Seven dangers that could ruin your wedding photography and how you can avoid them. You’ll find many articles packed with ideas for choosing your wedding photographer. But none will let you know the pit-falls that await you if you if you take short cuts.
Choose the right professional wedding photographer for you, and you’ll have wedding photos to; enjoy, share and bring the wonderful memories from your wedding day flooding back.
Choosing an Amateur
Danger 1 – Choosing an amateur friend
Choosing a friend over a professional photographer is asking for trouble!
Here is an example of a common amateur mistake:
“The guy did fine on the reception. What was ‘unique’ was how, doing a requested shoot at the beach – the photographer managed to put telephone wires behind most of the shots that had the bride and groom included…”
I’m sure you’ve seen wedding photos with trees growing out of peoples heads 
With the revolution of affordable digital SLR cameras, the temptation to ask a keen amateur friend to photograph your wedding is huge.
However, the difference in quality between a consumer and professional camera equipment is huge especially when it comes to the lenses.
Even getting a semi-professional photographer does not ensure you’ll be thrilled with your wedding photos. See what happened to this poor couple:
“I posted a friends story about 4 months ago and got slammed by many. It was a $1000 photographer who used a Dig Rebel, kit lens, and pop up flash. It turned into equipment vs. skill thread and lost the point of professional responsibility to have minimum/adequate gear.
In the end the Bride and Groom called me, the bride crying asking if I could fix the photos (bad lighting, terrible red eye, and many other unfixable problems).
They paid $1k and will owe another $1k for the digital Negatives and Album if they want them, which they don’t, unless they can have them fixed by someone. He shot in Jpg only so little fixing from what I saw. We work in the Airline industry and I’d guess 90% of the guests were from out of town, so a re-shoot is unlikely.”
Don’t get me wrong. We all have to start somewhere. If you’re on a tight budget a semi-pro or friend is better than no photographer. But be realistic in you expectations. On the other hand, if you’re spending many thousands of pounds on your wedding – do you really want to trust your wedding photography to just anybody?
Here’s a few more things to bear in mind:
- What happens when a piece of equipment fails, will he/she have backup equipment ready at hand?
- Your wedding day is a myriad of events swiftly moving from one situation to the next. All of these can present many problems such as lighting problems that a less experienced photographer will struggle with.
- Will your friend be able to cope with posing you and organizing the group shots under pressure?
Is it really fair to put such a huge responsibility on your friend?
They will feel under huge stress and will be so busy trying to photograph your big day that they will not feel like a guest at all.
Will you trust your wedding photography to a friend whose probably never photographed a wedding before?
Danger 2 – Trusting your wedding photography to children
Giving the guests disposable cameras sounds like a fantastic idea for getting some great candid photos at the reception. Unfortunately the reality is that most of these cameras will be used by the younger guests.
You’ll end up with mostly blurred images of children playing. Even if one or two adult guests take up the challenge, you will still be lucky to get more than a few reasonable snap shots.
The cost of purchasing 30 plus disposable cameras and processing the films afterwards may cost you more than hiring a professional photographer!
After everyone gets to the reception they start to relax and reveal their true personalities. This is the best time to capture peoples’ expressions and spontaneity of the moment.
Choosing the WRONG Professional
Hiring a professional wedding photographer should be high on your wedding “must have” list if you are serious about capturing the magical moments that make up you big day. Let’s look at some of the critical points to consider.
Danger 3 – Style of wedding photography
Traditional Wedding Photography - Silver Award
Start by looking at wedding photographers’ portfolios – most will have a web presence now making this easy.
You will soon realize there are many different styles to choose from. Some may be very traditional, while others specialize in photojournalism, reportage or contemporary.
To ensure you get a good mix look for someone who covers several styles. Regardless of predominant style all wedding photographers should do the essential wedding group photos.
Make a short list of photographers whose style really appeals to you and are within or close to your budget.
It is never a good idea to hire a professional photographer based on price alone. Prices and packages are rarely cast in stone and can be negotiated. Perhaps the photographer will consider reducing prices for a mid-week wedding or a location they’ve not photographed at before. Maybe you would accept less coverage or smaller wedding album to receive photography that you will treasure for a lifetime.
As a rule of thumb you will get what you pay for. However there are exceptions – photographers that are still building their businesses may have low costs relative to the quality of photography they are producing.
If possible arrange to meet in person. It’s always best to see their photography and products first hand as you’ll never appreciate the true quality in a web browser. However, if the photographer lives a long distance away a telephone meeting will suffice. Make sure they will travel to your wedding destination though…
When you meet your potential wedding photographer there are still a few things to consider…
Danger 4 – Are you comfortable with your photographer?
Do you feel comfortable in the presence of your photographer?
You need to feel comfortable in the presence of your photographer. This is very important as you will be spending most of your day with him or her. They will be directing you, posing you (which mayy involve some physical contact). They will literally be your second shadow for the day!
The wedding photographer will also be trying to figure out if they can enjoy your company and bring out the best in you. They will want to find out if they can produce the kind of photography that will delight you.
If either you or the photographer has reservations about being comfortable together, this is the time to NOT make a booking and move on…
…and this is why.
“I was married 11 years ago. The first thing we did was hire “The wedding photographer” as it was my first priority. He was well known in the community and his portfolio was amazing. Our wedding package would cost us $3700.00. The day of the wedding he and his wife showed up at my house. He immediately scolded me for getting ready in such a small location. He continued to complain about the lack of air conditioning and at one point asked my sister “Are you really wearing your hair like that?” His choice saying of the day was…and I heard this over and over…”Hurry Hurry…time is money”! As I was preparing to walk down the Aisle with my father…a touching moment when my father placed the veil over my face before walking down the aisle was interrupted by the photographer stating “No No! Veil over the face looks bad in photos!”. He then proceeded to move me from my fathers left side to his right…stating that is was my better side. I stayed where I was and shot him my first of many dirty looks. Throughout the day he yelled and scolded his wife for not being fast enough, to slow with his water, stating it was a waste of his time to bring her. I wanted to cry every time a moment came that I knew required a photo as by this time I was sick and tired of him and his attitude.
My husband and I went on our honeymoon. The day after our return we were delivered a beautiful flower arrangement and the most beautiful and stunning proof album you can create. Along with a note that stated what a beautiful day he had as our photographer. Our completed album was delivered 8 weeks from our wedding day…and to this day…11 years later, I still cry when I take it out.”
Danger 5 – Is your wedding photographer insured?
OK, you’ve established that you feel comfortable with your photographer but what if a disaster happens on the day?
In the UK professional photographers should have public liability and indemnity insurance. This covers them in the event of an accident of a technical failure.
Public liability covers the photographer in the event of an accident such as someone tripping over a piece of photographic equipment and breaking a leg.
Your professional photographer will should have backup equipment for most things such as camera body, certain lenses, and flashguns etc.
But what if the car breaks down on the way to the church?
Or a fault has gone undetected until they got home after the wedding?
This is what indemnity insurance is for.
Indemnity insurance will cover the expenses of getting everyone back together for a photo session. It will never be the same as the actual day but these things can still happen after every reasonable precaution has been taken and could ruin your wedding photography.
Danger 6 – Does your wedding photographer offer any guarantees?
This is a tough one with wedding photography as nothing is 100% certain, so how can a photographer guarantee his work?
How about guaranteeing your price won’t change?
You may book your wedding a long time in advance. Your photographer’s prices will have gone up in this time. Wouldn’t it give you peace of mind to know the price you booked is the price you pay?
There are still many professional photographers that cover more than one wedding in a day.How would you feel if your photographer rushed off part way through your group shots to photograph another wedding?
It may sound daft. But it happens!
This can be a real danger if you book a photographer for a limited set of hours who covers more than one wedding in a day.
Danger 7 – Can your photographer cope with extreme weather conditions?
Bride & Groom photographed indoors.
The obvious thing that comes to mind is rain but the sun can make wedding photography just as difficult.
Extreme weather conditions may mean it’s not possible to photograph outside. Whilst it may be possible to find a small area of shade to photograph the bride & groom it may not be possible for group shots. Under such conditions the photographer will suggest continuing indoors or using Contre Jour, which means shooting towards the sun – but that may mean you loose the preferred background.
Can your wedding reception cope with indoor photography?
Have they got a large area suitable for group shots that will be available to you?
The better wedding venues will have space available but this is something worth considering when booking your wedding reception venue.
OK, so we’ve all gone indoors for photos – now what?
You’ll be pleased to know it’s now possible to produce near studio quality lighting though developments in flashgun technology. It’s now possible to mount flashguns on light stands off away from the camera and use light modifiers such as studio umbrellas. This will give you much better wedding photos that using the flashgun mounted on the camera.
You probably don’t want the photographer who sticks his flashgun on top of the camera. This will produce harsh light that will also make the group look like a bunch of cardboard cut outs and most likely produce huge shadows on the wall behind, thus ruining your wedding photography.
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