043 - Adventure Elopements, Weddings, and Kicking the 9-5 with Film and Forest Photography
What you are going to learn in this episode:
Planning and shooting a mountain elopement
Equipment and kit to bring
Working with couples
Enjoying your Work
Who is Film and Forest?
Film and Forest is the photography duo of Liam and Afton, Canmore-based adventure photographers. They focus on destination wedding photography and adventurous elopements.
In their own words,
Our wedding philosophy is simple. We believe in elopements and intimate weddings that cut out the frills of a traditional wedding day. Wedding experiences that focus on your love story, in the place where you feel most at home; the great outdoors. And if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you feel the same too.
Some Highlights from the Episode
What is in Film & Forest’s kit?
They use the full Canon EOS R mirrorless lineup as of this summer
Afton loves the 24mm and 35mm primes while Liam loves the 70-200.
You will need to go beyond the Camera kit.
“The Rockies are very unpredictable, so it could be a nice July day but that evening it could dip down to 10 degrees and a lot of people (clients) aren’t prepared for that.”
A lot of the elopement couples that Afton and Liam see come from the United States, and a lot of the couples aren’t used to Canadian summers in the mountains where temperatures can really drop quickly. So they always have some little extra things with them to keep their couples warm and happy. This kit includes these other essentials:
Headlamps
First Aid Kit
Down Blanket (even in June and July)
Hand Warmers (even in June and July)
Anything else to be prepared for the weather that day
How do they prepare for a shoot?
There are a multitude of steps that Afton and Liam take after a couple has booked them for their elopement.
Set up a Meeting
Before picking a location or timeline they talk to the couple to get a feel for what they want, the experience they are after, their fitness level and their mountain experience.
Be the couple’s guide. You are the expert on the area.
They then send a guide to their couple explaining what an elopement shoot in the mountains means. This will include warnings about sudden weather changes and the need to change locations on the day of due to inclement weather.
Planning
They then brainstorm ideas and locations that will be within those experiences and the couple’s ability level.
They then create a timeline for the couple that will include the best time for light and then help the couple plan the day from there.
Film and Forest also set up a plan B and plan C incase of bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances. Easy access areas are important as a backup plan.
Preparation
“Going into the mountains is a dangerous thing, so it’s best to be prepared.”
Always go and scout the mountain and trail beforehand.
Look for locations that will be great for photos, places to pose, or to stop and get some candid views as the couple hikes up.
Be aware of any potential safety hazards on the trail or mountain.
Then it’s time to hike up that mountain or get on the trail with the couple. You will want to make sure to document the whole experience as well as the beautiful photos at the top.
What about the Dress?
Liam has become a wedding dress packing specialist! Because every dress is different, it needs to be packed in different ways. One trick Afton shared was that rolling up the wedding dress in tissue paper will help prevent it from wrinkling.
One of the most important things for this is the camera bag that Film and Forest use that allows them to fit a wedding dress inside the bag or to strap it to the outside.
“Sometimes we bungee-chord dresses to the backpacks because they are so big, others the couple can squeeze into their bag rolled up. It really just depends on the dress.”
Thankfully, the dress has never caused a problem, it just adds an extra 15 lbs to Liam’s bag.
Their favourite Experiences
Shooting in Assiniboine park and spending three days in Assiniboine Lodge shooting a wedding. When Afton started hiking, Assiniboine was high on her list and for this to be the first time there and getting to shoot an amazing wedding was just the perfect experience.
Liam’s best moment came while shooting a wedding party snowboarding down Sunshine in Banff National Park.
At heart my favourite thing to do is ski and snowboard, so when we shot a wedding where the bride and groom wanted to go up to Sunshine and shoot their wedding photos that was the epitome for me.”
This was a big undertaking and was done in a two step process. Afton would ski down the hill a ways while Liam would stay with the couple. They would all then come down the hill a ways and the duo would create images. And this process was repeated in stages down runs on Sunshine. The conditions weren’t ideal either, with the weather being just socked in, but it was just a blast for everyone involved.
Three Big Pieces of Advice
Be Fit
It’s important to be in really good shape to be an adventure elopement photographer. You will need to hike mountains and long trails and at the end be able to take amazing photos of the couple. Once you reach the top, you’re true job begins so you need to have plenty of energy. Afton says she is also always running up the trail in front of the couple to take photos of them on the hike and throughout the whole journey because it is important to document the whole experience.
Liam and Afton stay fit via trail running, climbing, skiing, and just generally moving a lot.
“If you want to get fit, become an elopement photographer.”
Get to know Marketing
This isn’t the sexy or fun part of photography, but get to understand marketing.
Marketing 100% should not be underrated when you are going into the photography business.
This is how a business is successful. Afton suggests using Medium and Google to research any questions you have about marketing and to go outside the photography sphere and look for marketing information from all backgrounds. In particular, things like SEO, keywords, and social media are important.
Remember who this is For
Don’t forget who you are crafting these shots for. They aren’t just for you to put up on your wall, but memories the couple will have for a life time.
“Being wedding photographers you have to think about what they want. These are their photos.”
Find them here!
Follow these amazing photographers for great inspiration on locations and spectacular adventure photos.
Website: https://filmandforestphoto.com
Instagram: @FilmandForest
If you are enjoying the podcast, please subscribe and rate it where you can. You can find more episodes of the podcast wherever you stream, including Spotify, Apple, and Google.
You can follow along with Robert’s adventures on Instagram as well @RobertMasseyPhotography.