[firsttimeMOH]

The bride is not having a professional photographer at the wedding. She has purchased the disposable wedding cameras from Wal-Mart to have guests take candid pictures of the wedding and her uncle to take some shots of the wedding party (he isn't professional). I'm afraid that our heads will be cut off or something. I know that women usually cherish their wedding pictures & I'm afraid she is trying to cut something out of her wedding that she could regret in the future. I had called trying to set up an appointment for myself & my husband to get professional photo's of ourselves done & she happened to mention that she is available on the date of the wedding and the price seems to be very reasonable. Should I suggest this photographer to the bride or would I be stepping out of line? Concerned MOH

[Wedding Queen and MOG]

Only you know the personality of your sister and the reasons why she chose not to have a professional photographer to shoot her wedding photos. I would guess she is trying to save money and unless you are willing to offer to pay for the service (possibly as your gift to her) then there's probably not too much you can do.

Please let us know how this turns out.

[The Video Pros]

The disposable cameras are okay for capturing candid moments, but often the lighting is too dim for the photos and the images often come out grainy or blurry.

Sadly many people spend a lot of money on the venue, cake, food, and refreshments - over 40% on the average. Seldom do they put their money where I feel they should...on their memories (i.e. photography). You might ask if her uncle is shooting with a digital or film camera. If he is shooting with digital and has plenty of memory cards, he could take lots of photos and the chance that some good ones being taken are higher. If he doesn't have enough memory cards, it would be cheaper for her to purchase some extra ones for him than higher a photographer.

If he only has a film camera (won't know what the image looks like until developed) you could suggest that they rent a high resolution digital camera for a very reasonable amount and let him use the camera during the event. There are several outfits on the net that provide this service, plus provide the photo prints at a great price.

Keep in mind, that if you are using a digital camera to shoot anything, if you want high quality prints from the images the pictures need to be taken at the highest resolution and pixel size. Many people shoot digital photography at 72 dpi to save space on their memory stick and save it as a compressed jpg, but when it comes time to have the photos printed the image looks terrible. When jpgs are compressed image quality is lost. When you look at a newspaper color photo, notice how the dots of color have space between them? The higher the dpi (dots per inch) the better the picture printed. So, when the digital photos are taken, please keep this in mind. People often don't realize this because 72 dpi looks great on the computer screen and TV, but definitely does not translate well to the printed paper.

Try to broach the subject nicely so her feelings don't get hurt. Sharing with her your concern shows what a great friend you are, looking out for her and helping her find ways to capture the special day in an economic fashion.