1. I can't afford a professional wedding photographer. If you have a wedding budget, you can. Plan to allocate 10% of the basic service to your photographer. If you need more options, such as all-day coverage or expensive albums, consider increasing that percentage to 20% or more. Many photographers, including yours, offer gift registration options to pay for wedding packages, or even cash, for extras after the big day, like an album that seems financially out of reach right now. Everything is possible. If your ideal photographer seems to be out of your budget, let them know. They may be able to customize their service at a lower price, especially if the date is coming up or during the "low season".
2. Digital photography makes work easier In some ways it does. No more clunky movie changes. Easier to spot wrong camera settings, spot check the results of lighting settings, etc. However, digital photography still requires a lot of post-wedding work to achieve professional results. On film days, this will be done by the lab (the cost is passed on to the client) and the photographer can shoot more weddings or shoot in the studio or go about their "day job" during the week. However, most digital photographers do the post-production work themselves and must include this time in their package price.
The busiest photographers can afford to outsource post-production work or hire staff to do it. However, in this case, you may still be paying extra for your busy photographer's precious time. Realize that your photographer will also need to consider the time they spend in pre-wedding consultations, visiting clients and venues, doing any pre-wedding renew wedding vows ceremony ideas shoots and related processing and printing, preparing for the day, etc. In the end, the apparent "convenience of digital photography" means that most photographers shoot and spend far more time at a wedding than during a shoot. This reality actually increases the time and thus the cost of post-production. A single day of wedding photography can take a decent professional photographer a full work week.
3. Digital photography is cheaper than film photography Digital storage is cheaper than film, archiving is easier, just delete a frame and nothing is lost. It's free, right? This is only part of the equation. Digital technology also means that cameras have a much shorter lifespan than film cameras of a few years ago. Technology quickly becomes obsolete, and the throwaway mentality of modern production means photographers just need to buy a new model instead of replacing a worn shutter after 150,000+ frames.
The same goes for the high-end computing equipment required for professional digital imaging. Buying the right equipment for professional work requires more financial outlay than it was a few years ago. Remember, for professionals, time is money, and the post-production work mentioned in point 2 above requires the photographer to spend more time than it does on film. Finally, other costs associated with running a business do not differentiate between numbers and movies: overhead, staff, insurance, retirement, and paid vacation. Freelancers must consider all of these costs when charging for their services.
4. Our snapshots can be repaired in Photoshop to make them look "professional". Photoshop can indeed cover up a lot of sins. Clearing clutter and balancing lighting in formal portraits? Cloning busy and distracting background elements? Open the groom's eyes? no problem. Unfortunately, when this practice has to be applied to 500 photos (or more in some cases), it becomes a problem.
Creating professional-looking results from problematic images requires a significant time investment, which is already achievable. Hiring a professional retoucher to "fix" amateur photos can end up costing as much as hiring a professional photographer. The right professional photographer can control the scene with selective framing, composition, and lighting. Professional lenses deliver crisp, detailed images without resorting to drastic digital sharpening to create an artificially sharp look. No digital artist skills are required, and your images will be beautifully enlarged.