Do You Take Family Photos?

DO YOU TAKE FAMILY PHOTOS?

In a nutshell – yes, absolutely!

Every once in a while, I will have folks ask if I actually take family formal photos at a wedding. I always respond, “Of course! Why would you think that I didn’t?” and the response I typically get is: “Well, you never have family formals in your wedding blog posts!”

I promise – it’s not that I’m avoiding showing off the family photos that I take! It just isn’t always the most exciting part of a wedding day! I have yet to shoot a wedding that didn’t have amazing details, tender emotional moments, and a gorgeous bride & groom, and since I don’t want my wedding day highlight posts to go on and on and on forever and ever, I have to choose 50-60 images out of thousands. Family formals are simply the quickest to hit the cutting room floor.

I will say this though – even though they don’t get featured, doesn’t mean they are in any way less important than any of the other photos that I take! In fact, I would almost go as far as saying that they are more important than a lot of the other photos that I take on a wedding day!

Let me explain:
I used to think that the family formal portion of the wedding day was boring. *GASP* I KNOW. But seriously, it can just drag on and on and it’s not super creative at all. I learned to manage family formals so they didn’t take as long and became good at running through them as efficiently as possible.
And then the day came that I got married.
Our day came & went, super-duper fast, just like everyone said it would. But now, 5 years later, looking back at the photos? The family formal portion of the day is my favorite. I love that there is a photo of Derrick & I with my Grandma & Pap – especially when Pap passed away a few years ago. When I heard that he was gone? The first photo I ran to was the one of the 4 of us on my wedding day.

Family formals aren’t just an excuse to update the family portrait that hangs over the fireplace. Family formals aren’t done just because everyone is all dressed up and looking pretty. Family formals are your legacy, they tell a beautiful story of where you came from. The people gathered around you have known you the longest – they know your good & bad – and yet they love you more than anyone else.
That’s why I take family photos.