if it were up to me…brides would give me at least an hour for bride and groom portraits, a half hour for bridal party and then a half hour for family portraits. that is an ideal schedule! but that isn’t always the case.

sometimes…you have 10 minutes to get ALL of your bride and groom portraits and then you have no idea if you’re going to get those sunset portraits too.

in order to deal/cope/handle this…you need to be prepared! here are my 3 tips to maximize your portrait time!

3 ways to maximize your portrait time on a wedding day

1} have a list!

i always have the bride supply me with a list! i give them a ‘mock up’ list for formal portraits…it’s a list of “B+G with B’s parents, B+G with B’s parents and siblings, etc.”. it is the easiest way to make sure the family formals go smoothly! it’s a lot less confusing than saying, “okay, who else do you want in photos?”

2} know your sunset times and when golden hour is

golden hour is not really a full 60 minutes…during some months it is…other months, it’s literally 40 minutes. shooting in a valley? yeah, you’ve got 30 minutes now. on a hill? add 8 minutes to that original ‘golden hour’ time! know where you’re shooting and when… 🙂 it will help!

3} choose 3-4 locations in one general area

have a few locations/backdrops in one general area and hit 3-4 poses in each spot! use a wider angle for half of them and a closer more intimate lens for the other half! it is the easiest way to get a good variety of images 🙂

bonus tip} during BIG location changes, do a wide angle shot before switching locations!