A wedding photographer shared his top tip on TikTok: excluding family's partners from at least one 'safety shot' in case they break up

• TikToker Adam Lowndes shared a professional wedding photography tip in a viral video.
• Lowndes took a "safety shot" which involved removing family members' partners in case they broke up.

A wedding photographer divided viewers when he went viral on TikTok sharing his system of taking a "safety shot" of the couple and family without people's partners in case they break up.

On March 2, 33-year-old TikToker Adam Lowndes from Stoke-on-Trent, England, shared a video showing his camera pointed at six members of a wedding party, including the bride and groom. The caption of the video read, "How to remove the sisters partner from the wedding portrait line up. Just call it what it is!"

In the upload Lowndes could be heard saying, "Right, safety shot, step off for us mate," as he gestured towards a member of the party to leave the group. The group could then be heard laughing as the man walked away from the photoshoot, and Lowndes instructed the remaining members to reshuffle, with another person taking his place. An on-screen caption explained he'd decided to remove one of the wedding party members' partner "just in case."

The clip blew up, receiving 2.3 million views and over 450 comments, with some describing the move as a clever idea. "Boyfriend is just like yup makes sense," a comment read which received 212 likes. "Smart thinking," read another, which received over 12,900 likes.

However, some viewers were not so sure it was the best solution. "The smart move is adding people, not removing them. Probably just ruined that guys day, even though it's doubtful he talked about it," one viewer wrote in a comment that received 994 likes.

"If you saw this snapshot and this only, I can understand why you might be concerned for the person's feelings," Lowndes told Insider. "But this is a tiny part of the relationship I develop with my couple and my guests on these days. If I didn't feel it was the right environment then I wouldn't have delivered it with so much of a jovial attitude."

Lowndes also responded with a follow-up video posted on March 3, in which he addressed a number of questions he said he received asking why he doesn't add guests instead of removing them from photographs in order to not "upset feelings."

In the upload, which received over 12,000 views, he said the man in question was not offended by the request, and went on to say in his experience it's easier to start with a larger group photo and whittle them down to small groups as because then "no one can go missing to the bathroom or anything like that."

Lowndes, who has been a wedding photographer for over 13 years, told Insider he picked up the "important technique" during a wedding in Wales.

"I politely asked all the partners to leave the shot so I could just get the close family. I got a message from the bride the next day telling me how great things had gone and how she really appreciated all I did including removing her brothers' girlfriend as they broke it off that night," he said.

"The main benefit is trying to future-proof my work for as long as possible. I'm not turned off to the fact love is not always lifelong because people are complex and grow individually," he said. "The 'safety shot' protects the photographs against this possibility and also decreases any post work I may have to do in Photoshop."

Lowndes has over 7,600 followers on TikTok where he posts vlogs about his role as a wedding photographer, shares behind-the-scenes clips of photoshoots, wedding fails, and answers questions from viewers about his photography.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.