Planning for the Best: Family Portraits

Many couples I work with are most attracted to my work because of the candid moments I document, and the relaxed, storytelling they see in my images. When we first meet, we talk about the look, and feel and what they’re looking forward to most about the wedding day. In the scheme of what couples are looking forward to most about their wedding day, standing around for formal portraits doesn’t rate highly. Believe me, I totally get that. My attention span for posing for portraits when I’m in front of the camera is about as long as my dog’s- unless you have peanut butter, then she’ll go for a lot longer.

The good news is that this part of the day doesn’t have to be long or stressful. My goal is to make the family portraits fast, beautiful and painless. In this post, I’ll go over some ways to make this possible on your wedding day.

Throughout the years that I’ve been photographing weddings, I’ve realized more and more how important family portraits are on the wedding day. The photographs I’ve taken are proudly displayed on mantles, walls, and in albums. They’ve been sent overseas to family members who were not able to make the trip. They’ve also been featured at wakes and funerals for grandparents, parents and other loved ones who have passed on. This isn’t the most creative part of the wedding day, and I don’t want to take up a large portion of your day with portraits, but I recognize that it is just as important as the evocative, nuanced portrait of you and your new spouse, or that crazy freestyle on the dance floor.

Here are some tips to help you have beautiful family portraits on your wedding day that don’t take forever:

1) Ask your photographer where they’d recommend doing the portraits. He or she has an eye for light, and backgrounds that work best. Stay flexible too if they find an even better, more convenient spot on the day of the wedding. If you are doing a first look, and having the portraits before the ceremony, they might suggest some place near the first look spot. If you are doing some portraits after the ceremony, I always suggest someplace close to the ceremony location. Everyone is already assembled, and you won’t lose anyone in traffic getting to the next location. Remember to keep in mind simple transportation is a big plus for all of the people in the portraits if you are traveling to another location for the photographs.

2) Make a list of specifically who is in which group photo. I ask my couples and their families to come up with this list since everyone’s family is totally different! Share this with your photographer, and ask if they have any recommendations to help this run more smoothly. Remember, if you don’t want to spend much time taking family portraits, the first step is keeping your list short. Ask your photographer early on in the planning process how long this list will take to photograph. You’ll want to have your timeline still a bit flexible at this point in case your wedding photographer says the list will take more time than you think. I use the formula of three minutes per group, and multiply that by the number of groups to estimate how much time it will take. (ex. Ten groups takes thirty minutes) Larger groups take longer (10 minutes or so) and small groups, take less time, but it all averages out.

3) Once you’ve ironed out the details with your photographer, make sure to tell each person on the list that they are expected to be in photos, when these photos will take place, and roughly where. Telling them before the wedding day is best so they can plan when to be ready.

4) Designate someone from each of your and your spouse’s families to wrangle and help herd the cats you call your extended family. I’ve found that siblings, or aunts/uncles work great for this job! Your parents are likely in Host mode, and if they venture into cocktail hour looking for cousin Timmy, they’ll want to be gracious and talk with everyone they encounter. And, Uncle Billy, we promise you can get a beer in 10 minutes. Just hold tight for a sec.

5) Respectful, and cooperative groups help this part of the day go smoothly and quickly. We know you’re all super excited to see each other, and we are excited for you! The photographs can go pretty quickly if everyone pays attention for that small part of the day. As soon as it’s done, we step back to documenting the candid moments, and let you enjoy your party!

Lastly, when you make room in your schedule and relay the message to your parents, siblings and bridal party that the family portraits will be relaxed, and organized, it opens up possibilities for genuine, candid moments of joy between the people in the photographs. Some of my favorite photographs are in-between the posed portraits. It’s easy to get swept up in the “to-do’s” and the worries, but if you find yourself getting anxious or stressed, close your eyes and take a deep breath. The people surrounding you love you, and are excited to celebrate this marriage with you! Let that joy back in, trust that your photographer has this herd of cats under control and get ready to dance the night away!