Why wedding photography shotlists are counterproductive

Due to the popularity of blogging as a content marketing tactic for wedding vendors, it’s easy to find advice everywhere you look around planning your wedding.

I recently came across a comprehensive infographic style planning guide for helping Australian couples plan their wedding from a major online wedding vendor. There were a few sections related to photography, and both left me shaking my head sideways.

The first suggestion was to book your photographer 9 months out from the wedding date. As if this was some sort of magical cut-off point where you can be assured your chosen photographer will be available. That is poor advice, you should book your photographer (and any key vendors) just as soon as you have the date locked in and have done enough research (and not a second later!).

The second even more worrying suggestion was that 30 days out from your wedding day you should send your photographer a ‘shot list’ of everything you want captured. Never mind asking your photographer first if this is actually helpful!

While the intent of the authors were obviously in good faith to help couples with their planning, this particular advice is not something I would recommend.

A shot list is supposed to be a list of every shot that you want your photographer to take on the day. The idea is that this list can guide the photographer throughout the various stages of the day, ensuring that none of your important details and moments are missed.

I do not recommend creating a shot list for your photographer if they don’t request it. After all — you have enough to plan and think about, and a good professional photographer will have either their own surveys or questions that address these areas, or will walk you through the entire photography timeline during a pre-wedding consultation (which is what I do).

I go through each stage of the day such as getting ready, the ceremony and reception and simply discuss what the client is expecting and any special requests. Of course they will mention what is important to them, such as capturing specific detail (such as rings) or whatever else matters to them.

I don’t provide surveys or forms for clients to fill out. I honestly think these are largely a waste of time for the couple, and rarely provide much direction for the photographer. I find it is much more useful to discuss things in general terms, rather than specifics.

A full and exhaustive photography ‘shot list’ puts tremendous stress and pressure on your photographer to just ‘get the shot’ without consideration for composition, creativity, missing other more meaningful moments etc or just being in the moment. It is also not realistic, as often times some things aren’t actually possible to capture that practically.

A common example is reception detail. The ideal magazine style shot is a photo of the reception room with everything laid out perfectly, light streaming through the windows providing just enough highlight details on the flowers, and of course, a room devoid of people or handbags!

The reality is a little different for most weddings. And this is no fault of the couple or the photographer. But the photographer is very often shooting couples portraits right up until their grand entrance after the wedding, and in many cases it is literally impossible to be in two places at once.

By the time the photographer carries their gear into the reception room, it is often either full of people (including service staff) or many other guests handbags, personal items are everywhere throughout the room. It is sometimes just impossible to capture that picture perfect wide shot of the wedding reception detail (even if there was enough time). That’s why good wedding photographers will understand this, and just work around it, shooting close up details instead (or whatever else they consider to provide the best outcome for the client).

There are 6 key project management constraints that can also apply to a wedding. These constraints all affect the quality and cost of a project. One of the main constraints for project management success is scope. That is, the more scope there is (the more that must be done without fail within the budget and timeline) the more likelihood the project will suffer quality wise (or the cost will rise).

For a typical wedding there is only one photographer, and unless a second photographer is booked, there is no way to increase the cost (time) to compensate for more complexity. Therefore, inevitably the more must-have shots there are on a shot list for a given wedding, the less quality photos there will be.  

Long and tedious shot lists increase the complexity of the process of ensuring that every shot is captured, and impact negatively on creativity and spontaneity. They tie your photographer up in detail and the pursuit of ultimately uninspiring photos (just to meet these targets).

The honest truth is that your wedding day (or any event for that matter) never goes exactly to plan anyway. Having room to move, to adapt and prioritise candid moments over a required shot list is the very best way to ensure a meaningful outcome to the final photography set.

Hire a reputable and experienced wedding photographer that you love, who is meticulous with their planning and preparation, understands what you are looking for on a big picture scale, and trust them to just deliver the best photos they can under the circumstances.

The only exception to this is family group photos! Even the staunchest and purest documentary only wedding photographers insist on a list of family group photos so that this stage can be managed properly.

But what if you really want a particular photo and you just must have it? If you have a photos in mind that are critical then by all means discuss this with your photographer before the wedding.

There is nothing wrong with asking for certain photos during particular stages (either before the wedding, or during) but a comprehensive ‘must-have’ shot list is not something that works well for the photographer or the couple (at least in my experience).

I recommend that any absolutely key photos (such as cake cutting) are scheduled into the wedding photography timeline (rather than forming part of a shot list). That way everyone knows when they will happen, and can plan accordingly.

Every photographer is different though, so talk to your photographer about what their preferences are for the best results.