Wedding Planning Tips: Family Photo Shot List
Hi there! Thanks so much for joining me to learn more about how to prepare for your wedding day; family photos edition. We (Betsy and John) have photographed over 200 weddings and while each day is beautiful and unique, one thing is the same…family photos can be one of the most stressful part of the day if we aren’t prepared.
Everyone involved is a little preoccupied with other things, but still wants to get the best photos while their whole clan is looking sharp (understandably). Your photographer is on a serious time crunch, the newly married couple is ready to mingle with friends, parents of the bride and groom are likely trying to entertain guests and any kids involved probably missed nap time to be there.
Emotions tend to run high during the family photo portion of the day, but by creating a shot list in advance, you can ease tensions and create photos that you and your family will treasure for years to come.
What is a family photo shot list?
A family photo shot list is a list of all of the photo groupings you would like us (your photographers) to shoot on your wedding day. We won’t need a list of groupings for your bridal party or bride and groom photos (because these are pretty standard), but we likely don’t know your family or 100% understand your family dynamic, so it’s important to give us a shot list to ensure that you have photos with some of the most important people in your life and nobody gets missed! If you are having a super small, chill wedding, this may not be something you need to do. However, if you are having a traditional, larger wedding, it’s probably wise to create this list.
How do you come up with a family photo shot list for your wedding?
Creating this list may seem like a daunting task. But, as you’re thinking about which groupings to include, ask yourself these questions:
Which photos will we likely frame and want to see in our wedding album?
Which groupings are truly important to us, not just expected by others?
Who would we be bummed not to have a photo with months or years down the road?
How much time are we willing to set aside for this portion of the day?
Recommended Family Photo Shot List for Your Wedding Day:
Between gathering everyone involved, arranging family members, smoothing your train, and letting your photographer take several photos, you can estimate that each grouping will take two to five minutes to shoot depending on the photo.
Generally speaking, I feel that all the photos listed below will take approximately 45 minutes to one hour to photograph. Please keep in mind that not all these shots are necessary and we can always add to this list if you feel something is missing :)
BRIDE’S SIDE (please note, it’s helpful to include everyone’s names as well, so we can call them by name!)
Bride with mom
Bride with dad
Bride with both parents
Bride and groom with bride’s parents
Bride and groom with bride’s immediate family (bride’s parents, siblings, and siblings’ spouses and children)
Bride with siblings
Bride and groom with bride’s maternal grandparents
Bride and groom with bride’s paternal grandparents
GROOM’S SIDE
Groom with mom
Groom with dad
Groom with both parents
Groom and bride with groom’s parents
Groom and bride with groom’s immediate family (groom’s parents, siblings, and siblings’ spouses and children)
Groom with siblings
Groom and bride with groom’s maternal grandparents
Groom and bride with groom’s paternal grandparents
BOTH SIDES
Bride and groom with both sets of parents
Not seeing something on this list that you want? No worries! Adjust this list as you need. I recommend having no more than 20 groupings and * limiting your shot list to your immediate family and grandparents. This way, you can get your family photos done within an hour and enjoy your reception! Please note: we always try to get photos of each individual family (ie: your brother, his wife and their kids), but it’s not always possible. Please feel free to add those combinations to your list and we will do our best, time permitting!
EXTENDED FAMILY:
There are a lot of moving parts on a wedding day and sometimes, extended family photos can feel a little bit crazy. Trying to wrangle a large group of people who are ready to have fun and excited to be with their favorite people can be difficult! We consider extended family to be aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc, but sometimes this includes family friends as well! Here are some tips and things to consider if you are thinking about extended family photos for your wedding day.
If these photos are super important to you, don’t skip it! This is your day.
Extended Family photos don’t have to be formal photos taken after the ceremony. They can be taken casually during the reception.
If you do choose to do formal extended family photos we suggest the following:
Schedule them immediately after the ceremony before everyone heads to cocktail hour.
Warn everyone in advance that they need to stick around after the ceremony for family photos.
Have your officiant remind your guests that extended family needs to stay at the ceremony site for family photos at the end of your ceremony.
Provide your photographer with a list of family names to call out to make things go more quickly and efficiently.
Limit your groupings as much as possible. We suggest 4 large group photos: mother of the bride’s family, father of the bride’s family, mother of the groom’s family and father of the groom’s family.
Family is our number one.
Family is the most important thing in our lives and we are sure it’s up there in your book too. Every family is beautifully unique, not one looks the same. Some are traditional and others are made of friends who are so close that they might as well be family. No matter what your family looks like, we want to make sure to capture them in such a way that will bring joyful memories of them for years to come!
Was this helpful? Please feel free to reach out via email or our contact form if you need help or have any questions!
-Betsy