Sure ... taking pictures is easy ....

I only have to ask myself one question before I trip the shutter ...

1. Is this a good shot?
2. Is the light right or should I use flash?
3. How much flash?
4. From what angle?
5. What setting should my camera be one?
6. Should I overexpose to make the faces brighter?
7. Should this be at 100 or 400 asa?
8. Should I shoot at eye level or get down on the ground?
9. Should I shoot this in color now or black and white?
10. What is the color temperature in this room?
11. Do I need to white balance to fix that?
12. Is this the right lens for this shot?
13. Is there any clutter in the background?
14. Won't that stuff on the sides block my flash?
15. How am I going to get this nervous person to smile?
16. Is their hair ok…it looks a little mussed up?
17. Will they get mad if I try to fix it?
18. Is that collar on the shirt crooked?
19. She had a double chin…how am I going to hide that?
20. Where did her sister run off too? Isn't she in this picture?
21. Won't I need to rearrange these people? She tans and he doesn't…I don't want to wash him out?
22. Isn't this background going to be dark without another light?
23. The wedding coordinator tells me I am out of time!
24. Should I use a filter for this shot?
25. Isn't the sun going to create flare on my lens?

Yes, I could just press the button. Most photographers do. I fight for every shot I take and there are a 1,000 questions you could ask before every shot if you are a Master Photographer!

~Steve Rouch
Steve Rouch Photography www.choicephoto.com 651-644-2184

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"I used to be a wedding photographer"

“I used to be a wedding photographer..." - I hear that from 6 different people at every wedding.
Why?

Because “Hell hath no fury like a scorned bride”!
The average life span of a wedding photographer is 2-5 years. There simply isn't enough time to learn all the exotic and detailed hidden wishes of a bridal couple and the complexity of fulfilling a wedding day experience. Photographers bail on weddings because they don't have enough time to learn the complicated skills to make couples happy and after a couple of brides get a hold of them after bad weddings ... that is it. They are done.

Fantastic wedding photography is 5 styles not one.
“We don't want to pose for our pictures”. That is photojournalism. That is ONE style of wedding photography….you really probably want 5 styles.
Commercial, architectural, portrait, photojournalism and fine art. PLUS you NEED the most fantastic personality to come with those complicated skills. A person that can put 40 terrified people at ease. That is a tall order.

I have tried to teach 2 dozen “photographers” my secrets over the years and I had 4 problems.
1. Good shooter…bad personality.
2. Great personality….bad shooter.
3. Great personality…great shooter….not reliable.
4. Great shooter, personality, reliable…not crazy enough to give up every beautiful Saturday of their life to shoot weddings!

With the digital revolution at hand 1,000's of want-to-be's are flooding the photo market.
The trouble is they will not have the time and patience to learn the complex skills of the hardest job in the world….shooting the perfect wedding AND anticipating the brides every wish before she even has it! When they bail on the idea of being a wedding photographer two new rookies will replace them.

How can so many photographers be shooting weddings?
Basically they are defective parachute salespeople. You buy the chute…jump out of the plane….chute doesn't open…boom. They got your money…you are devastated…or at least less than thrilled with high priced snap shots…and they move on to the next unsuspecting bride.

Price can be deceiving
Rookies are charging $3,500 for their packages! Then there are those that want $500. It's the wild West out there. High price does NOT mean high quality and low price does not mean a good deal.

It has taken me every day of the decades of being a wedding photographer to know what I know and do what I do. Hire experience…it costs you no more and it will be the difference between happiness and heartache.

~Steve Rouch
Steve Rouch Photography www.choicephoto.com 651-644-2184