No one likes to be told “no”, and we hate being the ones to say it. When we can, we always want to say yes. And a little part of us cringes knowing that right now is just not going to be the time to explain why “no” was the right answer. So, in typical fashion, I am taking to the Petruzzo Photography blog to explain why we might tell you “no” on your wedding day, and assure you, it’s not because it’s more fun making people angry! It’s not.
We might say no because it will make you late
Before your wedding day, we make an extensive plan for how we intend to capture everything on the big day. We go through multiple revisions with you to make sure everything is going to fit comfortably. If we’re asked to deviate from that plan—especially by anyone other than the Bride or Groom—we’re probably going to say “no”. While it may not seem like a big request to ask the photographer to take 10 minutes to get some photos of a relative who was forgotten in the plan, that 10 minutes might be a crucial key to keeping everything on track. Without it, there might be a domino effect throwing everything off schedule.
… Because it will cost you other images
When we give time to something we didn’t plan for, it almost always comes at the cost of something we did plan for. Since the wedding photography plan is made up of the most important wedding day elements, not saying no might be an inadvertent forfeit of some other more important images. Of course, we try to stay flexible and explain when unexpected trade-offs present themselves on your wedding day, but if we’re unable to guess what images we’re going to end up having to skip, we’re probably going to say no to the request for the sake of delivering on our original promise.
… Because it’s uncharacteristic of our style
We don’t like jumping photos. There I said it. Sometimes we’re asked to create a photo that’s just not us. It’s overly contrived, or it’s sexually explicit, perhaps it’s personally demeaning to someone, or it’s just been done a gazillion times. These are situations where we might say “no” to preserve our creative integrity—which is what you hired us to bring to your wedding.
… Because it’s directly copying another photographer’s work
Once in a while someone—often a bridesmade—will approach us with a photo on Pinterest or elsewhere on the web, and ask if we can take that photo. The answer to this request is always no. We’re not in the business of reproduction, but rather creation and preservation. That been said, we will often take the inspiration we’re given and put our own spin on it to create something unique.
… Because it’s technically infeasible at the moment
You’re hiring a wedding photographer because the people who you can rely on to create consistently beautiful images at your wedding are few and far between. Very few brides and grooms, and their guests, know the technical limitations of photography, and who can blame them? As a result, we’re sometimes asked to create images for which there is simply no feasibly practical way to create in the moment. For example, without planning ahead of time, we cannot create an image of the bride sitting on the ground of a flower bed without risking getting the dress dirty. And we cannot create an arial photo of all the guests without a balcony to shoot from, or drone services commissioned ahead of time.
More yes…
Through the course of your wedding, we’re going to try and say yes as much as possible, but if we have to say “no”, rest assured there is a good reason for it. If you’d like to avoid us having to say “no” on your wedding day, give as much attention as possible to the wedding photography plan your photographer creates with you. This is the very best way to get everything you want, without any hiccups!