After I’ve arrived at a wedding day, I start photographing the wedding details (of course, after I’ve scouted locations and said hey to my bride and groom)! This is one of my FAVORITE parts of the day and helps me to get my creative juices flowing.

Details weren’t always fun for for me, though! They actually used to be STRESSFUL and I had so much anxiety surrounding them. I always ran out of time, didn’t know how to photograph everything well, didn’t get a lot of variety, and finished feeling like I had just run a marathon (of taking photos, of course) with no time to think creatively.

Feeling the same way?

Well today, I’m sharing my top 5 tips for photographing wedding details so you can photograph them with EASE:

Tip #1: Prepare well. I do this in a few ways (like arriving early to give myself more time!) but one of the primary ways I do this is by asking my bride to gather her details before I arrive. This allows me to show up and get started right away without wasting a lot of time looking for different things!

Tip #2: Bring a Details Styling Bag. I bring a little tote big filled with a bunch of goodies to style details with! This helps if the bride’s details are minimal or simple to add something extra. Some things I include are ribbon, silver trays, fabrics, scissors, stamps, and more. You can see a full list of what’s in my details bag at this blog post!

Tip #3: Have a strategy for shooting all the details. I go more in depth on this in my Details Course (coming SO SOON, eep!) but my overall strategy is to start BIG then go SMALL. I start with the “big” shots first, then move to the “small” shots. By big shots, I mean shots that include most of the details (this includes a shot of the invitation, all the bridal details, all the groom details). After I have these big shots, I move to “small” shots, which are essentially individual photos of the shoes, each piece of jewelry, rings by themselves, etc. Once I finish all these main shots I need, then I give myself any extra time to be creative with my favorite details (usually the rings for me!)

Tip #4: Find good light. The BEST light is window light, and as much window light as you can! I typically set up parallel to a window, then place my reflector on the opposite side (so that my reflector is sitting up, white side facing the window). Below are a couple of examples of how I do this!

Tip #5: Remember the WHY behind shooting details. Through all of this, remember that the whole point of shooting details is to preserve those MEMORIES for your couple. They will have these photos to look back on for years to come, and that is an honor to preserve that legacy!

If you want more tips like this on elevating your details, grab my freebie on how to have amazing ring shots by clicking HERE!