This is something you need to be asking a photographer before you hire them. My name is Megan Hansen and I am a social worker turned photographer and the owner of Onyx and Opal Creative Co. Listen, I don’t know that you can say that retouching is easy, right? Yes, it’s much easier than back when it was only film and things were not digital. We can do everything on our computers. However, simply editing a wedding gallery takes days. Okay? A good rule of thumb is for every hour of coverage is 2 hours at minimum of editing time. And that doesn’t include retouching. So it takes a lot of time. Second, we don’t have control of every little thing at a wedding day. Trust me, we are going to try our hardest. We are going to find the lighting that we prefer the most. We are going to do the posing, the direction, all of that and the best to our ability. But there are some circumstances that we have no control over. For example, if you have an outdoor ceremony and you already have your location selected, right? I’m not about to stop in the middle of the ceremony and say, hold up, wait, stop. We have to move a little bit to the left because this sun is just not doing it for me. Not going to happen. Right? So that’s going to look way different than your bridal portraits that I have control over every little thing for. Second, do some research on your photographer beforehand because we all have different beliefs when it comes to retouching in general. Personally, my brand value is that we don’t change body sizes, we don’t get rid of wrinkles, none of that stuff. My rule of thumb is if it would go away in two weeks on its own, then we’ll take it out. But outside of that, we believe in showing you and your beauty just as you are. So we are not doing retouching to the extent of other photographers. That’s not the only way to do it. If you prefer something different, that’s okay. But like I said, it’s important to talk with your photographer ahead of time to figure out where they stand on all of this.

Why are we wedding Pictures retouched or not? Okay, I love this one. I’m libby dollar. I have edited millions of wedding photos in the last 14 years. And this is I have a three part answer for this one. The first is what wedding photos are. Believe it or not, this is a fairly traditional industry where things change kind of slow. And the deal is that wedding photos are not just for Instagram next week. They are for ten years from now, 20 years from now, for your grandchildren to know what you look like. This is an exercise in posterity. And so the idea of photoshopping people to look like an inflated sexy alien kardashian baby, that’s a trend. Body ideals are not the same now as they were in the 90s or as they were in the they’re not going to be the same 20 years from now. We are not going to all want to look a certain way. Which brings me to my second point, which is body modifications that I’m working very hard to love every part of my body. And if I got a photo set back from a photographer and I hadn’t mentioned anything to them and they photoshopped me to look slimmer or to remove one of my chins or something like that, I would feel like, why are you telling me there’s something wrong with me? And the third reason is that the technology is just not caught up yet. When an iPhone can erase somebody from the background if it doesn’t do a very good job, or it erases half of their face, or the AI selects part of a shrubbery instead of the beach that’s actually behind them, that’s funny. And it’s one photo and it’s not a big deal on the scale of wedding with 1000 pictures. That’s not something that is going to reliably get done to every single picture. That AI does not exist yet and it is not compatible with massive raw files. And it’s not as easy for us pros because they assume if you are a professional who has control over every aspect of your photo, that you’re going to want to have control over every aspect of retouching. Which means that the thing that looks like it’s really easy to swipe and do on your phone with their tiny JPEG photos captured by their phone camera, it’s going to take an hour to do it right in photoshop a lot of the time. So that’s why it’s not practical to do it to every single photo. So yeah, if there’s some kind of automatic service that can get exit signs out of reception photos or even reliably straighten and crop things, let me know. But I am using as much of the advanced technology as I’m aware of at this point and it is not that easy. If you want me to skin smooth you on every single picture, it’s going to take ten times as long as regular editing.

It’s unequivocally the best, and by that I mean easiest for everybody involved. Time to take family photos during your wedding day is an hour to an hour and a half before the ceremony. Make a list. Make sure you know exactly what photos you’re taking. If you have only one or two photos that involve a huge number of people, and those people are only needed for one or two shots, tops. You can take those ones after the ceremony. But all the little ones with your parents and your spouse’s parents and siblings, and all the ones where there’s going to be a lot of little groups. The best time to do it is before the ceremony. You can have those people come early, have them come to the ceremony location, and however long your photos are going to take, ask your photographer. And their photographer can tell you how long it’s going to take based on how big your list is and how reliable those people showing up on time you believe them to be. But aim to be finished with your photos a half hour before your ceremony. And that’s the easiest, easiest time. I recognize that in order to do this, you’re going to have to do a first look where the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony so that they can stand next to each other and all these family pictures. If you’re willing to do that, put your family photos before the ceremony. You will be so glad you did. Because after the ceremony, all you have to do is photos of the two of you. And depending on what the rest of your schedule is, you can be kind of opportunistic about that and get creative. Interesting stuff in the evening when the light’s prettier. The big family photos are just about organizing people. They’re barely about photography at all, except the photographer just needs to make sure the lights even and they’re framed right and everyone’s looking at the camera. So it is way more important that the people in the photos are in a good mental state before the ceremony. They’ve just put their makeup on and they’re looking fresh and they know it and they don’t need a lot of touch ups and they also haven’t had a drink yet. They’re very easy to organize. Stress free. Do it before the ceremony. It’s what I’m going to do for my.

It’s the best time for family portraits is definitely after the ceremony. I’m Megan Hansen, and I am the owner and lead photographer for Onyx and Opal Creative Co. Let me tell you something. You will be surprised at how hard it is to herd grown adults, okay? So after the ceremony, you know, everybody is already in the same place. You don’t have to go hunting. They’re all right there. But listen, the key to making this successful is making sure that you tell everybody who’s supposed to be in these pictures ahead of time not to leave after the ceremony. And let’s be honest, you’re probably going to have to tell them that about five times and maybe even have your efficient say it again at the end of the ceremony, make sure they know to stay put. There is nothing worse. Well, there probably are a lot of things worse, but it’s pretty frustrating on a wedding day when you all of a sudden have just wasted 30 minutes of your day because Uncle Joe or Grandma Nancy has gone missing and nobody can find them, right? So, right after the ceremony. And make sure you’re guests know if they are supposed to be in your family portraits.

Do your family portraits as soon as possible. My name is Kelsey. I’m the owner and lead photographer of Capture by Kelsey, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Okay, my ideal timeline for when to do family portraits on your wedding day is before the ceremony. That’s, of course, dependent on whether or not you and your groom are seeing each other before the ceremony. I personally love when my couples do first looks because then they can get all of their formal portraits done before the ceremony, which means you actually get to go enjoy cocktail hour with your guests. That being said, I also totally respect my couples who choose to have the first moment that they see each other be in the aisle. So if that’s the case, do your family portraits immediately after the ceremony. Like, do your ceremony exit, go tuck away and sign your certificate while all of the other guests move on to cocktail hour. And just make sure that your immediate family members know to stay behind to get their family portraits done. If your family makes their way to cocktail hour, it is going to be like herding cats to get them back to take those family portraits. So recap option number one, my favorite do a first look and get your family portraits done about an hour before the ceremony so that you have about a half an hour before the ceremony to just relax before things get started, and then you get to go to cocktail hour. Option number two get your family portraits done as soon as you’re done signing that certificate after the ceremony before you lose them to cocktail hour and snacks.

So I feel pretty torn on this one if you need an engagement session or not. So first off, on the end of needing an engagement session, it can be helpful just in eliminating some stress. On the wedding day, your photographer is going to come into the room. You’re going to have worked with this person before. That’s going to make you feel a little bit more comfortable. Outside of that, your photographer is going to have a better idea of how to work with you to as a couple. This is going to speed up your portraits a lot just because the photographer is not trying to figure out, okay, how does this couple work? What do they respond to? So it can be helpful in that way, and then it’s also helpful in that when you put all your photos on the wall, you’re going to have just pictures of you and your wedding garb. An engagement session gives you some great photos on your wall where you’re dressed more like normal people. Now, on the end of needing an engagement session, you don’t need anything when it comes to weddings. That’s just a lie that you’re being sold by the wedding industry and photographers like myself. It’s a way we can make more money, so that’s great for us. I would never do an engagement session if it’s not something you actually care about or are excited about it’s, you know, you’re wanting some photos for your walls for save the dates, wanting to feel a little more comfortable on your wedding day or it’s included in a photographer’s collection, absolutely, go for it. But man, don’t do anything just because a bridal blog told you you needed it. You don’t need an engagement session. It’s not going to ruin your wedding. You’re still going to get great photos if you hired a competent photographer. So I hope that helps.