10 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKESALL COUPLES SHOULD AVOID!

DAN BIGGINS PHOTOGRAPHY

TIPS & TRICKS

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TOP 10 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKES

Welcome to my free guide, to help you avoid mistakes

a lot of couples make when choosing a wedding

photographer! Weddings are emotional events and

take a heck of a lot of planning, so knowledge is power

– the more you’re aware of potential pitfalls when it

comes to hiring a photographer, the more you’ll know

what to look out for, ensuring you receive the very best

photographs of your wedding day! photographs of your wedding day!

MISTAKE 1: NOT GETTING TO KNOW YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER FIRST

When you hire a wedding photographer, it’s a little bit

like hiring an extra guest to your wedding. Although

the difference is this guest will be taking photographs,

as well as talking to and getting along with all your

friends and family, staying professional and capturing

images with a smile on his or her face.

That’sThat’s why it’s important to meet your photographer

first, or at least have a lengthy conversation on the

phone with them. You need to know if you’ll like them

important events of the day, as well as not upsetting

Auntie Mabel immediately before the ceremony.

MISTAKE 2: CHOOSING A PHOTOGRAPHER SOLELY ON PRICE

Let’sLet’s face it; in life you tend to get what you pay for.

Take luxury cars for example. Would you expect to

take a few thousand pounds down to your local Aston

Martin dealer and return home with a brand new DB7?

Or would you expect to pop in to your local Apple store

to purchase a laptop, and leave with plenty of change

from £500?

Of course you wouldn’t!Of course you wouldn’t!

The same applies to wedding photography. Of course,

this doesn’t mean you have to hire the most expensive

wedding photographer out there (if you do, he’s called

Jerry Ghionis, he’s Australian, he’s unbelievable and

his prices start at around £10,000. Just thought I’d get

that out the way first.

CheapCheap wedding photography normally means low

quality. Creative people tend to charge what they think

they’re worth. Someone who charges £250 to

photograph a wedding is basically saying, “I’m not

confident in my abilities or the quality of my work, so

that’s why I’m charging very little for all day coverage

and a disc of images.”

WhenWhen you hire a wedding photographer, you’re not

only paying for their time. You’re paying for their

expertise, gained from photographing multiple

weddings. You’re paying for their creative eye. You’re

paying for the beautiful images they create. You’re

paying for memories that will last a lifetime.

TOP 10 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKES

MISTAKE 3: RELYING ON A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER WHO HAS A “NICE CAMERA”

TechnologyTechnology is amazing, isn’t it? Just think, ten years

ago smartphones didn’t exist. Now everyone takes

great photos on them and shares their efforts all

across the Internet. Also, “entry-level” cameras are

now way more advanced and cheaper than they’ve

ever been, and to top it off “Auto” modes on these

cameras are extremely intelligent and enable most

people to take decent photographs. people to take decent photographs.

But are you happy to settle for “decent” on your

wedding day?

You probably know someone who owns one of those

swanky DSLR cameras. You know, the ones with the

interchangeable lenses. Great pieces of kit, and as I

said above, fabulous technology. But do they know

how to really use it? Would they be able to take a sharp

photograph in a dark church without a flash, without

the resulting photo looking blurred? Can they capture

a photo of your first dance by (a) using flash and (b)

not making you look like you’ve wandered into a

nuclear explosion?

Ultimately, can you trust them to capture all these

important moments…and more? Are you willing to

take that risk..?

MMISTAKE 4: NOT BEING SPECIFIC ENOUGH ABOUT THE PHOTOS YOU WANT

II always ask clients when I meet them if there are any

specific photos that they’d like. Some of them are so

excited they simply say, “Oh, just take beautiful

photographs through the day Dan, I trust you to

capture everything!” Which is lovely, but not

particularly helpful.

Of course, I’ll photograph you getting ready. I’ll

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photograph the rings. I’ll photograph you looking

amazing as you walk down the aisle. I’ll photograph

the putting on of the rings. I’ll photograph the first

kiss and the first dance, and more.

However, believe it or not, I’m not a mind reader :)

IfIf Auntie Mabel is flying across from Australia and it’s

the first time in 23 years that you’ve seen her, and

she’s not very well, and it’s vital that I take a

photograph of her with you and your niece who’s just

graduated…

…then please tell me!

MISTAKE 5: PRIORITISING MISTAKE 5: PRIORITISING PRODUCTS OVER THE PHOTOGRAPHY ITSELF

Most wedding photographers offer various products as

part of their collections, as I do. For example, I offer an

engraved print box containing a USB drive and prints,

and a luxury handmade, leather bound album (which

is utterly gorgeous. When you see it you’ll want one,

believe me.)

However,However, don’t lose sight of why you’re hiring a

photographer in the first place. It’s the quality of their

work. It’s the ability to capture images that you’ll

treasure for the rest of your life. Not the products that

they offer – you can source those long after your

wedding is over, but you can’t replace mediocre

photographs from that day.

MMISTAKE 6: THINKING THAT BECAUSE A PHOTOGRAPHER HAS EXPENSIVE GEAR, THEY’RE BOUND TO TAKE FANTASTIC PHOTOGRAPHS

It really is no guarantee. I could buy a top of the range

Aga, and believe me, you probably wouldn’t want to

eat what I could create with it.

TOP 10 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKES

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TOP 10 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKES

This anecdote sums it up best:

When the author Jack London had his portrait taken by

the noted San Francisco photographer Arnold Genthe,

London began the encounter with effusive praise for

the photographic art of his friend and fellow

bohemian, Genthe:

“You“You must have a wonderful camera...It must be the

best camera in the world...You must show me your

camera!"

GentheGenthe then used his standard studio camera to make

what has since become a classic picture of Jack

London. When the sitting was finished, Genthe could

not contain himself: "I have read your books, Jack, and

I think they are important works of art. You must have

a wonderful typewriter."

Touché indeed.

MISTAKE 7: NOT CONSIDERING AN ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHER

PlanningPlanning is everything when it comes to wedding

photography. I’ll always try and meet the client and

nail down timings – what time they’re arriving, when

guests are due to arrive, when the cutting of the cake

and first dance are due to occur, and so on and so

forth. This means I can plan where I’ll be, at what

time, and what photographs I’ll be taking when I’m

there. there.

However, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head

(more’s the pity), and they haven’t yet invented a

camera with a lens on the front and the back (well,

there’s always my smartphone, but I don’t think you’d

want me to photograph your wedding using that..!)

I always try and recommend the client pays a little

extra for an assistant photographer. This means you’ll

obviously have two pairs of skilled eyes watching

proceedings unfold – while I’m photographing the

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first kiss, my assistant is capturing the beaming

smilessmiles and tears of joy amongst your wedding guests.

While I’m capturing the bride and groom walking

down the aisle towards me, my assistant is capturing

the reactions of your guests, the confetti throwing and

so on. While I’m capturing a close-up of the cake

cutting, my assistant is taking a wide photograph of

everyone in the room.

MISTAKE 8: LEAVING ALL THE MISTAKE 8: LEAVING ALL THE DECISIONS TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER

AsAs mentioned above in point 4, there are a number of

“must-have” photos that I’ll always capture,

although I recommend my clients to provide as much

input as possible when it comes to their photographs.

I’ll recommend poses and locations for your photos,

but let me know what images you’d like. Set up a

Pinterest board with wedding photos you love and

shareshare it with me (just bear in mind that if you pin

photos from a beach wedding in Belize and you’re

getting married in Bromley, you may be disappointed.

Be realistic.) Trust in my expertise, certainly, and the

more ideas you can provide me with the better.

MISTAKE 9: INSISTING ON TRENDY PHOTOS

Around ten years ago “selective colouring” was all the

rage – you know, a black and white photograph of a

bride holding a bouquet, but the bouquet is in colour

(it’s been selectively coloured in Photoshop). A couple

of years ago it was vintage – desaturated / washed out

photos of trendy couples holding Rolleiflex cameras.

TheThe problem with photographing in a style that’s

currently trendy? It dates. Badly. In ten years time

your photos will look “of a time” and definitely not

timeless. After all, brown corduroy flares were hip at

one point in history (so I keep telling myself as I once

owned a pair. Anyway, moving on..!)

MISTAKE 10: NOT REALIZING JUST HOW IMPORTANT YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHS ARE AND WILL BE IN THE FUTURE

ThisThis is a summary of all the points above. Make sure

you hire someone you can trust to capture beautiful

wedding photos. Put quality above price. How do their

photos make you feel? How does the photographer

make you feel when you meet them? Your wedding

only lasts a day, and memories fade over time, but

your photographs should remind you of your wedding

day for the rest of your life.day for the rest of your life.

TOP 10 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKES

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