This photo shot list does not include the Bride and Groom and the bridal party photo session of the day.

BRIDE’S SIDE (PARTNER A)

Estimated Time Needed: 10-20min

• Bride with mom
• Bride with dad
• Bride with both parents
• Bride with siblings
• Bride with each individual sibling (optional)
• Bride and groom with bride’s parents
• Bride and groom with bride’s immediate family (bride’s parents, siblings, and siblings’ spouses and children)
• Bride and groom with bride’s maternal grandparents
• Bride and groom with bride’s paternal grandparents

GROOM’S SIDE (PARTNER B)

Estimated Time Needed: 10-20min

• Groom with mom
• Groom with dad
• Groom with both parents
• Groom with siblings
• Groom with each individual sibling (optional)
• Groom and bride with groom’s parents
• Groom and bride with groom’s immediate family (groom’s parents, siblings, and siblings’ spouses and children)
• Groom and bride with groom’s maternal grandparents
• Groom and bride with groom’s paternal grandparents

Estimate Total Time: 20-40min. The more organized the group, you will have the shorter the estimated time. If there are missing people, large groups, people with mobility issues and young kids, you may want to err on later estimated total time.

ADDITIONAL GROUP SHOT LIST

Estimated Time: 10-15min

• Bride and Groom Parents Both Sides
• Bride and Groom with Both Sides of the family together
• Cousins
• Groom Extended Family (Aunts/Uncles/Cousins/Close Family Friends)
• Bride Extended Family (Aunts/Uncles/Cousins/Close Family Friends)
• Girls Shot
• High School Friends
• College Friends – Guys/ Girls / All
• Everyone * (Not all photographers can handle this – check with your photographer)

The post How to Prepare for Wedding Family Photos? appeared first on New York City Wedding Photographer - Josh Wong Photography.

Tips for Amazing “Getting Ready” Wedding Pictures

Sometimes brides forget just how important the “getting ready” pictures are. After all, getting ready for the wedding day sets the tone for the rest of the day. As story tellers, we love to document the entire day. This allows the couples to go back and remember exactly what happened. In this series, I’ll be giving you my experience on how to make your “getting ready” pictures even better.

1. The Environment:
   Have a great and beautiful environment to take pictures in. Not only should your ceremony location and reception location be beautiful, but your hotel bridal suite should also be warm, relaxing, and inviting as well. Boutique hotels are the best as they provide a unique look rather than those big chain hotels.
   
2. The Mood:
   Never forget your other senses. Provide great music. Music always connects with people in different ways and will loosen people up. Having a glass of champagne with your bridesmaids (which in of itself provides for a great photo op) will relax you.
   
3. Cleanliness
   Although documenting your day in a natural setting is great. There are things that really don’t look good in photos. Plastic water bottles, packaging materials, shoe boxes all over the place, paper towels and napkins, paper bags, plastic forks, and knives….. Do you get the picture? Schedule housekeeping to come in to re-make the bed and tidy up the suite before your photographers arrive. Also, have someone in charge of keeping things tidy will also help. But don’t go crazy about cleaning up though,  as we want to document everything so if there is a large case of empty beer bottles laying on the floor. Leave it alone! =)
   
4. Punctuality
   Be on time, especially if you are having your hair and makeup done off-location. Hair and/or makeup can take longer than expected and will easily delay you an extra 30 minutes if there are any issues. Love your Hair & Makeup artist! Do your research and find someone who is awesome.
   
5. Parents vs. Friends:
   Whether or not you have a bridal party, you should always have a couple of close friends around to help you and support you. Parents can be around but should not be the only people. Yes, you love your Mom dearly, but they can sometimes push the wrong buttons.
   
6. Timing:
   You are the last person to get into your dress. Your bridesmaids should all be dressed before you so when they help you put on your dress they are in the shot. Schedule enough time as well. We can work fast but the more time you give us, the more relaxed and brilliant the photos will be. I recommend two hours for getting ready with the final 30 minutes for bridal portraits.
   
7. Items To Bring:
   There are a few items that I believe are always forgotten and are missing when taking getting ready pictures. The first is the invitation and Save the Date. Your wedding starts well before the day of. It starts when you invite people.  The second is a beautiful hanger for the dress. We don’t like dry cleaning and or plastic hangers. Finally, a small pretty round mirror. We love reflections. So, try to bring these or have these items made available.
   
8. Last but not least:
   Have a smile on your face, be happy, and cherish every moment of the day! I’m sure you’ve heard about how fast the day goes… Well… Let me tell you that it’s absolutely true. The year it took you to plan your day goes poof in a matter of hours. There can be many small things that will not go as expected, but don’t fret and try not to let any of it upset you. The camera will pick up all those emotions!

Stay tuned next month as we dive into tips for engagement pictures or if you would like for me to cover a certain topic, leave your comments below.
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Well, It’s that time of year again when America celebrates her independence. With it, fireworks across the country will be projected into our night sky in fabulous glory. So here are my tips on how I like photographing fireworks.

Required items:
1) DSLR or a camera that can go completely manual.
2) Tripod or have something stable to place the camera to avoid shaking
3) Shutter / Cable release (optional) – You can use the on-camera timer too. With the camera securely mounted on the tripod.

1) Set the camera to manual:
2) Set your ISO to 100-400 (no more than ISO 400)
2) Set Shutter: 4-6 seconds
3) Aperture to: F11-16
5) Disable the FLASH
6) Set to Manual Focus (The Auto-focus will generally have a hard time to track) Anything within these ranges will yield pretty good results and will depend on how many firework explosions are in the sky at the given time.
7) Focus to INFINITY (REMEMBER to take the camera off of Auto-focus)
8) Watch for the projectiles and take your shot when the projectiles are halfway up or near their apex.
Good luck, be Safe and Happy 4th!

The Results:

The post How-to: Tips for Photographing Fireworks appeared first on New York City Wedding Photographer - Josh Wong Photography.