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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