When planning for your wedding day, photos are often one of the things that either get top priority, or get put on the sidelines. Some people have specific photos that they want their photographers to take, and some just want to sit back and let them snap the photos.

Neither is necessarily wrong, but if you’re the type who has a wedding photography wishlist of photos you want taken, then maybe you’re wondering: should I give that to my photographer? We have both a “yes” and a “no” answer to that one, so strap in for the ride!

The “Yes” Part:

Should you give your photographers a “wishlist” of photos? Well, yes! This applies mainly to family photos. Please give us a list of any specific, or special photos you want beyond the traditional wedding photography ones. Obviously we’re going to take pictures of the bride and groom with the families, and all of the siblings and extended family, we don’t need to be told to get those.

However, if you want a special, “bride with all the groom’s sisters”, or “groom with all the bride’s brothers”, or something not in the normal wedding photography checklist, please let us know ahead of time! Maybe you booked the venue specifically because it has a gorgeous staircase, so you want photos on that staircase. Alright then! Just let us know that, and we’ll make it happen!

The “No” Part:

Let’s be honest for a second here: as experienced photographers, we know what we’re doing! We don’t need a detailed “photo list” of every single possible photo to capture on the wedding day. The first kiss, walking down the aisle, exchanging the rings, it’s all a normal part of our repertoire! So for the conventional stuff, sit back and let us do the work you paid us to do, trust us, you’ll get better photos that way!

If a client gives us an A-Z list of all of the photos that they want, it can restrict our vision and creativity! You may ask, “why does that matter”, well those two things are part of why you hired us! When you see our photos on our blog or website, you see our unique vision in how the final photos turn out. If you want the results that you hired us to get, you have to give us a bit of breathing room to work!

Another issue is that a detailed wedding photography wishlist of photos can shift the focus of the day. The focus becomes one of completing the list instead of capturing the moments that really matter! When free and trusted to work in our professional capacity, we can capture the truly great candid moments. We can capture the moments that go in wedding albums and get brought up at the family dinner table years down the line!

The Natural Conclusion:

So there’s our “yes and no” answer explained! What it all boils down to is communication. If you sit down with your photographers and have a conversation about general expectations, then everyone can be on the same page! And please, for both your sake and ours – do it before the wedding day! The more we know before the day comes, the better we can serve you and snap some truly special moments and memories from your wedding day!

We hope all of this helps, and if you need a couple of photographers to capture your memories, please contact us, and as always:

Happy Planning!

Nicole & Ryan

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