Chaos happens. Things go wrong. Just as I was writing this, my youngest somehow ran his head into a wall. How did that happen? I’ve got no idea, but what I’ve learned is that weird things do happen, and it’s best to be prepared. This is especially true when it comes to your wedding. You want to make sure everything is taken care of and there are backup plans in place. One big question to ask is “Does your wedding photographer have backup equipment?”
Does your wedding photographer have backup equipment
It amazes me how many wedding photographers go into the big day unprepared. It’s not that they don’t know how to use a camera or haven’t thought about the big day. Many of them will come to the wedding with only one camera, one or two lenses, and maybe a few batteries. That’s just not enough. As I said stuff happens, and if they don’t have backups, they are in major trouble.
How I lost a $1000 lens
I bring all of this up because I recently had a big whoopsie. I was out hiking and taking photos for Sheep Dog Impact Assistance, and we were climbing up in a cave. Well, a lens (an expensive one at that) fell out of my pocket, bounced off a few rocks, and plopped into a stream of water. Yep, I was super excited about that.
I managed to climb down and fish the lens out, but as you can imagine, the lens was done. The good news is that I had other equipment with me, and I was able to continue taking photos and video.
Insurance?
Not only could losing a piece of equipment ruin a shoot for someone that’s not prepared, it might put them out of commission for good. Most starting photographers don’t have an extra $1000 sitting around to replace that lens. Luckily for me, I’m a member of a professional organization (Professional Photographers of America) and I have insurance.
I just went through the whole process, and in the end, it’s costing me roughly $300 to get a new lens. Yes, I’m still losing a good chunk of money, but that’s better than paying for everything. Imagine if I had lost all of my equipment? That same amount would have replaced all of it instead of paying $6000 or more.
Ask Questions
I say all of this not to scare anyone, but to make people aware. Most brides don’t know anything about photography, so they wouldn’t think to ask about backup equipment. It is so important to ask that, and other questions, so you know you have the right wedding photographer for your big day.
