Your wedding photographer doesn't need a photo list, here's why.

Hello hello.

Awhile back I was asked what my biggest pet peeve was when it came to weddings. And here it is.

I don't like photo lists. And I'll tell you why.

Most of the time, brides will pull a generic photo list off of theknot.com and hand that straight to their photographer. I'll give it to these lists, they are COMPREHENSIVE. Which, as a bride, I can understand the draw of giving this to your photographer so you have all of your bases covered. But I am going to let you in on something.

Photographers have all of the bases covered at every wedding. No matter if they have a photo list or not.

You slipping into your dress, your first kiss, photos of speeches. These things happen at EVERY wedding. And at EVERY wedding, you can bet your butt I am capturing these moments.

Although you may want to ensure your photographer is capturing every moment by giving them a list to check off as they go throughout the day, you are actually doing the exact opposite.

Listen, if I had my nose in a photo list all day, I wouldn't have the opportunity to live in the moment behind my lens and actually capture the moments that you have handed over as your 'must-have shots'.

Okay, I get a little bit heated about this topic because it has happened to me one too many times and every time it does, I have to explain why photo lists are actually doing you a disservice.

You have hired your photographer for a reason.

You love their work. You love the images they produce. You love the moments they capture. You love the details they style. Don't stifle their creativity by handing them a generic photo list.

All of that being said. There a few exceptions that I actually ASK FOR from my couples. And here they are.

FAMILY PHOTO LISTS. This is an important part of the day and oftentimes a stressful one. Corralling your family into photos is not easy. As my dear friend Melissa of Blackbird Photography says, it's like herding cats. And you know what makes that cat-herding process easier? A list. A list of names and who they are (i.e. Bride + Groom with Sharon (Mom) and Ron (Dad)). This makes my job as a photographer so much easier and your worry as a bride eased that you will get every combination of family photos on the list that you provided.

THE OTHER EXCEPTION. If you are wearing your Mom's shoes to walk down the aisle and carrying your Grandma's hanky, tell me those things! I always shoot details anyways, but these details don't come standard on every wedding day and I can make sure to focus special attention to these things and not miss them! But in all honestly, just telling me that they are important and you would like pictures of them will suffice. No list needed.

Okay. That was a lot. The most important thing that I want you to take away from this is to trust your photographer. They are the professional and you hired them for a reason. Trust that they will get the shots that you want.

Was that a rant? Probably.

Do I go on lots of rants. Yes.

That's it that's all.

If you have any questions for me, leave a comment below/send me an email/slid into my DMs. I am here to help!

Until next time,

Telle