Checking yahoo’s featured articles has become a daily routine for me.  I get my news, entertainment, and sports fix all in the time it takes me to eat breakfast.  It gives me the opportunity to impress people with my superior pop culture intellect. Just kidding.  But really, it does help get small talk flowing when photographing people.  “So, what do you think, A-Rod hitting more then 30 home runs and 100 RBIs for the 13th season,  cool huh?”  And while I can pull this statistic out of my hat, I haven’t watched more then 3 minutes of a baseball game  in 8 plus years.

Anyways, so I was getting my yahoo fix today when I saw this video with the title:

“Couple sue over nightmare wedding pics”

Ouch!  This photographer (videographer?) creatively re-shooting the couple-less limo was downright silly. But there are a few lessons to learn:

Photographers:

Protect yourself!  Get everything in the contract, what is expected of you and what you will deliver.  Purchase the necessary backup gear.  Have insurance, this covers you in case your gear gets stolen or broken but also if a couple tries to sue you.  If you really botch the wedding photographs, do whatever you can to reimburse the couple. Do a re-shoot or refund some or all the money (depending on how badly you botched it). Yes I know, surrendering all that money seems crazy, but dwell on it for a second.   This photographer is the subject of an international news spotlight because the couple didn’t receive  proper photographic records of a once in a lifetime event. This will do wonders for his business.  So photographers, if you mess up,  do whatever it takes to satisfy the wedding couple, including giving them your left leg.

Wedding Couple:

Pick your photographers carefully!  Interview and get to know them. If you don’t click with the photographers personality, don’t hire them.  Also,  a monkey with a camera can  produce ten masterpiece images out a million photographs,  so ask to view photographs from an all day wedding event (bride getting ready, formals, ceremony, reception, etc.)  This will give you an idea of how a photographer covers the entire wedding and not just the photographers best all-time pictures.  And on that note,  couples, you get what you pay for.  $200 on a photographer =  $200 photographs (and yes, there are exception but don’t risk it.)

Grace and Peace