Top 13 Wedding Photography Mistakes to Avoid
The worst part, though, is upon checking your album after the wedding, you’ll find out that it’s not the kind of output you’re expecting. Then you’ll look back and ask, “where did everything go wrong?”. I kid you not, that’s a total disaster. That’s why as early as now, it’ll pay off to identify those possible mistakes in your wedding photography to avoid ruining your most treasured wedding remembrance.
Here’s a list of 13 photography mistakes that you would want to steer clear of in your wedding.
1. Having your family or friend to do your Wedding Photography
It’s understandable that you want to save some budget for other wedding priorities, however, it’s not advisable to pick someone from your family or friend to do the photography for your wedding. The primary reason is that they’re not professional enough to be trusted with this immense responsibility. Imagine, your wedding album should be something that will last many years from now.
Another reason is that they’re people close to your heart. I mean, weddings are pretty emotional, and they could become more attached to seeing you walking the aisle or hearing your vows that they’ll forget the task they’re assigned to do. Besides, they should be part of your guest, someone who should share joys with you in your glorious season.
2. Missing Your Morning Preparation Photography
One of the best scenes during weddings is the preparations. These are moments that are not usually visible to your guest’s eyes where more intimate and emotional scenarios happen.
Just think how sad it’ll be if your wedding album doesn’t contain this kind of candid and natural shots between you and your family. You’ll only have one possible chance of getting married in your lifetime, it’ll make sense to capture every single detail of your wedding preparation.
3. Rushing through Your Shooting Locations
With all the pressure that your wedding preparation can give, it’ll be possible to overstay doing errands at night and waking up late for your morning shots. The tendency is you’ll rush your preparation to maximize your time going to the agreed location.
However, during those rushing moments, there will be certain things or reminders that you’ll miss out on. Just imagine how a forgotten safety pin, false eyelashes, or hair clip could technically ruin your wedding shots. In fact, rushing every preparation, big or small, is highly discouraged in your wedding.
4. Last Minute Booking
Sometimes couples have a hard time choosing their wedding photographers due to budget, comparison of wedding photography package, or venue issues. The result is, they’ll book their photographers last minute before their wedding.
Technically speaking, this is a no-brainer concept. Every supplier for your wedding should be booked ahead 6 months or a year before your anticipated wedding day. Importantly, your wedding photographers shouldn’t be booked at the last minute before your wedding.
Your wedding photography team needs enough time to conceptualize, plan, and coordinate with you to make your wedding angles worth remembering in your albums and home displays. You surely don’t want to see a rush output after your wedding.
5. Going for the Cheapest Photographer
Another downside many couples have made is picking the cheapest photographer in town. I mean, that would be a steal of a deal if that photographer has a bunch of excellent portfolios and great feedback from previous clients. However, honestly speaking, that kind of wedding supplier is rare, if not totally non-existent at all, unless you won a discount from their company raffle.
Seriously speaking, going for the cheapest photographer without checking their portfolio or gathering enough feedback from previous clients is absolutely dangerous. Be reminded once again that your wedding album is something that should last a lifetime. For sure, you don’t want an embarrassing wedding remembrance to show with your future kids and grandchildren.
6. Giving Too Much Limitation to Your Photographer
The very reason why you hired a photographer is that you need their expertise in being creative and technical with their wedding shots. Micro-managing them will create conflicts and misunderstandings that can lead to an average if not a messed up output.
Basically, providing some concepts and ideas will be helpful, but placing them in a point where they’re being limited with their expertise will hinder them from giving your deserved wedding output.
7. Not Having your Wedding Photos Printed on an Album
Probably you’re thinking not to spend some budget on printing your wedding photos on an album for the meantime and just save it first as a soft copy in your flash drive. Then, after the wedding, if you gather enough budget, you’ll just print it somewhere else. That might look affordable, but don’t get deceived with that idea. Most of the time, it’ll cost you more compared to simply picking a complete package.
Many photography businesses include wedding albums in their package for a very minimal price. Just a helpful tip, though, some offer it for free for specific guidelines, so watch out for that. Nonetheless, the point here is to maximize your wedding photography suppliers, after all, they’ll certainly already know some of your stories, wedding concepts, and motifs which can surely help in adding some emotional factor to your album.
8. Focusing on the Wrong Things
In wedding preparation, many concepts pretend to be vital. Yet, on a more enormous scope, it’s only a speck of an issue. Focusing on things such as the camera specifications of your photographer, asking and searching for some photography trends, looking for a the wrong areas to focus on when coordinating with your wedding photographers.
Those points might be helpful, but they’re entirely not something you would want to consume your time dealing with. Don’t fall into the trap of worrying too much about the wrong problems.
9. Forgetting to Live in the Moment
One of the saddest things that might happen for an engaged couple in preparing their wedding is not enjoying every moment of their preparation. The same goes for your wedding shots. There are times that pressure arises, you can’t help but go with the flow and forget to live in the moment.
As early as now, be prepared not to fall into the trap of being stressed and bothered that it already steals away all your joys while being together. Weddings should be lovely, glorious, and full of joyous memories—something that can make you smile every time you recall.
10. Not Utilizing your Maid of Honor
I hate to break the trend, but your maid of honor is not just your selfie buddy during your wedding, nor your fashion adviser for your gown. Technically, they have a significant role to play during your photoshoot. They’re supposed to be there all the time to help you with your needs and assist you whenever there are technical difficulties that only a female hand can give.
Not utilizing your maid of honor might cause many delays and unnecessary setbacks that could ruin your supposedly elegant wedding photoshoot.
11. Having Unrealistic Expectations
Thinking out of the box ideas for your wedding shots is good. Still, overthinking so much that ends up having unrealistic concepts is not recommended. Remember that your photographers have their own limitations, and forcing them to do something impossible on their end can disrupt your supposedly fantastic wedding album.
Don’t set your expectations too high that it already reaches the impossible bar to achieve. Be realistic with your goal, and always coordinate with your photographer if those ideas are attainable. Your photographers are experts in this field, so they can tell realistic goals from not.
12. Not Using A Unique Hashtag To Share Your Photos
Another common mistake a couple makes when it comes to wedding photography is either not having a wedding hashtag, or using one that hundreds of couples have used before. To avoid this mistake, we recommend staying away from wedding hashtag generators and instead using professional writers at Wedding Hashers instead. Once you have your custom hashtag, it is a great way to personalize your decor and store all your wedding photos in one place.
13. Not Having a Wedding Videographer
While a good picture can tell a thousand words, a short film can speak a thousand memories. Therefore, not having a wedding videographer on your wedding day will surely miss out on almost half of the memories to recall on your special day. From your morning preps to your walking-in-aisle moment, up to your first kiss as a married couple, it will be really great if those are all documented in a single film. Besides, it’s good to have something that you can watch on with your kids in the future.
Aim for the Best
Apparently, not all excellent photographers in town are expensive. Most of them offer great wedding packages that can surely fit your budget. The critical part here is to check for their photo and video albums and read for their client’s review.
If you don’t have an idea of how it should look, please visit our website to check our wedding albums. There are also real wedding inspirations and readable content that you can utilize to help you in your wedding preparations.
Wishing you all the best on your lovely day!
Jeffrey Wang, a seasoned wedding expert with over a decade of experience, leads a thriving photography business. His team captures couples’ precious moments with a keen eye for detail and storytelling. Jeffrey’s work has been featured on prestigious platforms like Martha Stewart Weddings and Polka Dot Wedding.
Combining technical mastery with emotional understanding, Jeffrey creates a comfortable experience for couples, ensuring their personalities shine through in every image. His approach guarantees that cherished wedding memories are beautifully preserved for generations.
