I’m A Wedding Photographer, Not A Magician

I originally wrote the skeleton of this post over on my Instagram account, but I felt it so deeply that I decided to expound upon the ideas just a little further and give it a permanent place on my blog.

It makes me so sad when I see people complain about their wedding photographers on social media. (I’m in a lot of local Facebook groups and groups specifically for brides and grooms, so I see the good and the very bad.)

Even if couples do it in a really nice way, having bad things to say about their wedding photography (and the photographer) still breaks my heart.
Because – I’m a wedding photographer.

(But here’s the kicker, ready?) I’m a wedding photographer not a magician.

So many times, when I read people’s stories about how they’re disappointed in their wedding photos, it’s because they were somehow expecting wizardry and magic – and not real life.
Sure, there are legit complaints out there about wedding photographers not acting professional, not delivering the quality of work they advertised on their website, losing wedding photos, etc. Terrible things truly do happen that ultimately do land back on the photographer.

But I feel like, more often than not, the complaints people raise revolve around them expecting their photographer to conjure up some sort of magic on the wedding day that just isn’t possible.

Listen, I (and most of my fellow wedding photographers) do my very best on a wedding day to do the best job I can possibly do.
I prep extensively leading up to every single wedding: I make lists, double-check addresses, look at Google maps. I do everything I can do to photograph EVERYTHING. And then after the wedding, I treat my memory cards like precious gold as I download, back-up, and process wedding photos.

Are there wedding photographers out there who truly do not care at all and are simply in it to do the bare minimum & then split? Sure. (I’ve met a few of them.)

But, MOST wedding photographers care deeply and passionately about their clients and feel an ENORMOUS pressure to capture the absolute best memories for them (it keeps us up at night and when we do sleep, it gives us nightmares).

HOWEVER, in the end, let’s be honest: we are just normal people – not magicians.

+ We can’t read your mind (shocking, I know)
+ We can’t control the weather
+ We can’t create time (we all know that wedding days fly by faster than the speed of light!)
+ We have no control over your other vendors (and if they’re running behind or not)
+ We can’t be everywhere-all-the-time
+ We cannot control out-of-control guests
+ And after shooting 8+ hours, we do need to take a break to pee

So, maybe next time you hear someone complaining about their wedding photographer (or hair stylist, or accountant, or heating & air conditioning guy) just remember – we are all normal people, not wizards.