5 Mistakes Wedding Photographers Make On Their Websites

You’ve probably heard it a thousand times. Your website is your shop window. But it’s true. Especially for anyone running a service-based business. Even if people first heard about you on social media or via a referral, most of them will go to your website in order to find out more about you.

What they find when they get to your website can make or break whether they choose to book you or not. Sometimes we want our websites to magnetise prospective clients. We want to attract the right ones for us and repel the ones who aren’t a good fit. But from having my own website reviewed and from reviewing other photographers’ websites through mentoring and workshops, I’m noticing a lot of common mistakes photographers make on their websites. So I thought today I’d talk about the top 5 most common ones I see.

5 Mistakes Wedding Photographers Make On Their Websites

1. Not Making It Clear What You Do

Imagine someone has just clicked through to your website. Can they tell in less than 5 seconds what it is that you are offering them? It’s natural as photographers that we want our images to do the talking. But after conversations with my past clients and with other photographers, I’ve found that images alone aren’t what convince a client to book one photographer over another. Of course, it’s important to have images on your homepage, but the text that goes with them is just as important. You need to tell people what you do and why they need to work with you.

Especially in the days when many elopement photographers are also acting as planners for many of their clients (read this article on why I think this is a bad idea), it’s important that people know what the primary service is that you are offering (i.e. photography).

2. No Pricing Information

I know this one is a hot topic – whether you should have prices on your website or not. Especially with the recent obsession with “luxury”, many photographers are removing prices from their sites in order to appeal to a luxury clientele. However, as the editor of a wedding blog, I also know that many couples planning a wedding are overwhelmed. They are usually looking across multiple supplier websites (sometimes on the sly at work), and often, at this initial stage of research, they are looking at their options. There is also research that many Gen Z and Gen X couples won’t move further with vendors if they don’t get this information upfront on the website.

First impressions of your photography are important, but next is having all the information that they are looking for. If they can’t find what they need, they might move on to the next website. If you don’t want to have your full pricing information on your website, I think having at least a starting price means that couples can know instantly if you are in their budget.

I know one of the arguments against having a starting price is that it prevents people from contacting you if your prices are above their budget. But this can also work against you. If they can’t find a starting price on your website, they might not contact you because they assume you are out of their budget. I’ve found that having a starting price on my site filters out the really low budget enquiries that were very unlikely to book me anyway, and lets only couples who are serious about booking me come through.

3. Incoherent Branding

I think this can be a huge factor in why a potential couple might leave your website without booking. Your homepage needs to show a coherent brand, through your text and images just as much as in your logo and colour palette.

I’ve seen websites from photographers who claim to be “documentary style”, but their homepages primarily showcase staged moments, which can send mixed messages.

Likewise, an edgy logo and dark colour palette next to romantic light and airy images can be hard for people to understand. You need to make sure that every part of your branding & your message is telling the same story. Otherwise, it can be very confusing for potential clients.

4. No Clear Call To Action or Next Steps

Great. They’ve landed on your website, and they love your pictures. What next? Whilst it can be cute to have options like “let’s chat” or “your adventure starts here” instead of simply “contact me” or “book now”, you might actually be making things harder for people to take that next step to booking you.

Again, remember that lots of couples who are planning a wedding say that overwhelm is a real problem that they face. If they have made it as far as clicking on to your website, it should be super clear on how they can contact you and start the booking process.

5. Using “Photographer” Language

Before you were a photographer, did you know what reportage was or what a fine art photographer was? I know I didn’t when I was engaged and looking for a wedding photographer.

Most of your potential clients aren’t photographers either, and they don’t understand the difference between dark & moody, editorial, lifestyle, fine art or any other industry terms.

I had a couple say they loved my “editorial style” photography, which really confused me, as my work is not what the industry describes as editorial. After chatting with them, I found out that they meant candid, and they thought editorial was another term for candid/documentary style.

Speak to them in their language, and your message is much more likely to resonate with them. You don’t need to define your photography style with labels – if they like it, they’ll like it regardless of the terms you use to describe it.

^{Title image by Lisa from Pexels}