Regardless of how hectic or crazy a wedding day can get, there are a few key images that are simply a MUST for me when it comes to capturing my couple and their wedding party! While I LOVE the candid moments and being a fly on the wall during the day, there are certain parts of a wedding day that simply just need your direction and guidance as the lead photographer. When it comes to formal portraits, I always ensure that I capture every necessary image by following a set or flow of poses. This ensures that I’ll never miss one of those key images, but still gives me time to get creative and play around when there is extra time!

Another thing to consider is that by including some movement poses and laughter into your wedding party photos multiple times, you’ll be saving time for both you and your videographer because they won’t need to stop your flow and ask everyone to do some cheering, walking, or movement just for the video! Let them know ahead of time how you work, and it’ll be an easy process for both teams!

Keep in mind that for all of these variations in poses, I am always adding variety by shooting a wide shot/full body, a cropped in shot/closer up, a vertical shot, and a horizontal shot for each and every pose! This gives us a ton of variety to work with when we’re creating their wedding album because sometimes we need the same shot but in a different orientation to fit into the album design spread! Plus, I like to add the variety so everyone has an option they like (think… frames on the wall, posts for Instagram, profile pictures, albums, canvases, etc.)

Here’s a Breakdown of My Process:

 

Full Wedding Party

Separated by Sides

• Smiling
• Looking at each other
• Cheering

Mixed Sides

• Smiling
• Looking at each other
• Cheering
• Walking

Once I finish photographing the full wedding party, I will typically take one side and my second photographer will take the other side!

 

Separate Sides

Full Group

• Smiling
• Looking at each other
• Model shot (super serious Vogue shot/super sassy for the ladies, ‘flying v’ position for the guys or jackets over shoulder, etc.)
• Bouquet shot (close up of all the bouquets)
• Walking (looking at each other)

Individuals w/ the Bride or Groom

Again, keep in mind: I am photographing portrait and landscape orientations for all of these variations to add more variety to the final gallery!

• Smiling wide shot (full body)
• Looking at each other wide shot (full body)
• Smiling close up (cropped in around the waist)
• Cheeks together/hugging and smiling close up (cropped in around the waist)
• Looking at each other close up (cropped in around the waist)

Individuals

Again, add more variety by shooting both vertical and horizontal!

• Wide shot smiling (full body)
• Wide shot looking away or at bouquet (full body)
• Close up looking away (cropped in around the waist)
• Close up looking at me (cropped in around the waist)
• Bouquet shot (cropped in on just the bouquet, I typically do this for all the ladies because they may have different dresses on or slightly different bouquets)
• Boutonniere shot (I don’t do this for everyone if they’re all the same, just one of them!)
• Close up back of hair
• Close up back of hair looking toward shoulder to show off of hair and makeup

Although it’s not something all photographers do, I always love getting multiple individuals of each of the wedding party members! These images not only celebrate your couple’s friends and make them feel special, but they’re also awesome photos for vendors like hair and makeup artists, florists, dress and suit companies, etc. to have more detailed images to share! Plus, a lot of times, these images get used as people’s LinkedIn or Facebook profile pictures! It’s a win-win for everyone when you take the time to focus on not only full groups, but individuals, as well!

There are always fun, different ways to spice it up depending on the group, venue, and energy of the day, but I always ensure that I can get a ton of variety quickly by rolling through this flow of posing! This gets everyone in and out quickly so they can get to the bar and start to party without getting annoyed at how long photos take! It’s quick, we keep it fun and lighthearted, and we get the beautiful shots that your couple wants!