1) Choosing the lowest cost photographer
Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life! The photographs will last a lifetime and remind you of the great memories from your special day. The last thing you want is to get your photos back and hate them because you tried to save a few dollars. There is a reason why good photographers costs so much money, they spend a lot time on honing their craft through practice and training, as well a lot of money on profession level gear. You get what you pay for when it comes to photography. Decide how much of your wedding budget you can spend on photography, then find the best photographer that fits into your budget.
2) Choosing a friend or family member to be your photographer
This option is worse than selecting the cheapest photographer, not only because you risk having low quality pictures, you also risk the relationship with that friend or family member. More than likely the family member will want to try to be both the guest and the photographer. This means that while you and your brand new spouse are sharing your first dance, your relative may be catching up with a friend from out of town. It can be very sad if relationships are damaged because you are disappointed with the pictures you have (or don’t have) from your big day.
3) Not taking personality into account
Your photographer will be with you more than any other vender that you hire for your wedding day, so you want to make sure that you have fun with them. They will be with you at your side from the getting ready process to the dance floor at the reception. Use the meetings with potential photographers to see if you get along. When you find a photographer that you genuinely want to be friends with, your pictures will be significantly better, as well as your wedding day, since they can help you be more comfortable and have more fun.
4) Not having a schedule for the big day (or having one and not following it)
Great pictures take time, so plan accordingly. I wish that all the pictures could be taken in five minutes so everyone can get back to the party, but unfortunately that’s not how it works. Your wedding planner or photographer can help you plan out the whole day to make sure there is plenty of time to take all the romantic pictures of you and your new spouse that you want and all the family pictures that your parents want. Now that you have a schedule you need to follow it. I have had clients in the past that started the getting ready process way later than we initially planned, which caused them to have much fewer getting ready photos than normal. Set a schedule and stick to it, you’ll be glad you did when you get the photos back.
5) Not taking style into account
The term “great photographer” means different things to different people. Photography is a form of art and it reflects the person behind the camera. When selecting the person to capture the important moments, you want to find someone who will do so in a style that you like. Look through the portfolios of prospective photographers and find the ones that match that pictures you want to have for your own wedding.