I recently saw an advertisement for wedding photography from a local photographer. It seemed that the main point the photographer was trying to get across was that he uses "Canon DSLRs and Flashguns." That makes very little sense to me to include the brand name of equipment as a selling point in one's advertising. Do brides really care whether you shoot photos of their wedding using Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, etc. equipment? Is that a deal breaker for some brides? I'm not sure that this would be any different than a contractor calming your fears of his possible incompetence by informing you that he uses DeWalt equipment rather than Ryobi or Ridgid.
A professional who focuses on what equipment they will use may not be focused on you.
The same ad stated, "I've been shooting for 10+ years!" which of course means … what? I'm not sure what that is supposed to tell people. I've been shooting for over 15 years, but photography is the type of passion that you keep learning, and some people learn faster or in a different way than others. It is nearly equal parts science and art. Some of the most creative and talented photographers I know have been shooting for less than 5 years.
Choose your photographer based on their work, style, personality, and how you and they "click." Don't worry about the trivial stuff like equipment brand name. Ask yourself, "Would I feel comfortable trusting my priceless wedding memories to this person?" You'll know you've got the right photographer for you when you find yourself asking, "How could I trust my memories to anyone else?"
