We’re all guilty of it, let’s just admit it now. Pinterest has become a huge part in planning a wedding day. I think it can be an absolute gift sometimes, that something like Pinterest exists. However, it can also be the bane of a wedding photographer’s existence. I can’t tell you how many times in the past that I’ve been given a shot list, exactly like ones I’ve seen on Pinterest – “The 100 Images Every Bride Needs at Her Wedding”. I’ve had people literally type out lists like, “Bride getting makeup touched up, bride getting her dress on, bride getting walked down the aisle,” ……….You guys, we do this for a living. While this is probably your first wedding, this is our 150th. Every wedding is of course unique in it’s own way, but as the professional photographers, we know the drill. OF COURSE I’m going to take a photo of you walking down the aisle – I will not be sitting in the back twiddling my thumbs during this part of the day. OF COURSE I’m going to be taking photos as your dad spins you around on the dance floor, I will not be picking my nose at this time.

Some people like to send entire Pinterest boards to their photographer as well – which is nice in the way that we can get an idea of what kind of poses you like, but I’m a firm believer in trusting your photographer. When you pick your photographer, you should have fallen in love with THEIR work. You shouldn’t pick someone at random, and then ask them to recreate the last 87 pins you saved to your “OUR WEDDING XOXO” board. You should like the way they already pose their couples, the way they edit their images. When you hand a photographer a giant list of requested images, it’s going to get in the way of their creative flow. When we stop to consult a list every five minutes, we lose out on those “in betweens” and beautiful candid moments. Personally, I think candid images are so genuine and heartfelt, you get a lot more creative photos than you could’ve even thought possible.

One list that I do love? A nice big family portrait list. It helps speed the process along, and gets everyone in each photo they need to be in so you don’t even have to blink an eye or worry about forgetting someone during all the hustle and bustle.

Just for fun, here are some of my favorite candid moments at recent weddings I’ve captured: