Our Wedding Photography Styling Kit « Tanya & Victor

Our Wedding Photography Styling Kit

How we curate details for a wedding day

There’s a couple of things that I keep up my sleeve on wedding days. Ok, maybe more than a couple of things. I consider shoots especially wedding days to be unpredictable full of the unexpected, detailed and organically beautiful. If you know me, you’ll know that I like to be as prepared as possible and will do anything to foresee events unfold in my mind before they take place. Early in my photographic education, I took a food and product photography class where I picked up things I could use to help me photograph and style details on a wedding day and sometimes portraits shoots. It’s amazing how much detail goes into product and food photography so why not be as detailed on a wedding day? These are a few things I keep in my kit that are non-gear-related. (gear is an extensive list and will be revealed at a later post).

We ask our brides and grooms, and portrait clients as much detail as possible. While this may be excessive for some, for us it’s been a miracle saver in times when scheduling, lighting and other factors come into play. We’ll ask about style, theme, colors, and description of their details. This allows us to curate the tools in our styling kit for their day.

While bringing another bag full of props and tools may add another load to haul, it saves time and most importantly enhances our images. These are staples and vary from job to job. We have a collection of different fabrics ranging on a more neutral palette. We found many from JoAnn’s, Britex Fabrics in SF and flea markets. They provide a soft texture to details and its palette will allow for many more uses.
Victor and I create these canvases in 18×24 size. We use venetian plaster to create texture and acrylic paint. These are great for flat-lays and they’re very durable. They survive the banging and dinges that come with loading and unloading gear. A tutorial on these are coming up!I always bring my own hanger in the chance that a bride might’ve been to busy to pick out a pretty hanger for her dress shot. I also bring my own command hooks to be able to hang the dress anywhere with good light. You can never go wrong with ribbons. They bring texture and different visual elements to details like shoes, jewelry, and stationery. The canvas gives a nice velvety backdrop to these elements. I also have a growing collection of different metal trays. They give an elegant touch to different elements like bouquets, boutonnieres, and other details. I like to pack bits and bobs that would bring out jewelry and other kinds of heirlooms. Scissors always help to cut tags off and to help cut any loose threads.
Lastly, little elements like pointed tweezers, a brush, a wipe to help clean any dust and to help style to perfectly imperfectly position items. I use these wipes for our lenses but I also use them to clean my hands just before I pick up the dress. I also throw in an emergency kit with me. I tend to shadow the bride the most out of anybody else so I always like to have this if it can help her out at any point of the day.

Yes, it seems excessive or maybe too little. Our styling collection is growing and every once in a while I tend to collect unique pieces that would pair well with a shoot and just keep it. If you’re a creative, what kind of non-craft-related tools do you use?

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