Wedding day: Tips for Family Portraits

Family portraits are one of the most structured portions of a wedding day. It requires planning and patience. That’s why I’m giving you a few tips for a successful family portrait session.

• Write it down – Create a bullet point list of each family grouping to be photographed. This serves as a checklist for your photographer during family portraits. I provide my clients a template portrait list so they have a framework when beginning to plan.
• Keep everyone informed – Once you’ve created your list, be sure to share it with the folks on the list. This helps manage expectations for your big day.
• Time management – If your list is on the longer side, consider doing a first look so that you can have either all, or most of your list photographed before the ceremony. If that’s not an option, consider having an extended cocktail hour so you can still enjoy cocktail hour with your guests.
• Note folks with additional assistance – If someone on your portrait list requires additional assistance, note it. It helps the photographer plan ahead if chairs are needed or if certain groupings need to be done before others.
• Assign a trusty person – I recommend assigning folks from your wedding party, who are not in the pictures, to help wrangle folks. If you don’t have a wedding party, find a trusty person who is willing to help.