How to Easily Photograph Family Portraits on the Wedding day | Photographer Education | Wedding Planning
….I knew I had to write this blog post when a recent client of my mine (not a wedding client) expressed to me how disappointed she was that she didn’t have a photo of her and her mom on the wedding day. How does this happen?! Lack of preparation and planning can cause this…. however, don’t worry! I’m here to help! Above all, I’m here to help make the process easier!
It’s the wedding day and you have to plan the formal family portraits. These are the formal photos you grab of the immediate family. The photographs need to be more formal than just everyone being gathered on the dance floor having fun. For example, these are the photos of the bride and groom with their parents, both individual with them and as a group.
These photos often cause stress on the wedding day! …but they don’t have to! It just requires a little bit of preparation and having a plan on how to photograph family portraits on the wedding day.
Family formals are a must during the wedding planning process. Most importantly, Don’t wait until the wedding day to figure out what portraits and groupings will be needed. I’m going to share my process for photographing formal family portraits on the wedding day so that it’s stress-free and not a single photo is missed.
Tips + Tricks for Planning Formal Family Portraits on the Wedding Day
- Don’t leave the planning for the wedding day!
- Prior to the wedding day: Set up a time to talk with your bride / your photographer and get a list of family portraits that need to be photographed on the wedding day.
- Schedule Family portraits into the wedding day timeline. Immediate family portraits should be formal and not left to be done at the reception with dance lights in the background.
- Make a list… and check it twice 😉
- Have the second photographer arrange the groups while you are taking the photos to save time.
- Photographers: If you notice there is a photo missing, add it to the list! Oftentimes, couples will list parents but forget to ask for individual portraits of their parents with them for example!
Example List of Family Formals
Bride & Groom with Bride’s Immediate Family
B&G with Bride’s Parents
B&G with Bride’s Siblings
Bride with her Parents
Bride with Mom, Bride with Dad
B&G with Bride’s Grandparents
Couple with both sets of Parents
Bride & Groom with Groom’s Immediate Family
B&G with Groom’s Parents
Groom with his Parents
B&G with Groom’s Siblings
Groom with Mom, Groom with Dad
B&G with Groom’s Grandparents
B&G with all immediate family members present
