Even if you are a very skilled and experienced wedding photographer, you can do some serious damage to your reputation if you are not able to produce consistently good results. There are some mistakes that many wedding photographers make and this article explores what these mistakes are and how you can avoid them.
Not Having A Practice Shoot
A practice shoot is a great chance to get together with the bride and groom to get to know them a bit better and to find out what they are expecting from you. This shoot can be held to celebrate a special occasion such as a birthday as this will give the couple something to remember the day by. Some couples also choose to have photos done to celebrate their engagement.
Not Giving Clear Instructions
Posing for photographs is not something that comes naturally to many people and so they may need a bit of direction. You may need to tell people where you need them to stand and what they should do with their hands. This can help the shots look more natural and less staged.
Choosing The Wrong Focus
If you get the focus wrong on the photographs you have taken, there is very little that can be done about this when you are editing your shots. If you notice that your camera is constantly trying to shift focus this could be an indication that you are using the wrong settings. Taking a few practice shots at the beginning of the day can help you to ensure that everything on your camera is set up as you want it.
Using The Wrong Lighting
The in-built flash that you have on your camera is unlikely to be good enough to handle professional shots. You may also not have enough natural light on the day. If you only want to use natural light, then a reflector can be a useful tool to use. You may also want to consider using an external flash for the evening shots.
Not Knowing The Schedule
In order to get all the photos that you are after you need to know the schedule for the day so that you are always in the right place at the right time. You will probably still find that you are able to take some shots that you have not specifically planned for but you want to make sure that you get all the important ones done. Do not be afraid to tell the guests that you need to hurry things along in order to keep to this schedule.
Not Having An Assistant
Having an extra pair of hands on the day can be invaluable and so don’t try to do everything by yourself. Just having someone to help you move your equipment around will be a great help but it can be even more useful to have someone who is able to take photographs as well. An assistant can also start to download your shots during quiet periods which will save you a lot of time and effort later.