Group Photographs don't have to be painful

We've all been there - you're at a wedding and no one wants to really do the group shots (not even us as photographers!) but we completely understand that most couples want just a few 'traditional' groups to keep everyone happy and we will take these for you in as painless a way as possible.

How you take your wedding groups is entirely up to you as a couple - we won't make you do anything you don't want to as we know that the walking, jumping, posing ones aren't for everyone but, if they suit you and you'd rather do groups like this than the traditional line-up's we're more than happy to photograph it.  It really is your day and we think you should have some say in how these are done.

If you want to speed group shots up it's always helpful to have ushers/bestmen/brothers or sisters who can quickly help to gather the relevant people together so we can photograph the shots as fast as possible for you.  Some couples even give the group shots to people they want to help us

So here's a selection of groups taken in different ways to give you some ideas.  For some couples a mix of very traditional line-up's (for family and elderly relatives) and some more fun ones (for friends or the bridal party) works ideally

With bride and groom photos again we will be led by you as a couple.  We certainly don't want you to feel uncomfortable so won't make you do poses and shots you're not happy with.  Our opinion is that we are there to photograph your day as it happens, not turn it into a big photoshoot that takes hours just to satisfy us.  The couples we work with tend to want photographs that show them as they are as a couple and how they are together - we think these sorts of photographs will mean more to them in years to come.  Please don't think though that we won't take you to nice areas and places for photos as we will, it's just we don't spend hours tweaking hand positions etc for each photo. 

Here are a couple of posed shots below that the couple wanted to do - as you'll see in the first one, if this was completely posed I would have moved the brides arm, tweaked the grooms jacket etc but then it would have lost the spontaneity and happiness of the couple

It's worth giving some thought to group shots and poses before the day itself and having some idea on what you like.  If you've booked us to photograph your day then we will discuss with you ideas, group shots etc a few weeks before the wedding so we know what suits you and what you'd like for your day :-)