Wedding experience: The AD PG

For info AD PG stands for Actual Day Photographer

Now that my wedding has passed, I would like to say that this was one bad experience for me.

During our planning stage, we decided that we would seek out a freelance PG. Someone that is not tagged to our bridal studio as the package that is offered tends to be rather expensive.

On the hindsight, perhaps we should. We had a great time with the pre-wedding shots and our PG was fabulous to work with. The only drawback is that we know that the studio would charge us plenty for the photos taken. And we din want to hacker over this with them once more.

SOOO we decided to look for a standalone PG. There are 2 main options. The freelancers and the big names studio type.

The freelancers are a good bargain. They are generally more affordable as there are plenty of them to choose from. The only drawback is that there are so many of them, we had to screen thru plenty of their past works.

The studios ones are far more professional. They would give a clear breakdown on their pricing and as their reputations are at stake, their services and photos are generally of better quality.

For us, our emphasis was not really on the photos (more on the dinner itself). We also feel that the standards of the freelancers and the studios are rather close. We just have to shop around to find one that is available and of a good standard.

After some weeks of looking and meeting up with them, we were fairly disappointed not being able to employ the service of one of them. We like his photos and most of all, like the idea that he is working part-time for some bridal studio. In fact he is quite a candid person. Someone we had a good time talking to.

We thus expanded our search and arrived at another freelancer. He is quite a confident person whose full time job is selling camera equipment and taking photos is more of a hobby. His pics are rather decent and we settled for him.

A week before the wedding he emailed to ask if he could bring along some assistants. We thought that they are helping him with the setup of the shots and happily agreed.

Then comes the AD

Our PG turns out to be a stealth shooter. He quietly walks about and capture the shots throughout the day. The assistant on the other hand were given the task to handle the formal shots. IE the group photos and the tea ceremony.

This worries me then. We do not know the skill of the assistant and whether they are capable enough to take a proper shot.

Oh and I mean stealth is largely due to him keeping quiet. He didnt direct us and leave us wondering what to do next. Simple stuff like how he would like to compose the shots were not addressed. This resulted in some essential photos (group shots, shots at the church, etc) totally left out.

During the pre-dinner reception, I was pretty curious on what he was doing. We were around to mingle with our guests and strangely he was not around to capture many of that.

And then comes the table shots, he left it to his junior assistant to take it. We were made to smile for about a minute when the young chap took 6 shots and calibrate his equipment in between each. There wasnt a cue given that he was about to pull the trigger. So we just held our poses. (PS. I gotten my cousin to tell him off after 2 tables)

Its now a couple of weeks after our wedding and we received the pic in a form of a DVD. Our fears are now realised. There were photos missing, there were pictures that make no sense (not even artistic sense). Its likely the poorer ones are the work of the assistant no less.

Well to be fair, some of the shots which he has taken are rather good. But we felt that important pictures are not ruined by his assistants.

We have raised a concern to him and he is now looking into it. As he has provided us only a small collection of the photos, we are hoping that with the missing shots returned, we are able to evaluate his work fully.

Thinking about it now, part of me regretted choosing him. I have learned that a hobby could not be translated to professional service. If budget was still an issue, I would have look around for one that is working frequently as a PG.

To be safe on this, someone that you have gotten a good recommendation from. Someone whom is able to show his most recent works. Someone whom is able to hold a good conversation with you (This shows how much he is willing to connect with the guests).

We had taken a leap of faith based on his photos, but were let down by his personal service. This is something we could not have seen.

For you guys reading this, its partly, ok mostly a rant. I would advise getting someone you can trust. As the photos taken are the memories of the events. Something to cherish as the years goes by.