Even the Groom can't see his Bride! (in-fact nor could the photographer to capture her or the Groom - hence this shot was taken by a guest)

I don't need a Photographer, do I?

So you may think that the idea of this post is for us to drum up business, you know, bombard you with victim sob stories that will convince you to hire a photographer or videographer for you advertising, event, portrait etc. Well, this is not our aim and a main reason that probably shows this is quite simply that we don't even charge anything to find you the best operator! although a less pig headed reason might include that we do however wan't to maintain our status as the largest photography agency on the coast... ok an even more humble is that we do truly care about our clients & our photographers alike and love to match them together. To help people decide if a professional is beneficial to them, we will list here things that many aren't aware of (or certainly didn't know the complexity) and this will ensure everyone reading this gets it right. There is a chance you're in the small percent of people that still insist that professionalism is not important, but to be sure, unless you read this post you won't ever find out :) 

QUALITY IS NOT IMPORTANT TO ME

Times are changing and even if you yourself dont care about the the quality of an image... the fact is that future viewers of it most likely will. A low quality image says you don't care and whether you are selling something, capturing your friends & family or whatever, people thinking you care goes a long way as we know. Donkeys years ago, people sometimes said that if someone has had professional images made of an item for sale for example, that they obviously value it too much and in which case it is bound to be overpriced... But this was way back before the internet and the now simple ability for anyone & everyone to easily evaluate something in seconds. If you are concerned about this because you are asking a higher price for something, then a poor quality image will certainly hinder the sale. Nowadays people know they can get something cheaper, but are often ok with paying a little extra if they feel better, ie. the images show it clearly. Poor photos on higher priced things for sale says you are greedier than others which is largely accepted, but it also indicates you dont want to give anything back in return... even the simple task to show something clearly for the interested party.

For events/portraits etc. or anything showing people, a portable device or even an expensive entry level camera often still doesn't do anyone any favours. People sometimes even say that they actually don't even want people seeing them in too clearly, but it's not about the sharpness as much, we all look bad with shadows enhancing our worst features. The exact same situation taken by a professional will make people in it look better and therefore feel better which is important to many. Don't be mislead that a unpleasing image is because of the circumstances it was taken under, a good photographer can make almost any situation look good. 

PEOPLE ZOOM IN TO SEE BETTER

No matter where you put your image there is a chance it will end up being seen by someone with a better eyesight than you or online somewhere that people will zoom in on it! Even if you never bother enlarging images on a device yourself, the fact is that with so many touch screen devices overpowering the world now, anyone can easily pinch-zoom and see everything under immense magnification. When someone bothers to magnify something, it obviously means they are looking for something and so a poor quality image will tell them you dont want to share that. For the same reason you would clean the windows on your home, or the plate they eat from, a clear image makes others feel good too. 

SMARTPHONE vs PRO DSLR

Most professional photographers use cameras with 'full-frame' sensors, many even have two or more bodies and many thousands of euros of extra equipment on top of that (our recommended wedding photographers have an arsenal of equipment costing on average between 15,000€ - 25,000€). There are reasons they have such expensive kits and that's simply because there is no other technology in the the world that can do what it does. Contrary to rumours, the newest smartphone boasting a whopping 21mp camera is like saying a big mac will make you healthier, its a quick fix perhaps but the nutritional value we know is not good in the long term and so neither are the images taken with a smartphone. Under perfect conditions a portable device can sometimes pull off an acceptable shot for basic use, but there is almost never ideal conditions in the field of photography. Just because the occasional nice iPhone photo goes viral, it does not mean you should presume that previous or further images from the same person or phone will amount to anything, a professionals job however is to guarantee that they will capture amazing things that you perhaps have not even noticed. I myself am an events photographer and can tell you the reason I have been successful is definitely related to the fact that after I send clients images so many of them tell me that they didn't even notice something until they saw my images, in fact the more demanding the client, usually the more they are shocked at hidden things I capture... its this by the way that keeps me up late at nights editing... or writing posts like this :)

Please also note that even someone calling themself a photographer and buying an entry level camera will struggle to get the quality we see around us that's nowadays accepted as 'standard', they most likely used a professional but you can't tell and think its just a great image. A really good photographer can make a shot look candid as well as amazing if that is desired by the client, don't be afraid to request a photographer's default or preferred shooting style or simply ask them if they can do your alternative style choice.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

The cheapest Canon DSLR that has the required full-frame sensor for professional quality is currently the 'EOS 6D' and its over 1500€ in MediaMarkt for the body only. The minimum recommended lens to fit this might be a '24-70mm f/2.8' which is nearly the same again... a flash, some cards, spares etc. etc. etc. means the minimum setup cost for our pro level is near on 4000€. The electronics manufacturers want you to believe however that their newest smartphone can photograph as good as these DSLRs and we see many comically fixed comparisons showing better pictures from the newest phone. All I can say is that if it's honest, then their settings on the DSLR were simply way wrong and/or they used trick editing to give the appearance that the DSLR is not as good.

IT'S COMMON SENSE

I think it's obvious that if there was a device on this planet that you could buy for less and it could even attempt to keep up with what's required by professional photography, do you not think all the photographers in the world would simply sell their thousands of euros of gear and buy this magic device. It is of course usually the operator that makes the real difference in making the professional camera work, but even they wouldn't be able to capture what they need using anything less than a high end DSLR. You wouldn't dream that a bicycle could keep up with a motorbike or a ford fiesta could do what a Formula1 car does on a track, so why do people think an iPhone can do what a pro DSLR does. The long and short of it is that when your friend says that they have bought a special 'professional' camera on offer for 399€, then you can be sure it is a very basic 'entry-level' that will struggle in many conditions even if they are the best photographer in the world and therefore the equipment they have is simply not comparable or usable for professional results. In short, if you ask someone what they paid for their kit and they say anything less than a few thousand euros, then dont be expecting any high end results.

LOOKING RIGHT

A big disadvantage of not having the right setup is not just the quality, but amongst other things, angle, perspective & distortion too and remember that as time goes on, people's definition of 'acceptable' quality changes so all these factors will become more and more apparent in time. Even right now, you can easily buy a nice 4K TV for nearly the same price as a regular HD was just months before and yet did you know that if shooting video for example, currently not one single Canon DSLR is manufactured to capture 4K at the recommended '60fps'. Anyway, getting away from the specs, if nothing we have written here so far bothers you and you still don't want a photographer, how about forgetting the quality for a minute and mention photos where your face looks disproportionate, your nose looks bigger, a pointy chin perhaps and/or the impression of a receding hairline to name but a few. Other very noticeable errors include your body looking just weird & bigger in places we would prefer not to be for example, although some use this method to make their bust look ridiculously bigger and their body waist appear unnaturally slimmer (a fake look that we don't recommend), well this type of distortion is all too common on portable devices and entry level cameras. It can again be eliminated however by using a professional with the right lens and know how to select the correct distance and zoom level combination for that particular subject and surroundings.

WE HAVE PHONES & TABLETS etc.

Despite the obvious poor quality already mentioned, a good example of when people with camera phones, iPads, compacts, novice cameras & other devices spoil things, is of course at any live event but more commonly and more importantly weddings is where they can seriously & irretrievably ruin things and so we'll use weddings for our example.

Most professional wedding photographers nowadays will do their best to avoid getting hounded by guests that decide to become a photographer for the day and many professionals now ask for a ban if they can, as the problems it causes through no one's fault can often get quite ridiculous, resulting in what should be beautiful wedding photos of a bride on her special day walking down the aisle now ruined by people and devices in the way.

We've noticed recently that more & more people are considering and even trying out 'Unplugged Events' which is of course where guests 'unplug' from the world, be it phone, iPad, camera, or any other technology that is around us. We can tell you that the ambience and general results of unplugged weddings we capture are always better as the event forces everyone to engage and therefore enjoy the moment, participate, chat to friends. It is much more thrilling to see their emotions, seeing them smile, feeling the love... However where people are hiding behind devices, checking their phones, taking photos, capturing videos and uploading it all to Facebook or Instagram (even before the bride has said "I do"), it spoils not only the ambience of the event, but the photographers images too. Unfortunately what's shared is not only unprofessional of course but can make people wish they had never been caught on camera as even the best of us dont look so good 100% of the time from every angle and one spilt moment caught incorrectly can make someone look like they are doing something they are not. A joking frown in an image from someone telling a joke if caught incorrectly often looks like they are being negative instead of funny or perhaps there eyesight is not so good and they are actually just frowning to focus better, again a professional knows where & when to guarantee results.

IT'S ONLY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

With Facebook & Twitter an everyday part of most people's lives now, do you really want unpleasing shots taken & shared all over the internet before you have had a chance to check what's captured or chosen which are good or bad. Do you want to turn your phone on at the end of the day and have notifications of hundreds of photos you dont like but have been tagged in? You should be able to choose what is shared and who shares it as even Facebook etc. can upload images in high resolution so again the zoom quality is an issue for anyone with any device or wishing to enlarge it for a closer look. 

So, how to stop the sssue... Well it's usually up to the host of an event to avoid it and it's as simple as a single sentence, sign or message indicating anything similar to: 'So everyone can enjoy the event, a professional will be capturing everything at it's best, so please refrain from using your capture devices'. Remember, some guests dont even actually want to capture anything, but they think they are doing the host a favor! So, by explaining you have gone to the effort of hiring a professional and therefore the opposite is prefered, you are actually allowing everyone to forget about pleasing you and simply enjoy the moment.  To put their minds at rest that they have access to what's captured, let others know that the amazing captured material will be online in a particular place for all to see and give them the location in advance, for example all our guests have their own free url, ie: PhotoMarbella.com/sue&dave or Si4.me/zedbar. Them knowing everything is under control means they will nearly always refrain from complicating things or spoiling your photographers fantastic images.

THERE'S SO MUCH MORE

OK, so this page is getting pretty long and I fear the only one reading this far down is Google's computers for listing, but I can promise you that there is so many more factors to why a professional is more than advantageous and therefore advisable for nearly every type of need. Aside from the as mentioned, quality, guarantee, peace of mind & more, these undocumented things include the fact that: people lose, have stolen or break their devices all the time and so you can let the photographer take the burden, the photographer knows in advance what will look good after post production, your images are usually backed up for safety by them and more... but we promised you how to do this on a budget and this is the simple bit to explain!

HOW?

So how do you get a professional photographer to cater for your needs at the right price for you, or on a tight budget. Well it's simple as we offer this finder service for free where you tell us roughly what you are wanting and how much you want to spend and we do the rest. 

We message any operators that we think would suit your enquiry and we also enter your budget and requirements into our database for our own photographers or videographers & hundreds of other local operators to review and choose if they would like the job. There is always someone interested and your budget can start from as little as zero, because sometimes there are local operators looking for exclusivity to your need, they're often just looking to update their portfolio or they are curious and happy to cater for your needs in the process with a win/win situation..

To find a professional photographer that will get you what you want at a price that you decide is simple, free and easy. We even have guaranteed discounted rates from many operators so you will quite often be able to hire them cheaper than if you had hunted round searching and approached them yourself. For those of you curious as to how do we make any money then to keep PhotoMarbella running, well we like to swoop in and take the big jobs where large corporations require specific setups that we specialise in. We prefer to make our money from the big guns and use this to enable us to offer free services for everyone else.

There are a choice of simple ways to let us know your interest and you have nothing to lose from just finding out if a local professional can capture whatever it is that you have at the price that suits you. (please remember to include your details, requirements & a budget range),

MESSAGE: Enter your details privately by message

MSG/WAP: Send us a message or WhatsApp on (+34) 661194653

FACEBOOK: Visit our Facebook page PhotoMarbella.team

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CALL US: Telephone our office on  (+34) 951 741 911

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The quality difference between a common Canon 5d mk3 on the left and a high end smartphone.

 

THANK YOU :)
We would like to say thanks to the various contributors to this page that support our intent to help others.

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