We take our wedding clients out to dinner for our first meeting to get to know them, but more importantly, to hear their “story”. And once we know how it all began, we start discussing the personal details of the big day. How the day will play out, where we’ll be doing formals, which family always runs late so we’ll have to tell them the call time starts 20 minutes earlier than it really does, etc. etc. etc. The next words out of my mouth normally are, “I know we may be a while off, but you should start thinking about your shot list.”
And the look and corresponding response I get is typically a mix of confusion, fright and humor. “Wait…we have to tell you what we want you to shoot?”
The answer is a little bit yes, and a little bit no. But more on that later.
When you hire a professional photographer to document your wedding, or Bar/Bat Mitzavah, we bring with us the knowledge of weddings past. Neat and interesting shots we may have gotten by accident that have since become staples for us on weddings days. We know all the important shots to capture because the law of averages tells us so. We know there’s going to be a ceremony and to get that first kiss. We know that at the cake cutting, there’s a 50/50 chance that someone is going to be blowing icing from their nose for the rest of the evening. We know that if there’s going to be a garter tossed, we have to don our helmet and pads and get in there to make sure we get the shot.
What we don’t know are the things YOU do. Your history. What makes you two…well, YOU! Weddings are like snowflakes. Same composition and effect…but no two are exactly alike.
Are your bridesmaids and groomsmen school friends? Is the groom (or in some cases, bride) the kegstand champion 4 years in a row, and you’d like to recreate a particular part of that one crazy HISTORIC night that is STILL talked about? Is it family tradition to slap the groom upside the head as he walks down the aisle? And of course, nowadays…EVERYONE is dancing their way down the aisle. These are all silly things that (while ALL true stories from former clients) should end up on your shot list. It is part of your history, and unless you tell us…we’ll never know!
The shot list is also our roadmap for the day. It ensures that we can roll through all your formal shots in short order because we know who is currently being photographed, and who is on deck. The Bride & Groom basically get caught up in a tsunami of people getting shuffled around them. If this is being done before the ceremony, we like to breeze through it so you have a chance to rest before the ceremony. If it’s AFTER…then you’re going to be staring at your watch looking for the waiter with the cocktail weenies and drinks to roll in if we don’t have that list to follow. If it takes even longer because we don’t know where people are, or who we’re supposed to be photographing…it can get ugly quick. That’s not what your day is supposed to be about.
So…while you don’t have to write down every single part of the day that needs to be captured, there are certain things to keep in mind when putting your shot list together:
1) If it’s important to you, then it should be important to us. We’re there to capture your day, and we’d rather err on the side of caution beforehand than miss something entirely the day of. If it’s important to you, then make sure it gets on your list.
2) Don’t try and write your list all at once. The two of you should write separate lists over time. Keep a small notebook with you, or tell Siri. Then about a month before the wedding, you want to sit down with your soon to be, compare lists, take out the overlapping names, make one big list and then send it to your photographer for their input and any questions.
3) Be as specific as possible when listing your formals for your photographer. While we may know you may have a brother or sister…we’d much rather call them by their name than “Hey…you!!”
4) Don’t worry if you miss something. While it’s great to have as much as possible already written down prior to the wedding, there are pictures you’ll forget you want until you’re in the moment. DON’T PANIC! Just because it’s not on the list, doesn’t mean we’re not going to take it.
We’re aware you have plenty of things going on in the months and weeks leading up to your wedding. Fittings, hair & makeup trials, cake tasting (our personal fave)…but in those spare moments you have, taking the time to help us help you will make sure that all the preparation that went in to making this day perfect, will be documented forever.
And let’s face it…it will be a lot less embarrassing than kegstand shots your friends just found and posted on Facebook.
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences – EMAIL US!
About the author: Brian Miller is the owner of Chorus Photography in suburban Philadelphia. To his knowledge, he is NOT the winner of any recent kegstand competitions.
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