The day has finally arrived and you and your partner want to make sure your families both feel equally loved and appreciated. You’ve purchased the corsages and the boutonnieres, but now it’s time to take the photos that will last a lifetime. The photos that may be passed down the line for many wedding heritage photo displays to come! So, how do we make sure you get the most bang for your buck when it comes to the time you have allotted to family portraits? Well, I’ve got you covered! I’ve got some great tips on how to squeeze in all of your photos and get the most out of wedding family portraits.

Give Your Photographer Family Members Names… Not Just Relationships!

This will be SOOO helpful to your photographer! It will help them pull your family member’s attention and know who they need to get together for a photo. The last thing we want is to accidentally miss someone, so creating this list is going to be such a big time saver. I highly recommend taking a few minutes to write out a shot list of the family members you want in each photo. We’ll be able to better manage your photo timeline and make sure we’re getting those must-have wedding family portraits!

Assign A Family Member To Help Gather Everyone For Photos. 

Again, this is such a big help! We are so honored and love being such an important part of your day but we (most likely) are not your family! So, give a favorite aunt or uncle a job for the day. Not only will they feel important but your photographer will be so thankful. While we’re focused on getting the right shot, your aunt or uncle can go ahead and gather up everyone who is up next. This will make sure we get through your shot list efficiently to allow more time for you to hit the party. It also just about guarantees that no one is accidentally left out!

Picking The Right Spot

Often I get asked how I help my couples pick the best location for their wedding family portraits. And honestly, more than anything I look for good lighting! Essentially what I’m looking for are open shade locations and no direct sun. After we have found some locations with great lighting, it’s time to decide on the right background. The goal here is to pick something that looks nice but isn’t too busy, we really want to focus on the group and the faces! The ceremony site can also be a great spot for family portraits depending on the lighting, plus it is another great way to get photos of your decor and floral that you picked out specifically for your day!

Let Kids Go First

If your family is full of younger kids, consider having the photos that they will be a part of taken first.  Kids can get fussy, tired, or hungry a lot quicker than adults, so let’s grab those shots first and then allow them to run off! 

Include Your Friends…. And Your DOG!

Friends can feel like family; just because they aren’t biologically related to you doesn’t mean they aren’t a part of your family. So, pull in your college best friends or your favorite coworkers and grab a few shots with them. You’ll be so happy looking back to see all of your most important people in these photos. Now, let’s be real here… it’s just so obvious that your fur baby is a big part of your family. You don’t want to miss out on getting those adorable shots with them after the ceremony when their parents are finally married!! These photos are always just so much fun because who doesn’t love the energy and love a dog brings into any setting?! You’ll look back on those photos and laugh at how fun it was to have them at your wedding.

Formal Group Shots Have No Limits

Whether you’re having a large wedding or a micro wedding you can still get those formal family photos. Maybe you just have a couple of family members in attendance, that is okay!! Pick out what is most important to you to have captured on your wedding day and your photographer will make sure it happens.

Consider A First Look!

If you’re on the cuff about doing a first look or not take this as your sign to DO IT!!! I cannot express how much time they free up. Family photos can take away time from your couple shots and the last thing we want is for you to miss those dreamy golden hour shots. So, get that first intimate moment and batch of photos out of the way so you have plenty of time for all of the photos you want to get. 

Family is important to you, as a photographer I totally understand! I want to make sure you feel the least amount of stress as possible on your wedding day so preparing for the family portraits is a great way to alleviate some potential stress. We want to be there for you and make sure you’re sticking to your timeline while also capturing all of those important photos. Hopefully, these tips will help you plan out the perfect photo timeline and shot list for wedding family portraits!


Check out a similar recent blog post, How To Involve Your Family In Your Elopement!