Forget the days of shooting a cozy wedding ceremony in a cute chapel or on a beach. Welcome to the age where couples want to get married while undertaking an extreme sport or adventure, in an exotic locale or rough terrain anywhere and everywhere in the world.  We were recently on our way up to Mount Everest Base Camp to photograph a couple’s wedding when a 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal and turned us around. While we didn’t get hurt, or capture the base camp wedding we were there for, we still managed to experience a beautiful and adventurous wedding lower down on the mountain, which made the news. Most weddings are not that legendary, but adventure weddings are more alive than ever, whether it be on Mount Everest or in your own backyard. If you’re looking to incorporate adventure into your photography, here are some tips that will help in your pursuit.

 1. Know Your Environment

Always familiarize yourself with the surroundings of your location before something goes awry. What is the terrain like? How cold does it get? How far are we from people and help if needed? What are the cultural traditions to respect? Where are the water resources, if any? What kinds of dangerous animals live in the area? What are the hazards involved? And so on. If you are at a higher altitude, you will need more water, acclimatization and fitness to carry out the functions of a photographer. If you are able to visit the location before you arrive with your couple, then you will be better prepared. I’m a seasoned mountaineer and am well-acquainted with the outdoors, high altitude, training and rescue. I can survive a long time in the wilderness, which gives me credibility in the higher mountain ranges. However, adventures can actually happen anywhere, even within your own city. The goal is to be familiar with your surroundings. Go exploring and envision the possibilities of your next shoot.

2. Protect Yourself

Things happen—prepare for them with a proper contract and insurance. Write out the terms if worst-case scenarios were to happen, because they do happen. You also need insurance at the minimum coverage amount. Protect yourself, your couple, your business, your gear and your trip. It’s the random events and unforeseen crises where insurance comes in handy. I didn’t plan for an Earthquake to hit Nepal when I was hiking to Everest Base Camp (EBC) with my couple. We had to forsake our plans and turn around. I almost decided against travelers’ insurance because I was thinking it wouldn’t happen to me. If I had been seriously hurt and medevaced off the mountain, my insurance would have covered it. I have Package Choice by Hill & Usher insurance, and they made sure I had everything covered before my trip.

3. Pack Only the Essentials

No doubt, this is the hardest part because I always want to take everything. If there is more help and resources available, or if I’m close to my car, then I’ll pack more. For most adventure shoots or weddings, I have to pare down my gear to just a few cameras and three lenses (wide, long and something in between) with a backpack to protect my gear. I like a 50mm f/1.4 because it’s light and easy to hold while hiking. For our planned three-week EBC wedding, I didn’t want any hiccups, so I took a Nikon D810, D750, Sony RX1R and my iPhone 6 Plus (which allowed me to send images to the news and social media). I used a 24-120mm f/4 lens most of the time, as well as an 85mm f/1.4, a 50mm f/1.4 and a 16-35mm f/4. For lighting, I brought the lightest but most powerful and compact light from my arsenal, the Profoto B2. It worked flawlessly, fit in my bag and was easy enough for one of our Sherpas to assist me with. I also carried batteries and 64GB memory cards for backup. (Thanks to Manfrotto and Rapid Straps for sponsoring some of the gear.)

4. Arrive With a Vision

For most weddings, you will only have so much time to photograph, with no second chances. Don’t waste your opportunity trying to figure out what to shoot on location. While you should allow for many real moments and capture their story as it unfolds, plan also to capture some creative images that may require more thought and setup. Get inspired—search on Google maps and images to see what the terrain looks like and visualize what you would do. Make it worth your time and portfolio to create something worthy and different. When I was in Kauai last year, I photographed ideas I had envisioned before leaving. For our EBC wedding, the idea of having the bride and groom wear their backpacks over their wedding attire had been in my head for the past few years. I was just waiting for the right couple. So having some creative images and ideas to execute before leaving helps a lot.

5. Capture the Landscape

Everyone loves a good landscape—make the most of your adventure and capture the beauty of the scenery surrounding your couples. Trees, trails, lakes, roads, mountains and rocks always look epic in photos. And don’t just throw the couple into the image like a watermark, but rather connect them to the scene; give them something to do together.  If you do it right, your couples will love you. Social media will love you, too.

6. Don’t Underestimate Safety

By definition, adventure comes with risk, whether insignificant or great, but you can minimize risk by planning ahead and making wise choices. A small injury like hurting an ankle on a trail is possible and can ruin your entire trip. But you can minimize that risk by packing hiking shoes with ankle support and trekking poles, and carrying less weight in your backpack. The goal is for all to return home in one piece and hopefully with impressive images. Adventurist Ed Viesturs is famous for saying, “Getting to the top is optional; getting down is mandatory.” I live by this statement. I have a family back home. We also have a business and brand to protect. If your couple gets injured or worse, it may end up all over the news with you in a negative light. Getting your couple back home without injury is the key. Do everything with safety in mind no matter how great the image potential.

7. Photograph the Journey, Not Just the Destination

After the Nepal earthquake struck, I was video-chatting with various news outlets back and forth on the mountain and then when I returned home, I was interviewed by several stations so I could share my story. One of the questions repeated by different reporters was, “You must have gone straight to work photographing the people and the damage, right?” And I said something like, “Well, I’m a wedding photographer, my camera was in my backpack at the time, and my main concern was getting to safety.” They understood. But as I thought about that question more and more, it haunted me. Why didn’t I have a camera on me? Why was I not ready to shoot? I missed a lot of emotional and real moments. And while I did photograph the damaged villages and people in them, I went home with a changed perspective. From now on, whenever I am on an adventure, my camera is going to be on me, ready to shoot at any given moment. It’s not about waiting to get to that location, but about the here and now, the journey. And at home with my family now, I take more photos. There are moments that can never be repeated. Be ready for them.

8. Include a Team in Your Adventures

It takes a team to make the impossible possible. I would be fooling myself to think my weddings are all about me, the photographer. They’re not. It’s about the story of the couple and the vision recorded on the camera for everyone to see. Like the movies, you can’t have a blockbuster hit with merely a director or with only a camera crew or even just actors. It takes a team to make the final product, with costume designers, makeup and hair, location scouts, media relations—the list goes on. When you publish the images on your blog and social media, give them all credit. I have more adventures to come, and I hope to include more team players in the future. Don’t wait for a big adventure to get a team; start now.