The cameras I use & adore.

I love photographing my life, yes I’m a photographer & this is my full time job. But I love being able to capture the moment in my everyday life. I love being able to look back at a photo & relive what I felt in that moment.

I have used a few cameras in my lifetime & I’m here to share what cameras I can’t live without!

My Fujifilm Instax Polaroid Camera, I love this thing!! I recently broke it for the reason being I have no idea how, but that I had for so many years. I was able to capture so much with this camera! I even loved bringing this on some wedding days & having my couples take something home.

I absolutely love the look of film & have a little Kodak M35. I carrying it around with me in my purse & it acts as a reusable disposable camera. It’s not fancy, but I was gifted this over Christmas & have been playing around with it. I have yet to get my film developed, but only because I want to shoot a little more film with it before I get them processed. I think this is a great little beginner film camera for anyone!

Super 8. Words cannot describe how much I love the look & process of a Super 8 Film Camera. I have one, but have never had my film developed, which now that I’m making this blog post I feel like this is something I need to do badly. I personally want a Super 8 at my wedding day & think this is a cool way to capture moments. Something about film for me just makes me so happy! I had a friend actually find my Super 8 camera at an antique store, but you can easily find theses on Ebay.

Let’s chat digital cameras… I have been raving about film, but now I will spill the tea with my favorite digital cameras. I’m a Canon person, so if you don’t like Canon then you might want to exit now. I started out on a Canon 5D Mark 3, which is a full frame & I used this camera body for years before upgrading. This camera was always by my side & I think this is a great camera to either start out on or when you upgrade from a crop sensor camera!

The 2 cameras I use on wedding days are a Canon 5D Mark 4 & a Canon R6. I have been shooting with my Canon R6 for around 4 months now & I love it so much for a few reasons! One, it was fairly easy to transition from my Canon 5D Mark 4 to my Canon R6. I didn’t need to much time to figure everything out on the camera before I actually was able to shoot with it. Two, this camera is amazing for low light situations & having a flash on hand. I used it recently at a senior session, which I never use my flash, but had to due to the location, and I was amazed at what that camera was able to do. Don’t get me wrong I use this at weddings & love it, but this camera is so versatile to use.

Lastly, my go to camera is my iPhone. I use my iPhone camera everyday! Whether I’m taking photos of my dog, selfies, my tasty food, or a beautiful Texas sunset. I’m constantly reaching for my phone to take pictures.

You don’t need thousands of dollars to be able to capture beautiful moment. For myself yes, I do spend a lot of money on my gear, but that’s because this is my job & I want my clients to have the best of the best! But, if you’re starting out small in your photography journey or just want to capture your life I think it’s always fun to have another camera than your iPhone.

I hope all of you capture something pretty this week & feel free to share with me! I’m gonna share a few of my favorite photos from all the cameras I use in my life.

5 tips to make the most out of your bridal session!

Let’s talk about bridals!! I love getting with my brides before wedding day, plus bridals are the perfect excuse to get all done up & wear your wedding dress! Let’s be honest, how many times will you wear your wedding dress? When you pick it out at the store, at alternations, & then wedding day. If you want to have an entire afternoon devoted to you getting all pretty & wearing your wedding dress then bridals are for you! This gives you time to rehearse what you will look like before the wedding. I’m here sharing a few tips on how to make the most of your bridal session & maybe convince some of the brides that weren’t planning on doing a bridal session.

Tip 1.

The first tip to making the most out of your bridal session is to plan out where it will be! You can go a few places, but I love when brides go to their wedding venue. Another great place to go for your bridals is a natural light studio! If you’re a more simple bride, then a studio is the best thing for you! 

Tip 2.

When you’re planning your bridal session this is the time to use your vendors! If you’re questioning your hair & makeup day of your wedding, then try it out for your bridals & see if you like it before the wedding! This is great to work with your florist & photographer! You are able to have a mock up of what your bouquet will look like. Building a relationship with your photographer especially is great, because when wedding day comes around we already know your angles & what you like! Plus, as a photographer myself, I’m already your bestie before the wedding day!

Tip 3.

Bring everything!! Here’s a quick list for what to pack for your bridal session.

• Engagement Ring.
  

• Extra lipstick/gloss.
  

• Mock Bouquet.
  

• Veil, Jewelry, & any accessories you plan on wearing wedding day!
  

• Wedding Shoes.

  
  Tip 4.

  
  Consider planning to have your session on a weekday! Most wedding vendors will have more openings to schedule you in for the weekdays, which is a great time to take the day for yourself!

  
  Tip 5.

  
  Don’t Stress! Booking a bridal session will help you as a bride to not stress of your wedding day. Sometimes the day goes by too fast & often taking a few portraits by yourself in your dress can easily be missed. When it comes to wedding day I’m chill & relax, so I don’t stress my brides out.
  

5 Simple Steps to Planning a Styled Shoot.

So you want to plan a styled shoot I’m gonna share the 5 simple steps to planning your dream styled shoot.

First off, what is a styled shoot? A styled shoot is a staged wedding where vendors of the wedding industry come together & collaborate on a vision for a wedding. A styled shoot is a way for wedding vendors to have creative freedom & create something they normally wouldn’t have at a traditional wedding.

Step 1.

Create a vision/inspiration board. My go to is Pinterest! Finding the vibe of the styled shoot. There are so many rabbit holes you can fall into when planning a styled shoot. There are so many pretty things you can be inspired by, but try to do something you can’t find too much of or try to be realistic for your business! It’s hard to not plan something beautiful, but you need to have a goal for the styled shoot. Most of the time styled shoots are great for beginner photographers to build their portfolio at a styled shoot to start marketing their business as a wedding photographer. I definitely did this in my early days & this helped me gain wedding clients! But now as a seasoned wedding photographer my goal in styled shoots now is to get creative & go somewhere I want my couples to take me.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when you’re trying to find your vibe; Who are you trying to reach? Who is your target audience? What is your goal after the styled shoot? What will these photos be used for?

Creating a vision board is fun & great for finding a vibe, but don’t copy someone else’s work. Take inspiration from what you see on Pinterest & Instagram, but straight up copying someone else’s hard work isn’t the way to go about it.

Step 2.

Create a time frame. At this point you should already have the vibe for the shoot & now you gotta find a venue/location. When reaching out to venues give them a timeframe in your initial email to them, they won’t want to be the wedding planner for your styled shoot. You will want to have a time frame of when the styled shoot will be. When I plan styled shoots I plan the styled shoot about 2-3 months ahead of time. This will give you enough time to reach out to vendors & find a couple.

Step 3.

Finding Vendors to work with for your styled shoot. This is when you research & find like minded vendors for the actual styled shoot. This is a great way to create vendorships, did I make up this word I’m not sure, but let’s go with it. Having vendorships is great, because if you like working with them they will refer you to their clients! This works both ways.

I look for vendors to work with through Instagram, Facebook groups (you can find styled shoots groups in your area), Websites, Google, literally any way a bride would find their vendors. When I find vendors I look at their Instagram as a photographer I ask myself would they post my images to their feed. I’m not asking myself this, so I can get promotion, but because what’s the point for them to work with me if I don’t fit their niche & vibe. So, I try to find vendors with similar styles, someone I can actually get along with, & a vendor that I genuinely love their work.

Vendors to consider when planning a styled shoot; Venue, Florist, Hair & Makeup, Dress, Stationary, Cake, Tablescape (Rentals), Wedding Planner, Photo booth, etc the options are endless!!

Step 4.

Create a timeline for your styled shoot. If you’re working with a wedding planner, then they will most likely help with this. If you have all the vendors, then set up your styled shoot timeline how a actual wedding day would go. This timeline is what you should email all vendors apart of the day, so everyone knows what’s happening when!

Example Timeline; Stationary (Details), Getting ready shots, Bride & Groom Portraits, Tablescape, Cake, & Exit.

Step 5.

Day of the styled shoot!! Don’t forget anything & make sure to take it all in! This is another great way to get all the extra content for your social media! Take all the videos for reels & tik toks, this is a great way to reach brides across all platforms.

I hope this blog helps all y’all create a bomb ass styled shoot! I’m in need to do this myself!

-Emily O’Neil