As an Atlanta, Georgia Wedding Photographer, I take pride in working with the couples I’m fortunate enough to work with and the team they put in place for their wedding day. Each bride and groom carefully assemble their favorite vendors to form what will become their Wedding Day Dream Team! Florists, designers, calligraphers, cake artists, and dress designers, to name a few, put in long hours, their hearts, and their souls into their work. I absolutely love this part of what I do, capturing the stunning details. Today I am sharing the steps I took to elevate my images of wedding details.

Step #1 Educate

About a year ago I decided I wanted my photography to evolve along with me as a person. Exciting! Because I made this decision, I knew I had to put in the time it takes to become the artist I so longed to be. The first step was to research, read, learn, talk to other photographers. I spent days reading and asking questions. Once I learned something new about my camera, I picked it up and took photos of the closest thing to me at that moment. It didn’t matter what it was I photographed. What mattered was that I was actively learning and putting that knowledge to use by practicing. I photographed my husband’s shoes he left in our living room the night before, a lady bug that was wandering around on our balcony, a dress in the closet. Anything and everything.

Step #2 Collect Styling Pieces

Once I educated myself, the next step was collecting items that would become my styling kit for shooting the details! Pretty little things like boxes, ribbon, vintage stamps and small dishes were among the first pieces I purchased for my kit. When one of the pieces arrived, I immediately unboxed and began shooting, adjusting, angling, until I felt confident using it. It’s my new mantra that a girl can never have too many pieces in her styling kit! 😉

Step #3 Play with the details

Eventually I decided to put together my first styled shoot! This was an amazing opportunity to practice using the styling kit, allowing my creative juices to flow. The team of people who were with me that day and the vendors who participated hold a dear place in my heart. I truly cherished that day. I now take my styling kit with me to every wedding and engagement portrait session. 

After my experience with the styled shoot, a fire was lit inside of me. I wanted to shoot this way forever. Romantic, dreamy, and completely in love with what I was capturing. I looked at Chase as we cleaned that night and said, “I don’t want to leave here, this is too much fun.”  That week I reached out to more vendors about collaborating and the passion for expanding my knowledge and connections hasn’t slowed since. This is part of how we grow as artists, as creatives, as thinkers. We practice. We learn. We screw up. We try again. Become intoxicated by it. And we love every moment of it. I know I do and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

In the end, I’m glad I made the decision to put in the extra effort. It opened up a whole new world for me and I only wish I had made the decision to step out of my comfort zone sooner. If you are working to up your game when it comes to shooting the details, let us know what steps you’re taking in your creative journey.