How to Photograph Family and Bridal Party Portraits Quickly at Weddings

By: Jackie Lamas 

Wedding days are filled with details. While the bride and groom portraits are the most important pictures you’ll photograph during the day, family and bridal party portraits come at a close second.
These tips help you photograph family and bridal party portraits quickly and beautifully, giving your guests great photos without taking up valuable time.

If you have time during the bridal party photos, get creative!

Family portraits

Make use of a consultation to speak with your clients before the event to find out if any of their parents are divorced and note this down on a wedding info sheet.
I lead with this because it can change the order in which you photograph family portraits, especially if there are parents who choose not to see each other.
Unfortunately, this is a reality and should be handled with care.

Ask about divorced parents before the wedding because it can affect family portraits.

During the consultation process, you should also create an itinerary so that you have at least 30 minutes for family portraits. The more time you have, the more variety in posing you can get, however, 30 minutes is enough time to capture the family.

Both family portraits in the same location.

When photographing wedding family portraits before the ceremony, make sure you confirm if both the bride and groom families will be present or if you will be photographing them separately.
Either way, this list provides different combinations to use with each family; all achievable in under 15 minutes.

Build portraits by adding people gradually.

• Bride/Groom with parents (If they are divorced, photograph with new spouses or simply keep them separate portraits)
• Bride/Groom with entire immediate family, including brothers, sisters, including spouses and children
• If grandparents are present, take another photo of the entire family including grandparents
• Bride/Groom with mother
• Bride/Groom with father
• Bride/Groom with nieces and nephews only
• Bride/Groom with siblings
• Bride/Groom with grandparents
• Bride/Groom with important uncles/aunts/extended family

Build portraits by adding parents and without moving them, add in the rest of the family.

Keep the portraits of the extended family until the end.
They may be eager to get family portraits after the ceremony but make sure that you express to them that the most important photos are of the immediate family.
Of course, make sure to ask the bride and groom if there is anyone in the extended family that is a must-have during the family portraits.
At small weddings, you might have a chance to photograph all of the guests with the bride and groom.

Take photos of each family individually and don’t forget to add the bride or groom.

The family portrait formula

To do this and all of the family portraits quickly, follow this formula:

1. Find a big space with a neutral or pleasing background, like pretty landscaping, an interesting building, or a clearing in the venue/location. One great option is to photograph close to the ceremony where family members are all together and present. This helps keep people from wandering off and missing out on the portraits.
2. Begin with the family that is present. For example, if the groom’s family is ready, begin with them so that you don’t waste time waiting. Set up the bride and groom in the center, tummy to tummy, holding the bouquet. From here, build out until you get the entire family in the photo. Remember to also take photos of the bride and groom with their respective families alone.
3. From there, it is easier to keep the bride or groom in the center and add or remove people as needed.
4. Always show a connection by having people put their hands on the arm of the person next to them or if they are spouses, holding hands. Putting hands on the shoulders of children or holding their hands also helps. 
5. For babies and children under 3, they are best when being held as sometimes they might be too small if they are standing in the portrait. If you have time, photograph both options.

Both families are in one portrait.

Family portraits are the ones that guests always download the most as many family members do not live nearby. Weddings act as a mini-reunion for families, which is why it’s important to get solid portraits of them.

Grandparents are very important guests, make sure to take portraits when they are present.

Taking family portraits using the formula above ensures that you can work quickly and not take up time from the cocktail hour or even the bride and groom’s portraits!

Connect family with hands to arms or on shoulders.

Once you take the solid portrait of the family, if you have time, get creative or have fun with it.
Get a photo of the family hugging or siblings doing something funny.
Doing this also helps keep the mood light and ensures that everyone has fun during the family portraits.

Bridal party portraits

Bridal party photos should take anywhere from 45 minutes to one hour to photograph to get as much variety as possible. Begin photographing the entire bridal party together to ensure that no one is missing and everyone is present.

Begin with photographing the entire bridal party together.

A few quick tips for bridal party portraits

Make sure that all boutonnières and bouquets are ready and each person has their flowers pinned or in hand. Place bouquets at belly button height because this keeps the arms slightly bent, and the flowers visible without being too high or too low.
For the groomsmen, ask them to take out all of their belongings from their pockets as this can create hard to edit shadows on the pants. If there is something special, like a gift from the bride or groom to their bridal party, take a photograph of that too.

Take the following series of photos for the entire bridal party portraits:

• Bridal party standing in line – placing bridesmaids on bride’s side and groomsmen on the groom’s side is a classic and sure portrait of the entire bridal party. Place the tallest people on the outside as they can distract from the bride and groom if they are shorter. Then line them up according to height.
• Create a ‘u’ shape forward or try to use a ‘v’ shape to create more depth.
• Stagger the bridal party and turn some people away from the center, creating more depth in the portrait. You can sometimes have the bridesmaids interlocking arms or the groomsmen holding shoulders or leaning against each other. Try different ideas with them standing.
• If you have access to chairs, place a couple in front to create differences in height and create a similar portrait but with a few people sitting. It makes a much more interesting photo.
• If there are steps, use them to stagger the bridal party across, keeping the bride and groom center.
• Get a photo of the bridal party walking toward the camera having fun.
• Ask the bridal party to mix and get a group photo of them having fun.
• Get a group hug if the bridal party isn’t too large. Doing so creates authentic smiles and breaks-up the stiffness or seriousness of the portraits.

Bridal party portraits should be fun and keeping the mood light always helps.
If you find yourself having a hard time getting them to focus, try letting them know that the faster you photograph the portraits, the faster they can get to the party.
This usually motivates them to cooperate faster.

Once you have the entire bridal party portraits, take photos of the groomsmen. The bride can take a break to touch up makeup, take a sip of water, or rest for a moment.
Groomsmen usually want to get the portraits over as quickly as possible so beginning with them makes everything run smoothly. If you have a second photographer, ask them to take the groomsmen aside and photograph them while you focus on the bride to cut time as well.

Photographing the bridesmaids and groomsmen separately is much more fluid and can be more fun. Have them line up, hug, do something funny, and take individual photos of the bride or groom with each person.

Have fun during bridal party portraits.

Take individual photos with each person in the bridal party.

Make sure to take waist-high portraits as well as full-length with enough room around the frame just in case they print the photo at different sizes that may crop the image.


Try and keep the bridal party photos in one location so that you don’t have to move so many people around.
Another tip is to photograph the bridesmaids and groomsmen separately earlier in the day and come together after the ceremony for the larger portrait.
Sometimes this can save time as well.

Extended family bridal party portraits

After the ceremony, as guests congratulate the couple, do not get caught in the trap of photographing extended family portraits. Make sure to let the guests know that during cocktail hour or the reception, you will have more time to photograph guests with the couple.

Extended family photos during cocktail hour saves time from the bride and groom portraits or 

other events during the wedding day.

The reason for this is because taking portraits of guests with the couple immediately after the ceremony, or while the guests are congratulating the couple, can cut time from the family portraits.
It is okay to get candid/photojournalistic photos during this time of the couple with the guests.

Photos during the reception for extended family is very ideal.

However, make sure to get a few before heading to the location where you are taking the family portraits. This gives you time to set up and get your camera ready for the quick family portraits.

Keep a checklist

Use the Notes app on your phone or carry a printout of a checklist with all the combinations to use to photograph the family and bridal party portraits. Doing so helps you keep track of what you’ve already photographed and what you need to do, so you don’t waste time wondering what comes next.

Weddings are all about the guests, and the guest list is meticulously planned, so make sure you take the extra step and ask the bride and groom if there are any guests they specifically want photographing.
Doing so makes all the difference when they look through their final images. Make sure to include these VIP guests in your checklist and note when would be a good time during the day to get their portrait.

Once you have more wedding experience, these portraits become easier and quicker to set up, photograph and pose. Soon you’ll be doing them in under 15 minutes, giving you more time to experiment and get creative!

Put a family member or someone close in charge

It can be stressful making sure all the family members and bridal party are present where and when they need to be. This stress should not fall on either the bride or groom.
On the day of the wedding, find someone who is a family member or bridal party member who is familiar with both sides of the family be in charge of making sure that all family members and bridal party are where they need to be during the portraits.
Since they know who the key players are, this helper can cut time by making sure everyone who needs to be in the portraits is present, making the portrait time more fluid.

Take photos of gifts the bridal party receives from the couple.

Keep the portraits moving 

Sometimes, you’ll have to wait on a family member or bridal party member, and that is okay. You always want to make sure the bride and groom stay as calm and stress-free as possible. When this happens, keep the portraits moving.

For example, if the groom’s family isn’t ready, then begin with the bride’s family. If you’re waiting for a bridesmaid, take individual shots first and then move on to the groomsmen.
Making sure the portraits continue allows the person who is missing to arrive, all the while you are still creating beautiful portraits for the bride and groom.

Allow the bridal party to have fun.

If there is a circumstance where someone essential is missing or unavailable for the photos, ask the bride and groom to move the portrait session to a different time.
Perhaps you can do the bridal party portraits during the cocktail hour or carve out some time during the reception to get family portraits.

If you have access to chairs use them to pose the bridal party or family.

Make sure to note any changes to the portrait sessions and anyone still to be photographed. Ensure that you get the photo during the day to help the bride and groom feel less stressed and more confident in you to achieve all the crucial portraits.

Family photos and bridal party photos are a huge part of every wedding day and can be stressful when trying to pose large groups of people.
Using these tips can help these portraits to be more streamlined so that the guests, as well as the bride and groom, can enjoy the party.
You’ll get fabulous portraits that everyone loves without having to take up too much time.
Do you have any wedding portrait tips you’d like to share? If so, leave them in a comment below.
For more information on wedding photography, read this article on What Are the Real Responsibilities of a Wedding Photographer or What to Bring to Photograph a Wedding Besides Your Photo Gear

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Travel People Photography – Tips and Pitfalls

By: Peter West Carey 

“Oh the people you will meet!” goes one of Dr. Seuss’ famous lines, speaking to a particular joy of travel. We don’t just travel to see new places, we travel to experience new cultures full of new people – and as photographers, we’re intrigued to take their photo.
Yet it’s not as easy as taking photos of foreign mountains or cityscapes. because, gasp!, those people are full of life and feelings and opinions. They might be speaking a language we don’t understand. We are left wondering what they are thinking as we start to bring our camera up to our eye.
I’ve been photographing for 26 years, and traveling regularly for the last eight. I don’t know it all, but I have learned, through trial and error and research, what helps and what hinders travel portrait photography.

The Tips

Watch the light

Photography is about light. You’ve likely heard it a hundred times before. Sometimes we forget that when out of our comfort zone, but it’s important to remember that great photos need great subjects, and great use of light.

Before raising your camera, know your light. Know what light will be available, and how best to use it. This article: Understanding Natural Light Part 3: Direction of Light – has a wealth of knowledge to get you thinking about the natural light at your location. Of course, you can use a flash as well, but most of us rely on natural light for our travel portraits.

Connect

Hot Button Topic: To connect before or after you take a photo? This decades-old discussion will not be settled here, but I will give my opinion as fuel to the fire.
I believe in give and take. If I’m always taking photos when I travel, I feel more the part of an interloper than a welcome guest. There are irresistible times when someone is doing something soooooo perfect, we have to have a photo, we think. Introducing ourselves will ruin the moment and break the magic we are witnessing.

My advice is to take those photos, but give something back. Approach your subject after the fact and introduce yourself. Smile, make eye contact, promote goodwill, and be nice.
If they are a vendor, buy something they are selling, or at least take a look. Canon, Sony and others now have portable printers you can bring with you, and what better way for give and take than to hand over a printed copy of the portrait you now treasure. It’s more work than just taking photos and continuing on your way, but it is also more rewarding.

Get their feedback

Building on the point above, show your subject their portrait. It’s part of giving back. Get their feedback on how they think they look.
You might hear good things or bad, because everyone tends to be their own worst critic. Ask their friends as well, if they are around, to know if you have captured an accurate representation of your new friend.

They may have an idealized portrait they want you to take. What’s the harm in taking the photo they would like and the one you like? The more interaction, the better the portrait.

To smile or not to smile

This argument goes both ways. Some photographers want all smiles, especially if they believe there are in a happy place. Others abhor a grin. What a different story Steve McCurry’s Afghan Girl photo would tell if he was playing the ham and got her to smile!
As artists, we always instill our own bias into our art, that is okay. Sometimes your subject will also instill their bias. For instance, in Bhutan I encountered mostly stern faces when I took portraits, even if the subjects were lively, happy and smiling while I talked to them for a few minutes beforehand. I didn’t feel the stoic portraits the subjects wanted to portray accurately, reflected the warmth I felt while walking the countryside. So, what to do?
I developed a technique on that trip of taking pictures of people’s shoes. This served two purposes; I got images that tell their own story (footwear can tell you a lot about the wearer) and, in that moment when the subject was wondering why the heck is this guy taking pictures of my shoes, they let their guard down and returned to the smile I had encountered until the portrait was taken.

Before shoe photo

After shoe photo

My suggestion is to get to know your subject before taking their portrait. Then find a way to help that personality shine in their portrait.

Let them do their thing

To tell a better story of an individual is to put them in their environment. It helps travel portraits if there is context of the individual, in relation to the space around them.
Interact with your subject, take their posed portrait to your liking, then let them return to what they were doing. This is probably what drew you to them in the first place. Sit, observe, and be patient with your next photos.

They might not be classic portraits, subject’s eyes on the lens. To tell the story of the individual in the digital age is to have the ability to show more than one side, more than one image of your subject. You’re not a National Geographic photographer who will only get one image of the person in the magazine. You’re someone with a Facebook or other online account, and you can share both the portrait and the person in their element.

The Pitfalls

The Death Stare

You can probably feel the chill down your spine right now when I mention the Death Stare. Every street photographer has felt it at one point, and most every travel photographer as well.

The Death Stare comes when someone sees your camera pointed their way, and fully disapproves of being the object of your desire. It’s important to realize the Death Stare is usually not so much about you, it’s about the situation, and empathy goes a long way to avoiding it. So does the tip above about connecting.
Recovery from the Death Stare can be hard. It chips at your confidence while you are in a foreign environment, already feeling out of place. Now you are unwelcome?

When I receive the Death Stare, I take a few mental steps backward, and put my camera away for just a bit – maybe 10 minutes, maybe an hour. I spend that time soaking in my surroundings and trying to connect with locals instead of capturing them.

Super posers

Kids are famous posers, but the disease travels across every age range. Some societies are more prone than others to super posing. By super posing I mean the tendency to totally ham it up for the camera. We all like to put on our best face, but the super poser makes almost a 180 degree change from what you first saw in them and wanted to photograph.

I have watched enough parents try to get their kids to, “smile normally, please?” and spend tens of minutes in frustration at their children being children. My suggestion with travel photos is to not fight the super poser. Accept that the moment you saw in them has passed, and move on.

Only telephoto

Afraid of the Death Stare, or an imaginary worse reaction, the telephoto-only portrait becomes the easy out. If I can shoot from 100 feet away, in obscurity, why get closer?
Because your images will lack intimacy, that’s why. I’m not saying don’t shoot with a telephoto from a distance – but don’t only shoot from a distance. If I peruse your gallery of images from Egypt and only see telephoto attempts at portraits, I’m going to feel as distant as you physically were from your subject.

In my mind, connecting with strangers and only obtaining a few mostly-posed portraits is better than 100 shots from across the street. To me it says, “I traveled to this land, but didn’t really get into it.”

“Please don’t use that”

Following the advice above, you show some shots to your subject. They reply, “Oh, please don’t use any of those. I look horrible!” Now what?
If there is a chance, reshoot the images. If you must move on with your travels, I suggest you take the high road and respect the individual’s wishes. You may think they look perfect. Yet being respectful is more important than impressing your Facebook friends or Instagram followers.
This makes my original advice a bit of a double edged sword. Maybe you shouldn’t show them if there is a chance they will say no? The problem is face recognition software is getting more and more powerful, and Facebook’s (and other companies’) database is getting larger and more accurate. I live of the virtue it is better karma to error on the side of not potentially ticking people off.

Use of the photos after the fact

This brings up a good point about use. What are you going to do with those images?
Again, street photographers know this argument well. “You can’t take my photo!” they have had shouted at them if they have been in the game long enough. While this may be true in certain countries or situations, in most public spaces, especially in the US, you are free to photograph individuals.
What you do with the images after is the key point. Your own personal, artistic use is okay – included in a gallery on Facebook or a post on Twitter, a slideshow presentation at the local social club, or a gallery showing. Commercial use, where a model release is needed (think: ad campaigns, brochures, catalogs, stock), is not. Editorial use in a magazine or newspaper generally is okay.
DPS has some excellent resources, including our article Model Releases: What You Need To Know (with samples).

Conclusion

Travel portrait photography can be a tricky world to navigate. You’re out of your comfort zone, you may not speak the language or know the customs, but you want to bring home photos of not just the pretty sites, but the interesting people, too.
Be kind. Treat people as people, not objects. Share your images and take time to connect.

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6 Tips for Photographing People When Travelling

By: Kav Dadfar 

Photographing people you don’t know can be a daunting experience. A lot of people are not comfortable with approaching people and asking their permission. But if you can conquer your fear, you could be rewarded with some truly wonderful photographs from your trip.
So here are some tips for photographing people when you travel, to help get you started:

 1. When possible always ask permission

This is often the biggest hurdle you may encounter, after all approaching total strangers isn’t an easy thing to do. Therefore, you might end up trying to take a quick photo without your subject noticing which could annoy them, not to mention you might not catch the best angle or light. Here are some tips on how you could ask for permission to photograph them:

• Simply smiling and pointing to your camera normally does the trick – even if the person you want to photograph doesn’t speak your language
• If you are purchasing something from them, it is one of the best times to photograph people, as they would usually be amicable towards you
• If you are able to, talk to them first and ask them about what they do, about their town or city and even tell them about yourself. It’s incredible how much more receptive people are when you put the effort in
• A guide or a translator can be really useful in asking people if you could take their photo and also advising if there are places that you shouldn’t
• Any time you are going to be photographing children you should ask permission from the parents
• In popular tourists destinations it is common for the person your are photographing to want money for taking a picture. The decision is yours if you want to pay for a photo, but under no circumstances should you try to sneak a photo. If you are willing to pay, negotiate the price before you take the picture and also state how many photos you are going to take.
• Don’t be offended if they refuse. There are plenty of other opportunities and people who wouldn’t mind having their photograph taken

I spent around 10 minutes talking to this local before asking if I could take his picture.

 2. Be ready

Whether you are the shy type or not, being ready before you approach someone for a photo can be a really good habit to get into. Think about the lens you are going to use. Are you likely to need to raise your ISO? Will you require a fill-in flash? And make sure your camera is on and the lens cap is off. This is especially important if you want to photograph people who are going to be busy. For example a market vendor isn’t going to have too long to wait for you to take the shot before seeing to customers.

An example of a portrait

3. Portraits or environmental portraits?

There is no right answer here and it really depends on your style and preference. A straight forward portrait would usually isolate your subject in the frame and capture the details of their face. Obviously you can fill the frame if you wish or you can stand further back and capture more of the person’s figure and clothes. Environmental portraits add context to the person by showing more of their surrounding and allowing the viewer to learn more about them. Naturally for environmental portraits you would need a wider lens (e.g. 24mm – 35mm) so that you can get close and still be able to capture the environment.

An example of an environmental portrait

4. Don’t be afraid to direct your model

Once you’ve got someone’s permission don’t be afraid to direct them as to where, and how, you want them to stand, or look. Most people find it uncomfortable posing, so you as the photographer need to direct them and make them feel at ease. Will the photo look more engaging if your subject was smoking? Would they look better with the cap or without it? Is the background too busy? If they are nervous make them laugh to make them more comfortable.

I asked this farmer to smoke his cigarette as it adds to the mood of the image

This woman was very nervous so all of the photos looked very staged and not natural, until my guide said something to make her laugh.

5. Look out for overcast days

Overcast conditions are perfect for portraits

Often a travel photographer’s worst enemy, overcast days are actually the best time to take portraits. The natural and soft light will mean your subject would be evenly lit without harsh shadows on their face. So the next time you encounter an overcast day on your travels, look out for interesting people to photograph.

6. Practice

The great thing about photographing people is that you can practice it pretty easily. Wherever you live you can head out and find people to photograph. If you need to practice your technical elements (i.e. shutter speeds, lighting etc) get your friends or family to model for you until it becomes second nature.
The ideal focal range for portraits is 80mm – 100mm (which is why sometimes these lenses are called portrait lenses), but that’s not to say you can’t take portraits with other lenses  [Note: this is in relation to a full frame camera – on a cropped sensor 50mm – 75mm is roughly the same range] . And if you use a wide aperture (f/2 – f/5.6) you can blur the background so that the focus is on your subject. Remember for environmental portraits you will need a wide angle lens (24mm – 35mm). [Note: 16mm – 24mm on crop sensor cameras]
For further reading on photographing people try these articles:

• 15 Tips for More Powerful Portraits
• How to Choose the Perfect Portrait Lens
• Portraits: Striking The Pose
• The Rewards of Photographing People When You Travel

Okay, let’s see your people photos!