Alrighty, below is a TON of info on what you’ll need to bring, settings, things to think about expectations, etc! I’m aware this is probably major overkill, LOL, but I do think everything on here is helpful and there might be something you haven’t thought of before! Please take a minute (or 10, ha, sorry it’s so long!) to read through and let me know if you have any questions, or anything to add! I’ve included a bunch of example images at the bottom as well!

MUST HAVE:

• A full frame cameras with DUAL slots – I don’t care what brand you shoot on, as long as it is a good quality, working full frame camera and has two memory card slots in each one! Bonus – if you have 2 cameras, having your second on hand as backup in case something happens to the first would be great.  🙂
• At least 2, fully charged batteries. Please make sure these are charged and ready to go the night before! Bring your charger along as well in case something weird happens and they need to be charged again.
• Lenses – At minimum you’ll need one wider lens and one longer lens – 50mm can work as a wide lens, but if you have a 35mm please bring that also! And an 85mm can work as a longer lens, but again if you have something longer (like a 70-200) bring that, too.
• Speedlight – You MUST have a working speedlight and know how to operate it! I don’t use a ton of extra lighting other than my speedlight, but if you have something else you’d like to bring in addition that’s great. No need to bring any big lights that need a lot of setup – I like to keep things simple. 🙂 Also make sure your batteries are charged for the speedlight!
• SD cards – I’ll have SD cards for you to shoot on but you will use your own cards in the 2nd slot as backup.
• A working, charged cell phone. We may have to text/call throughout the day to coordinate things!
• Reliable transportation to and from the locations. Let me know if you have any issues with this and I can possibly give you a ride, depending on locations!

OTHER HELPFUL THINGS TO BRING:

• Water bottle
• SNACKS
• Comfy shoes
• A mask – just in case!
• Extra socks – if you know, you know lol
• Weather appropriate clothing – rain jacket, snow boots (don’t attempt a winter wedding without), clothes, hat, warm jacket, sweater for cold indoor venues, umbrella, etc.

WHAT TO WEAR

I don’t have a required dress code other than dressing professionally. Here are some tips:

• Wear something you feel comfortable and confident in! Feeling good seriously can make a difference in your photo-taking abilities. You don’t want to be walking around feeling awkward because you chose to wear something that’s giving you a hard time.
• Sticking with less noticeable colors, or all black is usually a good call so that we can sneak around capturing our photos as unnoticeable as possible, especially during the ceremony!
• NO WHITE. It’s considered rude to wear white to a wedding, that color is reserved for the couple! I’m not a traditionalist so I personally wouldn’t care, but a lot of clients would so we’ll avoid that drama.
• Comfy shoes that can last you a full day. Pick comfort over fashion on this one! I wear my super cute, sturdy, waterproof hiking boots. Lemme know if you want the link. 🙂 If it’s going to be snowy, icey or rainy definitely bring along a pair of shoes/boots that will work for those conditions. It’s ok to change your shoes if we need to!
• No jeans, shirts with logos, skirts that don’t allow you to bend over without showing your hoo-ha, pants that are so low your butt crack sticks out, etc.
• See above for weather appropriate things!

CAMERA SETTINGS:

• Set the time to BOTH your cameras to this: https://time.is/CT
  • Also double check you have it set to the correct date. I’ll remind you before we start as well!
• APERTURE – I shoot as wide open as the situation allows, and am typically am at 1.4 for a large part of the day. This is what I prefer to fit my style of photography and I have a lot of practice shooting this wide! HOWEVER, for any super important moments or posed group photos where having all faces/things in focus is necessary we will of course raise our aperture. This would be first look (2.8ish), walking down the aisle (3.2ish), the kiss, and any formal/posed photos. I start at around 4.5 for group shots and go higher as needed. Detail, candid, and non-formal couples photos I shoot wiiiiiiiide open baby!
• SHUTTER – I try not to go below 1/160 ever, and even that can be a little risky sometimes so 1/200 might be safer! Some low light situations I’ll push it if I need to, but I try to compensate with my ISO first if the shutter is too low. And obvi in brighter lighting situations your shutter can be wherever.
• ISO – Keep it as low as the situation allows! Sunny outdoors I’m usually at the lowest ISO setting, cloudy outdoors usually 200-400, Indoors I usually start at 800 and go from there. I’m ok with you raising the ISO high if needed – I’ll guide you on this throughout the day!
• WHITE BALANCE – I shoot in Kelvin as much as I can, except for indoors when there is variation in light. Outdoors & Flash I usually start around 6,200K. Indoors without flash/varied light I will shoot in auto. I’ll also guide you on this throughout the day.
• RAW – You must shoot in RAW, with your second SD card set to duplicate everything that’s on the SD first card.

YOUR DUTIES:

• Capture candids & reactions of people to special moments
• Capture angles different from mine
• Help look for things that shouldn’t be in the photo or need fixing – random thing in the background, collar flipped up, hair out of place, etc.
• Help coordinate group photos
• Step in to be the lead when I can’t be in two places at once
• Step in to be the lead when my brain is malfunctioning and needs a minute.
• Tell me I’m pretty (kidding!!! lol!!)

ON YOUR OWN:

While I try to never send you off on your own to photograph a part of the day without me, some weddings just require that we divide and conquer! This may be in the morning for getting ready photos, wedding party photos, or during the reception. I’ll put all my tips for this below!

• GETTING READY – If you’re sent to do the getting ready photos for one half of the couple, here is what I would LOVE for you to do:
  • Tidy the place up, if feasible. OR, even better, ask if some of the folks hanging out can help tidy up/hide things. Sometimes the items that are out add to the ambience of the image, other times it’s a hot mess. Do your best!
  • Get a few detail photos of their special items. Shoes, accessories, flowers, etc.
    • When doing detail photos, if able PLEASE only use window or natural light and TURN OFF all other ambient lighting. Even if it’s the hallway light. I can still see it and it adds an orange cast to the image!
  • Get as many candids as you can, no need to turn off the lights on this but you can pull out your speedlight and use that if the natural lighting is garbage.
  • Take photos of the spouse-to-be getting their items on. Please again only use natural light for this – turn off ambient lighting unless it adds to the photo – and use a tidy spot/room. Placing them in front of a window tends to work great, make the bed, shove shit in the closet, etc. Feel free to guide the person to slow down or repeat a movement if you didn’t capture the shot the first time!
  • After they are dressed, if time allows, take a few solo shots of just them. You can pull them outside or set up a good window-lit spot for this! Also take a few casual shots of them with whoever is there hanging out with them. These are usually their most special people!
• WEDDING PARTY:
  • Take a few variations of formal group photos and a few variations of informal/fun group photos. Remember to keep enough room on the sides of the formal photos for an 8×10 crop.
  • Take 1 vertical full length photo & 1 landscape close-up photo of the bride/groom + each person in their wedding party. If they seem into it, you can also do one quick fun pose!
  • Watch for distractions in the background and make good lighting choices – shade or keep the sun at their backs, if it’s super bright out.
• RECEPTION
  • Take detail photos of EVERYTHING. Please use a wide-open aperture and get eye level for some of the shots. If there are candles, string lights, or just in general beautiful ambient lighting then you don’t necessarily need to use flash. If you’re unsure, take one with flash and one without!
  • Candids – take shots of any happy candid moments, or go around and ask folks to group together quick for a shot. You don’t need to overdo it on these!

DOs & DON’Ts:

• HAVE FUN HAVE FUN HAVE FUN. Have fun. 🙂 I do my best to keep things as stress-free, lighthearted and fun as possible. It just doesn’t have to be any other way!
• Please stay off your phone unless necessary – I’m totally cool with taking behind the scenes photos/videos or checking in on your family. Just try to do it at appropriate, downtimes!
• You do not have to take photos every single minute, lol! I know it can sometimes feel like you have to because you’re working, but I’d actually appreciate if you didn’t overshoot.
• Don’t get wastey-pants – I typically do not drink at weddings unless I’m handed a glass of champagne for the toast, or the couple wants to buy us a shot, etc. Otherwise I usually advise against ordering boozey drinks until we’re off the clock. In the off chance you’re under 21, then absolutely no drinking. I know, I’m boring, but that’s illegal and this is my business. LOL.
• When taking any sort of formal, posed photo – if it’s a group shot of all the groomsmen or a full length shot of the couple and their grandma, etc., please make SURE to leave enough room on the sides for the image to be cropped 8×10. See examples below!
• Again with any formal photo – please pay attention to what’s in the background and move the folks in the photo to a spot that looks better, if necessary.
• Do your best to pay attention to detail – ask people to take things out of pockets, look for hairs out of place, etc.
• Do not be an ass hole to the other vendors – we’re on the same team! However, if you run into any issues with ANYONE being disrespectful to you or making you uncomfortable, vendors or guests or the mother-in-law (LOL), let me know right away and I’ll handle it. I got your back.
• Don’t advertise your own business – this includes if a guest asks you specifically what your business name is. You can, however, tell them mine. 😉
• You can share the images you took 10 weeks after the wedding – by this time the couple has received their gallery and has had a chance to see all their photos! If sharing on social media you must include “Second shot for Audrey Nicole Photography” in the caption.
• Do not follow or tag the couple or vendors on social media, even if they follow you. And if for some reason they reach out to you asking anything pertaining to the wedding day, please let me know! This usually isn’t a malicious thing on their end, folks just don’t always know how things work. 🙂

Here are a few examples of beautiful photos that weren’t shot with enough room on the sides for an 8 x 10 crop! Please make sure to leave enough room!