Ashley Jade Photography | #ashleyjadeweddings
Have you ever been in the family pictures at a wedding? I’m talking about the time after the ceremony, when the photographer is trying to capture images of the bride and groom with all the different family members. Things can get pretty chaotic during this time. And the more chaos there is, means the pictures take longer to capture, and the chances of missing family members increases!
But, what if we could prepare ahead of time? With a family formal shot list, we can make this part of the day go faster and run smoother! About a month before the wedding, I have my couples start working on this list. This shot list tells me all the names of the different family members and helps me organize the images so that they flow efficiently. On the day of, I can work with my second shooter check off images, tracks down family members, and gets each family grouping ready. Then all I have to worry about is positioning everyone and taking the pictures! I can get through all of the family formal pictures in just 15 minutes if planned correctly.
Below is an example of a simply family formal shot list:
- B&G with Bride’s Immediate Family (parents, siblings, Grandpartens, nieces, nephews)
- B&G with Bride’s Parents
- B&G with Bride’s Siblings
- B with Parents
- B with Mom, B with Dad
- B&G with Bride’s Grandparents
- B&G with both sets of parents
- B&G with Groom’s Immediate Family (parents, siblings, Grandpartens, nieces, nephews)
- B&G with Groom’s Parents
- B&G with Groom’s Siblings
- G with Parents
- G with Mom, G with Dad
- B&G with Groom’s Grandparents
- B&G with all Family Members if time allows
Some Extra Tips
Include the names of each family member next their title (example – Bride with Mom (Rose), Bride with Dad (Jeff)) This will helps me track down the correct family members on the day of.
I suggest limiting this list to immediate family members and close extended family. This will help make sure there is still enough time for your bride and groom images. Any extra large family shots that you want, can be accomplished at the reception.
It may help to let family members know ahead of time that they will need to stick around after the ceremony for pictures. I can say that we have spent time trying to track down family members only to find out that they already left because they didn’t know they were going to be in any photos.