Never have two words struck more fear into the hearts of wedding photographers than the dreaded ’shot list’.
The photographers brain becomes overwhelmed with images of couples peaking around a tree, the flowers artfully arranged on the train of the dress and every other cliched wedding picture from the 80’s.
But that’s not what it’s about… at least not for me.
I prefer to document the day the way it unfolds and the way you’ve planned it. Your wedding is special and unique, it shouldn’t be an endless series of photo ops lifted from the pages of a wedding magazine.
I prefer natural & relaxed portraits of the couple, nothing forced or awkward. I don’t need a list of things like ‘bride & groom together’, ‘bride & flower girl’ or ‘bride alone before ceremony’… These are all shots that I would capture anyways.
The only ’shot list’ I require is a list of the pictures/groupings you would like taken with your families.
I know the idea of posing for family pictures may seem boring and a waste of time, but I feel these can be some of the most important pictures of the day.
Ask yourself, what’s more important: A picture of the bride up against a brightly coloured wall striking one of those magazine poses or a picture of the bride and her grandparents?
Even if you answered the former, I’m willing to bet your answer would change in 15 years.
The family pictures don’t have to take long either, I can usually have them done in under 20 minutes. In the big scheme of things, 20 minutes is nothing to document the people closest to you.
This is the same reason I always make sure we’re finished pictures in time for the couple to attend their cocktail hour.
The guests are obvoiously important (that’s why they were invited!) so I think it’s important that the bride & groom have time to socialize at their wedding and catch up with old friends and family.
So to recap: Bride with flowers on her train… NO. Bride & groom photographed with the most important people in their lives… YES.