You may have seen some of these beautiful detail photos floating around Instagram & wondered, when will I ever book a bride who gives me ring boxes, loose flowers, ribbons & trays to photograph the morning of her wedding??

Spoiler alert: you can, right now!!

Want to know why? Because most of the time, those items aren’t actually the brides; many common items you see in those detail photos are part of the photographer’s styling kit!

Here are a few elements that we recommend including in your bridal detail photos and where to get them:

1. Ring Boxes: The Mrs. Box or other ring boxes (I love VitaminLove boxes from Etsy) are perfect for showcasing the rings.
2. Styling mats: We use Simply Rooted Styling surfaces, but you can also easily make your own!
3. Florals: We recommend reaching out to the florist the week of the wedding & requesting that they send any additional blooms that weren’t used in the designs.
4. Ribbon: We love ribbon from The Lesser Bear, but really any type of ribbon would do.
5. Trays: Thrift stores & goodwill!

There are benefits to bringing a styling kit with you on wedding days and benefits to simply using what the bride provides. It honestly depends on your preference as well as what your brides are expecting from you.

If you’re wanting to transition your bridal detail photos to including some of these elements, we recommend prepping your brides for the transition! Begin sharing more of these styled photos on your IG & website, talk about how you love ring boxes in captions, and if you happen to have a facebook group of your brides, why not post something along the lines of “I’m planning to buy a few ring boxes for your weddings this year! What are your wedding colors so I can buy some that will coordinate with your details?”

Some brides may not love it if something that they do not own is in their bridal photos, however, you can counteract this with the right prep & education upfront.

So, do you need a styling kit? The short answer is if you want to photograph high end details before booking high end clients, a styling kit is the way to go.