Doing family photos on your wedding day after your ceremony doesn’t need to be an overwhelming experience! We have all been to a wedding where this part of the day took too long with many combinations of the same photos. Quite often on the day couples will ditch their original list or skip a few groups just to get it over and done with. It doesn’t need to be this way though, there are things we can do to prepare so it goes smoothly and quickly!
Quick Tips for your family and group photos on your wedding day
We will need 2 people to help with family photos - one person who can call out from the list and one person to be a runner/find people, while I'm photographing. You might like to have one helper from each side of your family.
I recommend including the individual names of the people in each group photo so no one gets missed (I can't photoshop people into photos if they are missed on the day)
You may like to take photos with grandparents or any children first so they can relax afterwards
I recommend no more than 25 groups. 15 groups is an easy amount to get through, any more than this and it can become overwhelming for couples on the day.
WRITE A LIST OF GROUPS/BE SPECIFIC
It can help to write down the names of everyone in each group so they can be read out on the spot and we can check to make sure no one is missing (it’s never a great feeling as a photographer knowing that someone important was left out of a photo when we had no idea they were missing). If your venue allows for pets, add your doggo to the list! Keep your combinations to no more than 25 groups (this seems like a lot of photos but it can quickly add up when you start to look at your guest list and make decisions for this part of the day).
ASSIGN HELP, WE CAN MAKE THIS QUICK!
Prior to the day assign some help for this part of the day so we can efficiently take family photos. I recommend having one person read from your list of groups, calling out names (while your photographer is taking photos) and a second person who can be a runner to find people. This could be an MC or a family member so they are familiar with everyone on the list. It’s a good idea to ask people who are confident, if your venue has a microphone reading the names out loud can be a quick way to gather people and get their attention.
ONE LARGE GROUP PHOTO
If you would like one big group photo of everyone, do this first before guests spread out across your venue area. The bonus of having Karl with me for weddings (my husband who does videography) is he can sometimes take your large group photo using his drone which makes a great image where everyone can be seen. This bonus service isn’t included in every job we do, it is weather-dependent and only if you have videography booked. Here is an example of a drone photo versus a photo I have taken standing on a large ladder (supplied by a venue).
ORDER STRATEGICALLY
First do your big group photo with all the guests as mentioned in the previous paragraph, followed by any images with grandparents or children. Then work through one side of the family, then the other. Try to move people around as little as possible.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
For our own wedding we made it really simple and had basic combinations with no double-ups. It was more important to spend time with our family than overdo it with multiple photos with the same people. I highly recommend approx 15 groups if you want to keep this easy and spend less time on these.