I’ll be completely honest with you guys- my method for shooting family formals was actually born out of an inability to use external lighting. During my year of second shooting with my mentor Mike, I saw that he used an off-camera flash inside the church for the post-ceremony formal photos. The flash was necessary because in most of the situations, the church had a prevailing yellow overcast, so our goal was to overpower the tungsten chandeliers with clean, white light from the flash. When I began shooting my own weddings, I hadn’t the slightest idea as to how to use off-camera flash, so in my cowardice I began asking families to join me outside for group shots. This accomplished two things:

1) my couples didn’t have to see me sweat over trying to overcome the indoor lighting with just an on-camera flash, and

2) something shifted ever so slightly, making the previously-stuffy portraits into something more relaxed!

These days I’m much more comfortable using external lighting, but I still ask to take family formals outside because of point #2. Because family formals are typically taken inside the church, there’s an atmosphere of formality. That formality can be really helpful when it comes to organizing each combination, but it’s also the same contributing factor that leads to stiff shoulders and rigid smiles. It truly becomes a FORMAL photograph, and it becomes difficult to make it look like anything more than a record of which family members were present.

I’ve found that moving family formals outside takes away the somber, reserved atmosphere of a church sanctuary and gives a family permission to relax and let down their hair. Whenever I’m directing family formals, I typically tell everyone to “throw your arms around each other- look like you like one another!” It generates a laugh, but more importantly, it takes a stiff portrait and makes it PERSONAL. It’s no longer just documenting those who attended- it becomes a record of that family’s JOY on the wedding day! I’ve given that same direction both inside a church sanctuary and outside beneath the cover of trees, and it never fails that I get more of a reaction when we’re outside, away from the more reserved atmosphere of church altar. Smiles get a bit wider, shoulders relax, and heads tilt in, demonstrating closeness among the family members. It takes an image that could otherwise be very standard and boring, and really does make it a treasured photograph for the couple. So people may look at me like I’m nuts when I ask to take family formals outside on a 35 degree day, but trust me! It’s SO worth it!

Happy Wednesday!