How I use, Carry and Swap my Gear at Weddings.
This blog is a bit of a guide as to how I use my gear at weddings, not so much how I shoot but how I carry all my kit and how I move and operate on the day, I'll be linking up to some gear reviews I've done previously so you'll know what I'm talking about, this is a sort of bit by bit of what I carry while working a wedding and why.
The first and most important point for me is to work light, easy and without attracting much attention.
Thanks to Che Birch Hayes for the shots of me. That's me pretty much wedding-ready, with all I need on me to cover a wedding day, no big bags or a hoard of different lenses, just light and simple.
So what do we have:
On the left is a Fuji XE-2 & 56mm lens on a Black Widow Holster.
Quick to get to hand, great for long shots or portraits, fantastic for background separation, when I need this i pop it out of the holster take the shots I need and its back down safely on my belt.
Around my neck is another XE-2 & 23mm lens with the brown leather case.
My workhorse setup, being around my neck means its right there ready to go, the leather case gives it a bit of a comfortable grip, sometimes I'll pop it over my shoulder to get it out the way if needs be.
On the right is a utility pouch on my belt, in here are my memory cards, x4 batteries, ND filters and some cereal bars.
This is why I don't need a bag, this has all I need 4 batteries [plus the ones in the camera] can see me almost through an entire wedding, but to be safe I'll swap them all out halfway through the day with others which are in the car. The memory cards don't leave this pouch, they are always on me all the way home. The cereal bars are a necessity, it's common to not get a chance to eat for long periods of time so having a snack can mean your good to go and not thinking about lunch.
On my back is another belt Spider Holster with a Fuji XM1 + 18mm lens.
This is a new addition, not often used but good for a quick grab and shoot and allows me to have another focal length, the flip out screen of the XM1 is good for hip-shot candids.
In my pocket is my iPhone, a printed 'plan of the day'.
Iphone for general use, sometimes snap a picture edit in VSCOcam and upload to Instagram, the plan goes over the times of what happens where and anything else I need to know.
So, why do I like this kind of setup? First off, no bag, nothing to put down and get lost or forget, I've got my focal lengths covered, and everything I need to hand. In the car is my big bag with backup gear and lenses and all sorts of other bits.
I can move with this setup, and if I need to move quickly, it's lightweight and small, once the Fuji with the 23mm is around my shoulder I can run up stairs or dash over if needs be, by popping the back XM1 off I can be in the car and am good to drive, very good if your getting from the church to the reception, you don't have to pack anything away or fiddle getting it out, just park and go.
I hope that post gives you some insight of how I work with my gear at weddings and maybe a few ideas of your own, if you have any questions then by all means comment below and I'll be sure to get back to you.
Cheers,
Col-