Wedding photographers capture all the heartfelt moments

The ubiquity of cellphone cameras has turned millions of people into amateur photographers.

But the difference between amateurs and professionals is more than just the equipment they use. The professionals know how to capture a scene at just the right moment and just the right angle. This is important to remember when planning a wedding and deciding whether to hire a professional or leave the responsibility to a friend.

Werner Elmker is a Fairfield photographer and videographer who has been doing photography for 57 years since he was 13 years old. Since moving to Fairfield in 1985, Elmker has performed music at about 100 weddings, and has photographed and videotaped 50 of them. He started photographing weddings 15 years ago, and sometimes his day is busier than the bride and grooms because he's doing photography, video recording and providing the musical accompaniment.

'The thing about weddings is that they can get very intense, with people being nervous and a little emotional,” Elmker said. 'I don't get nervous, but I do feel other people's nervousness. I wish I had some tricks to calm them down.”

Elmker said he understands there might be a temptation to save money by having a friend or relative photograph the wedding, but the bride and groom should understand what they'll be sacrificing in quality.

'Knowing how to capture the perfect moment is an acquired skill,” Elmker said. 'A person who is not a professional can get lucky, of course, but it's likely they will miss important moments.”

Juliet Jarmosco is a Fairfield photographer with 16 years of professional experience, and usually photographs a few weddings per year. She said her most intense shoots are ones for corporations that have hired models and a crew.

'I don't get too nervous at weddings because I've shot so much and I'm comfortable with my camera,” Jarmosco said. 'I'm confident I can find good light wherever I'm put.”

Jarmosco said that's one of the noteworthy differences between a professional and amateur: understanding lighting. She knows how to position herself, or position the couple, in the right light to get the perfect exposure. She said amateurs are often not comfortable switching their cameras from automatic to manual because they don't understand how their settings interact and how to alter them for the best possible photo.

When asked, 'Why hire a professional photographer?” Jarmosco said the question is like asking why pay for an expensive meal at a nice restaurant when you could just buy the same stove and make all the same meals at home.

'There are so many elements that go into a good image, and the camera is just one of them,” she said. 'One that is not talked about much is the personality of the photographer and what they can pull from the couple.”

Jarmosco said a professional will come to the shoot prepared with backup batteries and a Plan B in case things go wrong. They'll know how to incorporate different lenses, whereas an amateur is probably going to stick to just one lens.

Not all professionals are the same, either. Jarmosco said price shopping among wedding photographers is like price shopping for artists.

'It would be like calling artists and saying, ‘Can you give me the best price for this 16 by 20 canvas?'” she said. 'The smartest thing is to look at their work and ask to see a full wedding album, so you can see all 5,000 images they took and not just the one image they got lucky taking.”

One way Elmker ensures he never misses a moment at a wedding or reception is by having five to eight video cameras on tripods set up throughout the venue. While those cameras are rolling, Elmker walks around taking still photographs. Elmker records every wedding he works, even if the couple didn't request. His cameras capture 30 frames per second, and are of such high quality that he can pull from them to use as still frames. He said sometimes a couple that initially didn't want a video will change their mind after the fact, and Elmker has no problem accommodating them.

With so many cameras taking so many still frames, Elmker comes away from a wedding with half a million files. Going through it all seems like an impossible task, but Elmker has found tricks so that he can do it in a matter of days.

'One thing that separates a professional photographer from an amateur is being able to quickly decide which photos to trash and which to keep,” he said. 'If you can't do that, you'll be completely overwhelmed and your hard drive will fill with photos you don't want.”