You spend months pouring your heart and soul into your wedding planning so you want your wedding photographer to capture all the special details you’ve agonised over and all the people that came to celebrate with you. But wait, what’s this? Imagine you’re sent the link to your wedding gallery and there’s no photos of that amazing moment when your Auntie flew in from Australia and burst through the door to surprise everybody at your beautiful Scottish wedding in Dundee.

Yes, many wedding photographers are super talented but there are 7 key things they need to know. I love natural wedding photography and with many years of experience as a wedding photographer in Angus, Dundee and Perth I want you to have a wedding album that makes your heart skip a beat, not cry because your photographer messed up.

I get together with my wedding couples for a cuppy and a cake and have a chat about all of these things before the big day. If your wedding photographer isn’t on the ball or perhaps these are things you wouldn’t have even considered, make sure your photographer knows where you stand.

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So your best friend that you’ve known since you were 3 is your bridesmaid and the best man bonded with the groom over a few beers down your local but what are their names? I’m not going to try to remember the names of everyone at your wedding (come on, even I’m not that good!) but having the names of your wedding party can really help your wedding photographer on the day.

As a natural wedding photographer I love to capture all your special moments as they happen and will do my best to photograph everyone there looking beautiful as they are. If I know that you have 5 sisters but they’re not all bridesmaids then I can ask your Mum to point them all out for me to make sure I don’t miss them.

Are you planning to have an Auntie flying in all the way from Australia to surprise your wedding guests or a balloon full of confetti above the dance floor that’s going to explode at 8pm on the dot? You should be able to trust your wedding photographer so let them in on your secrets so they can be prepared and standing in the best possible place to capture all the action.

My best friend’s Auntie had a secret elopement and asked me to photograph her wedding. I kept that secret from him for the best part of a year. Read all about Ailsa and Chris’ Valentine’s wedding at the Glen Clova Hotel.

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The last thing you want your wedding photographer to do is cause one of your loved ones to have a seizure. If you know that one of your guests has photosensitive epilepsy or another condition that can be triggered by flash photography you must tell your photographer.

I love to work with natural light so limit my use of flash anyway. While many photographers choose to be creative with flash photography, your photographer should have professional cameras and lenses that can cope in low light situations without having to use flash if necessary.

You want to be spending as much time partying with your guests as possible, right? But maybe you’d love one group photo of everyone together. If this is a must-have then make sure your photographer knows to plan this into the day. It will take longer than you think but your photographer should be able to keep you right.

It’s crucial that your photographer knows what is happening and when. Maybe you’ve hired a vintage campervan but you only have it available until 3pm. If your photographer doesn’t know this and gets everyone together for a group photo first then you may end up being charged extra when you decide to be chauffeured off for a glass of bubbly together. That’s bad on the photographer’s part.

I like to get together with my clients a couple of weeks before the wedding to go over timings for the day and any secrets I need to be let in on. If your photographer doesn’t bring it up, be sure to have a chat with them about it.

If there’s a place close by to your wedding venue that means a lot to you and your hubby-to-be let your photographer know if you’d like to go there for a few photos of the two of you. It could be by the castle at Broughty Ferry beach or maybe it’s in the grounds of the hotel.

Obviously the further away from the venue the more time you’ll need to schedule in for your portrait photos but it’s your day so if you have a specific idea then share it with your photographer.

I always visit venues in advance to scout out locations for photos and to see where the natural light will be. I know it’s your big day so promise not to steal you away from your guests any longer than we need to be. Oh, and I won’t make you do any cheesy poses either. Yawn!

I feel strongly that you should be the first people to see your wedding photos so I’m not going to put sneaky peeks on Facebook until you’ve seen them first and are happy for me to share them. Your photographer cannot share your wedding photos publicly without your permission in the UK. It’s the law. I’ll always have a chat with my wedding clients about this in advance.

If you don’t want me to share your photos on social media or on my website, I completely understand and respect your wishes. If you’re happy for any photos to be shared apart from photos of the children, that’s absolutely ok too.

Have a read of my blog that goes deeper on this subject: Am I allowed to print and share my wedding photos? Everything you need to do about wedding photography copyright and licences

Are you planning your wedding right now? Do you think there’s anything else that your wedding photographer needs to know? Jump into the comments and let me know. I’d love to hear from you and always reply.