If you have visited my home page or met with me in person, you know that capturing your family on wedding day is important to me. We love getting the candids and that is always in the plan, so count on that. The more formal group pictures can have challenges however. I’ve seen couples get very stressed because it’s simply tough to corral large groups of people together in a short amount of time. It’s not anyone’s fault as family members are simply not aware of time constraints. It’s understandable.

When you and I work together as a team, your family group photos will be done quickly and efficiently and everyone will look great together. And you too can have a carefree laugh like Ashley and Terry in the picture above. :)

Without further delay, here are my top 5 tips for stress free family photos at wedding:

Tip 1: Have family members aware and ready at the designated time and location for pictures.  Tell them it’s important to you that they be in these pictures. Tell them twice and then tell them twice again. Assigning a friend to aid in retrieving people is recommended.

Tip 2: Let’s do everything we can to get all family group pictures done before the reception to avoid disruption of the party. The reception venue is usually the most difficult spot to locate, organize, and pose groups.

Tip 3: Factor in extra time for large groups. Group photos of 25 or more people may need to be photographed in a non traditional manner (such as shot from above with photographer on ladder) depending on location. 

Tip 4: Be aware of time restrictions your church or venue may have after the ceremony. Try to keep the variations of groups to a minimum to avoid running out of the allotted time allowed.  Each grouping may take 5 minutes or more to set up, light and pose with another 2 minutes of multiple shots to prevent eyes closed, etc.

Tip 5: While family pictures are typically done immediately after the ceremony, some clients choose to get them done beforehand and this has worked extremely well, so consider doing this if your timeline allows for it.

Bonus tip: Small children get scared to death of large groups of adults yelling at them to smile, smile, smile. Let’s assign one family member to stand right behind me to call out to the kids and get them to look toward the camera.

Bonus tip #2: While wedding party group shots are not technically family pictures, often times the flower girls and ring bearers are. I suggest getting a wedding party group photo with the kids first and before we leave for another destination. This way the children can get a nap in or get some food in them if needed.

I hope you find all of these tips helpful. Let me know via the Contact Form if you have any other questions or suggestions about family group photos on your wedding day.