*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with Vanessa on Instagram @VanessaJoy.
In this episode amazing Vanessa Joy (via her awesome show “Breathe Your Passion” highlighted by AdoramaTV) will teach you how to take those dreaded but sweet family photos FAST during a wedding shoot!
Vanessa shares with us: “family photos can be the most annoying thing that you do on a wedding. I don’t know any photographer that likes family photos! I’m pretty sure my favorite photographer Joe Buissink.. think he paid other people to do his family photos for him, and he was the main photographer! “
According to Vanessa, family photos – “is your time to shine, this is your time to get in front of people that are going to be your clients, and impress them! You need to nail family photos… you need to make everybody look good! But more importantly they need to be fast! You have to know how to deal with families. When we can’t find mom… the mother of the groom thinks it’s all about her! Aunt Suzy is behind you with her cell phone taking pictures, and she’s snapping away and everyone has to look at her, and look at you, they look at her, they look at you… “. Sounds like one crazy shoot!
Vanessa continues: “Make lists of the family photos that you need to get done! Don’t walk in there like an amateur… you look like an idiot! If you’re just saying so… what do you want next? What do you want next? What do you want next? Do you think the bride knows what they want? No she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to have. You know when she knows what she’s supposed to have, three months after the wedding… When she’s complaining to you about the shot that she didn’t get with her aunt! Whose fault is that? Your fault! You should have made a list beforehand of all the photos that the bride has to sign off on. “
Here is Vanessa’s tip – ” Ideally you want people moving as little as possible… build them up …break them down, build ’em up.. take them down, put people in, but you put them in strategically, so you just adding people to the existing pose of what is going on! ”
Take a look at the progression of pictures as an example below.
“You’ve got bride-groom, mom and dad.. Then we add to this picture… no one moves… we just added that sibling on the right-hand side, and then from here we took out the bride… and from here we took out the sibling… and from here we took out dad switch to mom, switch to the sibling BAM! We’re done! That’s all the groom side, then you just repeat on the bride’s side and… …that’s it So you just build up and break down… that’s how it’s done! For example: Bride and groom together.. Bride and groom with bride’s mom and dad.. Brian agree with bride’s mom and dad.. add the siblings… then add the sibling spouses… then add grandma.. then you take the groom out, and then you have the whole family photo without the groom… then you take your in-lass away… families. Done”
Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!
One of our closest workshops – “Studio Lighting 102 : Portrait Photography Lighting” Workshop!
will take place on April 10th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!
Watch the full episode with Vanessa Joy and Adorama TV: