Group Shot Tips on your Wedding Day

The groups shots can be an absolute pain in the arse on a wedding day, but using these Group Shot Tips on your wedding day can help make your life so much easier.

Formal family photos are one of those parts of a wedding day that matter a lot, but can also feel a bit chaotic if no one’s thought it through properly.

You’ve got big families, random relatives wandering off, family dynamics doing their thing, and about seventeen people all asking what’s happening at once. So yeah, it can get a little messy.

Usually family photos happen straight after the ceremony, once everyone’s had a hug, a kiss, a cry and a quick congratulations. And while it’s not the most glamorous part of the day, it doesn’t need to be stressful either.

Here’s some group shot tips to help you get through it without it turning into a full-blown shitshow.

Don’t stress about the photo location

You really don’t need to worry about where we’re doing family photos. I’ll sort that.

I’ll find a spot near the ceremony or church with nice even light and a background that isn’t too busy or distracting. You do not need to be walking around scouting locations for formal family photos. I’ve got it.

If your family is complicated, make a list

And by complicated, I mean divorces, people not speaking, new partners, old tension, all the usual family stuff.

If that sounds even slightly familiar, write a list of the groupings you want. It makes things so much easier and helps make sure we get the right combinations without awkward guesswork on the day.

You can shoot it over to me in an email or via WhatsApp if you want, so everyone knows exactly when they’re needed and who’s meant to stick around.

Get photos with and without partners

If your siblings have partners but they’re not married, I always recommend getting one photo with them and one without them.

Not because I’m trying to curse anyone’s relationship, obviously. But if they do break up later, you’ll be very glad you’ve got a clean family photo without an ex in it.

I’ve had to Photoshop exes out before and let me tell you, it’s a pain in the arse. Sometimes it works, sometimes it really doesn’t.

Nominate a few people to help round everyone up

This one makes a huge difference.

Ask your bridal party, best man, or a couple of loud confident family members to help gather the right people for each photo. Because as much as I’d love to pretend I know who everyone is, I absolutely do not.

One of the biggest things that slows family photos down is trying to find missing people. There’s always one uncle at the bar, one cousin in the bathroom, one sibling who’s somehow vanished. Having a few helpers means we keep things moving and don’t waste time yelling names into the void.

Let me be the one taking the photos

There’s nearly always an aunty or uncle who wants to stand next to me and take the exact same photo on their phone or camera.

I get it. They mean well. But it really slows everything down.

The biggest issue is that people stop knowing where to look. Even when I’m clearly saying “everyone look at me,” there’ll still be someone staring off at Uncle Bob’s iPad. That’s how you end up with half the group looking in different directions.

The easiest thing is just to let me take the photo, and then your family can get copies from you later.

Work out the timing properly

A good rule of thumb is about three minutes per photo combination.

So if you’ve got ten different family groupings, you’re looking at roughly half an hour. That’s usually a pretty accurate guide and it helps with planning your timeline without squeezing everything too tight.

If you don’t have a list, that’s totally fine too. Don’t panic.

I can usually run through the standard combinations in my head and keep things moving. But if you’ve got specific people or family situations I need to know about, a list is always helpful.

This is generally the flow I work through, and you can tweak it however you need to suit your family:

• Bride and Groom with bride’s parents

• Bride and Groom with bride’s parents and siblings

• Bride and Groom with bride’s parents, siblings and grandparents

• Bride and Groom with bride’s extended family

• Bride and Groom with both sets of parents

• Bride and Groom with groom’s parents

• Bride and Groom with groom’s parents and siblings

• Bride and Groom with groom’s parents, siblings and grandparents

• Bride and Groom with groom’s extended family

About the big group photo with everyone

The massive full wedding guest photo always a little bit... meh.

First of all, It disrupts the flow of the day and I promise you, everyone would much much rather be propping up the bar.

Second, there often isn’t much space, especially around church grounds or ceremony venues.

And third, even when it all comes together, it’s usually not the strongest photo. If there are 40 to 200 people in it, you’ll clearly see the people in the front, you might see the second row well enough, and everyone behind that just kind of blends into the background.

However, the large groupshot is the single best way to round everyone up for the smaller group shots. I'd get everyone to do the big group shots and while everyone is in situ, I'll call out the names of all those in the smaller shots so we can get them done as quickly as possible.

Personally, I’d much rather spend that time taking smaller group photos of your guests, like your school friends, uni mates, work crew, cousins, whatever. Those photos usually feel more relaxed, more fun, and way more meaningful.

Don't get me wrong, if it's something you want, I'll get my big-boy pants on and make sure everyone knows what we're doing, but this is just something to bare in mind!

Sound's like a plan?

If you’re looking for a wedding photographer who’ll keep the group shots quick, relaxed and as painless as possible, get in touch. I’ll help you plan it all properly so on the day, you can get the photos done and get back to actually enjoying yourselves.