Wedding Photography Essentials: The Ultimate Kit List

Kitting Up for Success: The Wedding Photographer’s Arsenal

As wedding photographers, we need equipment that won’t let us down when the key moment arrives. From camera bodies and lenses, to memory cards and flash guns, let’s walk through the gear that makes a photographer’s day run smoothly.

Here’s my current kit list

Canon EOS R x2

Canon 6D (stays in bag for emergency)

Sigma 24-35mm f/2

Sigma 50mm f/1.4

Canon 85mm f/1.8

Canon 35mm f/1.4

Canon 14-40mm f/4

Canon flashguns x2

Holdfast Money Maker Camera Strap

10x spare batteries

lots of memory cards

AA batteries

Suncream

Mints

Headache tablets

LED light panel

LowePro rucksack

Your wedding photography style

Understanding how you want to shoot can take a very, very long time.

If you’re new to photography I would recommend you get one camera and one lens and spend a good few months taking pictures every single day with just that camera and lens combo.

You need to become familiar with how much of a scene you can keep in frame and understand how your height will affect the pictures.

Scenes will look very different through the eyes of someone who’s 5’4 versus someone vs 6’2, so make sure the images you’re getting look how you want. Bare in mind that your height can distort the image and either make subjects look taller or shorter. All of this information you’ll gather just through practice.

That being said, it’s very difficult to tell people what wedding photography equipment they’ll need as it’s a very personal journey, you might love wide angle for it’s story telling ability, or you might like zoomed in and shallow depth of field for that Instagram/lifestyle look.

You’ll find your own path eventually.

Camera Bodies:

Start with at least two professional grade camera bodies.

Why two? Backup.

If one fails, you’ve got another ready to go. Nothing can halt the wedding day magic faster than a malfunctioning camera.

Considerations:

1. Resolution: This refers to the total number of pixels that the camera sensor has. Higher resolution cameras will allow you to capture more detail, which can be useful for large prints or when you want to crop the image significantly. For example, when shooting the confetti, the faced paced, walking backwards reality means that you don’t have time to get your composition perfect, it’s often easier to shoot wide and crop later. A high resolution camera gives you this option without losing picture quality.
2. Low-Light Performance: Weddings often take place in a variety of lighting conditions, from bright outdoor ceremonies to dimly lit receptions. A camera with good low-light performance (indicated by a higher ISO range without introducing too much noise) will ensure you can capture great photos no matter the light level. For example, capturing the first dance in a dimly lit reception hall would require a camera with strong low-light capabilities.
3. Autofocus System: A fast and reliable autofocus system is crucial in capturing fleeting moments. The more focus points the camera has, the better it is at tracking moving subjects and maintaining focus. This would be useful during the wedding procession or capturing candid moments during the reception where people are often moving around.
4. Continuous Shooting Speed: This is also known as burst mode or frames per second (FPS). Higher FPS can capture moments more precisely, like the throwing of the bouquet or the exchange of rings, where timing is everything.
5. Dual Card Slots: These allow you to save images simultaneously on two memory cards. This is a critical feature for wedding photographers as it provides an instant backup of your images in case one of the cards fails. You don’t want to lose any images on such an important day due to a technical failure.
6. Weather Sealing: Weddings can take place in all types of weather. A weather-sealed camera is designed to resist moisture and dust, allowing you to keep shooting even if it starts to drizzle during an outdoor ceremony.
7. Battery Life: A camera with a long battery life ensures that you can keep shooting for the entire wedding without having to constantly change batteries. Having to swap batteries in the middle of the couple’s vows could mean missing a critical moment.
8. Full-Frame Sensor: A full-frame sensor camera provides better image quality, improved low-light performance, and a wider field of view compared to crop sensor cameras. This could be particularly useful when shooting in small spaces, such as the bride’s dressing room, or when trying to capture a large group shot.
9. Mirrorless vs. DSLR: While this comes down to personal preference, mirrorless cameras tend to be lighter and smaller, which can be a big plus for wedding photographers who need to move around a lot and carry their gear for a long period. However, DSLRs often have better battery life and a wider selection of lenses.
10. Video Capabilities: If you plan to offer video services or capture short clips in addition to photos, you should consider a camera that offers 4K video recording. This could be useful for capturing the vows, speeches, or other key moments in high resolution.
11. Weight and Size: Wedding photography can often involve long hours, so the weight and size of the camera can have a big impact on your comfort. Lighter and more compact cameras might be more suitable, especially when shooting for extended periods.
12. Lens Compatibility: The camera body is only part of the equation. The lenses you use will also have a significant impact on the images you take. Make sure the camera body is compatible with a wide range of high-quality lenses that cover the focal lengths you most commonly use in wedding photography (like a wide-angle lens for group shots, a prime lens for portraits, etc.).

Wedding Lenses: The Backbone of Your Kit

Why are they the backbone of your kit? Great lenses don’t age. Invest in amazing lenses from the very beginning and not only will your photographs look better, but you’ll never have to worry about upgrading them. Lenses are also where you’re able to develop a signature style. Each lens has different characteristics and some you will prefer over others purely for how the final images look. You may not even be able to describe it, but to your eyes, it just looks right. Lenses are also a worthwhile investment because even on a low end camera body your photographs will still look great.

When it comes to lenses for wedding photography, diversity is going to get you out of trouble

I think we all dream of a scenario where we can rock up to a wedding with one camera and one lens, take the pictures WE want and that’s good enough. But that’s not real life. Real life is where you need a 17mm lens to get a wide angle shot of everyone, and an 85mm lens because the church vicar said you can’t stand at the front of the church during the wedding service. You need to cover yourself, this is a service industry, your clients will have expectations and it’s your responsibility to know that you can meet them.

If you’re just starting out, I recommend going broad before you go niche. A wide-angle zoom lens like the 24-70mm is going to be able to do most of the heavy lifting. In fact if you had a 24-70 f2.8 lens you could probably shoot the entire day on that lens alone. It’s wide enough for capturing grand venues and group shots and tight enough for speech reaction shots when you can’t quite get close enough. You may need a lens that’s even wider if your couple wants a big group shot of everyone, I use my 17-40mm lens for this shot. You may also benefit from a wider lens depending on where most of your weddings occur. If you’re based in a city, many of your couples will likely get ready in hotels, and hotel rooms are small, especially when filled with bridesmaids and make up artists. This will only come with experience though once you’ve worked out how you want to shoot.

A fast prime lens (50mm or 85mm) is most likely going to be your go-to for portraits. Being able to create beautiful shallow depth of field is going to help separate your couple from the background, create lovely Bokeh and also enable you to shoot in dark churches/wine cellars etc. without the need for external lighting. Again, we all want to shoot in beautiful locations, but when you’re starting out, that’s likely not going to happen. Being able to create extremely shallow depth of field is going to allow you greater creative freedom and get you out of jail by creating lovely soft backgrounds when the location is less than ideal. A telephoto lens like a  70-200mm is also going to come in handy. 95% of a wedding day is unscripted, so you’re going to need to have a documentary/candid element to your work. When starting in wedding photography it’s likely you’ll be nervous about getting up close and personal, this is to be expected, it takes time to develop that skill, so having a longer lens means you can stand back at a comfortable distance and still get pictures of guests that the couple will love.

Memory Cards: Never Run Out of Space

Never underestimate the number of photos you’ll take at a wedding. Bring plenty of high-capacity memory cards and, just to be safe, consider using a camera that allows two memory cards for immediate backup.

I personally shoot on 32GB and 64GB cards. I do have to change them over the course of the day, I typically take about 4000 pictures on average, but there’s something about having the entire day on one card that scares me, so i prefer to split them up.

The markings on SD cards represent different information about the card’s capacity, type, speed, and performance. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Storage Capacity: This is typically one of the most prominent markings. It indicates the total amount of data the card can store and is usually measured in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB).
2. SD, SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC: These markings represent the SD card type and indirectly tell you the card’s capacity:
   • SD stands for Secure Digital and these cards have capacities up to 2GB.
   • SDHC stands for Secure Digital High Capacity. These cards have capacities between 4GB and 32GB.
   • SDXC stands for Secure Digital Extended Capacity. These cards range from 64GB up to 2TB.
   • SDUC stands for Secure Digital Ultra Capacity. These cards range from 2TB up to 128TB.
3. Speed Class: This indicates the minimum sustained write speed of the SD card and is important for video recording where a constant rate of data writing is required. It’s represented by a number inside a ‘C’. Classes include 2, 4, 6, and 10, representing 2MB/s, 4MB/s, 6MB/s, and 10MB/s minimum write speeds respectively.
4. UHS Speed Class: UHS stands for Ultra High Speed. This is another speed class that’s indicated by a number inside a ‘U’. UHS speed classes include U1 and U3, representing 10MB/s and 30MB/s minimum write speeds respectively. This is generally more important for 4K and high framerate video recording.
5. Video Speed Class: This is another category of speed class specifically designed for high-resolution video recording. These are marked by a ‘V’ followed by the number, for example, V10, V30, V60, and V90. The number indicates the minimum sustained write speed in MB/s.
6. UHS Bus IF Product Family: The UHS Bus symbols (I, II, or III) indicate the total bus interface speed. UHS-I has a bus speed of up to 104 MB/s, UHS-II goes up to 312 MB/s, and UHS-III up to 624 MB/s. This won’t impact minimum sustained write speed but can affect how quickly files are read from or written to the card, useful when transferring files to a computer.
7. Application Performance Class: Marked by an ‘A’ followed by a number (A1 or A2), these symbols indicate that the card meets certain minimum random read and write speed requirements, which are important for running apps on the SD card, mainly for Android devices. A1 requires random read IOPS of 1500, write IOPS of 500, and sustained sequential write of 10MB/s, while A2 requires random read IOPS of 4000, write IOPS of 2000, and sustained sequential write of 10MB/s.
8. Manufacturer Information: The card will also contain the brand logo, model name or number, and sometimes a serial number.

Remember that these symbols and markings all serve to indicate the theoretical capabilities of the SD card under ideal conditions. The real-world performance can sometimes vary based on a variety of factors.

Lighting Equipment:

Even with the best camera and lenses, you can’t always rely on natural light. An external flash, reflectors, and potentially some portable LED lights can be a lifesaver when the sun goes down or for dimly lit venues.

Reality is, you’re going to need at least one flash gun. I like to shoot the venue how it is wherever possible, but sometimes the light just isn’t there (I mean in terms of quality as well as strength) so you have to invent your own. The classic wedding look is to have two flashguns on tripods either side of the couple and they’re activated by a wireless trigger mounted on top of your camera.

I tried doing this for a few years, but it didn’t feel authentic to me. Instead I opt for an LED panel that outputs continuous light. That way there’s is nothing stopping me from getting the shot I want. All I have to do then is concentrate and wait for the moment.

Extra Batteries and Chargers: Stay Powered Up

Much like memory cards, you’ll want to have more batteries than you think you’ll need. Nothing’s worse than seeing a perfect moment and having a dead camera.

Tripods and Monopods: For Stability and Flexibility

Tripods are great for long exposures if that’s your thing, personally I’d only ever use them to support my lights.

I gave up on tripods along time ago as it seemed ridiculous to carry them all day when I would only use them for the first dance.

Camera Bag: Keep it Organised

An easy-to-carry, weather-resistant camera bag is crucial for organising and protecting your equipment. You need to be able to quickly and easily access your gear in the heat of the moment.

I bought a LowePro bag when I was 16 (I’m now 36), it’s still my camera bag.

Invest in a good quality bag. Not only are they robust and can take a beating (and therefore protect your gear) te higher end bags will also have weather proofing and they should have a rain cover, but they’ll also have proper, thick straps to protect your back neck and shoulders. This is essential if you want this to be your career, look after your body!

Don’t Forget: Cleaning Kit and Toolkit

Finally, always carry a basic cleaning kit for your lenses and camera sensors, and a small toolkit for quick fixes on the fly.

A lens cloth at the very least, if you wear glasses like I do, keep this in your pocket.

Conclusion: Preparation is Key

Whether you’re a seasoned wedding photographer or a newbie, having a well-packed kit can make all the difference. Being prepared for every scenario allows you to focus on what you do best – capturing beautiful moments that last a lifetime. Remember, the camera is an extension of the photographer, so gear up properly and let your creativity shine!