Marissa Daly

Hi friends! I’m Marissa Joy Daly of Marissa Joy Photography.

I was raised in NC; went to school in Boston; studied abroad in Florence, Italy; spent 2 years in Washington, DC; and finally have landed here in Los Angeles for the past five years.

I primarily shoot weddings, but I also do a lot of local work for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Studios.

Starting at a young age, photography has always been a passion of mine and, in fact, I minored in it at Boston College. After I graduated, I launched MJP and have been doing this gig ever since!

Because the majority of my weddings require me to fly, I pack as light as I can.

I don’t travel anywhere without my Think Tank Airport Navigator. This baby holds an incredible amount of equipment for how compact it is. In fact, the gear in my picture pretty much fits into it (I may have had to sit on it to make it close, but it counts).

I shoot solely Canon. I always shoot with two cameras because I hate switching lenses in the middle of a moment.

My setup is usually as follows: On one shoulder, I have my Canon 5D Mark IV with my Canon 16-35mm f/4 attached, and on the other, my Canon 5D Mark III with the Canon 85mm f/1.2. This combo pretty much can last me an entire wedding.

I always shoot with two cameras until after the first dance. Then I only shoot with the Mark IV and 16-35mm. I always use my HoldFast MoneyMaker. This double strap is a lifesaver for your back… plus you look pretty BA in it.

I really love the 16-35mm as it gets great environmental shots but also does not distort, though I rarely shoot it at 16mm. It is super fast, sharp, and wonderful at receptions. Most of my award-winning images are shot with this lens.

The 85mm is just a gem with its gorgeous bokeh, and it’s perfect for portraits.

At this point, I only bust out the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 for church weddings where I have to stay far back (thanks, church ladies). Otherwise, it’s just too heavy for me to lug around. I love the compression, but when traveling and picking what to pack, I usually leave it behind unless I have to have it.

I use the Canon 100mm f/2.8 for detail shots and when I shoot actors’ headshots in my studio.

The Canon 50mm f/1.4 and Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 I rarely use at this point. I’ll bust them out here and there just to use something new for a change, but for the most part they stay home.

Flashes: I have two Cheetah 850’s, a Canon 600EX-RT, and two Canon 580EXII.

I actually use the 850’s the most because they are much cheaper and I don’t have a heart attack if they get dropped. They work perfectly with the Magmod system, which I use at every wedding. Magmod’s whole system I own and love. It shapes light perfectly and effortlessly and helps me create exactly what I am envisioning.

For the getting ready, I use OCF a lot and love my clamp mount for times I don’t have room or the luxury of a light stand.

My Lume Cube is also super handy. I use it mostly to illuminate detail shots (rings, cake, etc) in low light situations. I have also used it outside at night on couples.

I use a mirror for reflection shots and I always keep it in my Shootsac Lensbag (not pictured).

I always keep a heavy-duty command hook in my bag in case I need to shoot the dress somewhere that doesn’t have a hook.

My Circular Polarizer, I use on occasion when shooting near water or in bright sunlight for the sky. I like to do some landscapes when I travel, so I sometimes bust this out when I pretend I am a nature shooter.

I collect random pouches and little bags to hold my memory cards and batteries.

Of course, there is a lot of post work that goes into making and delivering visual beauties. I couldn’t complete my process without the following:
JPEGMini
Lightroom and Photoshop
DVLOP
PhotoMechanic
LaCie External Hard Drives
Macbook Pro
Fundy Designer

www.marissajoyphotography.com | @marissajoyphoto

Highly Recommended

11 Tools for Wedding Photographers

Check out the 11 essential tools and apps every wedding photographer should be using this year.

Includes limited time discounts.

Learn more here

You'll Also Like These:

Eric Talerico Bitesize Visuals Vlad Solomon Franck Petit Harry Michael Soven Amatya