7 Reasons Professional Photography Is Worth the Moolah

Okay, so yes, I’m a photographer. I quite literally make money convincing people that photos are worth spending money on, so you could say I have a slight bias here.

BUT BBG, I HAVE A CASE.

Think about how much money we spend on things that are here for one hot second and then poof…gone. Your flowers? Dead. Your dinner? Devoured. Your champagne tower? Probably knocked over by somebody’s cousin. Your insanely specific shade of linen that you spent three weeks deciding between “oatmeal” and “warm sand”? I fear you will not care in 40 years.

And again, I am not anti-cute-details. I LOVE the cute details. Give me the florals. Give me the fits. Give me the tiny little matchbooks with your dog’s face on them. I will eat that shit up.

But you know what you’ll still have when you can’t remember half of it? Your photos. They’re the thing that can take your brain and go, “oh yeahhhh, THIS is what that felt like.”

Now, mediocre photos are technically still photos. They will confirm that yes, you did in fact get married and everyone showed up wearing clothes.

But GOOD photos taken by someone who actually knows how to watch you, read a room, notice your weird little relationship quirks, and photograph the day like it felt instead of like a checklist?

Pookie. Different category entirely.

7 Reasons Why Professional Photography Is Worth Every Single Penny

1. Your Photos Are One of the Few Things That Outlive the Day

Your wedding day is kinda unhinged when you think about it. You can spend months planning every microscopic detail for a day that somehow goes by in approximately 14 minutes.

Just like that, the day you spent so much time dreaming about is over. And then there are your professional photos just sitting there like, “hey queen, I preserved the entire emotional downfall for you.”

Those little baddies are going to be around years from now, and as time passes, they stop being just cute pictures from your wedding and become part of your history. Something you can come back to when the details start getting fuzzy and you want to remember what that season of your life actually felt like.

That’s kinda baller if you ask me.

2. Good Photos Bring Back More Than What Something Looked Like

I have clients tell me all the time that they look through their gallery and feel like they’re right back in it. They’re not just seeing what the venue looked like or remembering the florals, they can feel the nerves again, the belly laughs, the calm after the ceremony, and the “oh my god, we’re actually married” look they gave each other while everyone else was busy doing literally anything else.

And not to toot my own horn, buuuut, this is the stuff I’m GOOD at.

I don’t just want to give you photos where you look hot. We will obviously make you look hot. That is a non-negotiable. I want to give you photos where you look at them and go, “holy shit, that is US.”

3. You Get to See Moments You Didn’t Even Know Happened

Your wedding day has about 52 storylines happening at the same time. You are one person. Do the math, bbg.

While you’re hugging your college roommate, your mom might be wiping away tears in the corner. While you’re talking to your grandparents, your best friend might be doing something absolutely criminal on the dance floor. While you’re getting ready, your partner might be across the venue getting emotional over a note you wrote.

You cannot see all of it.! But I can see a lot of it because I am professionally nosy. So when you get your gallery back, you aren’t just reliving your own memories, you’re finding new ones.

And personally, I think that’s so freaking cool.

4. Your Photos Can Be as Weird, Hot, Chaotic, Romantic, or Chill as You Want

Please release yourself from the idea that getting professional photos means putting on matching beige outfits and frolicking through tall grass unless, again, you are deeply passionate about beige and tall grass.

In that case, strut your shit queen.

But your engagement photos, couples photos, wedding photos, anniversary photos…they can be anything because we are here to document YOUR love story, not someone else’s.

• Want to run around the desert with me? Fire.
• Want to go to your favorite dive bar, eat greasy food, and make out in a parking lot? Honestly I love some PDA and will be encouraging it soooo.
• Want to jump in a lake fully clothed? Obsessed.
• Want to bring your dog? Obviously bring the dog.
• Want to go to some weird little spot outside St. George that I drove past three months ago and have been mentally assigning to an imaginary couple ever since? BBG YOU MAY BE THE CHOSEN ONE.

This is a collab. I don’t want to shove you into somebody else’s Pinterest board and call it a day. I want to figure out what actually feels like you two and cook up something from there. Your relationship is already interesting. I pinky promise that we do not need to cosplay as another couple to make good photos. 

5. Professional Photography Is Also Paying for Someone Who Can Handle the Chaos

A good photographer is not standing there going, “oh nooooo, my plan.” We have approximately 45 other plans by the way.

We know how to work with ugly light, how to move quickly,  know when the timeline is getting weird, when to say, “hey, let’s do this now because the light is about to absolutely slap.”

You do not need to be managing your photos during your session. Please, for the love of everything holy, go enjoy your wedding, engagement session, rehearsal dinner, whatever. I am simply here cooking up the most fire photos you’ve ever laid your pretty little eyes on exactly as the moment is unfolding.

6. A Good Photographer Knows When to Step In…and When to Shut the Hell Up

Your wedding is not a photoshoot. It is your actual life happening. In fact, any session where you are booking a photographer is your moment to just be. I am a believer that some of the best photos happen because I kept my mouth shut and let you exist.

7. These Photos Only Become More Valuable With Time

You might get your gallery back and immediately freak out because you look hot, the photos are fire, and you can’t stop posting them.

Wait ten years. Wait twenty. Wait until you look at the people in those photos and realize how much life has happened since then.

Maybe your family looks different. Your relationship has survived some shit. Maybe you’ve moved across the country. There are kids looking at your wedding album yelling, “WHY WAS YOUR HAIR LIKE THAT?” Maybe somebody in those photos isn’t here anymore.

That photo suddenly means something completely different, and that’s kinda wild because you only had to pay for it once.

So…Is Professional Photography Actually Worth It?

Listen, I am not here to tell you where every dollar of your budget should go. But when you’re deciding whether photography is worth the moolah, I want you to think past the actual photoshoot day and think about the experience as well as getting to have this moment of your love documented and kept through visual imagery.

And if you’re already investing in photos… I am simply suggesting that we make them really freaking GOOD.

So if you want photos that feel less like “stand here and smile” and more like your actual relationship in all its hot, weird, chaotic glory…

Bbg, I’m so ready to cook. Get in touch here.