I was doing some market research last night about the average costs of weddings in Jacksonville.  More specifically, wedding photographers in Jacksonville.  The thought suddenly occured to me:  What bride wants their wedding to be “average”?

This is a very special day that can’t be recreated.  If you don’t like your family portraits from Wal-mart, you can try again at Olan Mills (not that I consider Olan Mills particularly good). But if you end up with average or mediocre wedding photos, that’s it, you’re stuck.

When it comes to choosing your wedding vendors, don’t get stuck on “average cost of a wedding photographer”.  Instead, think of it as “the cost of an average wedding photographer” and think “Do I really want an average wedding photographer?  Or do I want a great one?”

Well, I got a bit of interesting news today.  I’ve been invited to join Photographik, a web directory of the world’s “elite” photographers.

I’ve often been a critic of photographic associations.  On more than one occasion, I’ve made fun of articles that say “make sure your photographer is a member of a professional association”.  Why?  I’m a member of PPA, all that proves is that I give them $350 a year and I’m not a total dirtbag.

Photographik is different.  You actually have to be invited based on a review of your portfolio.  And apparently they really care, because they’ve been around for years and yet don’t have a ton of photographers listed.  For the Jacksonville area, Photographik only has three photographers, whereas TheKnot.com has 60.

I was really skeptical about their “elite” claim, I figured they really would just take anyone claiming to be a photographer (like TheKnot.com).  But then I looked at the websites of a lot of the listed photographers and, quite frankly, they’re intimidating.  These guys (and gals) are good.

So I’m a little stunned to be in the club.

I visit a lot of wedding photography forums.  They can be a good source of ideas and just plain entertainment.

Recently, however, there was a thread on one forum asking for pet peeves, things that brides/relatives/guests do that drive wedding photographers crazy.  Some were quite funny and some were very familiar.

What bothered me, though, was the number of comments that were hostile, bitter, petty, and downright angry.  There were more than a few that made me think “you’re in the wrong business”.

Weddings are happy times.  I love shooting a wedding, to me it’s a lot of fun and I always leave the reception humming, dancing, and pleased.  Albeit very tired.