I've been thinking a lot lately (sounds dangerous, I know) about something that bothers me.
I recently perused a big photography company's website and I wanted to encourage perspective clients to hire a photographer you know and trust.
I don't want to point fingers, but I think we all know who they are in this area.
I have several points to make on this topic, and I tend to get a little heated about it. I take my job VERY seriously. Wedding photography especially. I'm also a perfectionist. But these points have little to do with perfectionism.
My education on these companies comes from their website, past employees, and my own recruitment expericences with them.
1. Why is it that when you book your photographer, you're never sure if that's who is actually going to show up at your wedding? With me, there is no guessing. I'll tell you who is going to be there- ME.
2. If you are shown work from this big company, understand it comes from thousands of different people. And if you are shown work from the specific photographer chosen for your wedding, what says those are really their images? They have been known to show clients someone else's work for a photographer that they cannot get booked due to their horrific portfolio. See why I get heated?
3. Why is it when I have recieved a letter trying to recruit me to work for one of these companies, it stated "No experience required". WHAT?!
4. So you end up with a college student scheduled to photograph your wedding, who says they'll even show up? Maybe something better came up. It's not their name on the line. So what if they loose their job over it, they were only making $8/hour anyway. I can't tell you how many times I've heard of a photographer from a big company not showing up. That is total crap.
5. Speaking of crap, have you seen some of these photographers' work? I found some horendous family photos, senior portraits, and destination wedding photos. If someone is going to pay you to do a destination wedding, please take at least one good photo.

This doesn't even cover the post production nightmares that take place. Albums that never get made, final prints that still have the watermark on them, photographers becoming unavailable after the wedding... and on and on. I'd love to hear about nightmare wedding photography stories in the comments for this blog- I believe that by learning what people didn't like, I can become better at serving my client.
Wedding photography isn't for everyone. It takes talent that can't be learned, patience, a knowledge of your equipment, attention to detail, an outgoing personality and much more. As a company, you can't just hire people that lack these skills to handle the most important day of people's lives.
If you want to leave a message and tell me I'm wrong- go for it- I would LOVE to be wrong about this!