Photographing wedding reception details is one of my favorite parts of a wedding day. SO MUCH PRETTINESS. I know how much hard work, thought, and time goes into making a reception beautiful, AND that it will all be gone tomorrow. So my photographs are the only means to prolong the beauty and let them live on.

While I love shooting reception details, I'm not under any delusions that I'm a master detail shooter -- there are so many photographers out there who do this well. And by the same token, I don't feel like there's a lot to it -- many of my strategies are the same as they are shooting any other subject matter. I actually think shooting details is easier than most everything else I do because they are inanimate, inherently gorgeous, and there are so many to choose from -- making it easy to get the best shot. Shooting details is one of the most relaxing parts of the wedding day for me. And boy do I love it! It's so fun to document and make other people's artistic creations shine. Inspiring details inspire me.

With all that said, I still get photographers asking me what my approach is to photographing wedding reception details, so today and over the coming weeks I'm going to share my thoughts in a 5-part series. You are guaranteed to find yourself saying "duh" at some point during this series, but the teacher in me likes to be thorough, so I have to include the obvious and the basics! haha!

For me, shooting details is all about 5 things:

1. Picking the right detail
2. Light
3. Positioning
4. Focal Point
5. Setting yourself up for success

Today I'll start by talking about #1 -- Picking the right detail. Some reception details are one-of-a-kind, like a cake. But the large majority of reception details are duplicated many times throughout the event space. Which is great for us photographers -- options to choose from!

Although the details themselves might be nearly identical, their position in the space often sets them apart from one another as it relates to two factors: lighting and background. Although the details may be similar, the resulting photographs of them may vary greatly depending on how well lit they are, and what is behind them. So it's important to pick the best detail out of the bunch -- the one that has the best lighting and background -- to really show off the wedding details at their very best.

We're going to talk about light more in the next part of this series, but I also wanted to mention it here as it relates to choosing the "right" detail out of the bunch to photograph. Here are some examples.

When I'm shooting an event inside, but there are windows or doors alongside one wall of the room, I like to to pick details that are closest to those windows or doors to take advantage of the natural light. You can see the wine bottle favor below was shot with a window slightly to my right. And the center table shot has some beautiful side-lighting from a door that gives the centerpiece a three-dimensional look.
Not all ballrooms have windows or doors that let in natural light, however. Some are SUPER dark. Sometime I score, and all the centerpieces in a dark ballroom are spot-lit. The client paid for professional lighting. Yay! But sometimes there is just basic down-lighting or random spot-lighting, and some centerpieces are better-lit than others. This centerpiece happened to be spot-lit at this reception, while others like it were not, so of course I took advantage of that:
The second important factor to consider when choosing which detail to photograph is background. It's important to pick a detail that does not overlap with distracting elements in the background, and, if possible, allows you to show off the venue or space at its best. The first consideration -- finding a clean background that allows the detail to be shown off at its best -- is nearly always the most important. And it's a bonus if you can also photograph it with a background that shows off a unique element of the venue.

Here's an example of a clean background. I made sure to line up the centerpiece with a darker portion of the up-lit drapes in the background so that it would stand out from the background clearly:
This next event space was a bit busy with chandeliers, wall sconces, and other centerpieces behind many of the centerpiece options, so I made sure to pick one that I could photograph with a clean background. The wood panelling background provided a great contrast for the white flowers (left photo):
After you make sure to find a detail with a clean background, it's also good to narrow down your choice by choosing one that has a background that shows of the uniqueness of the venue. Here are a few examples.

When I photograph at the Phoenix Art Museum, I always make sure to choose some tables with unique art pieces behind them:
This centerpiece was just screaming to be framed by the archway behind it:
This next reception took place outdoors in a courtyard surrounded by a two-story building with store-fronts. Choosing this table (below left) furnished a background that wasn't just busy storefronts. Instead, I was able to capture the space between buildings were light was streaming through, to really highlight the outdoor ambience.
Finally, the centerpiece in the upper right of the next image grouping is a great example of marrying the two important factors to consider when picking a detail with a good background. As you can see in the two left photos, this reception took place outdoors under a series of open-sided tents. These can be some of the most challenging spaces to shoot in because you're typically photographing a detail in the shade with only bright sun, bright sun, or more bright sun to choose from in the background. But I was able to find one centerpiece that I could photograph with a darker background -- an even more important consideration since the centerpieces were white. So I found the proper background to offer contrast to the centerpiece, and then I composed the photo in a way that showed off the ceiling detail of the tent. Win-win!!
I hope you found this post helpful! Stay tuned for the next installment of this series on photographing wedding reception details. If you have any specific questions that you want to make sure I cover, please leave them in the comments below!

In the meantime, click here to find out about other resources I offer photographers! And click here to find out about my blog collage templates. I used them to combine details in this post into pretty combos and they are available for purchase if you want to make your blogging easier and faster!

Credits by image grouping (top to bottom):
1 -- Wedding Planner: Outstanding Occasions / Venue: Paradise Valley Country Club / Florist/Decor: Petal Pusher / Rentals & Lighting: Cre8ive Event Rentals / Rentals: Dusty Lilacs / Stationery: Idieh Design / Linens: La Tavola
2 -- Venue: Villa Siena / Florist: Blume Events / Cake: Piece of Cake Desserts
3 -- Venue: Four Seasons / Florist: The Flower Studio
4 -- Wedding Planner: Jennifer Thye of Imoni Events / Venue: JW Marriott Desert Ridge / Florist: The Flower Studio / Rentals: Tri Rentals & Kool Party Rentals / Drapery: Quest Drape / Linens: Southwick Linens
5 -- Wedding Planner: Emily Edwards with Your Heart's Desire Weddings & Events / Venue: Villa Siena / Florist: Petal Pusher
6 -- Wedding Planner: Victoria Canada / Venue: The Phoenix Art Museum / Florist/Decor: Petal Pusher
7 -- Wedding Planner: Jennifer with Outstanding Occasions / Venue: Royal Palms / Florist & Rentals: White House Flowers
8 -- Wedding Planner: Victoria Canada Weddings and Events / Venue: The Boulders Resort / Florist/Decor: Petal Pusher / Stationery: Celebrations in Paper / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Linens: Wildflower Linens
9 -- Venue: Residence in Angola, Africa / Decor: Clarissa Rezende

Click here to read the next part of this series.
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