Formal portraits: what’s the right amount of time?

You have to do them. Mom wants them. Grandpop wants them. Sure they’re not candid, but they still document who was there and it’s good to have it later on (I guarantee it’s what you’ll put in your album!). I’ll write later on ways to spice up wedding photography portraits, but for now, what’s a good amount of time to spend on them? Your photographer is aware - you want to get to your reception. You want to hang out with your guests, finally get something to eat (or drink), and you definitely don’t want to stand forever while you smile for so long your mouth hurts.

I typically tell my clients that formal portraits will take 45 minutes. That’s usually not the case, but they should be aware that if they pick a lot of photos, then it’s going to take a long time. I’ve known photographers who take even longer than that. So beware - if you want every combination of family member, and in a bunch of different locations, it’ll take a while! Here are some tips to limit the amount of time your formal photos will take:

• Don’t have photos where you and your new spouse aren’t both in the picture. You’re married - show it in the photos! I’ve had couples who want a photo of the bride and her grandmother AND a photo of the bride, the groom and her grandmother. You’ll only pick one to frame later, so why take both photos? It just doubles the time you spend taking them.
• Pick a location ahead of time. If you can, walk around the site with your photographer so you can familiarize yourself with the area and s/he can figure out what works for lighting. This’ll save you the “okay… where should we go?” time on the day of the wedding.
• Save the couple portraits for last. Let your family and attendants return to the reception. It’ll save you stress and also allow you and your new spouse to have some ‘alone time’ (that is, with a photographer documenting it!).
• Formalize a shot list with your photographer beforehand. That way s/he can have the list and call out names to be prepared to hop into the photo. Your photographer can also organize the list in a way that makes the photo-taking as efficient as possible. If you come up with more on the day-of, realize that you are increasing the amount of time you’ll be spending taking photos. We welcome new ideas, but don’t want to prevent you from seeing your guests any longer than we have to.
• Ask the guests who are involved in the photos to be at the location ON TIME. Tell them ahead of time (rehearsal dinner’s fine, or even shoot them an email the week before) where the formal photos will be taken and what time they’ll occur. If necessary, ask one of your trusted attendants to be responsible for making sure everyone’s there, who can also help the photographer figure out who’s who.

And like I’ve said before, if you have photo ideas, send them to your wedding or union photographer! I welcome emails from clients with attached photos that they’ve seen online that they like, or photos that they took of the site that they think would look good as formal photo locations. The more your photographer understands what you’re looking for, the more efficient s/he will be!