The full list of standard shots to put on your checklist:
The bride and groom
Then the Bride and Groom with:
The bridesmaids
The best man
The bridesmaids and the best man
Their immediate family (Bride’s, then Groom’s, then both together)
Their other family members (Bride’s, Groom’s then both)
Immediate and other family members(Bride’s, Groom’s then both)
Close friends (Bride’s, Groom’s then both)
Other friends (Bride’s, Groom’s then both)
Other people (perhaps work colleagues? The person who married them? The florist? . . . ?)
Complete group shot – everyone!
You could have every person named and tick them off the list. You could easily find on the internet a wedding photography checklist that covers every person imaginable, from the priest down to the family pets! A good wedding photography tip – avoid them!
Why should you avoid these lists? There is a big problem with them – they are just too detailed. You will never be able to use it once you are in the thick of it.
You will have enough on your hands calling people over, posing them, handling your equipment and actually taking the photographs. You won’t have time to stop to check if Aunty Deirdre was third on your wedding photography checklist or fourth.
Provided you have a strong voice and direct groups of people into the photograph as you need them, you won’t go far wrong.
And remember - people like to be directed. They don’t like wondering if they were or weren’t supposed to be in that last photograph. Call out to them “And now I need the groom’s immediate family please!”.
To help speed things along, when you are close to finishing up with one group, quickly glance at your list, then announce who's next. Then the next group can get themselves ready. ”If the Bride’s friends could start sprucing themselves up please, I’m almost finished with the family here!”
Add this to your checklist – a confident voice!
A good wedding photography tip - enlist the help of the best man here. Introduce yourself to him early in the day and inform him that you’ll be asking him to help get people ready for the photos.
I’ve yet to have a best man refuse. In fact, they generally enjoy having a job to do! Something else that perhaps should be on your wedding photography checklist – a good best man!
Other shots that could be on your wedding photography checklist – the “specials”.
The “specials” are the extra photos that the bride and groom would like you to take. These are the ones you discussed with them when you met them prior to the wedding. (you did meet them well before the wedding, didn't you?)
The list below is not exhaustive, but should give you some ideas of photos to go on your wedding photography checklist:
Finishing getting ready shots – straightening tie for the groom, pulling up garter belt for the bride.
The rings
The flowers
The back of the bride’s dress (especially if it’s elaborate)
The wedding car
The wedding cake
The wedding venue itself
The best advice, as always, is to talk to the bride and groom. They may well want to add to this part of your wedding photography checklist.
Sidebar . . . One of the best things about digital photography is sharing the photos you take. However, because we end up taking so many of them, it’s easy to lose track of them all.
I recommend you give Google’s Picasa a try. It will not only organise your photos, but will perform minor edits too.
It’s all some photographers need, and best of all, it’s absolutely free!
Picasa comes as part of the Google Pack. If you don’t want the rest of the pack just de-select them when you get to the download screen.
Click here, and you too can
The full list of standard shots to put on your checklist:
Blink
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Google
Simpy
Spurl
Technorati
Y! MyWeb