Friday 10 July 2015

Artistique Photography by Nicolette - Family Portraits after the Ceremony

 
Artistique Photography by Nicolette
 
Family Portraits after the Ceremony
 
 
After the Wedding Ceremony, I like to capture a large group photo of the Bridal Party with all guests.  I take quite a few photos and make sure all guests can see the camera, otherwise I can’t see them!  It is important a few photos are taken of very large groups because someone is usually looking away, scratching their head, blinking or doing other things! I like to get the group participating for a few fun shots as well.  After the group photo I capture formal family portraits.  It can be a rather terrifying thought for the bride and groom to have photos with 4 – 54 of their family members, but it doesn’t need to be!
I have listed some important points regarding family portraits:
 
1.     LISTS – You need to have a list.  It’s very important you have certain members of your family in your photos.  I like to give my brides a “Shot List”, so they can take time to think about who they would like a photo with and why.  Family photo styles vary – whilst some couples don’t want any family photos, some want photos with each family member, but usually couples will fall somewhere between the two.
 
2.     ASSIGN someone to be in charge.  Select someone who doesn’t mind calling out names and rounding family members up – usually a bossy member of the family is a good choice!  I also have my Photography Assistant help call out names and gather people as well.
 
3.     TIMING – Most Wedding Ceremonies run for approximately 20 – 25mins after which the newlyweds are introduced and greeting the newlyweds takes place.  This may last for 20 minutes (depending on the number of guests it can vary).  5-10 minutes is needed to gather all guests for the group photo and after this I announce the formal family portraits will now take place, allowing 15 – 20 minutes for family portraits, but this can vary depending on the size of the family and whether the couple would like photos with all family members.  I always work out a timeline with my couples running from start of ceremony to end of bridal party location photos.
 
4.     HAVE FUN – I find that most couples like to have the traditional formal family portraits as they like their photos to look presentable in their album, and not to date over time, but that doesn’t mean to say you can’t still have some fun, by taking a couple of versions of each photo!
 
 
5.     LATE family members – All families have members who are always chronically late!  I have seen many Wedding Ceremonies held up due to late arrival of family members.  This makes less time for formal portraits after the ceremony.
 
6.     CHILDREN – If children are in your wedding party, be prepared to be a little more patient and hold that smile a little longer!  I take extra photos where children are in the group and sometimes someone will be standing directly beside me making silly noises and faces, but if they don’t want to look at the camera then they won’t.  I like to capture portraits where children are required, early on as they get bored and may get tired if they are very young.
 
 
I hope you have enjoyed these tips and I will write another blog on Bridal Party Portraits.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Artistique Photography by Nicolette
Central Coast, NSW, Australia.


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