Photography Isn’t a Checklist—So Why Do We Treat It Like One?

Wedding photography has come a long way. It used to be stiff, staged, and soulless—just a collection of formal portraits and forced smiles. Then, something shifted. We stopped posing everything. We started documenting real moments. Wedding photography became storytelling.

But lately? We’re backsliding.

Not into stiff, old-school portrait sessions—but into something else. A new kind of staging. One that comes disguised as "candid."

The champagne pop. The “walk naturally and pretend I’m not here” cue. The perfectly placed “getting ready” robe shot.

It’s not couples asking for these moments. It’s us. Photographers. Because we dictate how weddings look and feel in the aftermath.

The Checklist Mindset Is Killing Storytelling

Here’s the thing: I love a hero shot. A breathtaking, “holy shit” image that stops people in their tracks. I deliver those. I’m proud of them. But I also know they’re not the images that matter most to the couple.

Because when they look back on their wedding, what they really want to feel isn’t the epic shot—they want to relive the day. The hugs. The quiet moments. The weird, beautiful, unexpected chaos that made it theirs.

Instead, they’re getting galleries filled with trendy, algorithm-friendly, Pinterest-approved moments. Because somewhere along the way, wedding photography became a product instead of a story.

We’re the Problem Too

Every photographer has groaned when a client sends a Pinterest board full of other people’s shots, asking for exact replicas.

But let’s be honest—are we really that different?

We feed them interchangeable, trendy, “Instagrammable” images, and then we’re shocked when they think wedding photography is just about recreating what’s already been done. We complain when they don’t trust us to document things naturally… but we’re the ones who conditioned them to believe weddings should look a certain way.

The more we direct, pose, and stage for the sake of aesthetics, the more we strip away what makes this wedding theirs.

How to Shoot a Story Instead of a Shot List

1. Hero Shots Are Great—But They’re Not the Whole Story

Shoot them. Love them. Deliver them. But remember: A single image won’t bring someone back to their wedding day. A series of connected, emotional, real moments will.

2. See Before You Direct

Instead of creating moments, watch them unfold. Anticipate movement, listen to conversations, pay attention to where the energy shifts. Let moments breathe before you jump in with direction.

3. Shoot What’s Happening, Not What’s Expected

Some of the best images have nothing to do with the couple. A flower girl asleep under a chair. A dad wiping his eyes when no one’s looking. A grandmother holding her drink and laughing her ass off.

Those aren’t on anyone’s shot list. But they’ll be the images that mean everything.

4. Let Go of the Pinterest Wedding Mentality

Your job isn’t to recreate someone else’s wedding. It’s to document this one. For them.

If a wedding feels wildly different from another, the gallery should too.

Wedding Photography Shapes How Weddings Feel—Let’s Do Better

We’re not just photographers. We’re storytellers. Memory-keepers. We define how couples remember their wedding day.

So let’s stop forcing what looks good and start preserving what feels real.

Because weddings aren’t about trends.

And photography isn’t a checklist.

Want to go deeper into storytelling?

Inside FTHSB Insider, I break down real wedding galleries, showing how I capture true, unscripted moments—without relying on a shot list. If you’re ready to shoot weddings in a way that actually feels like the day, join me there.