Telltale Signs of an Amateur

The telltale sign of an amateur is off-colored images.

Low quality images have any number of these qualities: Dull lighting; red-eyes; few shadow and highlight details; or distasteful colors like orange, blue, yellow or red. Furthermore, when snapshots enter the digital card in color, the black and white conversion process in Photoshop is more difficult than printing black and white photos in a darkroom. The incriminating signs of bad black & white conversions are flat lighting and dull contrast. However, you would probably not be able to differentiate between a well-developed digital print and a film print.

NOTE - Good Photos are as Much About the Photo Lab and Archival Quality Paper as They Are About the Photographer Who Captured Them

Paper is another factor.

Wedding photos printed on an ink jet printer look shoddy and are not archival, despite claims from printing manufacturers about ink longevity. Since this method is relatively new, there is no proof as to how these papers will really hold up over time.

It is best if your photographer still uses a professional photo lab, rather than an in-house piece of equipment. The exception is the photography studio which can afford its own in-house lab. don't let a photographer talk you into accepting less-than perfect paper.

While your photo album may look great when it is fresh and new, over time, you will risk fading and will therefore compromise the longevity of your wedding pictures. Professional photo labs always accept digital files, so the digital photographer who doesnt use one is bordering on amateur.

There are those far-and-few between photographers who still use film; perhaps for the nostalgia or that they are stuck in their old ways. As a rule of thumb, the larger the negative, the higher the print quality will be. You may hear medium format sizes referred to as 645, 120, six by six, etc.

Some long-established studios that still use medium format will likely convince you that its the only way to go. However, you must be aware that a medium format camera is harder to handle and is slower to use than a 35mm camera. There are compromises to each.

Also, the frequent changing of rolls of film stems from having fewer frames per roll. Most only hold about 20 images, so the photographer will be stopping a lot in the midst of shooting. Hence, missing shots? More waiting time? Those big, heavy cameras almost always need a tripod so it will be cumbersome. If you choose a photographer who is still using this method, I hope you are a bride with lots of patience.