Pro vs a Shoot and Burn

My take on a shoot and burn photographer.

A shoot and burn photographer is someone who charges you say $500 to come out and shoot your wedding for you. They go back and do a little editing and the burn those files to disk and give it to you and that's all you get. Now there are lots of people that are ok with this, but before you decide to let Uncle Joe with the good camera be in charge of your memories from your day, consider this.

The difference between a professional photographer and a shoot and burn is with shoot and burn photographer you have no insurance whatsoever if that person's camera breaks? They are done. If that Lens they are using breaks. They are done. A professional photographer will have a professional camera, professional lenses, backup and special equipment to get the job done.

I myself have three cameras, I have my primary camera, my backup to my primary camera and another backup for that, just in case. I also have numerous lenses so if one fails or if I drop one then I can switch over another and not have to worry about Oh no! I only have one lens!

As a professional, I have a brick-and-mortar business. I have a studio, I have a business license and I have insurance to cover everything that my business does. If someone at your wedding trips and falls over the piece of my equipment or something like that, I am covered. I'm not going to charge you for something that gets broken because I have insurance to cover that.

If it's my fault due to neglect and someone gets hurt my insurance will cover that. A shoot and burn photographer probably doesn't have that insurance and if you fall over their equipment you may not be covered.

Other things to remember, what happens if the shoot and burn photographer gets sick, who is there to cover for them. If Uncle Joe with the good camera gets sick he may not have someone to cover for him.

Other things to consider, Quality, the shoot and burn will give you a DVD with your images. The shelf life of the DVD is about five years. A professional photographer will give you prints and an album that will last you a lifetime. Professional labs available only to professional photographers will give you the quality you deserve. We are talking about heirloom quality prints, albums and anything else that have a lifespan of over 100 years and with special laminates over 200 years. A shoot and burn will give you a DVD.

I know you were thinking, why does it matter if they last that long.

Think of it this way, your children's children's children will have an heirloom from you after you're gone, they will appreciate that.

As a professional, it is my job to capture the best day of your life. A lot of times you'll forget events that happened during the day. It's my job to capture those events so you can cherish them for the rest of your life.

When it comes time to choose your photographer, just remember, years of quality, years of being assured that your day has been captured properly, years of experience...

or five years on DVD.


This holds true for weddings, family sessions and individual portraits, or any other kind of photography do you want to have professionally done.

Just consider it.





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