This is how to create good group photos at every wedding
The wedding day must of course be recorded in numerous photos. Today it is an absolute must create a wedding reportage and keep it as a bound in a wedding album. In addition to the spectacular wedding photos of each photo collection, the photos of the bride and groom, the families and the wedding company as well.
Because on such a happy day, it is not always easy for a photographer to be so loud that everyone can hear him. Good preparation is therefore important and of course the helping hand of our assistants.
Preparation is everything!
A good group photo must be planned before the big day. A wedding photographer will usually know the exact schedule of the wedding day and with the bride and groom ant the wedding planner determine the time and place for the photos. On the day of the wedding the mads can inform the guests when and where they should be. If the bride and groom also want smaller group pictures (smaller groups of different guests like for example only women, only men, only bridesmaids with the couple or all work colleagues, etc.) In case of children it is helpful if the parents can help the wedding photographer to be the instructor.
Since it is particularly important on wedding photos, who, where has to stand, the photographer should also have precise information about who is particularly important to the bride and groom as well as how many relatives and friens should be in the respective pictures. Tip: It helps to draw picture even before the wedding day during a personal meeting, and to write a list of the groups to be a photographed together.
What time and place?
It is as in all photos under the open sky: the morning or late afternoon would be ideal for taking pictures. At noon the sun is so hard the contrast on the pictures is very strong, besides, the sun throws very hard shadows and is therefore less flattering for the facial features.
An experiences wedding photographer likes to choose the time in the afternoon during the aperitif when the sun still shines. Depending on the time of the year and geological location of the wedding, one has to go after how long sufficient sunlight is available, it can happen that the shooting then already before the marriage takes place.
Which location is suitable for the group photo also depends strongly on the size. For more than 120 guests, you should check if there are any matching stairs at the church or a castle. If the desired shooting location does not have a staircase, so that the people in the back rows can be raised a bit higher, a stool or ladder for the wedding photographer must be taken care of.
If the place is fixed we try to look a day before at the time to which the later photos are going to be made. What are the light conditions? Do light reflections or other lighting have to be installed? If so, where are electrical connections? A good photographer will already know the place and know what kind of equipment he needs.
If the group image shooting is planned under the open sky, it is not a bad idea to think about replacement location for worse weather. If only small rooms are available, then the bride and groom must definitely be advised, if a small “bad weather group” can form and then only the most important guests with the photo can come.
The shoot – more than just “Cheeeese”
In the minutes of the shoot, a lot of psychology is required. Already the erection of all involved wedding guests costs a lot of routine and fingertip feeling.
For wedding group pictures, there are actually clear rules, who has where to stand. The bride and groom is in the middle, next to the bride are her parents, next to the groom are his parents. The siblings are mostly behind the bridal couple. In front of the bride and groom, the flower girls or bridesmaids gather together, but leave the wedding dress visible at all times. Around the family the other family members and friends are grouped according to their degree of relationship. In some photos the bridesmaids also play a big role, whether they are on the edge or right next to the wedding couple with the wedding guests behind it – that is up to you. We always recommend to calculate again a few extra minutes and to take a few photographs with the bridesmaids. Who now has his prepares list for the group pictures ready, is clearly in the advantage.
Additionally, all must be very close together. All human beings have a kind of magical and invisible boundary that provides distance. For group photos, however, this is a disadvantage. In the case of gaps, the group photo lack dynamism, the guests act rather spontaneously and not as a group. We the photographers make it all as close as possible.
When the time come for the pictures, the main problem of group photos and the big problem of all beginner photographers has to be considered: On most group photos there is always at least one person who has just closed his eyes. Our wedding guests are lucky, we have worked our a very safe method for this. At a wedding company ypu do not have to assume that the guest became impatient, because everyone is joyful and in good spirits, nevertheless within 40 minutes everything has to be done.
Be creative!
If the group has fun, the wedding photographer can also try some creative shootings with the guests. How about the couple kissing and everyone looking away, or the whole wedding party beckons to the camera? Whether such a creative group picture is a good thing depends on the group dynamics and the general mood, but is usually always funny and produces pictures at the same time.
If, however, the photographer presents some ideas to the bride and groom at the preliminary discussion, the guests can adjust it and tell them what will happen. Perhaps the couple even want one or more creative group pictures and want to see more than just posted wedding guests in this photo. There is no limit to the imagination, the guests can dance or jump, they can also turn the back to the photographer together while the bride and groom is smiling at the camera. The photographer can also take a window of a building a few floors higher to take the group down. Perhaps everyone waving upwards, showing flowers, blowing soap bubbles or forming a formation. An experienced wedding photographer will already have many ideas to match the style of the bride and groom.
