret it if you choose the amateur option for your wedding photography.

I get so many people come in to my studio who have chosen to use a buddy to take their wedding photos and it is one of their biggest regrets. They look at my photos and wish they had spent the money to get something good.

When you look back through your wedding photos in years to come do you really want to shudder at them or be proud to show them to your kids?

Amateurs do not have the skills required to carry it off. Wedding photography is one of the hardest kinds of photography. We are constantly faced with changing conditions. We need to think ahead and be artistic at the same time. We change camera settings ALL the time. Basically we know what we are doing.

So that is my say on the whole thing.

I am only trying to save you from the hassles you will get from pretend pros and budding photographers.

Christopher Radford

Winner of 14 International Awards for Wedding Photography