It's no secret that family photos are rarely a bride and groom's favorite part of their wedding day. Not because they don't love their family or want to take photos with them, but because family photos are naturally a little chaotic!
As a photographer and recent bride, I understand both perspectives. Your wedding day is one of the only times ALL of your family on both sides is in the same place. It's truly such a rare and special occurrence. You don't want to walk away from your wedding day without getting photos with the ones you love because you got overwhelmed and rushed through them. That's where these tips can help!
Whether you're a bride, planner, or photographer, these 5 tips can be used by anyone to streamline family photos without it feeling chaotic and time consuming.
#1. KEEP IT SIMPLE
Try to keep your shot list below 20 combinations total. Even with large families, this is typically plenty to get everyone you love in photos without going overboard. Remember, you don't have to take an individual photo with each person (unless you just really want to!) By combining groups of siblings, cousins, and grandparents, you're able to capture the moment together without making family photos feel like a meet & greet.
#2. HAVE A DETAILED SHOT LIST
I ask all of my brides to list out everyone's first names when making their shot list. When you have a group of 10+ people, calling out "dad" may not get someone's attention. There might be 4 people in the group who are "dad" to someone! However, if I call out "Joe" then Joe's ears are naturally going to perk up because he heard his name. This seems like such a simple tip, but in a large group it can truly make such a difference! Plus, as a wedding photographer, we don't always know who is who, so this eliminates lots of potentially awkward moments.
#3. DESIGNATE SOMEONE TO CALL OUT COMBINATIONS
Whether it's your coordinator, maid of honor, or second shooter (if you're a photographer), make sure you designate someone to be calling out names and gathering up the next group. This keeps things moving and eliminates a lot of time spent standing around while trying to find people!
#4. MAKE A GROUP CHAT
A few weeks before my own wedding, I made a big group chat and added every single person who needed to be there for family photos. I sent out what time they needed to be there, the address of the venue, where to park, and where to meet. By making a groupchat it not only saved me from having to communicate the same info 15 different times, but it was also extremely helpful the day of. When people had questions about where to meet, they could easily find it because that chat wasn't used for anything except for this one situation! Plus, if someone needed to ask a question, there were 14 other people who could help answer it so Jake and I could be 100% away from our phones on our wedding day and not worry about it.
#5. TELL THEM IT STARTS 20 MINUTES BEFORE IT DOES
As a photographer, I can't tell you how many times we've only been able to get halfway through the family shot list and had to rearrange the entire timeline on a whim because people were running late. It's not the end of the world, but it's not ideal (and it's an easy fix!) I always recommend my brides tell their families what time to be at the venue rather than what time photos start and give a 20-30 minute buffer (depending on how punctual your family is), in between the two. This gives everyone enough time to park, find their way in, and even visit for a few minutes before it's time to start.
I use all of these tips every time I shoot a wedding these days, and I'm typically able to get through an entire family shot list in about 10-15 minutes! I always block off at least 30 minutes for family photos no matter what, so by having a smooth process while shooting I'm able to allot more time for my couples to slow down and visit with their closest family members for a while. Wedding days can fly by, and I never want my couples to look back and wish they had taken a few more moments to talk to their grandparents, see their cousins, or just soak it all in.
