What  should you need for a wedding shoot

 wedding photography tips

I have been asked when on a wedding shoot what do I take a wedding shoot, & how do I decide to take what I take.

In this blog I will talking about what I take on a wedding photo shoot & why.

So I have a wedding shoot coming up, what will I decide to take with me on the shoot, this is a question I’m sure goes through the mind of all wedding photographers.

I feel at my most comfort zone at shooting photographs when I myself am comfortable, as no photographer can relax when their equipment is not organised.

First off you will need to decide what is absolutely needed to deliver a good quality shoot, obviously a Camera but in a lot of professional opinions two camera bodies are required, why simply to save time changing lenses all the time as with any wedding photography you will simply not have the time to do so.

Second most photographers will swear by what lenses they take for example 70-200 f2.8 lens is a must for long distance shooting like whilst in the church or venue if you cannot get close to the couple this lens will do this for you, and the quality of the f2.8 will ensure a sharp image, with great depth of field.

Also the 24-105mm or 24-70mm is also a big choice of a lot of wedding photographers as it is a good quality all round lens, these would be the two main lenses attached to any photographers camera’s.

Other equipment to consider

A Wide angle lens to capture group shots, or a couple near a large structure maybe to give some negative space to the image.

A 85mm portrait lens as they are called with an amazing depth of field will capture perfect bokeh/background blur, with a pin sharp subject, However it can be a tricky lens to master due to the nature of the depth of field, so would this lens be an essential part of what you take.? Due to the weight factor and how much & what you carry your equipment in, I will talk on this in a little while.

Speedlite/Flash

Having a speedlite  I feel is very important as you will encounter low light environments either during the day if the weather turns dark & gloomy or indeed during the evening reception if you are indeed covering this also. A good speedlite/flash will help put fill light into otherwise darker areas of where your shooting, and remember to bounce the flash (providing it has a swivel head) off the walls and ceilings also remembering to make sure the walls are as white as can be bouncing flash off of coloured walls other than white will make your subjects look the same colour as that wall or ceiling.

There are also bounce diffusers and Gary fong style accessories that can also help you with flash photography.Lastly and that almost goes forgotten in wedding photography are what do, you use to carry your equipment.

Camera straps/harnesses

Camera bags/modules

I have recently noticed and discovered that when I go to a wedding shoot the last thing I want to do is have two cameras on standard camera straps around my neck, for one thing if your shooting all day it will not do your neck or back any good, the answer I found is a duel strap/harness that you can hang two camera off very comfortably, this to me is one of the most important pieces of equipment other than the camera themselves that I will not be without, they are cheap enough to purchase from ebay or good camera stores.

The second is whilst on a shoot and you have decided what equipment to take you want to be able to get to that equipment quickly and effectively, So I have been using the speedbelt module system from “Think tank” camera bags, a simple padded belt system adjustable that you can fit several lens and speedlite ,  so Instead of carrying a bulky camera bag of equipment around with me and having to keep an eye on it all the time, all the equipment I need is hanging very comfortable around my waist and is easy to get to as the modules slide around the belt as you need them, the module system also comes with the silent Velcro system so you can effectively mute out the sound of the Velcro tearing sound that we all hate, idea for when you are in the church an need to be unobtrusive & quiet as possible, And by the end of the shoot I have no aching back as if carrying a camera bag around with me.

Conclusion

• The equipment I will always take with me, thinking that I am always looking to travel as lite as possible will be.
• 2x DLSR bodies  “attached to duel harness”
• 24-105mm  attached to one camera
• 70-200mm   attached to the other camera
• In the speedbelt module system
• 17-40mm wide angle
• 85mm portrait
• 1x Speedlite with either softbox or diffuser
• Think tank speedbelt module system this includes 4 modules to carry my extra lens as two will be already attached to the camera’s (with still room to hold batteries and speedlite battery pack, camera batteries, business cards, mobile phone, memory cards.

So with everything safely around my waist there will be no fear of losing or misplacing items.

Thanks for reading

Simon

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