If Wishes Were Horses I'd be in Two Places at Once

Pardon the mixed metaphor, but I have been looking forward to Sam and Angela's wedding in April with a lot of anticipation: and then on the week-end I got another of those calls that seem to come in too often: please help - my photographer just cancelled on me. My wedding in in April! Not just in April, but on the same week-end as Sam and Angela. It isn't a simple wedding, either: there is to be an Indian ceremony on Friday evening, followed by a Catholic Wedding Mass of Saturday.

I would love to be the one to document this wonderful blend of tradition and culture; of course I can't be at both marriages, but maybe you can help. If you have the skill and experience, contact me via this blog and if it seems that you and the bride are thinking the same way, I could put you in touch with each other... or maybe I could sub-contract the job - you shoot, I'll handle post production.

Is there something to be taken away from this?   It is the 4th or 5th time a bride has come to me in the last 12 months after being let down by a photographer. Can you do anything to guard against such disappointment?

It is no use asking for references: unreliable togs will not let you talk to UNhappy customers; it doesn't mean much that somebody has been in business for a long time - that just gives them extra time to "hide" their poor work amongst the more satisfactory jobs. Having a beautiful portfolio is evidence of talent, not of trustworthiness or reliability.

 I don't mean you shouldn't look at all these qualities, because you should. But what else should you consider?

Well, membership of a Professional body can be a good guide: the top Australian body for professional photographers is possibly the Australian Institute of Professional Photography. Members have to provide evidence that their business is properly run and provide a portfolio that reflects an professional photographic knowledge and skill.  Likewise, membership of the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers is an International recognition based on the submission of a Portfolio judged by a panel of experts as if the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International.

Applying for membership of a professional organisation does not guarantee you will be accepted, the annual membership fees are high enough to discourage people joining just to be able to put a few letters after their names, and it gives dissatisfied clients someone to complain to... You do not jump through the hoops of peer review and evaluation, pay your annual fees, and then risk the humiliation of losing your accreditation very readily.

So, given a choice between two photographers, go with the one who cares enough about his clients to have invested the time, study and money to become an accredited member of the professional photographic community.