How Long do You Spend On Formals?

Scootersbabygirl · July 18, 2009

I'm extremely curious about how long most wedding photographers plan to spend on their formal shots. How long do you, on average, keep the wedding party and the bride and groom to take formal photos?

zoomer · July 19, 2009

Well the plan is never more than 30 minutes total for the wedding party and the families.
The bride and groom together another 10 to 20. The bride getting ready and her alone for 1 to 1.5 hours. I try to get 2 hours before the wedding and then 30 minutes between the wedding and reception.

Reality is since people are always late I usually actually get 15 minutes for the bridal party and families. 30 minutes with the bride and 15 minutes with the bride and groom.

Scootersbabygirl wrote:

I'm extremely curious about how long most wedding photographers plan to spend on their formal shots. How long do you, on average, keep the wedding party and the bride and groom to take formal photos?

fcorin13 · July 19, 2009

I try to keep it as short as possible! Also, it depends on how long they have between the wedding & reception. My last wedding ended at 4 & the reception wasn't until 7! We finished the family formals at about 4:30 & then spent about an hour with the bride, groom, & wedding party at a park. It was nice & relaxed! I know guests hate it when there's so much time between the ceremony & reception, but as a photographer- I love it!

I've found that this formula works well for getting most family formals done fast:

1. Bride and groom (always a good idea just in case...)

2. B&G with Minister
3. B&G with Brides Parents
4. B&G with parents and brothers and sisters
5. Add spouses and children to # 4
6. Add Grand Parents

7. Add aunts Uncles and cousins for large family shot
8. B&G with brides parents and grooms parents

9. Same breakdown as the Brides family shots

This helps to get people done & they don't have to stand up & sit down a lot. I used to do that to people when I started out & they hate it!

Scott_Quier · July 20, 2009

fcorin13 wrote:

I try to keep it as short as possible! Also, it depends on how long they have between the wedding & reception. My last wedding ended at 4 & the reception wasn't until 7! We finished the family formals at about 4:30 & then spent about an hour with the bride, groom, & wedding party at a park. It was nice & relaxed! I know guests hate it when there's so much time between the ceremony & reception, but as a photographer- I love it! I've found that this formula works well for getting most family formals done fast:

1. Bride and groom (always a good idea just in case...)

2. B&G with Minister
3. B&G with Brides Parents
4. B&G with parents and brothers and sisters
5. Add spouses and children to # 4
6. Add Grand Parents

7. Add aunts Uncles and cousins for large family shot
8. B&G with brides parents and grooms parents

9. Same breakdown as the Brides family shots

This helps to get people done & they don't have to stand up & sit down a lot. I used to do that to people when I started out & they hate it!

I take an almost opposite approach. I

Place the B&G.
Add the officiant and shoot - no he/she is free to leave if desired.
Surround B&G with all the family and shoot.
Remove the bride's family and shoot.
Replace bride's family with the grooms and shoot. At this point, the B&G can dismiss the family. This is usually a good thing as some are elderly and easily tired.
Wedding party and dismiss them
B&G for the next 10-30 minutes (or as much as I can get from them ).

zoomer · July 20, 2009

+1 for how Scott does it.
Start with the biggest group then start releasing them to the reception until you are down to the bride and groom.
Bad side effect of this is you don't get much of a break, by the time the bride and groom get to the dinner and eat the dinner is over.
If they are just going to the reception no problem.

FedererPhoto · July 20, 2009

Another vote for largest->smallest here.

Though I don't do as many groupings.

heatherfeather · July 20, 2009

Formals? What are formals?

(JK)

Me, I go by scheduling and planning ahead. I almost always have most of the work photos done by ceremony time. I send schedules to the bride before the wedding so she can get them to the people in the photos.

I go smallest to largest.

It usually goes like this:

Grooms prep
Grooms portraits
Groom and Groomsmen
(the boys go play poker or guitar hero or something- but at least they are there and dressed!)

Bridal prep (usually the tail end of things if all is going well)
Bridal portraits
The first glimpse

(the rest is a bit different if they are not planning on seeing each other before the wedding)

Bride and groom photos
Bridal party
Her family
His family
Both families

I usually get the officient at the reception

-and-

I request at least another 1/2 hour with just the couple after the reception. Those are usually my money shots since all the nerves are over and they are usually quite romantic by then.

My method of shooting before ceremony is very important especially in AK in the winter since we won't have any daylight after the ceremony.

But to each his own, eh!?

patfureyphoto · July 21, 2009

1. get people
2. line them up
3. hold the shutter for 1-3 seconds.
4.
5. profit

My large group formals are all amazing and I don't really do much. Simple is better. No one wants to stand around forever waiting for that pesky photographer to take their photograph.

Blurmore · July 21, 2009

patfureyphoto wrote:

1. get people
2. line them up
3. hold the shutter for 1-3 seconds.
4.
5. profit

My large group formals are all amazing and I don't really do much. Simple is better. No one wants to stand around forever waiting for that pesky photographer to take their photograph.

I wouldn't say no one. I worked for a studio that wouldn't talk to you for under 7k a wedding that spent a good amount of time on formals. In fact I'd say that posed photography of some kind made up more than 40% of the day. I get a list of formals the couple MUST have and I shoot to list. Because I'm not in the business of selling paper, I only shoot the formals they want (not what I think I can sell). The formals I produce are more than "line people up" though, and I'd say my typical wedding has about 20-30 minutes of formals. You clientele may not put a high value in portraits, but maybe thats just the clientele you attract.

patfureyphoto · July 21, 2009

Blurmore wrote:

I wouldn't say no one. I worked for a studio that wouldn't talk to you for under 7k a wedding that spent a good amount of time on formals. In fact I'd say that posed photography of some kind made up more than 40% of the day. I get a list of formals the couple MUST have and I shoot to list. Because I'm not in the business of selling paper, I only shoot the formals they want (not what I think I can sell). The formals I produce are more than "line people up" though, and I'd say my typical wedding has about 20-30 minutes of formals. You clientele may not put a high value in portraits, but maybe thats just the clientele you attract.

Portraits and group formals are entirely different beasts.

I spend a lot of time with the bridal party and even more time with the b&g. However, I do not spend that much time with anyone else.

Mishka · July 21, 2009

heatherfeather wrote:

I request at least another 1/2 hour with just the couple after the reception. Those are usually my money shots since all the nerves are over and they are usually quite romantic by then.

After the reception? Wow, in my experience that's really late in the evening (and dark)--and the bride and groom are often tending towards the intoxicated side. I just don't know how I'd get that to work for me. Or do you mean before the reception?

mayassa · July 21, 2009

patfureyphoto wrote:

1. get people
2. line them up
3. hold the shutter for 1-3 seconds.
4.
5. profit

My large group formals are all amazing and I don't really do much. Simple is better. No one wants to stand around forever waiting for that pesky photographer to take their photograph.

I spit out my soda!

heatherfeather · July 21, 2009

Mishka wrote:

After the reception? Wow, in my experience that's really late in the evening (and dark)--and the bride and groom are often tending towards the intoxicated side. I just don't know how I'd get that to work for me. Or do you mean before the reception?

No, after everything. But I don't always get my wishes.

Keep in mind that my wedding season is in the summer in Alaska... and it stays light very late. I think the sunset is still around 11pm... And I guess I have been lucky with the intoxicated part. I think I have only had a couple where they were that lit.

All that, plus often times they have the ceremony around 2. Last weekend with an hour of shooting after the reception and an hour drive I was home by 9:30pm. Which was wonderful!

Mishka · July 21, 2009

heatherfeather wrote:

No, after everything. But I don't always get my wishes.

Keep in mind that my wedding season is in the summer in Alaska... and it stays light very late. I think the sunset is still around 11pm... And I guess I have been lucky with the intoxicated part. I think I have only had a couple where they were that lit.

All that, plus often times they have the ceremony around 2. Last weekend with an hour of shooting after the reception and an hour drive I was home by 9:30pm. Which was wonderful!

Thanks for clarifying You do have the advantage of the summer light! It seems here that it's more popular to have a late afternoon wedding... And it's definitely dark by 9pm.

jeffreaux2 · July 22, 2009

I spend 30 minutes at the pre-consult to talk the client OUT of formals.....though this generally only results in trimming the list.

No more than 20 or 30 minutes.

Moogle Pepper · July 22, 2009

Yeah Heather has added bonus that Alaska has loong days. Though that could be a bad thing too!

Scootersbabygirl · July 23, 2009

By formals I only mean making sure that I get all of the people in the shots

. What they do AFTER I get them lined up is up to them!!

.

As for the setup, I like largest to smallest so that everyone else can head to the reception, but I also like the idea of giving the bride a schedule so that she can see what you're going to be up to. Very nice idea!

How Long do You Spend On Formals?

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