A shot list is your list of “must have” photos that you expect to get from your photographer. You will want to discuss this with your families well in advance of the wedding day because photos take time and family photos take longer. People get lost, go to the bar, get distracted by something shiny – you get the idea . . .
For 99% of the experienced photographers in Colorado, you do not need to tell them to get a shot of your first kiss during the ceremony or a picture of your shoes. They get it – they will do it. What we are looking for when we ask for a shot list are must have family groupings / things that are important details to you that the photographer may not know. For instance, are you wearing your grandmother dress? Ummmmm, tell us, there will be special attention paid to the lace. Did you sew something a message onto the back of your groom’s tie- tell us!!!!!
Since your wedding is not just about you – it is about your families – you have to ask your parents to weigh in on this one. And this conversation about photos needs to happen early because it is a HUGE factor in the timeline. And if you have been diligently reading these wedding 101 posts, you know how important the final timeline is. We do not want to change it all 12 hours before kickoff. It makes people grumpy.
Question #1 – Do you want to do family photos before or after the ceremony? Doing them before – how are you going to communicate photo schedule to your families? WHERE are you doing them (see earlier post about not going to reception site an hour before wedding)?
Question #2 – Who is included in these family photos? Create a list – starting with the largest numbers / groupings (his side + your side) and whittle down from there.
Timing – each “posed” photo takes 3-4 minutes to set / stage
***disclaimer, see earlier point about people wandering off when they get distracted by shiny objects. If they wander – the timeline is wacked.
Question #3 – Does your family stress you out? Seriously – you can love people but not react well around them if you are nervous. Take your + your fiance’s feelings into account. HOW do you want your day to go??
Question #4 – Do you want a HUGE / ALL GUEST group photo? We need to have a plan for that (despite what most people think – we do not always have 10′ ladders hanging around ceremony sites. Often – but not always).
Question #5 – Did you tell your florist that you are planning on photos early? That way he / she can be in the correct place to distribute personal flowers (and not on a wild goose chase).
These are questions we pose because we want your day to be a reflection of what YOU two want. I don’t have these answers – these are for you and your honey to talk about because it is your wedding!!! Make a decision together, communicate it to us (via GOOGLE DRIVE!!!!) and we will all be able to create the day YOU want.
Working with your timeline – map out what photos you want before and after your ceremony. Trust the team that you hired and realize that you will need to take some accountability for communication if you want photos before the ceremony.
Ideally – we will work your photography shot list right into the day of timeline IN GOOGLE DRIVE so we (venue, planner, photographers, hair and makeup, florists and cinematographers) can all work with the same information!
We are happy to bounce ideas off of but so many of these questions are personal – talk about them and tell us how you want it to go . . .
