weddings weddings weddings 🙂 i love them! when i got started in wedding photography…i had minimal gear. i mean…minimal!!!

i was shooting on a crop sensor camera, with a kit lens, a borrowed $40 flash (because i couldn’t afford my own!) and 2 memory cards. but guess what? i rocked it. i knew flattering angles for my clients, i knew what good lighting was and what was terrible lighting! i researched how to use the gear i had to produce images my clients would want! i worked so hard to create the most beautiful images i could and all of that research paid off as i was able to slowly add more and more gear to my bag.

i am going to share some of my favorite gear for the wedding day 🙂

1} Nikon D4s: this was literally, the most expensive camera Nikon offered when it was time for me to upgrade to a full frame body, but i figured go big or go home, right? so i bit the bullet, made the investment and i am so grateful that i did! 2 weeks after getting this camera, i had to shoot a wedding ceremony for an older couple in a sanctuary at their church with no windows, no flash and from the back of the room. i remember freaking out shooting at 2500 and 3200 ISO, but after pulling the images into lightroom and looking at them, i was stunned. they weren’t terrible! there was noise, but not so much that it was distracting or even noticeable after editing.

2} 50mm 1.4 lens: if i had to shoot a wedding with one lens…i’d choose the 50mm lens! it’s my most versatile lens, for my specific style.

3} apple watch: this isn’t a must…but it helps me stay on track all day at a wedding! i don’t have to pull out my phone, it buzzes with my reminders, and i can quickly pull up my list of family formals or a list of shots that i sometimes forget…so they’re there on a checklist for me 🙂

3} shoot sac: i am a prime shooter…my lenses don’t zoom (my 24-70 does, but i almost never use it). i need a bag that i can easily place my lenses into where they are readily accessible and i need one that can fit all of them along with a spare battery and some cards…

4} expodisc: i don’t use it all the time…and then when i’m editing, i regret it! whenever i use my expo disc…my shots come out perfect. exposure and color is spot on. i just have to use it!

5} ibuprofen: i take some before…i take some during…i take some after. weddings are hard work. you’re literally standing for 8+ hours…and guess what, you don’t feel it until the last hour and then it is 10x worse on the way home after you’ve sat in your car and your body has calcified! ha!

bonus} bare minerals makeup! this is for the ladies…obviously 🙂 but i cannot get through a wedding day without my trusty bare minerals. it’s the only way i can leave a wedding without looking like Shrek on my way out… 😉 i carry along a small refillable brush of the original foundation in my car…so during breaks/location changes, i can “freshen” up!