Yet, while the Family Pictures are important, you should keep in mind that there are bigger fish to fry, namely the Bride & Groom’s Shots (with the Wedding Party Photography sandwiched in between).   So, my goal as the Wedding Photographer is to get the Family Shots done as quickly as possible.  Under the best circumstances, they are a breeze.  Conversely, they can be maddening (mostly for the Couple).

Firstly, you have to decide where to do the Family Shots.  If your ceremony and reception are in one location, it’s a non-issue.  If not, then you usually have a couple of choices: (1) doing them at the ceremony site; (2) doing them at the park.

If there is a spot at the ceremony site, that is ideal because (1) everyone, including and especially the elderly members of the families, are already there.  Some elderly family members cannot make the trek into a park; (2) if the pix are to be taken at another location, such as a park, everyone is required to find their way there – which can take a lot of time and can result in some people getting lost – which can be a real problem if a missing or late person is someone important, like the Groom’s father.

If the Family Pix only include the immediate families it should be a simple endeavor.  If there are large families, including cousins and aunts and uncles, then there is one item that in my books is essential for the Family Pix to not become annoying and prolonged:  A List with all the shots.  Why is this important?  You’ll have 25-40 people standing around waiting for their turn.  If you don’t have a list you’ll have any number of people giving suggestions as to what picture to take next (and it’s amazing how often the most irritating member of the family – irritating to the family itself – chimes in with their opinions, which stresses everybody out – especially the Bride and Groom).  Meanwhile, it ends up taking too much time, which makes the waiting people restless.  That’s when people disappear – to go to the bathroom, to have a cigarette, to go and get something from the car, to get out of the heat, etc.  All of this can be a serious waste of time, which can affect the amount of time there is to get the Bride and Groom’s shots – by far the most important shots.  In addition, any occasion on the Wedding Day that the schedule is running late is a cause for stress, which the Bride usually seems to take on more than anyone else.  Remember, “Happy Bride, Happy Day”.

Now you might be wondering if having the List somehow limits the scope of the pictures.  Absolutely not.  The List is not carved in stone, but having it as a foundation to work from, there is always room for additional spontaneous shots that had not been thought of earlier.

With respect to the List itself, I recommend starting with one side of the family, let’s say the Groom’s side, ending with his parents.  With his parents still there, we segue to the other side of the family, starting with the Bride’s parents – for the dual parents shot – then move into her side of the family.

One final note about the List.  It must be in the hands of a trusted and capable person.  This person is preferably someone who knows almost everyone (like the Bride’s sister) and who is not timid.  They need to be even-keeled, yet bold, because it can be quite chaotic with so many people milling about.

And that’s the story for Family Pictures.

Too see some of my Wedding and Family Pictures CLICK HERE

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