1. Telling them what equipment to use: There's nothing wrong in asking them about the equipment they are using, but to tell them what to use and what not to use is what TURNS them off. They are well trained professionals. Let them do their job while you do yours.
2. Referral Discounts: Asking for referral discount can be considered as one of the different ways of saving some extra money of the whole wedding budget. (Read other ways of saving on wedding photography costs here)
However, some people don't understand that referral discount doesn't mean slashing their prices by 50%. Know the difference between referral discounts and price slash!
3. Be a nuisance
This goes out to you when you are the guest at a wedding. Do you stand in front of the wedding pair clicking away with your cellphone or your DSLR? Please move out of the pro's way! They know how to get the best shot and when. You are just a distraction to the couple and a nuisance to the professional. You can see many examples of failed photographs caused by guests overstepping their boundaries.
Wedding photo bombs can be a real head ache. Focus on enjoying the event rather than capturing it through your lens.
THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN DO TO KEEP YOUR SHUTTERBUG HAPPY...
1. Little appreciation: This is the case in almost every wedding. Some clients don't notice or appreciate the little extras. Now, in all fairness here, the reason the bride and groom don’t notice the little things is because, you know…they’re getting married and stuff. So we understand. But it makes us so happy when our couples take a moment to realize that there is an entire team of photographers behind the scenes all working together to make your day a special one. We wake up early in the morning sore and tired and we know you paid us well to wake up sore and tired but if you happen to notice that we showed up early to make sure we got your day started on time, paid for some extra costs just to make sure that there were no interruptions, gave grandma and grandpa a lift when they got left behind, helped the guests to get your attention, made sure that your guests didn’t get trampled on the dance floor, and stayed late because you had a BIG send off planned for your night that you didn't want to us to miss. All we ask for, is a teensy Thank You, that makes our day. And yes, we’ve done every single one of these things.
2. Ask them if they are fed well: Again–this one is a bit tricky because it’s your wedding day, you’re a bit busy and the last thing on your mind is if your photographers got a good meal. Checking in to make sure we got fed and fed well is something we really appreciate. We also very much appreciate when you don’t skimp out on us in the food because we’re with you all day and by the time we sit down for dinner, the only meal we’ve had is breakfast and that’s usually at least 10 hours previous to dinner. So we’re hungry...actually we’re starving. We’re tired, thirsty and we just want a decent meal and little bit of time to recharge. After humping and bumping all day, sitting down to a cold, soggy and stale food just doesn’t cut it.
3. Respect
Wedding day is as usual busy for us too. Your character defines how you are by the way you treat the people around you. Most of the times the treatment we get is very unacceptable and it affects our work. We’re on the go and the last thing you want on your wedding day is someone interrupting your photographer because that’s less attention for you. We know wedding photography isn’t exactly original but you paid us for our creativity, fast thinking and ideas so why in the world would you want your amateur buddy attempting to take a photo that we already nailed for you? It’s our work, our livelihood and it’s important to us that, that it is respected.
It’s the little things that count.
So what do other wedding photographers think about this post?
Leave your comments, stories, and thoughts below.