10 Wedding Photography Mistakes That You Should Avoid

by Waseem Abbas on Apr 6, 2017

Do you want to know the most common wedding photography mistakes to avoid at your next shoot? From an amateur to professional wedding photographer, you may find a few mistakes that are common to all. In this guide, we will share the top 10 wedding photography mistakes that you should avoid.

You always strive for better photos for your wedding clients. Having the best wedding photography gear isn’t enough for the good photos. There’s always a room for improvement in the processes.

Here are the most common wedding photography mistakes that you should avoid:

1. Not Signing a Wedding Photography Contract

First thing that you need to do is to sign a contract with your client. Not having a contract signed may end up in a mess and create problems for you in the long term.

The time you are giving in meetings, wedding photoshoot, printed photos and everything should be discussed in the contract. We share the 5 best free wedding photography contract templates to make this step easy for you.

2. Poses Not Finalized

There are no random poses with bride and groom at the wedding. Not deciding the poses ahead of time can cause conflict and disagreements. You shouldn’t miss out the wedding photography checklist.

Set a meeting with the bride and groom several times before the shoot. You and your client should be clear about the poses, so you know the poses for bride and poses for groom separately. Then you should also finalize the pose ideas for the couple.

3. Not Getting a Wedding Coordinator

Couples may gladly meet you before the wedding, but they won’t be there to help on the final day. You should ask for a coordinator, often a sibling or a close friend.

It is recommended to let this coordinator attend all the meetings, so you all know what to do. The coordinator is helpful in arranging family and friends for the group photos, making the coordination easy between you and couple on the wedding day and more.

4. Go Without an Assistant

Weddings are a lot of work and it’s tough to do it solo. If you go alone, then you’ll face trouble with handling lights and other matters.

We recommend exchanging the services of another wedding photographer to cut the cost. You can shoot as an assistant for their wedding client, and then this photographer will return the favor at your shoot day.

5. Listening to Everyone

You are a professional photographer and your attitude should define it. There are multiple people who tell you what you should do and which photo should be taken, but you should stick to your perspective, and the agreement you made with your client.

Listening to everyone will cause you to miss so much from your schedule that you can’t afford it. It is recommended to avoid random suggestions from the crowd and stay focused on what you planned to do.

6. Missing the Firsts

Weddings have so many firsts, and they are the most important ones. You can’t avoid any of them as they use to be remembered for the lifetime. These firsts are the first look, first kiss, first dance, and more.

You should make a schedule with the couple for the firsts, so you are present at that moment to make it still for forever. Missing the firsts can cost you in long term, and it’s one of the biggest wedding photography mistakes.

7. Not Having Extra Memory Cards

You can run out of memory anytime at the wedding. Wedding photos are big in size and you have a lot of random shots. Not having backup for memory can make you look unprofessional and ruin the day for your clients. You may need to stop the shoot for going out of the memory and it’s a mess.

Always carry extra memory cards, so you can extend your shoot if you need to.

8. Not Knowing the Guests

There are many guests and you should know which are the important ones for group poses. Taking group photos for all guests may take a lot of time, and it’s easy to miss out on the important people.

Your coordinator can help you in introducing to the important people whom you need to shoot for the wedding album, so you can save your time from running after everyone.

9. Losing Patience

Wedding photographer needs a lot of patience. It’s a stressful day, and you may face different moods of the bride and groom. A lot of disturbance from the children running around the ceremony will not let you take the photos.

Be patient with any situation and focus on your work. At the end, you need to get done with all the poses and photos discussed with your client.

10. No Knowledge of Modern Trends

Wedding photography trends change by time. Your equipment can be new, but shooting with the same old fashion photography trends can take away your clients.

We recommend you to learn the new techniques and modern trends by reading the professional wedding photographers. Or simply check out the Envira Gallery’s blog for wedding photography tips.

We hope this guide has helped you to learn the 10 wedding photography mistakes that you should avoid for a great wedding shoot. You may also want to check out our guide on 12 mistakes to avoid when building a photography website.

If you like this guide, then please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more free photography tips and resources.