Why is a professional wedding photographer not viewed in the same way as a professional hairdresser?

The end of the week on the web offers a chance for idle surfing and browsing of content that normally would slip below the radar. An interesting question was raised this week in an open letter, posted on PetaPixel by Cheri Frost, to Good Morning America criticizing a recent Bride on a Budget wedding segment. Packed with money saving ideas, one of the suggestions made by the presenter was to “save a few hundred dollars and make a college kid happy” by hiring a trainee photographer. On first thoughts that idea sounds agreeable in a way that saying ‘save money and hire a student hairdresser’ does not. It also articulates a problem facing all those involved in creative industries which is, how do you earn respect for your skills and get fair pay for your professional experience.