How To Keep Group Photos Relaxed And Fast

Group photos have a slightly bad reputation at weddings. Mention them and people immediately imagine spending half the drinks reception standing around while somebody disappears off looking for an uncle who's gone to the bar. They really don't need to be like that.

I photograph group shots at pretty much every wedding, and although my photography is very natural and documentary-led, I still think they're important. The photograph of you with your parents, grandparents or siblings might not feel like the most exciting photograph on the day, but there's a good chance it'll become considerably more important to you as the years go by.

The trick is getting the photographs you actually want without allowing them to take over the wedding.

Keep the list sensible

This is probably the biggest one. Before the wedding I ask my couples for a list of the group photographs they'd like. Occasionally I'll get a list with 25 or 30 different combinations and, while I'll happily photograph whatever is important to you, that's going to take quite a chunk out of your drinks reception - think 5 minutes per group photo. There's also usually a lot of duplication in those lists. Bride and parents. Bride, groom and parents. Bride and siblings. Bride, siblings and parents. Then the same thing on the other side.

Before you know it, we've spent half an hour rearranging the same six people.

For most weddings, somewhere around six to ten groups works really well. I generally limit the larger, more formal group photographs to around six. Any more than that and they can start eating into a surprisingly big chunk of your wedding day. I'm always happy to photograph the important combinations, but I'd much rather spend the rest of the time capturing you and your guests actually enjoying yourselves than have everyone standing in a succession of lines. We get the important photographs covered, nobody gets fed up with it, and you can get back to your wedding.

Do them before everyone disappears

Timing makes an enormous difference. I generally like to get the family photographs done fairly soon after the ceremony. Everyone is together, everyone still looks presentable and, most importantly, nobody has had time to disappear. Once the drinks reception gets going, finding people becomes considerably harder. Someone is checking into their room. Someone has gone to the toilet. Someone else has found the bar. Grandad has decided to go for a wander around the grounds.

Trying to retrieve all of those people is usually what makes group photographs take forever, rather than the photography itself.

Give me someone who knows who everyone is

I can organise a group pretty quickly, but there's one slight problem: I don't know what your Uncle Dave looks like. This is where an usher, sibling or suitably loud friend becomes incredibly useful. While I'm photographing one group, they can start rounding up the people for the next one. It sounds like a tiny thing, but it can easily halve the amount of time the whole process takes.

They don't all have to be serious

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a straightforward photograph of everyone looking at the camera. In fact, I think every family should have a few of them but that doesn't mean everybody has to stand bolt upright with their hands glued to their sides. I'll arrange people where I need them, but I'll also talk to them, move people around and generally try to stop the whole thing feeling like school photograph day.

Quite often I'll take the "safe" photograph first, where everyone is looking at me, and then keep shooting for a few moments afterwards.

That's often when something much better happens. Someone says something, people start laughing, somebody looks at somebody else and suddenly you've got a photograph that actually feels like the people in it.

You don't need a formal photograph with every guest

This is another thing couples sometimes worry about. You don't need to work your way through the entire guest list. I'm photographing people throughout the day. During the drinks reception I'm looking for conversations, laughter, hugs, children doing something ridiculous and all those little interactions happening around you.

So although you might not have a formal photograph of yourselves standing next to every person who attended the wedding, you'll still have photographs of those people being part of the day. Personally, I think those photographs tell you far more.

What about one big photo with everyone?

I actually quite like doing a photograph of everyone if the venue and timings make it possible. They're slightly chaotic, but that's part of the fun. The important thing is doing it efficiently. If we're going to photograph 80 or 100 people, I want everyone gathered before I start arranging the photograph. There's nothing worse than getting 90 people into position and then discovering we're waiting for three people who are ordering a pint.

Depending on the venue, I'll sometimes photograph everyone from an upstairs window, balcony, steps or somewhere else that gives me a bit of height.

And then get back to the wedding

That's really my approach to group photographs. They're important, and I don't treat them as something we simply have to get out of the way but I also don't want them taking over your afternoon. With a sensible list, a bit of organisation and somebody helping me find the right people, we can normally get through them surprisingly quickly.

Then you can grab a drink, talk to your guests and enjoy your wedding, and I can get back to photographing all the stuff you didn't know was happening.

Planning a Lake District wedding?

If you’re planning your wedding in the Lake District and want natural, relaxed photography, I’m always happy to help you figure out timings that actually work for your day.

I’ve photographed weddings across the Lakes in every season, and I can help you work out what will actually make sense for your venue, light and plans for the day.