Group shots or family formals aren’t something that I display on my website that often. This results in me being asked if I do group shots, which I do! I actually think group shots are really important. It isn’t very often that all your family and friends are all in one place at the same time so weddings are a great opportunity to get some photographs of people you love standing next to you.
Chances are that if you’ve already booked me or are thinking about booking me for your wedding you haven’t made that decision because of my group shots. I’m at my best getting natural shots of your day, staying in the background for the majority of the time and photographing everything that’s going on around me. I completely appreciate how important group shots are though, this is why I do them, while making the process as quick and as fun as possible.
How we get them done quickly
Before your wedding I will ask you for a list of about six to eight group shots. I advise that you limit the amount of group shots mainly so that you and your guests don’t get bored! Each group shot can take around five minutes (sometimes more!), to organise. This is mainly down to guests being at the bar, in the toilet, checking into their room, etc. Time that’s taken organising and shooting group shots is time that is taken away from me getting natural images and even more importantly, it’s time taken away from you being able to spend time with your guests and eat the canapes you’ve paid for!
When we do your group shots
I always get group shots done as soon after your ceremony as possible, mainly to prevent people from wandering off to the bar etc! After your ceremony all your guests will usually go and give you a hug and congratulate you. After that we usually do the confetti shot (if you’re having one) and then we’ll do your group shots. The group shots are the only part of the day where I’ll be (very kindly) telling people what to do. After your group shots are done I go back to being in the background. I can be both loud and quiet when needed!
What order we do the shots in
After you’ve sent over your group shot list I then rearrange it to the best order for us to do the shots in. I always do the biggest shot first, for some people this is a big group shot of all their guests. If you do opt for a big group shot of everyone it is worth bearing in mind that this is the most time consuming shot we’ll get, however there is a benefit to it too. It means I have everyone’s attention and can ask everyone who are in the next shots to stay and let everyone else know they’re free to do as they wish.
As well as doing the biggest group shot first I also do any shots with young children, babies and grandparents at the start. Babies and young children generally don’t have very long attention spans so we do these as soon as we can and really quickly so we avoid boredom or tears! Some grandparents are more able than others but regardless, I always do this shot fairly soon in the line up so they don’t have to stand around waiting for too long. I also do any shots with grandparents in an easily accessible place so they don’t have to be climbing up and down steps.
Getting your wedding party in on the action
Before your wedding it would be brilliant if you could ask your best man or someone who knows your families well for help with rounding people up for group shots. I will generally print my list of group shots twice so that I can give a copy to someone in your wedding party so they can round people up for me while I’m shooting. This speeds the process along considerably and gives them something to do to keep them out of mischief!
Group shots are definitely an important part of most weddings days. Chances are even if you don’t want any, there will be a parent or grandparent who would like some. I always try to make them as efficient and as fun as possible. There’s never any super stiff posing, you can stand how you want and all you need to do is look at the camera and smile. This way we get them done really quickly, meaning you can get back to speaking to your guests and drinking prosecco!
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