If you’re on the fence about whether or not to hire someone to photograph your event, consider these reasons:

Let’s say the event is a family reunion and you want to get a group photo of the whole family. You could do it yourself, but one of two things could happen then. A) You have someone take the photo for you, leaving a family member out of the photo because they had to take it. This could possibly offend that person or make them feel awkward for being excluded. Or B) You set a timer on your camera. This can be problematic because there are so many people in the photo that you will need to take several images to make sure everyone is looking and has their eyes open. You will have to take two to three times as long to get the photos done because you’ll have to keep resetting the timer, and you still might not have gotten the shot. Hiring a professional will eliminate all of this stress.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go around all night taking selfies with my phone or camera with all of my friends and family members. I would much prefer to relax and enjoy the moment instead of trying to capture it. The quality of the photos will be much better than the selfies. Also, trying to take a selfie with a group of people is next to impossible when trying to get everyone inside the frame.

If the event is a birthday party, you don’t want to miss out on visiting with guests or helping your child open presents or cut the cake because you are too busy trying to take the photos. You want to be part of the action, not stuck behind the camera.

Another great thing about hiring a professional is that you don’t have to worry about editing and distributing the photos after the event is over. You just have to wait to receive them from your photographer.

Finally, it’s really a gift to have well lit photographs taking by a professional who preserve the memory of your event. Those images are going to be cherished by everyone for a very long time to come.