I head out for a Thalassa Park family shoot with Paula and her family recently and put together a selection of family shots, along with individual portraits for them to keep hold of and treasure as a record of where they are at right now. It’s a lovely thing to do as having a family shoot done allows you to really capture the essence of your family unit and when put on display around your home truely makes everyone feel welcome at that house.
Thalassa park is a large, well kept area in Aberfoyle Park that boasts a wide range of scenery – from a rose garden towards the south-east, to this area that we used to the north of the park which is a little more unkept, but perfect for more intimate photographs using the foliage to close in around the subject of the image.
We head out early morning, to make use of the rising sunlight seeping through the trees which made for some beautiful backlight for the photographs. It was a lovely morning, full of smiles, laid back fun and a nice brisk walk throughout the park!
Always nice to catch up with little ones I’ve photographed before as little ones! In this case it was Baby Hadley who has now become a big sister to little Baby Sabine! We head out for a photoshoot at Pine Reserve in Aberfoyle Park for a bit of family photography and play on the play equipment and made use of the lovely early morning light shing through the trees.
Truth is that I had already shot little Sabine a few months prior while she was still in the belly! Having a set of progressive photos like this really makes for a beautiful story of a family growing together and I think it’s just beautiful!
Photoshoot at Pine Reserve
We started early for the photoshoot at Pine Reserve in Aberfoyle Park to make use of the sun shining through the trees. baby Sabine wasn’t overly happy with the new sensations of being photographed, and was possibly a little cold while out and about, but she felt quite comfortable in Mum’s arms, so we made sure to get plenty of whole family shots while she was happy.
Sister Hugs
Big sister
Family shoot at Pine Reserve
Family walking through Pine Reserve
Photoshoot at Pine Reserve
Running girl
Baby Sabine on Mum’s Shoulder
Baby Sabine
Going down slide with Dad
Family photo in Pine Reserve
Girl on Playground
Studio Photoshoot
After galavanting around Pine Reserve, we head back to my home studio – which was the first time I had used the new studio space I now have access to but baby Sabine still wasn’t overly happy – until she fell asleep which made for some beautiful shots.
Wedding photos primarily focus on the newly wedded couple, and rightly so. It’s their special day, after all! But no couple can stand on their own—they got to this joyful phase in their lives with the care, support, and love from their dear families.
Aside from your vows, first dance, bouquet toss, and other couple-centric wedding moments, your family photos will give you some of your most treasured lifelong memories. The best thing about professional wedding photography is that you are promised high-quality results that you can share as much as you want—you can send digital copies off to family members, print them as souvenirs; the options are endless!
With this in mind, heres a short guide to taking family photos on your big day!
Guide to Taking Family Photos
Family Photos You Shouldn’t Miss
Before the ceremony – Make sure to prioritise family moments as you prepare for your wedding day. Candid photo sessions with parents and siblings can be fun and a little bit teary.
Mum looking on proudly
After the ceremony – You can take group family shots around the altar or another scenic space in the ceremony venue. It’s best to prepare these locations before your wedding day.
group photo at Ekhidna Winery
During the reception – A popular choice for wedding couples is to take group photos with each table at the reception. You can set up family portrait sessions at your reception venue, too!
boys group shot
Besides the general photo-taking guidelines, rounding up family members for photos can be a challenge on top of an already hectic wedding day. Read on for a simple guide to to taking family photos as easy as possible.
Set Your Priorities
If you grew up closely with certain cousins, a family member who helped raise you, or someone who has been very special to you all these years, prioritise their presence in your photos. This is your day, and you should be able to share all of your memories with the people closest to you.
For many families, it’s usually a given that parents, grandparents, and siblings are the main members included in family portrait sessions. To make things more efficient, you should make a list of group shots in advance.
This is incredibly important – your wedding photographer works best when they have artistic freedom – however they do not know who are in your family and who belongs in a group shot. Out of all the opportunities for photos on a wedding day, your wedding photorgapher relies 100% on your direction with this. As a bonus, if your photographer knows which family members are extra special to you, they will keep an eye out for candid photo opportunities during the reception and beyond.
Guest group shot
Put it on Your Schedule
For maximum efficiency and little hassle, it’s best to set a specific time for family portraits. Many couples decide to take family photos at the end of the ceremony, before everyone moves on to the reception venue. However, this is a very narrow window of time, especially if you want to change before the reception or if you have other special plans.
Another option is to get the portraits done before the ceremony starts. This will give you ample time to get all the shots you want without infringing on the ceremony and reception schedule. Just make sure that all family members are told so they can arrive on time!
St Francis Winery Wedding
Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime milestone, and the feelings of love and belonging are not limited to your partner; these emotions include your family, too. Make sure to set aside time and locations for your wedding photographer to capture moments with your closest family members. These are lasting memories that will stay with you forever.
If you’re looking for wedding photography services Sven Studios is the best choice for you. We have a variety of customisable wedding photography packages that will deliver all the high-quality products you need. Contact our award-winning photographers about our services today!
So, your wedding day is finally just around the corner, and you can’t help but be so excited for the new chapter you’re starting with the love of your life. Dealing with wedding day family drama though is weighing on the back of your mind as you know not everyone sees eye to eye with you.
Now that you’re well past the planning, hiring, and spending on vendors, there isn’t anything else to worry about and you’re probably spending far too much time wondering about about family drama during your ceremony or throughout the day.
Why family drama?
Let’s face it: no matter how much we’d like to believe that we came out fine regardless of how crazy life was growing up, the fact is that our families have their fair share of drama. Every family is different of course, with varying degrees of issues, but it’s important to think about dealing with wedding day family drama beforehand to that none of it ruins your day.
If you’ve searched the web for “best recommendations” and wedding day tips to put your mind at ease with your big celebration coming up, then you probably heard and read some family drama horror stories. In fact, watching a bit of reality TV may have opened your eyes to the fact that having a brawl, shouting match, or lots of tension break out during a special occasion can become reality. Although those TV shows are absolute trash…
I personally have covered weddings as a photographer where receptions have been shut down due to rowdy behaviour, or the bride and groom has enlisted the services of a security guard – so they certainly can happen.
group photo at Alru Farm wedding
Common wedding day family drama problems (and how to fix them)
Although we’d all like to think that our relatives love us so much that they won’t let pettiness drive them to ruin our special day, the fact of the matter is that there’s no such thing as too safe. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as immunity or full prevention for problems like these because you can’t really tell whether or not they’ll come up. This is why you’ll have to know how to effectively deal with wedding day family drama problems before they snowball into bigger ones that can ruin your day.
If you’re looking to ensure that the biggest moment of your life isn’t shadowed by wedding day family drama, here are some potential problems you can prepare for (and how you can solve them):
Drone group shot at Ekhidna WInes
You have an overbearing parent or sibling in attendance
One of the most common problems that soon-to-be-wed couples end up struggling with is an overbearing parent or sibling that can’t seem to keep themselves together.
While your frantic family member may have the best intentions for you in mind, the fact that this is a day that’s also special for them may be causing them some excitement as they strive to make sure everything goes well. Fortunately, you can prevent your family members from pushing the boundaries on your wedding day and messing things up by setting them aside somewhere private and asking them to calm down.
A common way this rears it’s head as a photographer is the family friend who has a camera who loves to take photos, but don’t really realise that the official photographer is there for a reason.
All that needs to be done is before the wedding gently remind them that they are paying for the photographer to be there – draw on the fact that they want the guy with a camera there as a guest and not to worry about working too hard. This way it wont hurt their ego so much.
Guest group shot
You have family members that share a whole lot of family history
Whether it’s in the context of divorced parents who aren’t on good terms or an uncle that hates another uncle over something they said once during Christmas, feuding family members essentially present an imminent threat. Considering that family beef can bear so much tension during your big day, it’s important that you diffuse a potential bomb before it blows up.
When it comes to preventing family members from feuding and turning your reception or wedding into an untimely boxing match, the key to success lies in learning how to separate them. Separation mostly involves doing everything to keep people with beef far apart from each other—something that can manifest itself in the form of special seating arrangements, timed sections, and the like.
One example of effectively separating feuding family members to avoid drama is to tell your photographers about such situations so that they can take the necessary precautions to avoid accidentally grouping them together!
It’s one reason why making a list of family photo groups is so important – as your photographer will not know any family history and has to rely on your direction on the day to capture any desired family groups.
Group photo
Dealing with family drama is never an easy task, especially when it happens during your wedding. Through this guide’s help, you won’t have to worry about these certain scenarios of wedding day family drama having problems bulldoze through your day and end up cutting your special day short (which can surprisingly lead to more problems in your own marriage)!
Sven Studios is a team of Australian wedding photographers that you can rely on to have your priceless memories immortalised. If you’re looking to not only manage your potential family drama and have some amazing pictures to boot, get in touch with us today!
It’s so much fun to shoot the same family as I have done in the past to see how the little members of the family are growing up. In this case I head out for a Happy Valley Family Shoot with Miranda and Jake to celebrate little Hadley’s second birthday, just as I had done a year prior for Hadley’s first birthday!
Miranda told me that having family portraits done at about the same time each year was a bit of a family tradtion in her household, and she wanted to continue it which I think is fantastic! Especially consdiering the benefit for children seeing their family portraits hanging on the walls around their house.
Taking photos during the winter months makes things easy in a lot of ways as a photographer – as the sun is usually not casting overly glaring shadows on faces, and the colours of the surrounding nature really comes alive. In the case of Annie Reserve for this Happy Valley family Shoot, we were also treated to a well stocked creek with running water that little Hadley thought was amazing!
We began the shoot rather early in the morning which further enhanced the fact that there were no harsh shadows anywhere, and also allowed for that magical feeling you can get walking through a park like Annie Reserve on a cold winter’s morning.
We made good use of the running creek, the beautiful trees and even the rocky outcrops dotting the shoreline throughout the park for some lovely photos I hope the family cherish forsever!