Why Hire a Professional Photographer

Imagine for a minute that you had only minutes to get out of your house, and once you and your family were safe, you had only enough time to take a precious few possessions with you.  What would you go back for?

Many of us have similar answers to that question.  The most common items that come to mind in a situation like that are those that, to us, are treasures.  Things that hold sentimental, not monetary value;  family heirlooms, children’s keepsakes, historical documents, and yes, photographs are all at the top of almost everyones list.  Many hold photos of our Wedding near and dear to our heart.  For others, it may be a newborn child’s first picture, or a snapshot of a teen headed off to Prom.  What about the faded old photograph of our parents or grandparents, or other loved ones?  All of these hold significant value to each of us, and more importantly, they, like the memories they help conjure up, are irreplaceable.

With this inherent value of our photographs in mind, it is important to not only choose a professional photographer, but to choose the right professional photographer.  Today, both digital video and digital images saturate our daily lives.  From print ads and billboards to snapshots on Facebook and Twitter, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by photographs.  It is more important now than ever not to lose sight of the importance of our own keepsake photos.  Could a picture taken of your 6 year old on his first day of school on your camera-phone be enjoyed and shared with family and friends? Yes, it could.  But, chances are the photo, along with the memory, will be gone when the phone is replaced.  Could that same photo be preserved as a high quality print, edited, retouched and archived professionally to stand the test of time?  No.  That is where professional photographers excel at their craft.

Not only can professional photographers provide you with the finished product final prints you desire, but they specialize in creating each image with an artistic vision by considering the mood, lighting, background and subject.  More importantly, and this is especially relevant when photographing children, which is my passion, professionals have the ability to put the subject at ease.

A close friend of mine recently asked if there was a difference between having her children’s pictures taken by me, or by the chain studio down the street offering the $10 special on prints.  Knowing that this friend was a busy professional who owns a high-end salon, her question caught me off guard.  After thinking about it, I answered her with   a question of my own.  I asked her what the difference was between getting my hair cut at her salon, or the chain business down the street that has ‘super’ or ‘great’ in the name.  Immediately, she understood.  She, like me, had gone to one of these chain studios, and at the end of her “$10” 1-hour session, her kids were both in tears, overtired and frustrated from being ‘posed’ for an hour. She was then given only a small amount of time to pick her favorite one or two images, and have prints made of those, while all of the others were deleted.  When all was said and done, she left spending a couple hundred dollars for photographs, that while nice, were put in a drawer somewhere, never to be framed or displayed in her home as good photos should be.

I’m sure that like me, readers of this blog consider their children to be the most important thing in the world to them.  And, like me, creating and keeping memories of our children is an endeavor well worth the time and money spent to do it well.  When the time comes for your child’s next photographs or next life event that you want documented in photos, please consider a professional photographer.

“No Matter how sophisticated the camera, the photographer is still the one that makes the picture” -Doug Bartlow