I think a lot of people really dread shooting family formals…they can be very chaotic and overwhelming and just TIME CONSUMING. As stressful as family formals can be though, they’re an incredibly important part of the day…they’re a record of the family members who were there to support the bride and groom and in some cases can be the only family portrait that some families have together! I remember when I was little my mom showing my sister and I the family formal from her wedding because it was the only portrait she had with her entire immediate family and one of the only pictures she had of her dad, who we never had the chance to meet! So no, they are maybe not the most fun or glamourous part of the day for a photographer to shoot, but they are SO important!

To me, the key to making family formals easier for everyone involved is to educate your clients. Seriously! In most cases, my clients haven’t been married before and have no idea what to expect from anything wedding photography related, much less family formals! About six weeks ahead of the wedding, I send them a few worksheets to complete and a list of family formal “suggestions” is included. This list has the groups that are typical to most weddings, but also allows the clients to add any additional family formals they would like that aren’t included. When I discuss this worksheet with them I make it very clear that additional groupings can take up to 2-3 minutes to set up and photograph, so allotting enough time is very important. If there are tons of shots they want, I will also suggest we do them at the reception. I especially stress this when it’s a Fall or Winter wedding because daylight is at a premium, and I’d rather shoot family formals with OCF and use the golden hour light for bride and groom portraits:)

On the actual wedding day, the way I like to shoot family formals is something that I picked up from one of Justin and Mary’s talks or Pancake sessions! Basically the idea behind it is just simplifying the family formal process by building people into the shots and then taking them away. Things can get really chaotic easily if you’re not conscious of what you’re doing and you’re just shooting a bunch of groups in random order. The following is an example of the order I try to shoot family formals in that seems to work best for me:

Bride + Groom and officiant
Bride + Groom and Bride’s grandparents
Bride + Groom and Bride’s immediate family (parents and siblings)
Bride + Groom and Bride’s parents
Bride + Groom and both sets of parents 

By this time, the bride’s family is done! Unless any of her siblings need to be in any bridal party portraits or anything like that afterward, they can  head to the ceremony or the reception! I always say “You guys are all done! Go ahead and enjoy cocktail hour!” or something like that, because the fewer people there are lingering around, the faster the portraits will go.

Bride + Groom and Groom’s parents
Bride + Groom and Groom’s immediate family (parents and siblings)
Bride + Groom and Groom’s grandparents

I also suggest having someone help you out by calling out the groups on your list! It helps if you have asked your clients to write down the names of the family members who will be in the portraits so that when your helper calls out for people, they can actually use names. Calling for “Mary Sue and Donald” will usually have better results than just saying “Mom and Dad”. If you don’t have a second shooter or assistant (and even if you do!), you can ask the bride ahead of time to appoint a family member who isn’t in the formals or a family friend who knows pretty much who everyone is to round everyone up.

Another great tip: if the bride and groom are doing their family formals AFTER the ceremony and they are not doing a receiving line, tell them to hide out around the corner or in a room away from guests who are leaving for the reception! If they don’t, most likely their guests will want to come up and congratulate them (can you blame them??) and you’ll lose precious time and possibly end up behind schedule, which is never a good thing.

My last tip is going to seem SUPER simple, but you’d never believe how big of an impact it really makes. Sometimes it’s the simplest gestures that mean the most! Your attitude makes a HUGE difference. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or frustrated sometimes, but I always try to be super friendly and upbeat with every family member, even if they are being uncooperative or difficult in any way. This also applies to the Uncle Bobs and Aunt Sallys who will stand behind me and try to capture the same shots! I very strongly believe that my job at a wedding is to serve the bride and groom as well as their families, and it isn’t very nice or servant like to be rude or act frustrated with people who are just excited about the newly married couple!

Lastly, for the technical specs on how I shoot family formals: I use the 35 1.4 (Canon) and keep my aperture around 2.8. If I’m shooting a really large group I will open that up to 3.5 or 4.0, but I like to keep my apertures still somewhat wide because I just prefer the look:) I’m pretty sure I have never used an aperture above 4.0…it would just feel really weird to me! If I’m in a dark church, I will use off camera flash (or just an on camera flash depending on what the situation is…), but I really prefer to shoot family formals outdoors because natural light is much more flattering and makes for family formals that are cohesive with the rest of the images from the day.

That’s pretty much it! Have any questions about family formals for me? Leave them in the comments or email them to katie@katienesbittphotography.com and I’ll do my best to answer!