Just Shoot Me—But Don’t Shoot That!

Just Shoot Me—But Don’t Shoot That!

July 18th, 2011 @ 3:16 pm by Mrs. Ladyfingers
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Our photographer “must-have shots” list is a work in progress, as I continue to find more and more beautiful examples from the weddings of others. We had originally booked our photographer from about an hour before the wedding to two hours before it ended, in the interest of keeping our budget trim, but as things opened up over the past few months, we decided to book her through the end of the wedding so she could photograph the cake cutting, bouquet toss, exit, and more things we didn’t want her to miss.

I’d STRONGLY suggest putting together a shots list for your photographer. Every wedding and every couple are different, and even the most professional of photographers are not mind readers. They may not end up capturing some special moment you’d like, and the last thing you want is regret as you flip through wedding photos in the years to come.

Our shots list, so far, looks something like this:

Image via Elizabeth Anne Designs / Photo by Leo Patrone Photography

Pre-wedding

Detail shots from within the reception room: Centerpieces, specific décor items, escort-card table, guestbook table, cupcakes
Detail shots from the ceremony area and elsewhere on the property: Aisle decorations, arch, wedding signs from the front of the building
Detail shots from within the bridal suites: Accessories, hanging dress, shoes
Getting ready—her: Me getting into my dress, primping, bridesmaids putting finishing touches on their looks, bouquet detail shots
Getting ready—him: Groom, groomsmen, and best man candids; his mom getting corsage placed on; bout detail shots; ring detail shots

Image via Style Me Pretty / Photo by Beauty for Ashes Photography

Ceremony

The moment my dad sees me, all the bridesmaids walking down the aisle, me appearing with my dad, Mr. Ladyfingers’s face when he sees me, my dad giving me away, us during vows, my dad during vows, FIL Ladyfingers during vows, the ring exchange, the kiss, the “introducing man and wife”
Post-ceremony: Marriage-certificate signing, posed pictures in various combinations (which I won’t detail here so as to spare you), bride and groom solo shots, bride solo shots, groom solo shots, the bustling, the bride-and-groom shoe shot, the bridesmaids-and-bride shoe shot (because they’re all wearing different shoes)

Image via My DeeJay / Photo by Vesic Photography

Reception

Grand entrance, first dance, tons of silly dancing shots, toasts, cake cutting, father/daughter dance, mother/son dance, sunset photos of bride and groom, bouquet toss, garter exchange, last dance, exit

Just Shoot Me---But Don’t Shoot That! : wedding engagement pictures photography saint petersburg Lf4 lf4

Image via The Wedding Chicks / Photo by Christina Diane Photography

And I can also tell you what we DON’T want.

A fakey photo of me and all my girls laughing at nothing in particular, as if I or some bridesmaid said something hilarious—but not so hilarious that we genuinely appear to be laughing
Any other combination of the above
The groom running away as his guys chase him as if to say, “Come back! Don’t get cold feet!”
This:

Just Shoot Me---But Don’t Shoot That! : wedding engagement pictures photography saint petersburg Lf5 lf5

Image via Awkward Family Photos

What’s on your must-shoot list? Do you have a “please don’t make us do this” list? And most importantly—am I missing anything?

Tags: engagement pictures, photography, saint petersburg |

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23 Responses to “Just Shoot Me—But Don’t Shoot That!”

1 2 Last

Member

Shrimp (message) 51 posts, Worker bee

Our photographer actually asked us to not give them a list. They just wanted a list of people that should be in pictures.

To be honest, I’m a little nervous about not giving them a list.

I think your list is great though, I think it’s specific enough you will get what you want, but not so specific you will spend your entire day posing for photographs and not enjoying everything.

7/18/11 @ 3:22 pm (reply)

Member

MissMoscato (message) 117 posts, Blushing bee

A list is a MUST, I agree. And the laughing bridesmaids shot, yeah, not so much. That last photo is horrendous, it’s freaky!

7/18/11 @ 3:32 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Bunting (message) 458 posts, Helper bee

OMG. What is that last one? You must have it. You simply must. It’s like looking into a pensieve of awful.

7/18/11 @ 3:39 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Seal (message) 1,179 posts, Bumble bee

I just might have to steal this, LF!!! I’ve been putting off making my “must-have” shot list for awhile now and you’ve definitely got a great list here, lady Thanks for the inspiration, as always!

7/18/11 @ 3:42 pm (reply)

Member

future.mrs.f (message) 25 posts, Newbee

Please please please “don’t make us” all jump into the air. I don’t get that shot and it just ends up making everybody look ridiculous.

7/18/11 @ 3:43 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Parasol (message) 2,132 posts, Buzzing bee

I feel so behind, Ladyfingers! I definitely need to put my list together, but I feel kind of overwhelmed! Part of me just wants to trust our photographers because they are absolutely amazing. I look at all of their work and want to say, “Yeah, just do THAT. All of it!”

7/18/11 @ 3:47 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Pony (message) 4,174 posts, Honey bee

@Mrs. Bunting: Bhahaha, pensieve of awful! I love it!

This is a great list! I definitely trust our photographer to do an awesome job, but I don’t think it hurts to mention the shots I’d really like to have also.

7/18/11 @ 3:58 pm (reply)

Guest

legallyengaged

I told mine no jumping. I don’t want to try to catch air in a gown LOL

7/18/11 @ 4:24 pm (reply)

Member

tea (message) 7,288 posts, Bee Keeper

i don’t know if the fake laughter is avoidable. i was just in a wedding where we took a lot of fake laughter pictures that actually turned into real laughter because our fake laughter was just that bad and awkward.

7/18/11 @ 4:30 pm (reply)

10.

Bee

Mrs. Hyena (message) 1,882 posts, Buzzing bee

Great list! But at some point you have to just trust your photogs. I gave ours an extensive list, and still wound up missing a few shots. Not the end of the world — you’ll have SO MANY when all is said and done!

7/18/11 @ 4:40 pm (reply)

11.

Bee

Miss Ladyfingers (message) 1,119 posts, Bumble bee

@Shrimp: Have you asked them why they don’t want a list?

@future.mrs.f: Oh yeah!! I’ve seen some cute jumping shots, but this is a good example of “conversations to have pre-event so everybody is on the same page.”

@Miss Parasol: Noooo, you can do it! I mean, the “must shots” isn’t a requirement, but our photographer did ask for it, and our caterer/coordinator STRONGLY encouraged it based on our own experience. The whole thing is just, maybe there’s a particular DIY you want highlighted, or a special relationship between people you want photographed (like you and your grandma or… I don’t know). They know the standard shots, I’m sure, but it never hurts to point out specific things you know you’d like to have.

@tea: Oh man, much like I don’t want the Macarena played at the reception, I don’t want a fake laughter shot. But then again, if guests REALLY WANT the Macarena, they’re gonna request it

@Mrs. Hyena: Agreed! My point isn’t to micromanage what our professionals do, but instead to fully cover all expectations ahead of time - never a bad idea! I set it in the same category as “general music ideas to discuss with the DJ.” I’m not going to build him a minute-by-minute playlist, but he should know we’re not having country music at the reception.

7/18/11 @ 4:54 pm (reply)

12.

Member

Devonclaire (message) 29 posts, Newbee

oh my- that last shot is going to give me nightmares! My coordinators are huge fans of the list. One of them didn’t do a list (with a well known local photog) and ended up with no shoe shots and no pictures just her with her mom

7/18/11 @ 5:53 pm (reply)

13.

Member

BirdofaFeather (message) 473 posts, Helper bee

i definitely recommend having a list of photos for formals or special details/people (like an aunt that may not be obvious VIP or a family heirloom or DIY), but some of these “must haves” are really obvious (like first dance or first kiss) and your real list of “must haves” that are important images for you but maybe not obvious for your photog like the corsage being put on or the bridesmaids’ shoes shot might get lost in a list that big.

I would consider getting rid of some of those really obvious images that happen in the course naturally of the wedding in hopes of highlighting those are particular to YOUR wedding.

7/18/11 @ 6:31 pm (reply)

14.

Bee

Mrs. Hippo (message) 1,008 posts, Bumble bee

I totally wish I had given a more specific list to our photographers. I had the group shots listed that I wanted to make sure I got, but I didn’t mention some of the detail shots, and thus, I didn’t get them. Sadly, there is no photo of our mac ‘n cheese bar.

7/18/11 @ 6:46 pm (reply)

15.

Bee

Mrs. Tartlet (message) 3,207 posts, Sugar bee

A ‘must have shots’ list was definitely helpful for us, and our photographers were great about getting most of the ones we wanted. Some couldn’t be helped just because of how the timeline/event panned out, but I’m sure we would have missed some key detail shots had we not been specific!

7/18/11 @ 7:59 pm (reply)

16.

Bee

Miss Doily (message) 637 posts, Busy bee

My photographer has luckily been super amazing. She sent me a word document with a huge list of shots that are normally wanted with areas to fill in people’s names. She told me to add, delete, change anything in the document and when the wedding gets closer we will have a sit down and talk about the list! Now I just need to start working on the said list. LOL!

7/18/11 @ 8:17 pm (reply)

17.

Member

emma5w (message) 547 posts, Busy bee

Good Lord, that last shot is absolutely terrifying. Yeah, I didn’t want the fake laughing thing, either. Instead, our photographer sat me down in a chair and said she wanted us all to pretend we’re laughing. My sister, with a knack for perfect timing for smart-ass remarks, shot her mouth off and we all started cracking up. Fake laughter, not so much; real laughter, ends up being one of my favorite photos! Also, we did the jumping photo (which I didn’t want) and I still don’t really like it, other than the fact that one of our GMs is - I kid you not - about 3 feet off the ground. THAT is hilarious. Otherwise, the photo sucks.

7/18/11 @ 8:37 pm (reply)

18.

Member

MsJeep23 (message) 1,375 posts, Bumble bee

We didn’t do a list. Sure, there are some shots we didn’t get (mostly groupings of people that I didn’t think of till after), but we had talked to our photog a lot and trusted her.
I would say that the aversion to shot lists on the part of some photogs is–well, you’re telling them how to do their jobs. I think it is good for, say, “my aunts and mom together” and “me and sisters and college buds,” because they won’t necessarily know that you want those particular photos, but the rest of the stuff–entrance, getting ready, details–are standard for every wedding they shoot. (Also, sometimes a prescribed moment doesn’t make a good shot, either. So the photog will switch their efforts to a better scene, especially if two things are happening at once)
This isn’t to say that it’s a bad idea or that all photogs hate them–just another perspective, esp for bees who have been discouraged from making one. I would recommend asking the photog what works best in your case.

7/18/11 @ 8:56 pm (reply)

19.

Member

jamielkbaker (message) 13 posts, Newbee

I like the idea of the “LIST”. I just signed my contract with my photographer and mentioned that I would send her a list of the photos I definitely wanted. I must say that the reason I chose her is because of her creativity, but I don’t want to miss out on the must have shots as we all get caught up in the festivities. Thanks for starting my list.

7/18/11 @ 11:18 pm (reply)

20.