How to shoot the less-than-spontaneous moments of the day - "The Formals"

[Read Time < 7 minutes]

As a wedding photojournalist, my sweet spot is capturing those natural, spontaneous, and priceless moments of the day.  

Shooting the groups and the more formal posed photos was my least favorite part of my day.

I could not wait to get back to the "real" wedding where nothing was posed and those elusive magic moments were waiting for me and my camera.

This may be what I preferred, but like everything, reality always takes center stage, and I still had to face the fact that the formals are, and will always be, an essential part of the day.

After the artistically private moments of the preparation and the untouched purity of the ceremony, the time will inevitably come for the posed photos - family, wedding party, more family, the couple, and then more family and then the couple by themselves.

I won't lie, if you feed off of the pure creativity of photography, the posed group photos can feel soul-crushing, to say the least.

I've felt it, and you'll feel it too, but there is a solution.

This issue will help rid you of the negative mindset and guide you through an actual system to make this entire process easier.

And before you scoff at the melodrama, let me say with all honesty that I wish someone told me what I'm about to tell you.

It would have saved me hundreds of hours of angst and hundreds of days of relaying this angst to my wife, who had to endure it all (God bless her!).

I'm not going to tell you that the group photos are fun, and you already know they are required, but just because you must do something that isn't necessarily creative, it doesn't mean it isn't important - and there are ways to still make it fun.

Despite the fast-changing values of the new generations, there will always be a desire for "team photos."

I call them this because that's how I want you to look at them from now on.

The rest of the day is "the game," and as it should be, it's filled with action - some fast-moving, some slower. You have players on the bench strategizing before a big moment. Other players are loose and laughing because they have a huge lead and know they're winning (good news - at a wedding, the home team always wins). And all day long, there's action on the field with players constantly moving.

I think you get the game metaphor by now.

But there's also the other side - the team photos. Everyone is arranged nicely - clean uni's and all looking at the camera. This is an important moment because at any time in the future, when someone wants to see who was there, how old they looked, and what they were wearing, this is the official photo of record, nicely lit with everyone in focus.

Sure, the team photo doesn't have a lot of emotion, but let's be honest with ourselves. At some point, someone will look at these photos and realize many of the players in the photo are no longer here. There's even a good possibility that someone in the photo might be the only one alive when looking at it. This is sobering but true. And this is why these photos are important. They are a part of history.

Once I matured as a photographer and a man and stopped being such a poop about these photos, a funny thing happened. The photos got better, and I started to enjoy them.

I didn't LOVE them, but I enjoyed them more and got better at taking them.

When you can tell your couple that the "family photos" will be done in 30 minutes, you're going to be a hero, and if you think this is also a nice differentiator between you and other photographers, you are correct!

Now, here's a quick caveat. As much as you communicate with the bride and groom beforehand and get their approval with the family and group photos they want, there's always a chance for a curveball to be tossed in (or an interception if you prefer football).

One of the moms (could be from either side) will ask for "a big family shot" that typically involves about 5-10 minutes of setup for that one shot alone. Be prepared for this!

If you're prepared and it doesn't happen, consider that bullet dodged. If the request is made, you're ready mentally and logistically (light, lens, etc.), and you're a hero for making this happen as fast and efficiently as possible.

My best recommendation when this happens is simple - Breathe slowly, then start gathering the families in their respective "family units," keeping kids with parents and husbands with wives.

Warning - people wander easily, so you'll have to use your outdoor voice and be bold with your directions.

This is a great time to whip out those pithy little lines to get everyone moving and organized. Here are a few of mine you can borrow.

• "I missed the family reunion this year so do me a favor and group into your smaller family units for me please."

• "OK, who owns this young lad?"

• "Alright, young lady (I say this to anyone over the age of 60), is there a guy you're sweet on at the moment, or are you flying solo tonight?"

There will always be a single man or woman in the group, so you can use them to fill out tricky spaces or balance the lopsided families.

Keeping your head during this stage isn't always easy, but it is always necessary. People remember when "the photographer lost their cool." Be cool, be kind, and be quick because the bride and groom have to endure this human jigsaw puzzle-building, and all they want to do is go and party.

And as another nugget of reality-facing news - shooting the couple is almost always last, so even when you're done with your kitten-wrangling affair, you still have to get them together by themselves, get them back into a loving moment to shoot their official bride and groom photos.

It's a dance, much like the entire wedding day so it's important to be nimble on your feet and be comfortable with the basic steps (I know. so. many. metaphors).

I like systems. Anytime I have to do something three or more times, I create a system to make it run smoother.

This is the system I use at every wedding to shoot the "core group photos."

If my bride doesn't have a preference around what kind of group shots, this is what I show her, and about 90% of the time, we stick to this.

The nice part about this system is that it allows the groups to flow easily and efficiently from one to the next.

Are you ready for it? Here we go!

1. B&G with Pastor or Officiant - best to do this first so you can let them go and focus on the wedding party & family

2. Just the Girls - (with and without the junior bridesmaids and flower girls) - group shot and then the bride with each attendant - this is also a good time to include other people like moms and helpers

3. Just the Guys (with and without the ushers and ring bearer) - group shot and groom with each guy

4. B&G with the Full Wedding Party (after this, the non-family members can leave, and they will THANK you for this)

5. B&G with the bride's immediate family (with and/or without Grandparents)

6. B&G with the bride's parents (the rest of the family leaves, and just the parents stay)

7. B&G with both sets of parents (bring in the groom's folks)

8. B&G with the groom's parents (the bride's parents leave and the groom's stay)

9. B&G with Groom's Immediate Family (with and/or without Grandparents)

10. If there are other family shots, insert them here (big family, favorite cousins, etc)

11. B&G together (it's important to shoo everyone out so the couple can get back together and just be alone. This will calm them and make them feel more lovie-dovie, which will make for better photos)

12. Off to the reception (perhaps a few of the B&G together at the reception site or location on the way if desired)

See how this flows from little to big to little and back again? I know this is a simple system, but I've watched wedding photographers let the family decide what to do next, and it looked like a blindfolded square dance with people moving every which way.

Not pretty.

There’s one more part that deals with the actual grouping of your groups, but that can wait for another time. I recommend looking at other group shots and modeling your groups off of theirs. There are a few ways to do it so I’ll let you choose the one you like best.

And that is the long and longer of shooting family and group photos. I never imagined it would take this long to explain, but hopefully, it gave you a little appreciation for the less-than-exciting but oh, so important part of the day.

And if you want to make this even more fun, try getting it done as quickly as possible without looking like you're rushing.

Have fun!

PS,

This situation is a great example of what I call the inner game of wedding photography.

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