What to Include on Your Wedding Day Shot List

By Jada Parrish

Posted: 09/05/13

Category: Wedding Tips

As your wedding day draws closer, your wedding photographer is undoubtedly going to ask you to put together a Wedding Day Shot List. A wedding day shot list is pretty much just one giant list of all the different photos that you would like to have taken at your wedding. Of course most photographers know to take the standard shots of things such as the bride's dress and accessories or the cutting of the cake. Those are absolutely things that you can put on your list, but try to focus on things that might be a little out of the ordinary...things that the photographer otherwise might not think to photograph. 

Photographers are creative people and each photographer will have their own unique way of doing things. Trust your photographer to get all of the necessary shots, but be sure to let them know which shots are REALLY important to you.

Family Photos

Be sure to include family photos on your Wedding Day Shot List. This means creating a list of every formal family photo that you would like to have taken on your wedding day. The more specific you make your list, the better. Be sure to include the first and last names of each person that you would like in each photo. For example:

• Bride &  Maternal Grandparents -- Jada Zajur, Barbara Samuels, Chuck Samuels
• Groom & Sister & Father -- David Parrish, Kristin Parrish, Dave Parrish

Including first and last names on your Wedidng Day Shot List is a tremendous help to your wedding photographer. Organizing large groups of people when you don't know who anyone is can be a bit challenging. Having first and last names next to each desired shot will allow your photographer to find, organize, and pose people much more easily and efficiently. 

** Consider assigning one close friend or distant family member to assist your wedding photographer with locating family members (your photographer will greatly appreciate this).

Reaction Shots

Because of Pinterest and the millions of wedding blogs out there, many photographers get a little too wrapped up with detail shots and forget to capture those once in a lifetime moments that I like to call the "reaction shots." For example:

• The look on your Dad's face as you say "I Do"
• The look on your mom's face as you and your Dad are walking down the aisle.
• The look on your Groom's face as he sees you for the first time
• Your Bridesmaids' expressions as they see you in your wedding dress for the first time
• The look on your Mom's face as she watches as you and your Dad have your Father-Daughter Dance

These are once in a lifetime moments that can sometimes be overlooked because there is so much to photograph at a wedding. Be sure to request some of these shots beause I promise 25 years from now, you aren't going to care what your place settings looked like, but you are always going to treasure that photo of your Dad wiping a tear away as you said "I Do."

Detail Shots

Wedding photographers are usually all about capturing the detail shots because those are the shots that give them a chance to be a little more creative and artistic. They are also the shots the blogs are looking for. Just be sure to let your photographer know if you have any particular wedding decorations or details that might otherwise be overlooked. Like I said, there are a million different things to photograph at a wedding so your photographer might not realize that getting a shot of your wedding rings on your wedding invitation is very important to you unless you tell them. 

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