As a wedding photographer, I shoot a lot of luxury weddings and work with incredibly talented planners and designers. They tend to have a ton going on detail wise. While this can be amazing, it can also take a lot of time to get all of the shots needed to cover all of the details. A few weeks ago, I decided to try a new system, and it worked!
Shooting a detail-heavy wedding.
I have always prepped my shot list with a little “Details of Note” section. Here I listed anything special that me and my team need to know about, whether it is decor or little details throughout. This means the list is not just the basics like “the wedding cake table”. But more like, “whiskey station”. Things that are unique to that particular wedding.
However, this last year I have had a few occasions when my team members have missed something important. And these are incredibly talented, experienced, and capable people. So I know I needed to make a change!
Frankly, some weddings have A LOT of DETAILS and sometimes it’s hard to see the woods from the trees (or this case the trees from the woods). When I recently shot a wedding with a lot of special touches, and many details from the creative bride, I knew I needed a way to fix it. I didn’t want us to miss anything she was poured her heart and soul into! These details are important to me, too my clients and to my wonderful vendor friends and colleagues.
A complete detail checklist.
How did I solve it? By creating a complete detail checklist. In fact, this wedding had 2 full pages of detail shots!
First, I review the planning documents that were sent over from the planner. I pulled together areas from the layouts, the rental lists, and the questionnaire.
Next, I put that all in a GoogleDoc, and reached out to the planner to review. She was able to take a look, and make sure all items were covered.
By taking the time prior to the wedding to see the layout and rentals, and confirming with the wedding planner, I am ensuring I get each and every shot. To provide the best service for my clients, I need to make sure I don’t miss a single detail. And while this isn’t something you have to do at each and every wedding, it is important to do for the detail-heavy weddings you shoot.
Everyone’s business should always be a work in progress. It’s important to always evaluate and look at ways you can tweak your systems. For more information on the coaching services I offer, visit here!
How 
