As a photographer, one of the most frequent questions I hear has to do with how to arrange the schedule so that there is sufficient time to do pictures and at the same time, take advantage of the best light during the day.
As a bride, you may be expecting your photographer to take charge of the schedule and make the photography happen on the wedding day. However, while any good photographer should be able to politely wrangle your crowd for the group photos, you should know that there are limitations on what we photographers can and should do. For example, your photographer is obviously there at your wedding to capture the events - however, that job does not include making the wedding happen – which should be the job of your Coordinator. So for example, if you or your guests are horribly late for some reason (or no reason at all) then your photographer can and will capture whatever is happening, but should not be getting upset, or otherwise trying to force you to stick to any schedule just for the sake of the photos. After all, the photos should be about the wedding – the wedding should not be about the photos. So making the schedule and sticking to it is between you and your coordinator - documenting your wedding is the photographer’s job. With that said, the following are a few recommendations that will help you get the most out of your wedding photographer.
When should we start taking pictures???
This start time will obviously depend on what sort of package you’ve chosen to purchase from your photographer. If you have a limited number of hours, you will have to make adjustments accordingly. The following assumes you’ve purchased a full day package from your photographer which will normally include 8-10 hours of coverage.
Pre-Ceremony Images
I usually recommend that we start shooting in the dressing rooms roughly 2.5 hours before the ceremony.
This will give us enough time to capture the following events...
1. shooting in the dressing room while you do makeup and hair
2. shoot the guys in the dressing room,
3. 30 min of group shots,
4. 15 min. to hide while the guests are arriving and being seated
Group Pictures Before - vs - Group Pictures After
This is the big question. Of course there is the tradition of not seeing each other until the big WOW moment when the bride walks down the aisle. There is a lot to be said for that. However, did you know that you can get that same experience if we plan your first meeting to take place BEFORE the wedding ceremony? Doing it this way has several advantages. First of all, you can hug and kiss on each other without worrying about the fact that there are 200 people staring at you. Second, we can photograph it a lot better without all the people and chairs in the way. Third, it doesn’t have to happen at the altar - we can get the two of you out in a place that is perhaps more beautiful, and with better light. And last, it allows us to get started doing all the group shots before the ceremony. If you do your groups before the ceremony, you will have more time, more energy and a lot less distraction than if you do them afterwards. You can also get them out of the way so that you and I are free to work on creating some beautiful couple portraits after the ceremony when the light is best (more on that in a minute). If you do groups afterwards, it is my experience that most couples are worried about all the guests waiting on them and this makes it hard to be focused on getting good pictures. The pictures of the two of you alone really suffer because these generally take place after the group shots, and after you’ve sent everyone else off to the reception where they are now waiting for you. This always results in you feeling rushed and distracted - neither of which is going to help us get really good images. Creativity takes time. You can’t expect your photographer to get magazine cover shots of you in a 10 minute photo session.
Should you make a shot list for the family group photos?
If you want to be sure you get certain combinations of people in your group shots, by all means make us a list of exactly who is in each shot. This keeps us from having to try to make it up on the wedding day. I've shot group photos hundreds of times, so I can make up combinations for you, but in the confusion, it is highly likely that something will get left out. If you make a list, you won’t have to worry about missing anyone. You don't have to get the list to me early, just bring it with you to the group photo session, or give it to me on the day of the wedding. One thing that is tremendously helpful with the group photo session is to enlist the assistance of a relative that actually knows the people and can help me round them all up. I can yell out for the bride’s family to come up, but if they don’t come running, it’s nice to have someone there that knows who is missing.
How long do group shots take? – you can plan on roughly 15 group shots in half an hour.
Also, you should avoid trying to shoot group photos or romantic portraits in the mid-day sun. This is the absolute worst lighting situation there is. However, many locations will have a shady area that can be used for group photos even in the middle of the day.
Should you make a shot list for general wedding photos?
Normally, the answer is no. However, if you have a few things that you absolutely must have in the photos, then make a short list of those. Don't waste your time making a list of things like.... cake shot, first dance, the kiss, etc. Those are the main events at a wedding and any wedding photographer will already be trying his/her best to get those. Using a checklist to make sure you’ve got all those shots is distracting and takes the photographer’s focus away from shooting pictures. Only make a list if you feel you have something unusual happening that your photographer might overlook, or not know about.
Magic hour! Creative Portrait time!
In the evening, right at dusk, there is a short window of time we photographers call the "magic hour." This is when the light is the absolute best of the entire day. It takes place about 30 minutes before sunset, and 15 or so minutes after sunset. If it is possible to plan your day so that we can slip away for at LEAST 30 minutes during this time, you won't be disappointed. This is my favorite time to make creative portraits of the Bride and groom. I usually scope out places to go earlier in the day so that when the time arrives, we can walk a little loop around your site and be back before your guests even know you’re gone. These can be simple portraits, or dramatic environmental shots that take advantage of any beautiful architectural or natural places around your wedding location. If you happen to be in a particularly beautiful area, please talk with me about scheduling even more time for this session.
How much time do you need for this? The more the better! Half an hour can work fine on the wedding day, but if you can schedule it, an hour is MUCH better, and two hours is really ideal. If you want an hour or more for this shoot, you might consider scheduling it early in the morning, or even on the day before or after the wedding. Think about this.... why pay the high price of a good wedding photographer if you are unwilling to provide the opportunity to make some really good photos? And that opportunity is a combination of the location, and the time. If you have the luxury of planning this shoot for the day after the wedding, then you won’t miss a moment of your wedding day, and you have the added bonus of not having to worry about getting the dress dirty during the photos. This opens up a whole different type of photos. Have you heard of a “trash the dress” photo shoot?. Look it up on YouTube.com to see some samples. Shooting on another day also allows you to go to a different location so you get much more variety in your images than if you were limited to shooting at the wedding location only as you typically are on the wedding day.
Sunset - still allows another 15-20 minutes of photo time after the sun hits the horizon. These few minutes will often be the absolute best light of the entire day.
Couple-Only Weddings
If you happen to be planning a really small wedding – as in, just the two of you and the photographer – then you have a lot of creative options. I’ve done several destination weddings like this where we shot photos at different places all day long with a small ceremony in the evening – usually created and performed by the couple themselves – and then more photos. This can be great for distant weddings where your family and friends may not be able to attend due to the expense..
A Photographer's Ideal Schedule
If I were planning a wedding, here's how I would schedule it...
I find it easiest to start at the end of the day and work backwards. Since sunset is the last time-critical part of the day as far as the photography is concerned, so I like to start with that.
Sunrise / Sunset times can be found here…. (http://www.timeanddate.com)
Once you know the sunset time, I recommend that you plan roughly 45 minutes to an hour between the end of the ceremony and sunset. This allows for a couple minutes to sign the documents, and go straight out to take romantic photos of just the couple without visiting with the guests. In fact, I would completely avoid visiting with your guests during this time because once you get caught in one conversation, a line will form and before you know it everyone wants to talk with you and you can't get away without being rude. The best way to get out of visiting at this point is to sign the documents, then wave goodbye and run for it. Ok, so now you know the time for the end of the ceremony, and if you know how long your ceremony will last, that also gives you the time for the beginning of the ceremony.
I recommend meeting to start photos roughly 3 hours before the ceremony. This provides enough time to shoot the girls doing makeup, then pop over and shoot the guys getting dressed, then back to the girl’s room to shoot the dress going on. Then shoot a half hour or so of family group shots and still have time to get everybody out of view roughly 30 minutes before the ceremony starts. That should be enough information to get you started. Of course most weddings won’t fit this schedule exactly, but now that you know the basic photographic factors that affect the schedule, you can create a timeline that fits your exact needs.
I hope this information will help you in planning your Wedding Day…
Your Photographer and Friend,
Glenda Madaris
Photo Artist/Owner
http://www.artisticphotographyinc.com/
artisticphotosbyglenda@msn.com
813-310-6965 Toll Free for Ohio 1-888-774-5677
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