When I talk to my clients about what part of the day they are most excited for, most often than not they say the reception or seeing each other for the first time. Or more often than not, just to get it over with! With that said, the least common response is the family photo part. This comes as no surprise because we dread taking and organizing that part of our big day, but we cherish them and value them. To help I tell my brides to prioritize and organize before the day even begins!
So how can we do this?
- Start with a Shot List: Make a shot list of all of the photographs and groupings you can think of, but keep in mind there may not be time, or the realistic expectation of getting every single one. I send out a generic shot list for my brides to look over, but that is just a starting point. When you think you have completed it, HIGHLIGHT the MOST important photographs you want with your family at your wedding. Ask yourself, would you be disappointed if you didn’t have this photo? Ie: Bride with Grandmother of Bride. Bride and Groom with Brides parents. Bride with Grooms Parents. Bride with her Godfather because he was like a second father, etc.
- How long is your list? After you have compiled that and highlighted the most important ones, I am sure it still is quite large. If not, you are doing great and it will benefit you. If so, you may have to do some weeding out. This is why I always tell my brides to start with a large list and highlight the ones they would be disappointed if they didn’t get. Keep in mind that each photograph can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes to arrange, depending on how cooperative the subjects are. Addup how many groupings or shots you have and then multiple that by 4 (as a low average) how much time is that eating up? Now ask yourself, does this leave you with enough time for what you want to do after family portraits? Are the family portraits more important than the bridal party or couple portraits? If so, cutting out some time or shots might be ok with you, but make sure you take note of what is a priority for you.
- Narrow it down. With your large list, if you estimated this may take too much time, decide “which of these photographs have to be done by my professional photographer? You may have already narrowed all this down in step one, but take note of what you would be ok with a friend of family member capturing on their phone/camera maybe during cocktail hour or at the reception.
- Hopefully by now your list is more manageable!
My final suggestion is to keep individual groupings minimal by having the bride and groom pose together with the group in as many photographs as possible. There may be times where it may be important to you to just have the bride, or just the groom, but most want the image of both of you together. By keeping those separations at a minimum, it will speed things up!
At the end of the day, every couple has different prioritize and different sized families and dynamics. Photographers also do things in a different order or way, but make sure you communicate with your photographer on what is right for you. You are hiring your photographer out and that is an investment, so make sure that investment is working for you the best as possible instead of wasting time and money. At the end of the day, I am hired by you, and If you want me standing around for 2 hours photographing nothing but family groupings let’s go! But if that is not your intention let’s get that list narrowed down and prioritize what’s the most important!
