This week I am writing about why it pays to hire a professional photographer.  You can catch up with Part 1 – HERE and Part 2 – HERE.

The third reason to hire a professional photographer is because they can provide unparalledled reliability and peace of mind.

There are many differences between a person with a nice camera and a professional when it comes to the matter of reliability and peace of mind.

 

It is a professional photographer’s job to be prepared for everything.

 

A pro will have selected a location and time of day that will provide you the best images.  Before the session you will be given information about what to expect, tips about what to wear, and you will be reminded not to forget snacks and sunscreen.

A professional will probably arrive at your session with several thousand dollars worth of equipment.  They will likely have two camera bodies and enough lenses to cover every focal length twice.  They will bring several flash units in case the existing light is not ideal.

 Almost anyone can take great pictures some of the time.  What sets a pro apart is the ability to take great pictures anytime; Even when the wind chill is 11 degrees with a 20 mph wind and your bride is wearing nothing but a lace dress (true story).  They can deal with poor lighting, acne and epic meltdowns.

A pro will have backup equipment so that if something breaks during your session you can continue on like nothing happened and still walk away with great images rather than having to cut the event short and take what they managed to get before that point.  They carry insurance to cover the times when something goes wrong.

After your session your photographer will back up and secure your images.  Most professionals have your images stored on two mirrored hard drives plus somewhere off site or in cloud storage.  Even if one of their hard drives fail (it happens more often than you’d expect) they still have copies of your images in at least two locations.  Fire or flood?  Got you covered with off-site storage.  The safety and security of your images is top priority.

Once you have ordered your photos you can feel secure knowing that your photographer uses top of the line quality products.

Professional archival prints and products have superior color rendition, color fastness to avoid fading or color shifts, and resist warping or wrinkling.

I cannot tell you how many horror stories I have heard from people who did not hire a pro and now regret their decision; huge amounts of time and money wasted, memories gone forever because of an accident or inexperience, clients who still don’t have their wedding photos more than a year after the event, ending up without a single image that you would be proud to hang on your walls…the list goes on and on.

When it comes to the most important memories of your life – capturing your newborn child’s tiny little feet, your dad’s face as he walks you down the aisle, senior portraits before your baby goes off to college – hiring a pro means that you won’t have to worry about “what if”.  The biggest events don’t get do overs.  Give yourself the gift of the peace of mind and security that comes with hiring a professional.