Formal Wedding Photos

Although my work is based more on a documentary style and about letting people live and enjoy the moment, I am well aware that weddings are also a great opportunity to have beautiful formal family photos. It is a day when family members get to reunite in one place for a very special occasion and it is immensely important to highlight these encounters as well.

I remember that when I looked at my wedding photos I was very happy to also have these posed family photos. The way I felt about them made me even more conscious of how they could be important to my clients.

A few weeks before the wedding I ask couples to send me a list of the family combinations that they would like to have photos of, because it is also essential to make the most of this moment. I don’t want to keep everyone for too long just standing and smiling at the camera.  I normally set a moment in the schedule where we’ll get all the formal photos done (usually right after the ceremony) and I’ll gather everyone from that list in one place so that things run out smoothly for everybody. 

Even though this period of the day is about taking formal photos, I also see it as a moment when families will be very close together. I encourage everyone to enjoy it the most they can, look at each other, give each other big hugs, hold hands, and most of the time it becomes a beautiful bonding moment. It can also be a great time to take photos with grandparents, close aunts and uncles, or anyone whom they consider a special family member.

When I first started photographing weddings the idea of posing a group of people scared me a little, but I have to say that over time it became something that I really enjoy doing  and I always do my best to make this an enjoyable moment for everyone!

You can see some of these formal portraits below.