When it comes to weddings, the most important part of the day is taking beautiful photos that capture all the love and joy you and your partner are feeling. However, it’s also important you capture photos of all the people who made your wedding day possible. That’s why we’re here to tell you why creating a wedding photography family photo shot list in advance is so important in capturing the loved ones closest to you!

Why Create a Shot List?

Creating a shot list for your wedding photographer will help them stay organized on the big day, ensuring that everyone gets their photos taken efficiently. A quick and efficient family session means that couples will have more time spent with each other after and less time waiting around while the photographer tries to wrangle the crowd.

In addition, having a shot list helps couples ensure they don’t miss any key family members or combinations when it comes time for photo-taking.

Pro-Tip: Give your family a heads up on where and when to report in order to ensure everything continues to flow smoothly. If Aunt Sue and Uncle Joe don’t realize they’re on your shot list, they may head out of the ceremony and right over to the cocktail reception without giving it a second thought!

How Do I Create a Shot List?

The first step in creating a shot list is deciding which combination of photos you want to take. Think about the key family members or loved ones that will be there on your special day, then decide which combinations or individuals you would like photographed together. Once you have this list figured out, and we recommend 10-15 groups max, arrange it from largest groupings down to smallest (per family) and include your names too — this will help your photographer call out each grouping by their names (and not title, like Aunt, Uncle, Cousin), instead of having everyone guess what combination should be taken next.

Too, once certain family members’ photos are complete, they can be dismissed to the cocktail reception!

Pro-Tip:

Keep the list short and of maximum importance (about 12 groupings)! There is typically only 1-hour between ceremony and reception to capture family photos (2-3 minutes per grouping, ~30-35 minutes for 15 groups), wedding party photos (if there was no first look prior), and Couples Photos (~20 minutes). The longer the family photo list is, the less time we have with just you and your spouse to capture those artsy shots every couple loves!

Shot List Example:

All:
Lisa, Brian, Connie, Lee, Tony, Nancy, Charles, Brittany, Allison
Lisa, Brian, Connie, Lee, Tony, Nancy

Bride’s Side:
Lisa, Brian, Connie, Lee, Charles, Brittany
Lisa, Brian, Connie, Lee
Lisa, Brian, Charles, Brittany

Groom’s Side:
Lisa, Brian, Tony, Nancy, Allison
Lisa, Brian, Tony, Nancy
Lisa, Brian, Allison

Bow Tie Photo & Video in St Augustine, Florida provides unique and memorable photography services for couples and families celebrating the special occasion of two families joining together.

Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help you capture these precious moments.