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Writer's pictureJames fowler

Say cheeeese!


are the words that people having their picture taken dread. Standing there feeling rather awkward, you don't know what to do with your hands and you suddenly take on a really unnatural smile through gritted teeth. Sound familiar? Well this is what we are used to seeing when it comes to the group 'formal' pictures of someones wedding day.


This part of the day usually takes place after the excitement of the ceremony is over and you've had a celebratory drink and you are probably wondering when they are serving the food. Yes we totally get it, it's the worse time to be asked to strike a pose on demand because believe me we hate asking guests to break away from catch up chats just to have their picture taken. Now here comes the but.... 9 times out of 10 our couples, your friends or family, are going to want to have these pictures to look back on to spark memories of their special day.


Group shots can feel a little out dated and forced so why do them at all? Well, proud mother of the bride would love a framed picture on her mantle piece and father of the bride would want a print out in his wallet of him and his daughter on her wedding day and let's not forget a cute pic of the grand children looking smart printed on a mug for Grandma. So as you can see it's still a super special part of the day not just for the bride and groom.


Now we understand that group shot nerves can really effect the image so we like to keep it silly and chilled out, just like the example above. here Sam really wanted a photo of her and her ladies from the hen do but as you can see they were not going to be serious for the camera. I loved their fun approach and wanted their group picture to reflect how they were on the day which was laughing and joking and loving life!


We really wanted to change it up for these two because stood in a line and smiling just didn't fit their personality so we just mixed it up a bit, had a laugh and the end result was a fab picture that would always make people laugh hung up in the hall of their home.


Another subject that comes up during the run up to the big day is the groups list. We sometimes have couples that are really relaxed about it and just like to go with the flow on the day and we just casually take people off as we go along and that is totally fine. But for larger weddings it's worth to sort out a list in order of priority of who you want a picture with. We don't want to upset anybody by missing them out so to have it written down is always a good idea.


Just bear in mind how much time you have for the formal pictures. As I mentioned before, they are normally done just before the wedding breakfast so we could have anything from a couple of hours down to a tiny 30 minutes and for a long list of groups, this could be tricky. So if you are stuck for time, maybe stick to close family for the more posed groups then speak to us about doing pictures of friends and more distant family after your meal. If you have us for the full day we like to set up a space for your friends to come and have a mini relaxed photo shoot.


A wedding day can be the fastest day ever with time just disappearing and before you know it it's time for the first dance. So to help you with your planning I have done you a group photo list for you to use as a guide. So just hit the link below and you can print it off, add to it and give it to your photographer before the big day. Easy :)


Group photo list PDF


So next time you're approached by the photographer to get in the group shot just remember to have a little fun, relax and feel happy in the knowledge you made the all important hot list ;)


Until next time, SAY CHEEEESE!

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