Wedding Photography Mistakes To Avoid

There are a lot of wedding photography mistakes that you could be making at a shoot.  Fortunately, you can avoid them by knowing what the most common are.  Learning from the mistakes of others is a great way to overcome issues before they directly impact your wedding photography business. 

Not Having A Good Contract

When you book a client, you need to have a good contract which is signed by you and the couple.  Not having a contract can cause a lot of problems later on which you want to avoid.  Fortunately, there is a range of contract templates that you can get online. 

While you can use these templates, you need to ensure certain information is included in the contract.  You need to include the number of pictures that are going to be provided as well as the cost of the service.  The location, date and time of the wedding will also need to be included in the contract. 

Poses Not Finalized

A lot of people assume that there are random poses for the bride and groom.  This is actually not true and you should be deciding on poses ahead of time.  This will avoid any disagreements over the images or conflict after the wedding.  

To ensure that you have the poses finalized, you need to set up a meeting with the bride and groom to talk this over.  You should ask them about what they want and be clear about the poses that you think will work for the wedding.  You should also talk about poses for the bride and groom individually as well as together. 

Going Without An Assistant

There are a lot of new wedding photographers who go to weddings on their own and this can be a nightmare.  It is very hard to do this on your own as you have to handle the lights, the camera, and other matters.  Hiring an assistant for the day can help you lower your overall costs or you could ask a friend who is willing to help you. 

There are many wedding photographers who exchange services with other wedding photographers.  You can help as an assistant for their wedding shoot and they will do the same for you.  This will ensure that you are working with someone who knows what to do and could offer some suggestions.  

Listening To Everyone

As a wedding photographer, you will be inundated with advice from the wedding party and the guests about which photos to take and what should be in the shot.  You need to avoid listening to everyone as you are the professional.  You need to stick to your perspective and the agreement that you made with the client. 

When you listen to everyone, you will miss pictures from your schedule and you cannot afford to do this.  You should stay focused on what you are doing and avoid any random suggestions from the crowd.  Having a checklist of the shots you need to get will be helpful in ensuring that you get all of the photos that are outlined in the contract and were agreed upon.