What is the # 1 shot missed by a lot of wedding photographers ?

As a wedding photographer in the Nashville, TN area, I have been blessed with 18 years of doing wedding photography!  Along with doing wedding photography, I also love to coach/train other wedding photographers on how to excel at it. Part of helping / coaching other Wedding photographers, is the process in where my students will send me a complete gallery from a wedding they recently captured. There are several goals in doing so. For this purpose, we will focus on the goal of making sure they did not miss any important images, this entails going through a complete wedding day gallery, sometimes over 1000 images (photographers are are asked to take out blurred photos, eyes closed etc. before sending to me) from a particular wedding, looking for the key images that my experience tells me are important.

The number 1 shot missed by a lot of wedding photographers ??? The bride alone. I am sure you have imagined most of your life how you would look in your gown, hair and makeup, with all your loved ones by your side. Now, how would you feel if this image was missing from your gallery? I know I would have been heart broken!

Preparing the timeline is important, but what’s even more important? Someone helping you through the process that has done this hundreds of times, and has experienced these moments so much that they can anticipate a problem before it happens! Its these experiences of shots missed, moments not captured that go into planning a time line.

My students were not lacking the knowledge of what should be captured (shot list) but the experiences that made them want to be included in the timeline, and being confident enough to adapt the timeline when (not if, but when) things got off track as the normally do on a wedding day ! We all know how it is to work under pressure…. Something is bound to happen! Shots will be missed.

Once I coached my students, by sharing my experiences and stories, the importance of a timeline, how to anticipate needing more time, and how to confidently manage a day ( YES a good experienced wedding photographer CAN run your day) I began to notice that they were not missing the shot of the bride alone. Why?

1- They had more experiences (more weddings)

2- They began to be part of the timeline preparations.

3- They began anticipating needing more time, from experience.

4- Their couples started looking to them for advice and help planning because they became confident in their experiences.

What can you do as a bride to help make sure the number 1 shot missed by most wedding photographers does not happen to you ?

1- Commission an experienced wedding photographer

2- Have your experienced photographer help you with a timeline.

3- Listen to their advice on timeline.

4- If you have an experienced wedding photographer, relax you’re in good hands.

5- Stick to the timeline AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! When things run late, your photographer will have to adapt, and shots will probably be missed.

Do you want these photo missing from your gallery? I only take 20 weddings per year to ensure I give my couples the best service, before, during and after their wedding day. Check your date here .