I can’t believe I haven’t blogged about this yet! Since even before I became a photographer, wedding details were something of an obsession for me…I literally stalked most of the major wedding blogs as a bride. And as a photographer, they’re some of my favorite things to shoot! I believe that details are an important part in telling the story of a wedding day, and as someone who once put a lot of thought and energy into her own wedding day details, I always want to make sure that I’m capturing those pieces of the day for my clients!

Here are a few of my tips for capturing great detail shots!

Educate your clients on how long details take to shoot. Everyone shoots details differently, and each wedding will have different details that might not necessarily take the same amount of time to shoot, but in general you probably know what time on average it takes you to shoot details. I go over the wedding day timeline with my clients beforehand to make sure that they know how much time is needed for details, and how important that is. Educating them and guiding them before the wedding helps both of us…it helps me make sure I have enough time to adequately cover everything I need to cover, and it helps them make sure they get the shots they want of all of the details and things they worked so hard to put together!! I generally suggest that I arrive at least an hour before the bride gets into her dress so that I have time for the bride’s details (dress, accessories, jewelry, etc) and I will suggest that the bride’s bouquet be delivered to where she’s getting ready so that I can shoot that as well…also that helps if there’s going to be a first look!!

For reception details, I generally ask for 20-30 minutes depending on the level of details at the wedding. I can shoot them more quickly in a pinch, but I’d rather ask for what I think I might need and have TOO MUCH time than not enough.  I also always ask what time the reception will be completely decorated…that leads me to my next tip!

Shoot reception details before the guests enter the space.
I shoot details before guests are allowed in 98 percent of the time. It’s so much easier to do clean, beautiful detail shots before they are allowed into the space, and this is key if you’re trying to get your work published. This is also something I educate my clients on before the wedding. A lot of people aren’t aware that once people are allowed into the space, it’s so much harder to get clean shots of everything.

Choose to shoot in good light.
The rules of light/photography don’t change when you go to shoot reception details. Light makes pictures look better…so you want to shoot details that are well lit. Sometimes this means choosing to shoot the tables closest to the windows. Other times this means turning off the overhead lights (especially if the light source is tungsten or something else gross) and raising your iso. There are also times when I’m shooting small, more portable details that I will actually physically move them somewhere with better light. Most of the time I will scout a location for the dress, shoes, accessories and try to shoot them somewhere that meshes well with the feel of the day and has good light. This kind of thing is really just something instinctual that I do…there’s no real method to it that I can share with you guys, except just follow your gut and be willing to just try things out and see how they look.

(To get this shot, I moved three plants off of this wooden cart and shot the invitations and jewelry on it before putting the plants back! I chose this cart because the wedding was rustic and it was next to a window)

Shoot from the outside in.
My key to getting a good variety of shots in a short amount of time is to methodically shoot each detail or setup from the outside in, This means starting with a wide shot and moving closer in on the detail, shooting both horizontally and vertically. For example, when shooting a table at the reception, I’ll start with a couple of wide shots, and then move in closer to focus on some of the other details (menus, flowers, etc).

Remove distracting elements
I’ve moved salt and pepper shakers, butter dishes, jackets, half way finished drinks and more from reception tables to shoot them. I’ve moved gift bags, trash cans, empty hangers, etc from getting ready rooms to shoot dresses and accessories. Don’t be afraid to really set the stage for good clean detail shots by taking the initiative to remove distracting elements. This is a really important tip if you are hoping to have your work published! Editors are really looking for clean detail shots. Cleaning up the background of a shot only take a few additional seconds, but it makes a world of difference!!

There you have it! Some of my best tips for creating awesome detail shots!! Have a question? Feel free to leave it in the comments:)