Truth in Photographs
Camp Hinds in Raymond, ME
A fake bride for a styled shoot at the Boy Scouts of America!
Brides Beware
Why do some photographers portfolios look so much better than their actual work?
Content Days and Photoshop Artists
TLDR – Whenever you interview photographers, ask to see the complete galleries of their last two weddings!
One of the biggest complaints about photographers is that the portfolio they show you doesn’t match the images they produce at weddings.
A second complaint, often listed just below that one, is that a few images have been edited to look great, but most are dark and bland.
Why has this become a problem for the photographic industry, and more importantly, how can you make sure you know what you’ll get from your photographer?
- It’s super easy to steal digital images and claim them as your own. Photographer groups that call out stealers (such as https://stopstealingphotos.com/ are filled with sites create with stolen images.
- Digital artists can edit poorly shot images to look much better, but because of their high price, photographers may only hire experts for a few images for their portfolios.
- Content days are rampant. These are paid photographers’ experiences where you can photograph wedding settings and models to enhance your portfolio. Often someone else is setting up the models, and what photographer shoot on these days won’t match what happens at weddings.
- Styled shoots allow photographers and planners to try new things in new venues, but there isn’t the real world stress of timelines and families.
What are Content Days?
Content Days are events marketed to photographers that combine models and decor to simulate a real wedding.
The images from a content shoot allow photographers to pretend they have more experience than they do, and give them a portfolio they may not be able to replicate on an actual wedding day!
How Can You Avoid Being Disappointed?
Wedding experts at The Knot, Premiere Bride, and Bride’s Magazine all recommend one strategy to ensure that the photographer you hire can deliver the images they show in their portfolio.
Don’t choose Your Photographer Based On their instagram Account – look through complete weddings to see the good and the bad!
We decided at Focus Photography that this was good advice, and we chose to make it easier for couples looking at us to find our most recent galleries.
Here are the links to four complete galleries from weddings we shot in the second half of 2023:
Logan and Nick at the Hitching Post
Jessica and Noah at Zorvino Vineyard
Marina and Will at Spruce Point Inn
If these galleries help, we’d love to hear from you. Please let us know by clicking the button below!
What Julie and Eric Said:
Focus was just fabulous. The perfect balance of professional and fun!
“Will and Lucia put us at ease, helped us figure out what kind of pictures we wanted after the romantic session, and taught us some good tips and tricks. Then, we were able to actually enjoy getting our pictures taken at the wedding.”
“We were initially hesitant to do a romantic session with Will and Lucia, but those pictures showed us exactly what we could expect from our wedding pictures.”
“On a personal note, we lost Pop Pop just after the wedding. The pictures you took of him are priceless to my family.”