The Group Shots Nobody Enjoys

Dana Whitfield · 10 August 2026

Formals are the least interesting hour of the day and the one most likely to derail it. Run them properly and they take twenty minutes.

The List Is the Whole Job

Get the list agreed in advance, in writing, with names rather than roles. Aunt Margaret is a name. The bride's mother's sister is a puzzle you will be solving in a field.

Cap it. Twelve groupings is a lot. Twenty is an hour of standing about and a cold buffet, and nobody will thank you for either.

Recruit a Wrangler

The single most useful thing on the day is somebody from the family who knows everyone by sight and is willing to shout. Ask the couple to nominate one, and get their name.

Photographers calling out names into a crowd is slow. A cousin bellowing them is fast, and it is not your voice going hoarse.

Order Matters

Start with the biggest group and shed people. Everyone gets released progressively rather than hanging around waiting to be called, and the last shot is just the couple.

Doing it the other way round means the largest, most restless group assembles last, which is when the light is going and the bar has opened.