Photo Schedule

Agnieszka

Hi there.

I thought I would start a weekly thread, just so we get this forum going, share thoughts & approaches and learn from others

I thought a good topic would be "Your photo schedule"

- Are you a PJ wedding photographer, do you just go with the flow?
- Do you recommend your couples a photo schedule?
- If you have one, what's the rough outline?

........................................................................................................

I'll go first

- I have a "recommended photo schedule" that is part of my info package, just because I don't think couples are really aware that they have to spend some time in front of the camera to get the shots they see on my website. I am always happy to adjust it as every couple is different, but I want them to know what they sign up for if they go with me (:rofl)

- Bride getting ready: 1-1.5h
(detail shots of rings, flowers, etc), portraits of just the bride + the girls + the parents
- Groom getting ready: ~20-30 minutes
(groom putting on his tie, portrait of just him, + the groomsmen (if they are ready) + the parents

- Family Photos: ~30 minutes
- Photos with the bridal party (I usually try to take some shots before the ceremony already), so I try to keep it short: ~ 15-20 minutes
- Photos of the 2 of them: (30)-45 minutes

What's YOUR approach? :ear

bike21

Great idea Angie! Without spelling it out, I basically do the same thing as you with little formality. Here we go...

- Are you a PJ wedding photographer, do you just go with the flow?
Yep, with the flow I go. I arrive of course ahead of a pre-determined time and tend to float quite a bit along with my wife. We end up going back & fourth a lot between getting ready shots and dresses/rings etc. I like each of us to get our own take on each 'happening'.

- Do you recommend your couples a photo schedule?
Nothing structured per se. Just depends on the couple's needs, wants & how the day is going to play out. I just listen to their needs and make a rough schedule of when to get things done. I make zero time lines, as I go with the flow of the day and grab shots as I can.

- If you have once, what's the rough outline?
So far it has been a mixed bag. Each one was different indeed, one couple saw each other before the ceremony so we did some shots and another waited. I have learned to be more assertive and/or delegate getting the family shots together to a friend/relative. I learned quickly my loose leaf format is tough for group shots when they want them.

JohnBiggs

Agnieszka wrote:

Hi there.

I thought I would start a weekly thread, just so we get this forum going, share thoughts & approaches and learn from others

I thought a good topic would be "Your photo schedule"

- Are you a PJ wedding photographer, do you just go with the flow?
- Do you recommend your couples a photo schedule?
- If you have once, what's the rough outline?

........................................................................................................

I'll go first

- I have a "recommended photo schedule" that is part of my info package, just because I don't think couples are really aware that they have to spend some time in front of the camera to get the shots they see on my website. I am always happy to adjust it as every couple is different, but I want them to know what they sign up for if they go with me ()

- Bride getting ready: 1-1.5h
(detail shots of rings, flowers, etc), portraits of just the bride + the girls + the parents
- Groom getting ready: ~20-30 minutes
(groom putting on his tie, portrait of just him, + the groomsmen (if they are ready) + the parents

- Family Photos: ~30 minutes
- Photos with the bridal party (I usually try to take some shots before the ceremony already), so I try to keep it short: ~ 15-20 minutes
- Photos of the 2 of them: (30)-45 minutes

What's YOUR approach?

Bride getting ready seems unusually long???

Scott_Quier

JohnBiggs wrote:

Bride getting ready seems unusually long???

No .... that's lovely. You get the chance for the whole hair, makeup, MoB helping bride with hair, makeup, the Bride helping the bride's maids, the BMs helping each other, the .... and the list goes on. If you have a lady behind the camera, you can get all this. A guy, well they are (usually) excluded from all this because the ladies seem to have a problem with a guy in the room when they are in their skivvies.

Mishka

Scott_Quier wrote:

No .... that's lovely. You get the chance for the whole hair, makeup, MoB helping bride with hair, makeup, the Bride helping the bride's maids, the BMs helping each other, the .... and the list goes on. If you have a lady behind the camera, you can get all this. A guy, well they are (usually) excluded from all this because the ladies seem to have a problem with a guy in the room when they are in their skivvies.

I agree...and actually sometimes I spend several hours (the good part of the morning or afternoon) with the bride and her bridesmaids. It's actually pretty fun to start the day that way. Going to the salon, then to the house to get ready, lunch somewhere, then group shots of the girls, then the church...

And as for a schedule, I usually let the bride and groom determine the timeline, however, I will offer advice and input if it appears they want a lot of posed photos and have scheduled little time for it.

JohnBiggs

Scott_Quier wrote:

No .... that's lovely. You get the chance for the whole hair, makeup, MoB helping bride with hair, makeup, the Bride helping the bride's maids, the BMs helping each other, the .... and the list goes on. If you have a lady behind the camera, you can get all this. A guy, well they are (usually) excluded from all this because the ladies seem to have a problem with a guy in the room when they are in their skivvies.

Since we are takling about how much time you tell the bride you need, I wouldn't say I NEED 1.5 hours to take getting ready shots.

Sure more time in any particular part of the day is wonderful.

Agnieszka

JohnBiggs wrote:

Since we are takling about how much time you tell the bride you need, I wouldn't say I NEED 1.5 hours to take getting ready shots.

Sure more time in any particular part of the day is wonderful.

I'm not saying that I NEED 1.5h, otherwise she can book somebody else. I tell them 1-1.5h is ideal for me to get all those shots. Half an hour would push it, as I try to take some (traditional + fun) pics with the girls & a few pics with the parents as well and it's important to me to get some nice portraits of just the bride beside all the candids and detail shots.

I mean, that's just my approach, I'm not saying this is the only way to do it. That's why I started this thread, so people can share their approaches ...

Scott_Quier

JohnBiggs wrote:

Since we are takling about how much time you tell the bride you need, I wouldn't say I NEED 1.5 hours to take getting ready shots.

Sure more time in any particular part of the day is wonderful.

- the stated need has to be a measured response to the client's stated desires. The more they want, the more time is required to produce that result.

And, that's what I do. As part of the interview process I discover how much they want. If it's late in their wedding planning process, I also ask how much time they've allocated for photos then apply an adjustment factor of about 0.66 to get closer to how much time I will actually have. Then the "negotiation" starts and we come up with a schedule. Some parts of that schedule are easy to adhere to. Others, not so much. It depends on how well the bride and, to some extent, the groom adhere to the schedule. Remember, nothing is ever on time.

The schedule is NOT in my contract. And, my contract stresses the fact that the wedding day is a very fluid and dynamic situation and there is no guarantee that any particular photo will be captured. But, I do really, really try to get all that is expected/requested.

RBrogen

Scott_Quier wrote:

- the stated need has to be a measured response to the client's stated desires. The more they want, the more time is required to produce that result.

And, that's what I do. As part of the interview process I discover how much they want. If it's late in their wedding planning process, I also ask how much time they've allocated for photos then apply an adjustment factor of about 0.66 to get closer to how much time I will actually have. Then the "negotiation" starts and we come up with a schedule. Some parts of that schedule are easy to adhere to. Others, not so much. It depends on how well the bride and, to some extent, the groom adhere to the schedule. Remember, nothing is ever on time.

The schedule is NOT in my contract. And, my contract stresses the fact that the wedding day is a very fluid and dynamic situation and there is no guarantee that any particular photo will be captured. But, I do really, really try to get all that is expected/requested.

Well said Agnieszka/Scott. I actually use a similar approach to all of my shoots, not just weddings. The big thing is to "LISTEN" to what the client's goals are, understand how much time it will take to achieve those goals given the outlined circumstances and then be able to adjust on the fly because things always change. I have never once had a shoot go exactly as planned but have been able to achieve the goal(s) because of being flexible and dynamic in those fluid situations. While all of our time is important, the creativity of photography can't be constrained to a strict time schedule less you wind up in a “super outlet mall” with people in queue step up, snap and step out cookie cutter result. We as artist do sacrifice some of our time to get the results that we want that does not directly translate into $$ from our clients. That time often falls outside of what is covered in some contract but it differentiates us from those who are determined to be on a tight regimen. Just my thoughts.

Shima

- Are you a PJ wedding photographer, do you just go with the flow?
I'd consider myself somewhere in the middle. I like to give guidelines / recommendations, but at the end of the day, I like to just go w/ the flow. Usually when I'm with the bride at her getting ready location I tell her that as long as she understands that this day is most likely not going to run exactly as planned (whether it be a dress malfunction, someone running late, too much salt in the food whatever) that she will have the happiest day. Once I get that thought in her head everyone calm's down, stops freaking out about schedules, and we just have fun following the day as it goes...stopping when needed for obligatory photos and shooting PJ for everything else.


- Do you recommend your couples a photo schedule?
Although I don't require them to go by it, I always talk about the concept of the photo schedule during the booking process (generally right after they officially book me). This is when I help them plan their day and make them realize the time it takes for them to capture any "formal things" and items they request / expect.

- If you have once, what's the rough outline?
I don't have a written out one, but the main thing I impress on them is needing 30 minutes for formals, 15 minutes w/ bridal party, and then another 30 minutes to an hour with just the couple (depending on how flexible they are w/ their time) to get the shots of just the two of them. Photo time before the ceremony is something we discuss based on their schedule for the day.

zoomer

My thoughts on the photo schedule have changed dramatically over the last few weddings.
We really encourage the couple to see each other prior to the ceremony if they really care about maximizing the photographs.
We spend 2 hours with the bride and her girls, 15 minutes with the guys, 15 minutes with the bridal party. Then both families have to be there to start the formals, 30 minutes for that, start with the biggest group and finish with formals of the bride and groom only. Then the ceremony. Then during the reception I steal the bride and groom away for 15 minutes for romantic posed shots when the light is perfect and the bridal party if they are into it for 15 minutes just for fun creative shots.

We STRONGLY stress the importance of people being on time for the photos and explain the negative effects to their photography that will happen if someone is late and they want us to wait for them.

It is MUCH more difficult to get everything done if the bride and groom do not want to see each other before the ceremony.

Agnieszka

zoomer wrote:

We really encourage the couple to see each other prior to the ceremony if they really care about maximizing the photographs.

It is MUCH more difficult to get everything done if the bride and groom do not want to see each other before the ceremony.

Interesting! I do agree, that it takes away some of the stress the day off, and if they do the pics beforehand, they get to enjoy the cocktail hour and don't have to think about photos.

I usually leave it completely to my couples, mostly because I would not have wanted to see my husband before / I guess it's a "girl's dream" thing for me But I am totally excited if they want to do the pics before and try to find a nice spot where they see each other for the first time.

I was laughing when I saw the 15 minutes you usually spend with the groom getting ready Yeah, same here ...

entropy07

I usually explain in the very first client meeting that if they want photos like the best ones on my website, they should go with my recommended timings:

30min - 1 hr for getting ready
30min for wedding party
15 - 30 min for families formals
30min - 1 hour for B&G (First Look preferred)

Then throughout the months leading up to the wedding I'll check in and see if they've uploaded a wedding day schedule to my Google Doc that I have prepared for them. If I feel it's a little on the short side, I'll let them know and we can work around it, but I always respect the clients' wishes first. However, many clients DO love photography and if that's what they want, I make it clear to them if their timing is unrealistic.

I prefer doing the "First Look" before the ceremony, and usually when I explain how much it takes away the stress and how they get to hang out during cocktail hour, most clients go for it!

For Asian weddings in particular, a lot of clients hand me a shot list for the family photos. I reorder the shot list so that the larger groups go first, and then get smaller and smaller, leaving family + wedding party at the end, and I try to get all of this done right after the ceremony. If it's a very long list, I usually ask that the MOH or best man or a sibling who knows everyone to stand next to me and call out each family, and try to get everyone to be on time. So far, I haven't had too many timing issues! * knocks on wood * I often joke that the more they cooperate, the faster they can all get to their food and drink!

Of course, weddings aren't perfect, I've had instances of cramming in shots in 10 - 15 minutes as well. It's all part of learning to be flexible!