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Dear Friends, I Do Not Want to Be Your Wedding Photographer

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 07/06/2018
07/05/2018
2 Mins read
Chris Gampat photos for 500px weddings (2 of 5)
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Last Updated on 07/06/2018 by Mark Beckenbach

Dearest friends,

There are no congratulatory words strong enough nor effective enough to show my excitement for what is about to come for you. You and your fiancé found a way to persevere through the world of modern dating and have arrived at genuine love. For years, you will be the envy of myself and many others.

This letter is coined in response to your request to have me photograph your wedding. In short, I will need to respectfully decline your invitation; I would much rather be a guest. I will be happy to take photos at your wedding, but I would not like to be your wedding photographer.

Being a wedding photographer takes a whole lot of skill, patience and practice. It isn’t something Uncle Bob can do, and it isn’t something I really want to do anymore. I used to shoot weddings, but those days are behind me. I’m a man who is much more than just my camera, and I have a personality that we’ve obviously bonded over in some way or another.

My understanding goes out to you for not being able to afford a wedding photographer. I’d suggest looking for a more affordable option with the full understanding that these images are the ones you’re going to show your children or future kittens/puppies. They’ll live online for many years and they’ll be in your memory even longer. I genuinely do not want to be responsible for this, and I also believe I’d be happier simply observing your wedding without the major responsibility required  of shooting your perfect day.

I would, however, enjoy the privilege of attending your wedding as a guest and being happy with you all. My mind does not want to be in work mode and I don’t want to bring your personal memories into my work. The days and hours I would spend editing and putting together albums are high stress. Instead, I’m sure that you’d much rather I purchase a beautiful gift for your home.

Please do accept this note with the kindest sincerity from the bottom of my heart.

Signed,

A Photographer

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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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