One of the biggest questions I get with regards to photography is whether the bride and groom really need a shot list or not, and what the best plan is to get through the formals would be.  What do you do if the formals are outdoors in the middle of summer in a hot place (like the dessert or Palm Springs!!!)???.  So what’s the best plan to maximize your pictures, but at the same time keep your bridal party happy (and smiling!!!).  First and foremost… the best piece of advice I can give my summer couples are to bring water for everyone.  Trust me, your bridal party will appreciate it so much that they won’t mind putting up with 130 degree weather!  So with that out  of the way… how long do you need for formals? What if you are short on time? What can be done to go as quickly as possible?

I am the type of person that likes to be prepared… I like to know what my timeline will be like so that I can keep things in line if necessary.  I think I have mentioned this story before, but it’s such a great example of how things can go wrong so easily, that I have to mention it again.  I did a wedding once where I asked the bride ahead of time how the formals were going to play out, and if she had a lot of formals that we needed to take care of (we had less than an hour to officially shoot the formals, which is typically a decent amount of time).  She said she just wanted to ‘play it by ear’ and just kind of go with the flow.  I insisted on trying to get a plan set up, but she thought she didn’t need it.  So, as the photographer, I now realize I should have pressed harder… but I didn’t want to add any extra stress on her, so I let it go.  Well… ceremony was over, and it was time for formals.  She initially said it was just going to be immediate family… boy was that a slight understatement!  She ended up posing for individual shots with pretty much her entire family (from parents, of course, to cousins, aunts, uncles, second cousins, friend of the uncle’s cousin, etc!!!).  It took us over 1.5 hours to get through all those pictures!!! Most of that time was spent trying to get people moving along and get the groups set up and figuring out who was next.  You know… the typical “wait, we’re waiting for uncle so and so, he’s out in the back getting a drink, he’ll be back in 2 seconds, wait… don’t take the shot yet”.  That type of thing can make a 2 minute portrait into a 15 minute waiting session.  In the end, we only took one super quick shot of the entire bridal party, and a couple of shots of the bride and groom.  I have to say it was personally (photography-wise) one of the most disappointing weddings I have done… mostly because I know she emphasized how much she wanted the bride and groom shots… but it just got out of control… it totally slipped out of her hands and unfortunately she never let me have control of the day so that I could coordinate it properly.  In the end she really liked her pictures and all was well… I just knew I could have done better for her… so to her all was well, but to me I wish it would have been better.

That is probably the absolute worst case scenario, and one that has only happened to me once (and I fight very hard for that not to happen again… for the bride and groom’s sake).  So back to the formals and my recommended workflow.  I should say first of all, that this is MY work flow, and in no way am I saying this is the best way to do it or the only way to do it right – this is just how I have noticed works best for me and for my clients.

Typically for formals I start off getting the family portraits out of the way first and foremost.  I like to dismiss people as I go along – to clear the area and end up with a more private bride and groom setting at the end.  In terms of the family portraits… I typically calculate about 2 minutes per portrait on average.  Sure, taking the actual shot takes a few seconds, but getting the group together and smiling at the same time can take a little longer.  Sometimes, with larger groups, it can take like 5 minutes to get everyone settled, organized and ready for the shot (this is for groups that are huge, of course).  But on average, 2 minutes per portrait is how I figure out how long it will take to get a group done.  So if the bride give me a shot list with 15 different groups of people, that’s 30 minutes right there.  Of course, a lot of times it will not take that long, but we would rather have extra time then not enough (especially when we are on a tight timeline).  This past weekend I had a wedding where the bride wanted all the formal family portraits done at the altar, and the church only gave her 15 minutes after the ceremony.  Sometimes the churches will let us do more time, but this particular church actually shut the lights totally off on us at the 15 minute mark on the dot!!!  So it was good that we had everything scheduled and it turned out perfect. 

After the family portraits are done, I like to continue with the bridal party.  Hopefully with less of a crowd, everyone is more likely to have more fun, be more relaxed, and be willing to be themselves for the camera.

After the bridal party is done I let them know they can relax (they either head out to the reception or wander off) – leaving the bride and groom alone with me and my second photographer.  This is the ideal situation for most couples because they don’t feel like they’re putting on a show for their friends… and they can truly be themselves (they can be romantic, fun, silly, and they won’t feel so embarrassed).  This is especially important to me if the bride and groom are particularly shy.  Of course, some couples feed off the encouragement of their friends, and that’s great too! That’s when I definitely encourage the bridal party to stick around and be our cheerleaders. 

So that’s basically my typical formals ‘flow’ for most of my weddings… my main ‘theme’ is definitely to be a little organized… but I am by no means super strict and these are not set in stone rules.  I believe weddings need to have a lot of wiggle room, and a good wedding photographer has to be prepared to go with the flow when necessary… especially to keep the bride and groom at ease and without feeling like you’re only adding to their stress. I have had weddings when everything was all planned out and structured, but then nothing seemed to work out according to our timelines… and that was ok.  We went with the flow, re-assured the bride and groom that everything would work out, and made sure they felt as relaxed as possible – and in the end, it was all great too!  Stress is my worst enemy… nothing can make stress show less in a picture.  I definitely try to do all my nagging done before the wedding… so that on the wedding day I can just remind and not have to push my clients! LOL!!

Formals session for a beautiful and casual wedding - at downtown Riverside, near the Mission Inn