Should you care about their equipment?
There are two main answers to this question:
- It’s the photographer not the camera. Who asks the chef what kind of knifes or pans they are using? If the food tastes great who cares!
- Having the best, most up to date gear shows they take photography seriously, they strive for excellence. They keep up with advancements and know the newest techniques. Something was not even possible before. You have to have the latest advancement to be a “true professional”!
The third answer is, they are both right! It is true that a good photographer can get betting images with a decent smart phone that a bad photographer can get with the top of the line, newest Nikon gem. There is no doubt this is true.
That decent cell phone is not going to allow them to trigger an off camera flash or several flashes! Most will not allow them to select f-stops, shutter speeds or adjust ISO levels to possibly not need a flash. It will not allow them to change lenses for something that does not need as much light for the same reason. It will not let them put on a zoom lens so they do not need to be up in your face to still deliver you those amazing, unforgettable close ups of your father’s tear building up as he gives you away or delivers his toast!
Having great gear also increases the odds of them having back up equipment in case the inevitable happens. What if something breaks down at your wedding? It is sensitive electric equipment. Something WILL go wrong at some point. What can they do about it? 1) Fix, it, 2) Swap it out, 3) Use another technique. The “decent camera” option often means no back ups or limited options to recover with.
Equipment also gives you specialty options. Only certain lenses allow you to get that nice soft focus in low light that you really love. Super wide lenses or fish eye lenses give a unique look to wedding day photographs. Zoom lenses again add many advantages. The more equipment your photographer has will allow you more creative, artistic images! Make sure you share which images are most important to you and your fiancé. By all means ask your photographer if that can do that and see samples that they actually CAN! Anyone can SAY they have done those images before. A good wedding professional will gladly show you.
You probably will not know model numbers or tech specs. Don’t bother asking! Ask a prospective photographer about these types of options and make sure you like their answers!
Your best bet is a good photographer who has a specialty in wedding situations and has professional gear. Someone who knows how to properly utilize that gear for your best possible benefit! Someone who has a great plan and a good back up plan, or two (or three). Hopefully, you will not even notice that something went wrong as the changes are seamless to you. (THAT is always my goal!) Things WILL go wrong. If that happens at your wedding, will it be a new opportunity for different amazing images or will it be a disaster?!!
