How to create your List for Formal Family Photos
After having photographed so many weddings, we've learned that if there is one part of the day that feels most like hard work, it's the family photos 🤣. It's not easy keeping everyone attentive and in place during such an emotional day, but these are very important photos and we want to make sure we get through them quickly and efficiently so that you have more time to enjoy your wedding day! In the following paragraphs, we're going to include some tips and examples for creating a list of family photos for your wedding day.
To start, here's why you definitely want to have a list
- removes the pressure of figuring out combinations you would like
- making the list before the wedding means you get to tell everyone when and where they need to be for the photos so that they (hopefully) don't miss the photo
- helps get through the groupings much faster
- avoids having too many "cooks in the kitchen"
How much time do we need for family photos
Just like every family is unique, the amount of time needed for your family photos will be unique to your family. This will mostly depend on how many groupings you need.
- Typically, each grouping takes an average of 1 minute to call the names, arrange and photograph. Assuming everyone is present and cooperating, a 30 minute segment would give us about 30 photos. If you have a list and already know that you need 45 groupings, we'll need to allocate 45 minutes in the timeline. Once you have your list, we'll do a timeline review to make sure we've allocated the right amount of time.
- BEWARE OF PHOTO FATIGUE - When you’re sitting comfortably on your couch, it’s easy to get carried away with creating long lists of family photo combinations. But on the wedding day, standing in formal attire and smiling through 45+ groupings can feel overwhelming. We’ll follow your lead, but we also want to make sure you don’t get worn out with too many group photos.
USE FIRST NAMES
- THE MOST VALUABLE TIP we give for creating a list is that you use FIRST NAMES in each grouping. Calling out each person by first names is the best way to get them to respond and join the photo group. If we use terms like "mom, dad, siblings, cousins" it's more likely we won't be heard by the person that need to be in the photo
Lastly, the example below shows the format we need for the list you'll create. Be sure to group family units together to minimize movement and save time. For example, bride's immediate family (start with parents and siblings, then just parents, then just siblings). Then we can do the same with the groom's immediate family. Most importantly, create a list that represents your family. The example below is just an example but don't feel obligated to copy/replicate all the combinations.
INSTRUCTION: The list below is an EXAMPLE ONLY. Create a list with the family combinations you'd like and make sure to use FIRST NAMES, not relations like brother/sister/mom/dad
Bride + Groom Families Together
- Bride + Groom with bride + groom’s immediate family
- Bride + Groom with bride’s parents + groom’s parents
- Bride + Groom with bride’s siblings and groom’s siblings
Bride’s Family
- Bride + Groom with bride’s immediate family
- Bride + Groom with bride’s parents
- Bride with bride’s parents
- Bride’s parents together
- Bride + Groom with bride’s siblings
- Bride with siblings
Groom’s Family
- Bride + Groom with groom's immediate family
- Bride + Groom with groom's parents
- Groom with groom's parents
- Groom's parents together
- Bride + Groom with groom's siblings
- Groom with siblings