Bryan Morris - Aruba’s Premier Wedding Photographer

Lots of information about weddings is accessible to couples getting married.

However very little information is given about what wedding photography entails.

Many brides contact me concerning wedding photography and when they receive a pricelist, it would appear that the rapture has taken place. No more communication. The cause of this behavior is simple; they don’t have a clue what wedding photography entails. This information is not readily accessible to them or to anyone for that matter, therefore, my attempt to educate the general public on this subject.

“A professional makes his work look “easy”

This quote is so true, as to many people they see a photographer show up to an event with a “Big” camera for 5-10 hours (depending on the length of their contract) and walk away with a big bundle of cash. I’m afraid to disappoint you, but this is as counterfactual as this thought can get.

Granted, there are photographers who take this approach. They show up to the wedding ,photograph the wedding during the contracted time and later deliver a CD with the images to the wedding couple; happy as a clam, with their full payment in hand for a job hopefully well done.

This approach is good if you’re the do it yourselfer kind of bride or groom or if you’re the experienced photo enthusiast, or better yet, the seasoned pro that has all the vendor relationships needed to pull of such a project.

If you fall in any of these categories you’ll be safe but if you don’t there’s a downside to all of this.

Do you know of a professional lab that can treat your images with all the care and respect it deserves? What about high quality album manufacturers? Many of them will only work with professional photographers. Think about it for a little, these are images that you’ve just paid hard earned money for. So where would you go to print your images? Wal-Mart, Costco?

In this case, the photographers never study the images to know if he’s a good photographer or a bad one. He’ll never know what he’s doing wrong or what facet of photography he dominates, as most times he’s off to another wedding. His approach to business is that his gain is in numbers so he has limited time to study his work.

So if this is generally not Wedding Photography, then what is?

The myth of the magic Camera

The thought: “If I have a camera just like X, I’ll be able to photograph just as well as him”

The assumption is that it is the camera that does the job. The photographer simply holds the camera to his eyes. Apply pressure to a button and Voila - Instant beautiful portrait or a prizewinning story telling candid.

Everyone is happy, life is great.

Or is it?

I own a Kitchen Aid 600 Professional Series mixer. Well not me, my wife. I know how to turn it on and off I have access to a gazillion recipe. Does that make me a pastry chef? Although I enjoy cooking and I’m pretty good at it. Does that make me a gourmet chef?

Analogous to my description, no matter how much you spend on expensive camera equipment it cannot do the work for you. The difference is the “man” behind the camera.

If I let you borrow my camera equipment would you take on the responsibility to cover one of the most important days in someone’s life?

So think clearly and carefully when you are tempted by the photo enthusiast in your family who offers you their services as a wedding photographer. If you care about your pictures, politely tell them that you would be happy to have them take extra candids, but that you will be hiring a professional for the wedding and you would prefer they simply enjoy the days as a guest who is free of pressure and can put down the camera and dance, if they choose.

Besides, I know of too many disappointed brides wishing they can reconstruct their wedding day adding the same attribute that they turned down, photography. It’s simple; you get what you pay for.

In wedding preparation there are a few things that one should never be thrifty about, and photography is certainly one of those things.

I always inform my potential clients that your wedding images, besides your rings, if you don’t lose them or are destroyed, are the only tangible memories of your wedding day. Your cake is eaten, your dress most likely would never be worn again, your band pack up and leave, your flowers wilt and I can go on and on, but you get the message.

I’m like a historian at your wedding. I provide the memories for that great day 10, 15, 20 years after the wedding, sitting around the kitchen table reminiscing your wedding day with your offspring. We are all aware that we would not remember every detail of the wedding, having the images (album) to assist makes it very pleasurable.

The attributes of a professional

A professional cares about your final product, therefore strive to satisfy.

Typical years of experience back the work. Trial error sweat and darn well sure tears.
A lot of hours of learning and experimenting often trail a professional by the time you meet him.

I’ve received my first camera at the age of 9, I can remember shooting up the neighborhood.

That was still in the film era. In my teens I’ve laid the camera to rest and in my early 20’s I’ve picked up photography again and had been shooting since with a short interval due to a fulltime career. This goes to show how long I’ve been at it before really establishing a business that is to date almost 5 years.

You are paying for much than a few hours of photography.

You are paying for the peace of mind that comes with hiring a responsible professional.

Following is a few pointers you should consider when looking for a photographer.

A Professional should:

• Have knowledge of their equipment and ability to utilize it without having to think.
• Have invested in not only one camera (and in professional digital cameras cost upwards of $4000 each) but at the least two or more, so that in the case of a breakdown – they can proceed without any cares that they might miss anything on your wedding day. It has happened to me that one of my bodies went bad during a ceremony and I’ve heard of other photographers who carry 4 bodies that had all 4 bodies went bad during 1 wedding. So having backup is a good thing!
• Have established a relationship with high quality reputable service providers to handle their image printing and album manufacture. If they do it themselves they must be accomplished printers and album creators, made evident by the sample of their work.
• Be well versed in photographic theory, and comfortable working under different lighting conditions.
• Be able to oversee the entire event and anticipate their actions to capture great candid moments.
• Be able to work with groups of people to create great formals that don’t even look like formals.
• Have excellent people skills and get along with all ages and walks of life. No matter their race, creed or sexual orientation.
• Have a properly registered business. They are not a fly by night operation that can fold and disappear tomorrow and leave you with no pictures. No “make checks out to cash” or “cash only” policies.
• Have the business sense for creating high quality work, fulfilling orders quickly and handling any errors or problems, should they occur.
• Have documents and contracts that clearly state the terms of their work and what you’re entitled to when you pay for their services. You want to be fully educated and don’t want any surprises when placing your album or print order.
• Have tight and high standards for their work, which you should’ve observed for yourself in the quality of the work presented to you before you booked.
• Be organized and prepared for their jobs. Ready and willing to work and leaving personal issues aside.
• Be highly familiar with the medium used to capture images, be it film or digital, to understand its nuances, strengths, weaknesses and quirks.
• Have the ability to get shots that are consistently better than the friend who offered to photograph your wedding for you in the first place!
• Deliver what they promise when they promise it!

Finally, you should enjoy their personality and their work; this is an important day.

Your ultimate goal is having an awesome final product, be it prints, albums or slideshows, getting along well with your photographer will definitely help accomplish this.

Part of what you are paying is time and effort this professional has put into learning this craft, as well as the business side of life. After all this is a business venture. You want to know they can handle a business and money responsibly.

But what else are you paying for?

The Cost Of Doing Business.

Though there are hundreds or even thousands in Aruba and probably millions of self-employed individuals all over the world, there are many who are not self-employed and do not have the information regarding what it takes to run a business – both in time and money.
A business requires a number of basic items, including (but not necessarily limited to):

• A location. Even if a home, rent or mortgage has to be paid.
• Phone service. You want to be able to talk to them ……..
• A web site. This is now more than ever a requirement for modern brides and grooms when reviewing photographers.
• Administrative supplies. Paper, pens, envelopes, computers, printers, desks, filing cabinets, shelves and the myriad supplies needed to keep the blood of an organization flowing and its products moving.
• Production supplies. Cameras, lenses, flashes, camera bags, tripods, light meters etc…..
• For the digital photographer, software for handling digital images. Possibly high quality printers for printing their own work. Memory cards for storing images. CD’s, DVD’s and extra hard drives for backups. Lab costs. Album manufacture costs.
• Marketing; Literature with information about their business that clearly explains who they are, their services, their products and their prices. Sample albums, example prints. Magazine & Web advertisements. Wedding & Bridal Shows. Search Engine Optimization for your website.
• Educational costs. Conferences and conventions. Seminars. Books and magazines. A professional should always be looking to learn more about their craft,to improve or expand it.
• Insurance, for equipment, for liability, for errors and omissions.
• Employee payroll and taxes and oooh yeah, taxes!
• Automotive costs. Insurance, maintenance costs, gas. I’m not too sure if I show up to your wedding like Jesus……
• All of the other costs that go into living in this modern day society.

To some small degree, the money you are paying a professional goes towards each of those items. They are needed to keep a business running.

There are still additional expenses for a photographer that wants to set himself apart from the pack.
While you do not want to be gouged by a photographer, they can’t give away their work, if they expect to remain in business (and how can you come back to them to do adorable images of your children if they do not remain in business?)

At this point, you then must ask yourself, “Do I want to work with a photographer who charges only a little and must do many weddings to even survive –therefore leaving little time they can dedicate to each wedding? Or do I want to work with someone who dedicates more time and energy so that each and every wedding is fully serviced and receives the highest possible prints & albums, but costs more?”

The answer to that question lies in the answer to this question:

How important are your wedding pictures?

This is not meant to suggest that photographers doing more weddings a year are not quality and service oriented. However, the laws of this universe are generally agreed to hold that there are only so many hours in the day and that a person can only be in one location at a time (I’m still working on violating those laws …) something has to give.

A look at a photographer’s work will tell you if quality has been sacrificed in order to keep price down.
If the work is acceptable to you and the price is right, book them!

In the automotive field it is generally understood that a BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar or Lexus mean higher quality, better craftsmanship, and greater attention to detail, better handling and speed.

But not everyone wants a BMW or Lexus.

Similarly, there are people who do not consider their wedding photographs very important and therefore do not consider the work of a higher priced photographer worth the extra money.
It’s all a matter of perspective and individual priorities.

Personally, I consider photographs very important and work to create the best images I can whenever I pick up a camera. Likewise, I want to work with a bride and groom who consider their wedding images important and worthy of a great degree of attention and dedication.

OK, so you are paying for experience, a sound business and the costs of keeping a business running.

But what really goes into your wedding?

The Work of a Professional

A great deal of planning and preparation goes into a wedding. And I don’t mean for the bride & groom!
As a professional, there is so much more than just the wedding day photography.

First there’s the consultation.

This varies depending on the situation of the photographer, studio or home based.

A studio based photographer can be met in his studio. The consultation might be an hour or two.

For a home based photographer, they may have to travel to visit you. Travel time added to the consultation can easily be an hour or two depending on the distance he has to travel, time of day, weather conditions, traffic, etc. Additionally that travel time means lost work time completing tasks for other clients.

The consultation requires having materials to hand that can properly educate the client regarding services offered, the terms and conditions and the costs associated. Sample images and sample albums so that you can see the quality of the photography first hand.
Time for photographer: 3 hours

Subsequent to signing of contracts is a period of silence. Depending on the package chosen you may have an engagement session and or a day after session included. If this is a location sitting, this generally is the case, there is at least an our travel time, an hour or so for the shoot, travel back, preparation of the final images for printing, getting the images to the lab, delivering to you.
Time for photographer: 8 hours

Upon getting to the island, the time has come to meet with the photographer to discuss any last minute plans for the wedding, or any details that have been nailed down since you first met or spoken. This is a great time to go over any specific shots that are important to you and which your photographer should look out for.
Time for photographer: 2 hours

Attending the rehearsal dinner is a great idea, to acquaint oneself with the order of the wedding, where guests and other important people of the wedding would be entering, sees the timing of the entrance and to make a final check making sure that there would be nothing obstructing from getting the shot. Or if there are to make sure they’re aware of them. This is also a great to meet the family and friends that I will be working with the following day.
Time for photographer: 2-3 hours

Pre wedding night is the night that the photographer puts together all the equipment needed for the following day-Lenses, Cameras, Batteries, CF Cards, Flashes, Tripods, Monopods, Light stands, Reflectors, Laptops etc. They must all be checked to make sure they are ready to go.
Time for photographer: 1-2 hours

So even before the wedding day, the photographer has already worked 19 hours on your wedding. One the wedding day is the real test of your photographer’s abilities comes into play.

There are a varying amount of hours (depending on your contract) of photography in multiple locations under a mixed bag of lighting conditions e.g. Indoors in lowlight, outdoors in harsh sun or deep shade, dappled light under a tree, tungsten, fluorescent. Your photographer will be photographing individuals and groups. Sober people, inebriated people, people who love having their pictures taken and people who don’t, Infants and toddlers, teens, adults and elderly family and friends. Also on his list to capture are images of preparations, the ceremony and reception, details of the event. Each of which collectively would serve to share the story of the day.
Time for photographer (including travel and arriving early, which is always brilliant): 8-10 hours

After the wedding, there is the preparation of proofs. Depending on the style and the medium to capture, there can be anywhere from a couple of hundreds to 2500 images to go through.
I personally shoot an average of 200 images an hour resulting in 500-700 proofs. The amount increases by the hour. The images need to be prepared for viewing. I do my general magic with them choosing from a variety of software. Though they would not represent the final quality but I must admit that they’ll be very close. Creating multiple format DVD backups and taking them off property to storage.
Time for photographer: 8 -10 hours

Album Design-This is the next long stretch. The length depends on the intricacy of the design, the number of images and pages. Added to that would be time allocated to proofing and possible adjustments.
Time for photographer: 8-10 hours

Lab and album ordering, etc
After receiving the print order, Images have to be edited in order to place the print order. Besides the digital prepping of the images there’s also administrative tasks associated with your wedding.
Time for photographer: 5 hours

Album and print delivery-These are carefully packed and shipped by my lab, I’m charged extra for their time and care. No time is spent by me doing this but I however would have to pay extra for the service.

So there we go, this pretty much sums up the flow of an entire wedding. Prior to the wedding we had a total of 19 hours invested in the wedding. After the wedding an additional 35 hours is allocated to the wedding so we can have anywhere in and around 55 hours expended on a wedding. Then add in the time of the assistant (if any) spends at your wedding. Material costs for printing of your prints or album manufacture etc…..