How To Make Your Wedding Group Photos Less Painful

Group photos at a wedding do NOT have the best reputation. There can be a lot of shouting, someone’s grandad has wandered off, you’re getting face-ache from standing and smiling for what’s felt like two hours. But there’s a few things you can do to make them feel easier. Here are my tips to keep your group shots quick and pain-free so you can get back to enjoying your big day:

Plan your groups in advance

Don’t go into your group photos blind. As a part of the lead-up to your wedding, I’ll send you a nice juicy questionnaire and the group shot list is a big part of it! That way I can get prepared and know roughly who I’m going to need, how much space we’ll need for the photos and how long it could take depending on how many guests are gonna be in the group photos. (More people = more time). Planning out your list in advance means you can also pre-warn people that they’re gonna be needed so they don’t toddle off somewhere when you need them.

Pick a max of 10 wedding group photo combos

10 is the maximum number of groups combos I would recommend. Anything more than that and things will start going off-piste and getting out of hand. It’ll also really start eating into your mingling time, which could be spent chatting to your loved ones instead of standing in a line with them. Having the pre-determined list also means I can stop your aunt from shouting ‘you should get one with your 13 cousines!’ when you really don’t want to, because of the list.

Group/Order them logically

What also really helps make things easier when planning out your group shots is to group people and order them logically. A lot of couples will start planning out their group shots as:

1. Couple + Nan 1
2. Couple + Grandad 1
3. Couple + Nan 1 & Grandad 1
4. Couple + Nan 2
5. Couple + Grandad 2
6. Couple + Nan 2 & Grandad 2
7. Couple + All Grandparents

Now depending on family dynamics, what you could do instead to save the amount of swapping and time, is instead have:

1. Couple + Nan 1 & Grandad 1
2. Couple + Nan 2 & Grandad 2
3. Couple + All Grandparents

It saves people jumping in and out of photos, especially if they’re less mobile.

Ordering is also a huge time-saver as it means we can get certain people ticked off instead of them having to hang around til the end to see if all of their photos are done. Typically, I suggest doing one side of the couple’s family first, and then the other – however depending again on family dynamics, we can order group shots in a strategic way so certain people won’t have to cross paths.

Designated people herders

Find your loudest and most trustworthy friends. Give them the list. Make them yell at people. Designating some people herders to wrangle your guests will make things a whole lot easier, bonus points if they know your family and friends. On the day, the only faces I will really know are yours, so I won’t be any use in finding your great-uncle. So picking out a couple of people to start gathering more groups while I’m photographing a different group means we can get through them a whole lot quicker.

Do them at the start of the drinks reception

On the day itself I’ll always try to get the wedding group shots done as soon after the ceremony ends as I can. That way everybody that’s in the group shots can be done and chill out as early as possible. It also stops people from being able to get too many welcome drinks in them and start going on adventures.

Time your full-group photo strategically

If you want a full-wedding group shot, then it needs to be thought out and specifically planned out. My biggest recommendation for timings would be to do it either at the start of the drinks reception after the confetti, or at the very end of the drinks reception before everyone gets called through to the wedding breakfast. These are a couple of the few times that everyone is gonna be in the same place doing roughly the same thing, so it makes it a lot easier to factor in an extra five minutes to get a fab photo of everyone.

Allow plenty of time

Your wedding group photos can take TIME. Especially if you’ve got to gather lots of people or any guests with mobility issues, it’s a good idea to give people plenty of time to get around. I’d recommend accounting for around 5 minutes per group shot, and an extra 10 if you want the full-group photo too! It’s always a good idea to go in expecting it to take a decent amount of time, and if we smash through it even quicker, then that’s some bonus time you can spend back with your guests.

BYOF (Bring your own fun)

If I had a pound every time someone said ‘can we do some fun ones?!’ and then stared at me completely dead-pan, I wouldn’t be penniless. If you want the fun photos – bring your own fun! (Just like Georgie & Joe did) Have a laugh with your mates, be weird, be stupid – chances are you’re all friends and the world won’t see these photos! The fun photos look better when everyone completely lets loose without worrying about being ‘cringe’. And if you wanna get extra fancy, bring the props. Confetti, smoke flares, champagne for spraying – all of those can make for some EPIC group photos.

Keep It Simple and You’ll Actually Enjoy It

Your wedding group photos don’t need to be massively complicated or long. Just the important people you want to remember being with on the day. The simpler it is, the easier it’ll be done and sooner you can get back to spending time with your people and enjoying the wedding day you planned.

If you want a wedding photographer who knows how to get your group shots done quickly and painlessly while still keeping things chill and fun – you’ve got me. Take a look at some more of my work (outside of just group photos) and check out my packages here. And if I’m the one for you, then get in touch.