Destination Photographer Tips

Traveling the world and photographing weddings might be the best dream job there is!! It is a joy to find clients that are desiring a wedding in a location that isn’t in your normal shooting area! There are many things to consider when traveling with gear and shooting a destination wedding!

How to book accommodations

It is critical to book all the travel yourself. It is a mistake to allow clients to book flights and accommodations for you. In order to avoid this, create a flat travel fee. We have flat travel rates to the places we go most because we know the average travel costs. If you have never been to the location you are traveling to, look up prices of moderate hotels, rental cars, food, time spent traveling, etc. Then round up to a flat fee. Book all flights and accommodations early enough to take advantage of deals.

Use apps like Hopper or Skyscanner to find cheap flights. If you haven’t heard about these two apps, download them now! You can put in your desired travel dates and these apps will search for the cheapest fares! I’ve saved hundreds on flights using these apps. Hopper & Skyscanner

How to Pack

Keep all important things in your carry on and with you during travel. I generally travel with a camera roller bag and shove clothes in for short trips. With longer trips I have a regular suit case with a different camera bag inside with all of my back up gear. Here is my Manfrotto bag.

Use a camera backpack as a carry on item. This year I’ve been flying with my gear much more so a camera backpack with a laptop sleeve has been a life saver. I’m not saying its light to carry, but its a great option to carry the majority of your gear onto the plane. I generally have a rule to carry enough gear in both my backpack and in my suitcase that I am able to shoot a whole wedding in case something happens and I get separated in an accident. Here is my Jo Totes bag with a laptop sleeve! 

Use packing cubes for organization. If you haven’t added packing cubes in to your packing routine, you are missing out!! Find some that you like and use them to organize your clothes and gear. I prefer the ones that you can see into!

What to Pack

Flying on a plane to a destination wedding limits your packing list quite a bit. In my car, I am able to have extras for all my backups. On a plane trip, that is much less possible. Its important to pack strategically so that you have exactly what you need!

• Portable chargers, travel pillows, and phone apps. There are lots of things to bring a long to make traveling easier. Use plane travel to get ahead on work. There are now outlets on most major airline’s plane seats so its easy to keep everything charged for work!
• Clothes for every situation. Make sure to be aware of the weather conditions you are heading toward and bring the correct clothes for the situations you might be put in.
• Back up gear. Even though it is critical to pack precisely, it is expected that you bring back up gear. Being far from home and having a gear malfunction is bound to happen the longer you are in the business, so always travel with your extra camera body and flash gear!

How to find Locations

• Search Facebook Groups and Shootpedia.com. This is a great place to start getting an idea of the area. Many places have parks and nature preserves that are great photography locations. Use Google Maps to figure out how far away locations are from where the couple is staying, you are staying, the venue etc. Once you get an idea of the layout, search Shootpedia to see if there are any tagged locations in the area you are interested in!
• Search Instagram geo-tags and hashtags! When I was heading to Dallas, I was looking for the perfect location for bridals. I searched #DallasPhotographer and relation hashtags to get an idea of the normal shooting area. I even personal messaged a few photographer’s that were based in the area for some input. A few of them were nice enough to message me back. After finding some geo-tags, I searched more on Google Images!

How to find Second shooters

Search Instagram & Facebook Groups. I love having a local second shooter at every destination wedding. Generally photographers that are local have shot at your venue, know the area well, and live nearby. I generally start on Instagram, now that I have a large enough following to have photographer followers in larger cities. I’ve been contacted by photographer’s just by posting I am coming! A second shooter call could also work! Large nation-wide Facebook groups like Our Photog Blog and Second Shooters are great resources as well.

See a few of our favorite destination weddings here! California, Hawaii, Portland, Dallas, North Carolina.