WishSchool: Creating a formal portrait shot list
Lindsay & Sam’s bridal party poses for DC wedding photographer Greg Gibson
Have you created a formal photo ’shot list’ for your photographer yet? This list is a simple guide to help your photographer capture all the combinations of family portraits you want taken. Since they don’t know who your families are, a shot list can help keep things running smoothly and quickly. Besides, who wants to spend time getting formal photos taken by an unorganized photographer when they can be enjoying cocktail hour?
Here’s an example of a very simple, traditional, and basic shot list:
- Bride, Groom, Bride’s Parents, Bride’s siblings, Bride’s grandparents
- Bride, Groom, Groom’s Parents, Groom’s siblings, Groom’s grandparents
- Bride, Groom, Bridesmaids, Groomsmen
- Bride, Bridesmaids
- Groom, Groomsmen
- Bride, Groom
Of course you can augment this list any way you like! Have a bunch of sorority sisters who always get a group shot at every wedding? Or a special family friend who helped raise you? Maybe your parents or grandparents want a photo with just you and them. Add all the combinations you want but remember the longer your list, the less time you have to mingle with guests at the reception.
I prefer to get the family photos taken first, then the bridal party, then the bride and groom. This allows us to get the larger groups finished and sent off to the cocktail hour. Besides, the less people you have standing around and staring while you have photos taken the less stressed you’ll be!
Photographer Heather Z, lining up the family photo at Kirsten & Daniel’s wedding
Be sure you TELL YOUR GUESTS if they are to stay and get their photos taken. We recently had a couple who wanted some select guests to take photographs at the church after the ceremony ended. These poor guests had no idea and got on the buses with everyone else. While your coordinator or photographer can help gather family members and put them in order, we won’t recognize your aunts, uncles, and cousins to pick them out of a crowd.
Are there any photographers out there who have additional advice on creating a shot list? Please share your thoughts in our comments!
Tags: Advice, wishschool
August 12th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I totally agree with getting the shots with the most people done first. No one wants to wait around watching the photographer snap pictures of the couple first. Booooring.
I also would really really recommend sharing your shot list with your guests! If you know you want someone in your photos, send them the shot list so they know ahead of time which group will go first and which photos they need to be in. It really helps cut down the confusion rate and gets the group photos done faster = more fun at the cocktail hour.