An honest look at the tools that shape my elopement photography – from cameras and editing flow to website design and client experience.

The Tools That Support the Story: My Gear, Editing Flow & Digital Foundation

This isn’t a checklist. It’s a quiet look behind the curtain – a glimpse into the tools that help me hold space, respond to weather, and shape the stories that unfold in landscapes where each breath feels sacred.

The Gear I Carry (and Why I Keep It Simple)

I don’t believe in hauling everything just in case. I bring what allows me to move lightly and stay connected to the moment, to you, to the way light changes across skin and stone.

These are the tools that travel with me – chosen not for volume, but for the way they help me stay close to the moment:

  • Cameras: Sony A7IV and Sony A7III
  • Lenses:
  • 35mm f/1.4 for presence – wide enough to embrace the landscape yet intimate enough to feel your connection
  • 70-180mm f/2.8 for capturing moments from afar, allowing you space to forget I’m there
  • 24mm f/1.4 for when the mountains demand their moment
  • 85mm f/1.8 in my backpack for when intimate portraits call for that perfect compression
  • Light: Godox flash with MagMod MagSphere for intimate indoor moments and getting ready spaces, lanterns for evening outdoor gatherings, and headlights for finding our way when stars become our only witnesses
  • Backup essentials: Extra batteries, cards, and hand warmers (sometimes for gear, sometimes for cold fingers)

These choices weren’t made to impress anyone – they were made so I can stay grounded, responsive, and free to witness your story as it unfolds, without technology becoming a barrier between us.

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The Art of Planning

Before we ever step foot on a mountain path, I carefully craft each elopement journey:

• Location Planning: I use Google Maps and the desktop version of Google Earth to scout locations, understand terrain, and visualize how light will move across the landscape throughout your day.

• Weather Monitoring: Rather than fighting against the elements, I track weather patterns through a carefully curated collection of both free and paid weather apps. This multilayered approach helps us flow with whatever nature offers on your day.

The Editing Process: From RAW to Real

Editing is where memory softens into mood, where the feeling of a moment gets its voice back. My process unfolds like this:

  • Culling: I begin in FastRawViewer, sifting through images with intention before they ever reach my editing software. I look for the ones that make me catch my breath – moments where something honest revealed itself. Not perfect moments, real ones.
  • Programs: Once culled, I use Imagen (use this link for 1500 free photo edits!) to streamline my base adjustments while preserving my artistic vision, then refine each image in Adobe Lightroom. Some images ask for more – quiet adjustments, a careful hand. That’s when I turn to Photoshop for final touches.
  • Color & Tone: I work from my own base presets – hand-tuned over years of mountain light and shifting skies. I adjust each image individually, honoring the particular quality of light that surrounded you.
  • Workflow: My editing rhythm begins with emotions, not expectations. I select images that feel something profound – then I build a story, not a gallery. The sequence matters; how one moment flows into another, how tension builds and releases, how silence exists between louder moments.
  • Delivery: I use JPEGmini to perfectly size your images without compromising quality, then deliver your gallery through Pic-Time (use this link for one month free!) – creating a beautiful, intuitive space for you to revisit your day.
  • Albums: Always included elopement albums are designed using SmartAlbums and made by QTAlbum, with layouts that honor the natural rhythm of each story. These aren’t afterthoughts, but essential vessels for memories to live beyond the digital world.

The Digital Foundation

My website is built on WordPress using Kadence and Stylecloud (use code ELINETASM15 for 15% off) – a combination that allows both visual freedom and quiet clarity. It matters to me that couples can move through the site the way they’d move through a landscape – curious, unhurried, held.

The spaces between images matter as much as the images themselves. They create room for feeling – for wondering, for imagining your own story unfolding. This approach to visual rhythm is something I’m constantly refining across all my pages, creating consistency in how stories are experienced, whether you’re planning an elopement or exploring educational offerings.

For the relational side of my business, I trust Dubsado (use this link for 20% off your first month or year) as my client relationship management system. It helps me create seamless experiences from first inquiry to final gallery delivery, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks while I focus on what matters most – holding space for your story.

I use Zoom not just for our planning calls, but also to create personalized screen recordings during the planning stage – walking through location options, highlighting trail details, and explaining weather patterns. These visual guides help you make informed, confident decisions about your day with a clear understanding of what each choice truly means for your experience.

Beyond the Tools: What Really Matters

These tools support the work, they don’t define it. The camera I carry matters less than how present I am when you’re speaking vows that trembled inside you for months. The platform matters less than the feeling you carry when you leave.

What I’ve learned over time is that the best tool is always clear vision – knowing what matters to you as a couple, reading the weather’s intentions, feeling when to step closer and when to step back. Everything else is just a means to honor what’s already unfolding.

Sharing My Approach

For photographers looking to deepen their own approach to elopement photography:

  • 8-Week Mentorship: I offer a personal mentorship experience that goes beyond technical skills to explore the art of holding space, reading landscapes, and creating meaningful experiences in nature.
  • Monthly Newsletter: My newsletter shares reflections on light, presence, and the quiet art of witnessing love stories in powerful places. Subscribe to join a community of photographers and couples who value depth over distraction.

If you’re curious about any aspect of this process, visit my education page. I’m always happy to share more about how these tools help me create space for your story to breathe fully, authentically, in whatever weather arrives on your day.

Note: The links in this post are referral links that provide you with free trials or discounts. I receive a small benefit when you sign up through these links – at no additional cost to you. I only recommend tools I genuinely use and love in my own workflow.

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