The Biggest Wedding Photography Mistakes to Avoid

Your wedding day will be one of the most memorable days of your life. And once the dust has settled and you’ve returned from your honeymoon, your photos will help you re-live it. Your precious memories documented for you to share with friends, family and eventually, future generations. Your wedding photos are actually one of the very few things that get delivered to you after the wedding. To ensure you get the best images you want, here are the biggest wedding photography mistakes to avoid.

Not Booking Early Enough

Photographers can get booked up two years in advance. If you find someone who’s work you like and get on with them personally, don’t hesitate to reach out to them as soon as you’ve got your date and venue. With this being said, some photographers will still have some last minute availability. It all depends on how many weddings they take on a year, if it’s a weekday, or if they get a cancellation. It’s worth contacting your favourites even if their website or social media says they’re fully booked for that year.

Not Meeting Your Photographer Beforehand

Your photographer is with you for a good chunk of your day (regardless if you’re having a micro-wedding or full day celebration). It’s important that you choose someone you like as they are involved in how your wedding story is told. Having a pre-wedding call is imperative before booking a photographer. It’s a good opportunity to ask any questions you have and see if you’re a good fit for one another.

Overloading the Shot List

Being a photographer means we’re creative beings. So there’s nothing we hate more than being given a regimented list of things to capture as opposed to documenting the day as it happens naturally. Of course, to capture those all important group shots we’ll need a list to work from but I really recommend limiting these to 8-10 group shots. This is so it doesn’t eat into the rest of the days celebrations and trust me when I say, you’ll be so bored by the end of them. Standing in a line, trying to organise lots of adults and plastering a smile on your face for 40-60 mins does not sound like my idea of fun. I’m sure it’s not yours either.

Not Scheduling Enough Time for Portraits

I love the couple portrait session of a wedding day. My couples are always so happy to have some alone time after they’ve tied the knot so they can breathe a sigh of relief and bask in the happiness of the fact that they’ve just got married! I’d recommend scheduling in some time – anywhere from 15-30 minutes to capture those all important photos of just the two of you. It usually happens after the ceremony, confetti and group shots but this will depend on your venue and what you’ve got planned throughout the day.

Forgetting About Light

The whole basis of photography and how it works is, what available light we’ve got at any given moment. So if the weather isn’t playing ball, we might have to be on the lookout for when there’s a break in the showers to get out and capture our group shots and couple portraits when the light is right. Golden hour photos are not to be slept on, they are one of the most popular reasons why couples book their weddings in the summer months so they can get those dreamy, balmy, ethereal shots where they are bathed in the most delicious golden-hour glow.

Biggest Wedding Photography Mistakes to Avoid

To recap, the biggest wedding photography mistakes to avoid are:

• Not booking your wedding photographer early enough
• Not meeting your photographer before your wedding
• Overloading the group shot list
• Not scheduling in enough time for couple portraits
• Forgetting about the light

I hope these tips have been helpful. It’s always worth having this conversation with your own photographer about what things to avoid and get their advice. Knowledge is power and communication is key to avoid disappointment.

To read more helpful tips around your wedding photography, check out my other blog posts here.

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Until next time,
Beth x