Wedding Photographer Extraordinaire – or Wedding Photography Nightmare?
Which one will it be? Are you good to go?
See that you have all the vital tools at your disposal – so you can deliver exceptional results, not just “do the job”. I am constantly amazed at the number of sociable wedding photographers I see shooting weddings in Melbourne parks, who have very little gear- and if there’s backup equipment, it’s certainly not within arm’s reach. You only need to watch these individuals interacting with their clients to realise that they are the masters of public relations, with almost no technical wedding photography expertise.
As an absolute bare minimum of kit, you will need the following:
- Two digital slr bodies
- A spare battery for each body
- Two lenses which will be versatile enough individually, if the one of the lenses malfunctioned
- Two strobes
- Two spare sets of batteries for each strobe
- A sturdy tripod with centre braced, lockable legs
- Enough media for each body to cover the entire event, and a 50% reserve
- Cable release
- Sensor cleaner / blower brush
- All body and lens caps
- Card reader
- Portable storage, laptop preferably- a Macbook Air is light and powerful
- A packing / carrying system giving you instant access to all items
The last item is very important – you don’t want to be fumbling with your triple tumbler combination lock, maximum security bag in the darkness of a candle light ceremony, when you realize your strobe batteries have gone flat. Give particular thought to how you intend to carry all that gear around – how to protect it from the elements, the environment, and unwanted involuntary leave (theft) whilst ensuring you can get to it the instant you need it.
The centre brace and leg locking facility on the tripod is crucial. On slippery floors, you’ll be glad your tripod has this feature. In risky terrain (rivers, bridges) this feature will save your precious gear many times over.
Use this wedding photography checklist to assess your equipment, to plan your next big shopping trip, or as a handy check list of what to take to ALL weddings.
Wedding photographers need to ensure their equipment is meticulously maintained. Let’s hope nothing ever breaks down on the job- but if it does, and it heads off to the camera repair centre, do you still have two fully functional professional bodies and a complte backup set of all the necessary lenses and flash to get you through your next weddings? It’s something worth thinking about, when next you compile your wedding photography equipment wishlist.
Extra lenses could include wide angle or telephoto, remember the above list is intended as a minimum wedding photography equipment guide.