Photo by Ramiz Dedaković on Unsplash
Whether you’re prepping for your first wedding or your one hundredth wedding, everybody can use additional wedding photography gear tips, especially if those wedding photography gear tips include how to score wedding photography gear on a budget.
In this list we cover our favorite cheap gear, our must-haves, and more. In short, these wedding photography gear tips will probably change your life.
Invest in Good Shoes and Insoles
Photo by Radek Skrzypczak on Unsplash
I made a mistake the first time I went to shoot a wedding; I wore a fancy new pair of shoes I just bought. I almost immediately regretted it and began limping entirely against my will by the end of the (very long) day.
It got so bad that one of the bridesmaids offered to run to the store and buy me bandages. That was one of many most-embarrassing moments running my own photography business.
I never thought about shoes as part of my wedding photography gear until it was too late.
Since then, I’ve purchased a mid-range pair of leather boots (they cost around $200). I also invested in Dr. Scholl’s insoles, although any drug-store brand of insoles should do the trick for a few months before you need to purchase new ones.
I also started breaking my wedding shoot shoes in by wearing them around my house, and then on shorter shoots.
You should plan to own your wedding shoot shoes for at least 2 weeks before you even begin to think about wearing them to a wedding you’re working. Take it from me.
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Have a Supply of Old, White Sheets
Photo by Yoann Boyer on Unsplash
And maybe blue or red sheets if you’re shooting a wedding with a less-conventional bride.
Nobody wants it to rain on their wedding day, which is precisely why it almost always rains on your wedding day. And if you’re going to want to be taking pictures of your happy couple frolicking in the woods, or sharing a secret moment outside the church in the grass, your bride’s dress will get wet and muddy.
If you have white sheets on you, you can place them underneath the bride and easily conceal them while keeping her dress clean.
I always have at least one white sheet tucked away in the back of my car in case I forget to pack one with the rest of my wedding photography equipment, and it has saved me more times than I can count!
Buy Yourself a Camera Harness
This tip echoes my earlier tip about the comfortable shoes. No wedding photography gear tips list is complete without an easy way to carry a camera, and lenses, and more lenses for 12, sometimes 14 or 16 hours straight.
A camera harness is one of the cheapest additions to your wedding photography gear and it might just save you on chiropractic visits and massage appointments down the line.
Stop googling, “wedding photography gear on a budget,” and invest in one harness that will last you a lifetime.
My favorite option is the MoneyMaker by Holdfast.
It’s so popular that it is currently on backorder, which makes sense when you think about the fact that each one is hand-crafted in the U.S. with the best leather that money can buy.
I love the MoneyMaker because it fully equips me to shoot with 2 cameras, which very few camera harnesses do.
I also enjoy the feeling of knowing my wedding photography gear is absolutely unique to me. I can see part of the cow’s branding on my MoneyMaker harness because Holdfast refuses to dispose of good hide just because of perceived “imperfections.”
This lets me know that I have something nobody else in the industry does.
Holdfast also has additional wedding photography equipment, like additional gear straps if you really need more room on your camera harness than the MoneyMaker already gives you.
Get Cheap (But Helpful) Lighting Gear
photo by Mordolff via iStock
I know when I started in photography one of the most intimidating things was learning how to utilize an artificial light system for portraits.
But then I quickly realized that you don’t need a huge or expensive setup like the one shown above to vastly improve the lighting situation.
For most weddings, all you need is a couple of speedlights with diffusers for photos inside the venue (this Yongnuo speedlight is highly rated and dirt cheap) and a reflector pack for shots outside (this one is a great buy).
If you’re not sure how to use speedlights or just want to see how an expert handles flash photography at weddings, check out the video above by Adorama.
As far as using a reflector goes, it’s a simple process that just requires an extra set of hands and the right positioning to bounce light onto your subject. You can read up on that process here.
With that, you have a few practical wedding photography tips that can have a significant impact on your wedding day workflow!
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