The Picture Request List: Helpful or Hindering?

“Should I have a picture request list ready for my wedding photographer?”

You don’t have to look far on Pinterest or wedding blogs to find list after list of “Must-Have Pictures You Don’t Want To Miss On Your Wedding Day”. We agree that pictures are such an important part of the wedding day! There also aren’t any re-dos on your wedding day pictures. The fear of missing something makes these lists popular on wedding planning resources.

But are they helpful? Will you get better pictures with a list…or without?

In this week’s Tidbit, we’re going to dig a little bit deeper and show you how we think this list can be helpful. We’ll also show you what to avoid! You might not realize it, but an extensive shot list will actually hinder your professional photographer from getting the best possible pictures on your wedding day.

The Helpful Kind of Shot List: A Few Specific, Meaningful Pictures That Are Extra Special To You

It’s a great idea to think about specific shots that will mean a lot to you: you with your mom and grandma, praying with your groom before the wedding, or an heirloom piece of jewelry. 

Although professional wedding photographers are very experienced in what they capture, we don’t always know the things and relationships that are the most precious to you as an individual.

If there’s a person, thing, event, group, or moment that is extra special to you, don’t hesitate to tell your photographer! We have a specific spot on our wedding questionnaire that gives all our J&A Brides a chance to list important shots. It could look something like this:

• Bride, mom, and grandma praying together before the ceremony
• A piece of mom’s wedding dress wrapped around the bride’s bouquet
• Groom with fraternity friends
• Bride with childhood friends

We recommend limiting your shot request list to no more than 6-8 special requests, if possible.

What About Family Combinations?

That number doesn’t include specific family combinations. There are often additional family combinations that a bride wants, and that’s great! Keep in mind that every additional combination will add about 3-4 minutes to the time you’ll need to allow for family formals, but those are easy to add in as requested.

The NOT Helpful Kind of Shot List: A Loooooong One

Giving your photographer a huge list of “must-haves” or Pinterest examples to copy will distract them from really capturing the flow of your day. They’ll be so busy trying to check off your list that they might miss the real moments as they happen! 

Professional photographers create art when they have the freedom to use their artistic vision, skills, and flow. We see beautiful moments, pretty light, and special emotion as it happens. That’s what we capture! We also know how to put those moments into the best light/background/moment to make both a picture both authentic and stunning.

When there is a multi-page shot list to follow, a photographer spends a lot of his or her mental and emotional energy trying to follow the list. It can also take them away from their normal thought flow, which can sometimes cause other things to be missed in an effort to keep track of the list.

You chose your photographer because you loved their style, personality, and how they saw the wedding day and captured each moment. Trust them to create that same magic for you! Relax and let them do what they do best.

Rings and Decor and Bridesmaids and Parents…

A lot of the lists you see on Pinterest or blogs go into very specific detail, listing out every possible picture you could take. Don’t let this overwhelm you OR your photographer!

A professional wedding photographer knows that you’ll want pictures of the bridal party, the bouquet, the kiss, a picture with your parents, etc, etc. They’re well experienced in capturing the wedding day! 

This is where you can use your specific shot request list to its advantage. Choose just 4-6 pictures that you absolutely want to make sure are in your gallery. Feel free to request those! If the bouquet is one of the most important parts of your wedding day for whatever reason, ask to highlight it in your pictures. Maybe a picture with your grandparents is incredibly special because of looming health problems. This is how the shot request list is best used!

What About Pinterest Pictures To Recreate?

We encourage brides to take the same balanced approach to Pinterest pictures as they do to the picture request list. It’s totally fine to show your photographer the kind of pictures you’re drawn to. You can also ask for 1-2 re-creations if you just think that picture is absolute perfection and it’s worth it to you to put the time and effort into trying it out.

Yet, use caution here! Many pictures you find online are very difficult to recreate, due to lighting, personalities, background, emotion, environment, etc, etc. Rarely can a picture really be re-created easily. Instead, it can take away the time, flow, and artistic creativity from creating pictures that are uniquely yours. 

Feel free to give ideas about the kind of things you like, then trust your photographer to capture the wedding day through their eyes!

Creating a list with special moments, people, or things that really mean a lot to you is helpful to your photographer. That helps us be prepared to capture them in the best way possible. Our recommendation is to leave those huge lists at home, however! Invest in a photographer you love, then trust them to know how to document the day, and you can enjoy relishing the moments as they happen.

*hugs*
Amber

P.S. Do you have any advice on the “picture request list” topic? Share your thoughts in the comments below! :)

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