Planning for “the big day” is a daunting task – even with a wedding planner and/or a team of people helping you. It’s a big deal! And often small details tend to fall through the cracks – like your wedding detail shots. 

Now if you don’t know what I mean, I’m talking about these:

These are what wedding photographers refer to as “wedding detail shots.” They’re all those super aesthetic, beautiful photos of the rings, wedding invitations, and other smaller items or thematic elements. 

As a Philadelphia based wedding photographer myself, these are some of my favorite shots to do, but mind you it didn’t start that way. 

I used to think that wedding detail shots were redundant, boring, bland – but that’s why I LOVE to get creative when shooting my detail photos. I try to find unique angles, interesting staging ideas, and put a fun twist on your standard wedding detail shots. 

A lot about your wedding detail shots is up to your photographer and their creative vision (so make sure you pick a wedding photographer that you really vibe with and love their style). BUT there are things that you can do as a couple to prepare for your detail shots so you get the most dreamy, aesthetic photos you could possibly imagine! 

So let’s not drag it out! Here are my tips as a wedding photographer on how to get the BEST wedding detail shots that you can WAIT to share!

My Tips for the Best Wedding Detail Shots

Clean the rings!

This might seem a little obvious, but your rings (aka, wedding rings & engagement rings) will DEFINITELY be in your detail shots. Soooo, make sure to get them cleaned ahead of time! We want to make sure that those beauties are sparkling. Most jewelers will clean your rings for free, regardless of whether or not you bought the jewelry from them. But in a pinch, you can always pick up an at-home jewelry cleaning kit from your local pharmacy or supermarket!

Make your packing list ahead of time

There are probably a few standard things that you’ll want to have photographed for your wedding detail shots, like your invitations, the vow book, the rings, etc. So make your packing list ahead of time and have everything prepared the night before (or earlier). It’s great if you can give your photographer a box of your items together so that they don’t have to run around tracking down spares. Here’s a list of commonly photographed items: 

• Rings
• Ring boxes
• Wedding invitation suite (2 copies, if at all possible)
• Jewelry
• Perfume
• Your “something old, new, borrowed, & blue”
• Decorative details like ribbons, loose florals, or other thematic imagery
• Vow books
• Notes/gifts that the berothed are exchanging on the day-of
• Guest favors
• Dining placesetting items
• Sentimental details (ex. cufflinks, a photograph, a pocketwatch, a heirloom jewelry piece, etc.)
• Clothing (ex. tie, pocketsquare, boutonniere, dress, shoes, veil, etc.)
• Nice quality hangers for any clothing shots

If it makes sense, make TWO detail shot boxes

If you and your betrothed are getting ready at two separate locations, it’s probably best to have two wedding detail shot boxes for your photographer – one for each of you at your locations. That way, your photographer is scrambling around to gather up all the items or having to chauffeur items from one location to another. (If you DO have multiple locations in play, your photographer may have a second shooter- so this would work out even smoother!)

Communicate any specific wedding detail shots to your photographer

If there are any specific wedding detail shots that you’re just dying to have, make sure to communicate that to your photographer BEFORE the wedding day so that they can include it on their shot list. At some point, you and your photographer will probably go over your shot list (all the wedding party and family member combinations, etc.). So this is the perfect opportunity to bring up any desired detail shots! 

Be collaborative with your timeline

There are a lot of moving parts to a wedding (duh), and there are a LOT of different vendors and people that have to work in sync to make sure that your day goes perfectly. Your wedding photographer is going to be a HUGE component when planning your wedding timeline. In fact the two wedding vendors that control the timeline the most are the photographer and the caterer! So, your wedding photographer should be very communicative about timeline needs in order to get all of the shots you want.

For your wedding detail shots, make sure that you are giving your photographer enough time to get all of these photos done and done well! A good wedding photographer is not simply going to point the camera and shoot. They are going to find the perfect lighting, angle, backdrop, etc. This is what makes those detail shots so damn Instagramable! So make sure that you are communicative with one another and create space in your day to make these beautiful photos happen.

And that’s it!

Quick, simple, and to the point! Listen – your wedding detail shots should be something that you don’t even think about on your wedding day as long as you’ve prepared. If you’ve done the little bit of planning and prep work, your wedding photographer should have it handled! 

What’s your favorite kind of detail shot? Is it the dress? The rings? The invitations? The old, new, borrowed, and blue? Let me know in the comments below! 

And if you are looking for wedding detail shot inspiration, you can check out my wedding portfolio here for all the aesthetic goodness!