Wedding Gear 101: practical tools that will help you shoot in ANY lighting situation

Finally getting booked for your first wedding gig ?

Maybe you’ve been shooting for a while but you’ve lucked out and gotten some beautiful outdoor venues or morning weddings with gorgeous natural light?

Only a "natural light shooter?" Well, sugar, after 55 weddings, we have seen it all, and only a handful have been in natural light situations. So you better put your big boy/girl pants on and be ready for Off Camera Flash (OCF) lessons and investing in that gear for the future!

I’m gonna tell you right now that I had to overcome crappy wedding lighting situations pretty soon into the game.

Shooting in a barn, a winery, a hotel, a dimly lit venue, under a tent, and incandescent lit house or pretty much any other situation where crappy lighting will occur will be your nemesis sooner or later- unless you have these tools.

My camera bag Must be able to fit two cameras (I use z6’s) (At least three lenses)

Don’t have a lot of money for all of those lenses that you need for weddings?

I started shooting with a 35 1.8 and an 85 1.8 for over five years and it was a great little kit that was awesome and low light but I was able to spread out the focal length throughout the day!

eventually you’ll want to add a 70 to 200, a macro lens or a 24 to 70 but it’s not a must have is limited money is a factor.

Look into renting from places like www.borrowlenses.com for some of the gear that you can’t afford in full for every single wedding. Make that as an add-on service when people book you said that they are paying for the cost of your rental fee.

five lenses and two flashes

I love these little Godox AD-200’s for all my shooting

I can’t forget about the remote for firing wirelessly (get the brand you need or it won’t work!

I use this super versatile gear packer that can go in a suitcase or a backpack shell! in a regular carry on suitcase to fit all of my gear.

My checked bag had my tripods (which I can also use lightstands if I am not flying!)

Take note of my favorite little hack: I use for light stands with these little handy converter pieces found here:

My favorite softboxes are super foldable and lightweight-

great for travel and dimly lit venues

s grips for a light & umbrella adapter : https://amzn.to/3p1Hb1A

I love having these little rechargeable lights video lights in my bag at all times

We brought in our video lights and used the model light on our external flashes to create our own light scene.

We usually bring at least 2 light sources (flash or video light with us to EVERY wedding.) We don't rely on ANY natural light to be there at all!

Can you think of some other lighting that would love to see on this list for photos?