Planning Your Shot List

How to get the most out of your wedding photos

Although most people kind of hate them, I know that a the family and group photographs are still a hugely important part for a lot of couples. I always try and make these as fun and relaxed as possible and I’ve written this post to try and help you get the best out of them.

 

Group Shot Tips

Let’s be honest, standing around posing is quite boring, so I do advise couples to keep their group shot list as short as possible so that you can get back to enjoying yourselves. On average you need to allow 2-5 minutes for each group photograph as it can take a while to gather people, longer if it’s raining! So it’s best to keep your list short and sweet. I recommend 8 max.

There’s no such thing as a standard wedding but a more common group shot list would look something like this:-

• All (Extended) Family
• The couple with Immediate Family 1
• The couple with Parents 1
• The couple with Immediate Family 2
• The couple with Parents 2
• The couple with any children or pets you may have
• The Best People
• Friendship group

Something along those lines shouldn’t take long and then everyone can get back to having fun!

Here are a few of my top tips to helping this part of the day run smoothly:

• Nominate one or two of your inner circle to be the ‘people gatherer’. Ideally they will know most of the guests and have a loud voice!
• Give them a copy of your wedding timeline and group shot list
• Plan to do the group shots early, before people wander off in different directions.
• Let your family know the plan. People are generally more obliging when they know it’s what you want and don’t think it’s just for me!
• You can start with a big group photo of everyone if you want to, but often if the weather is bad it can be hard to find a big enough indoor space, so be prepared that you may need to sacrifice this one.

If you want to make the group shots even more fun, you could keep back some confetti to use, do some shots together or buy smoke bombs (always recommend Enola Gaye), and make the most of the fun parts of your venue.

Confetti!

If you plan to have confetti then it’s definitely go hard or go home! I recommend taking loads, take the amount you think you’ll need and double it. Then add more! If there is any left can be used in your friend photos, couple photos and even on your dancefloor.  Go for bright colours, lightweight so it floats down rather than drops, and always biodegradable! I recommend Your Confetti. If you want my unique discount code – get in touch!

Let’s talk the ‘must have’ shots…

If there is a particular shot you absolutely MUST have then please tell your photographer beforehand. But do remember that there is only so much your photographer can control. With that in mind, when the celebrant announces the first kiss please please please hold your first kiss for a few seconds! And maybe go in for a second!

If you have booked me for your wedding (yay!), I do my best at every wedding to capture all the details, all of the ‘big’ moments (getting ready, exchanging the rings, the first kiss etc.) and all the little in between moments that make your day unique.

The Portraits…

Or as some of my couples like to call it, the best part of the day! Seriously! The wedding day can be overwhelming so it’s nice to have a little breather, I’ll make it fun and un-awkward, before going back ahead of you and giving you some much-needed alone time.

I will normally take you away for around 10-20 minutes after your group shots are done, and if we get a gorgeous sunset I will whip you back outside for 10 minutes in the evening for what will likely be the favourite images from the day! These images don’t have to take long and I won’t spend a lot of time posing you, just stand back and let you say “We did it!”.

I hope you find this useful when it comes to planning your shot list for the day, if you need a hand planning your shot list feel free to give me a shout!

Charlie x