Your photographer should be able to organize your photos in a professional manner, but what happens if they don’t do it properly? Or you decide not to have a professional photographer at all? Not to worry, organizing your photos may seem overwhelming at first, but if you follow this simple process you can have your photographs organized just like the experts do.
Do you have proofs or are your images on your computer? Either way you will want to sort your photos by type and put them into separate piles (or folders if you are working on your computer). Create 8 separate piles/folders:
Immediate Family, Extended Family, Pre-Ceremony, Wedding Ceremony, After Ceremony, Reception, Details (pictures of flowers, décor, location, etc) and Throw-Outs.
Do a quick sorting process and place each of your photos into the designated category. This is just the first run through, so don’t hesitate you will have more time to add/remove photos. Do you see an unflattering photo? Even if it’s not of you, put it in the Throw-Out pile. What you will eventually do is narrow down each pile even more to get the best photos.
Next: More editing. Keep narrowing down your photos. Separate each pile into sub-groups (ex: portraits – groom with mom, bride, bride with dad, etc). Go through the same process and choose your favorites. Continue sorting by main categories. Bridesmaids going down aisle, Bride and father going down aisle, the kiss, etc). Here is a simple subcategory list to follow (and of course you can add more to each category):
PRE-CEREMONY:
- Groom with Groomsmen
- Groom with Parents
- Groom with Siblings
- Groom’s Immediate Family
- Bride with Bridesmaids
- Bride with Parents
- Bride with Siblings
- Bride with Immediate Family
- Bride getting ready
- Groom getting ready
CEREMONY:
- Groom’s Mother escorted down the aisle
- Bride’s Mother escorted down the aisle
- Bridesmaids down the aisle
- Flower Girl/Ring Bearer
- Bride & Father down the aisle
- Exchange of vows
- Placing of the rings
- The Kiss
- The Newlyweds walking down the aisle
AFTER CEREMONY:
- Receiving line
- Leaving ceremony
- Formal photos
RECEPTION:
- Entering reception
- Cake cutting
- Wedding party toast
- Various candid photos
- Bride and Groom dancing
- Bride throwing bouquet
Now that those photos are all sorted and resorted, think about having about one to three pages per each sub category and about fifteen to thirty to choose from for each main category. Now you should be ready to place your photos in your album (or your digital album). When choosing your final photos look for unique qualities—such as good lighting, interesting shots, candid photos, etc.
A note for your wedding day: The best way to be supportive of your videographer/photographer on the day of your wedding is to get someone to help gather people for the photos. And this doesn’t have to be you! It’s best for point person, such as a Made of Honor or Best Man to be helping if they know the whole family because it makes it so much easier to get everybody in the photos. Sometimes the photographer will say, “Is this everybody?” and they may miss someone, so have someone in your bridal party to help you out!