1st Wedding Shoot

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Ross_Evans

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Hi All,

Have got my first wedding shoot next month and was after a bit of advice..............

Is there a general rule on what shots i should be taking of the couple and the groups or would you leave to the bride and groom to decide?

Also would you shoot in manual or leave it on Auto?

Cheers,

Ross
 
I've never shot a wedding apart from a few shots from the sidelines so can't offer much in the way of advice.

I'll be honest - I'd be a little concerned if I was paying a photographer for my 'special day' and he was contemplating shooting in 'auto' mode.

I'm sure you will get some good advice and good luck for the day.
 
What kit do you have?
 
Hi Ross,

Many people get asked in the way you mention and i can speak from experience as my sister last year did exactly this. At the time i knew my way round my camera fairly well and read several books around the subject beforehand and only when she really wouldn't take no for an answer did i agree to it.

Personally i feel it's such a big day in anyones life that the photo's are very important even to a 'low key' affair.

I planned everything the very best i could but there's no substitute for experience. Knowing the timing of events and being in the right place at the right time only comes with experience. I didn't do a bad job given the level of experience but i did fail miserably with the arranged group photo's on two accounts which were down to inexperience. Yes i knew my camera well enough but arranging groups i didn't. If you do decide to give it a go then make sure everythings planned well in advance, there are some photo's that you do need to get. There's plenty of books that will help. Try something like 'comtemporary wedding photography' - Julie Oswin.

I shot everything in RAW which at the time my processing skills were limited but it did help save one or two problems. I've even gone back to the pictures more recently armed with what i now know and processed the lot again which has improved them yet again.

The last part of the jigsaw is how you are going to present the pictures; album, photobook, on a cd? I went down the photobook route but wasn't entirely happy with the results. Luckily my sis was over the moon with them.

You have to be honest with yourself. Do you want the burden this entails? Would it be better being able to enjoy the day with them? Given the chance again i wouldn't have done it. It was a great learning curve at the time but a wedding shouldn't really be a learning curve.

Good luck in whatever you decide let us know how you get on if you do decide to give it a go,

Regards

Kris
 
Just some constructive advice is all i'm after awp!!...............It's one of those situations where you know what your doing but just want to check from those who have been around a lot longer than yourself!!
 
H Kris,

Thanks for the advice, i am comitted to it now. So will def be doing. Will let you know how i get on!!
 
Thanks Chris...........Exactly the advice i was after!! Much appreciated!!
 
I'd use AF-C and 51pt 3D - and keep checking your shots and adjust as you go. Operating the camera is only 50% of it at a wedding though - people skills are at least as important. Basically - do what you normally do - don't go experimenting with anything new!
 
I did my first weddings as an assistant last year (unpaid), and it was a huge learning curve, especially as the person I was assisting turned out to be even more disorganised than me! :lol: Between us we covered the event reasonably well, although I must say that it was a case of the bride and groom getting what they didn't pay for. It was an invaluable experience for me obviously, and I'd be confident of not repeating some of the many mistakes/omissions next time, but there is a lot more than meets the eye with wedding photography and I'd suggest your friend hires an experienced pro if they want results they can cherish. After having been the first-timer wedding tog, I'd never recommend a couple take a chance with the same. Just too many things the amateur can balls up!!

EDIT: Sorry, and to answer your questions, you need to know your camera well and there are generally accepted formal shots that need to be covered. There are several good books covering the latter - with handy checklists etc - I'll add a couple of titles I read and can recommend when I get back to my study.
 
Get a flashgun, you cannot rely on any kind of natural light at this time of year.
 
One of those books I found useful was 'Contemporary Wedding Photography' by Oswin & Walton. Don't forget to take copies of the list of formal shots and to organise them correctly. It's easy to miss one if you aren't ticking them off as you go and the guests will benefit from knowing the order.
 
Good luck! I didn't thing they would bother putting auto modes on the D3!

In on way am I a pro but

My formula for getting a sharp shot is

shutter speed = 1/focal length X crop factor

Be reluctant to drop the shutter speed below 1/100th and never drop it below 1/60th

Hope that helps

Stuart
 
What is the venue? A Visit before hand is essential. Plan where you can take shots. Is it a church? Speak to the Vicar about where you can and can't go. Can you use flash? (although your probably not too worried with a D3!). If it's a registry office find the best angles to avoid unsightly objects (Exit signs, radiators etc) though of course you can do a bit a cloning in post.

I started shooting weddings last year. The first two were for free and for friends. First one was at a registry office and the friends back garden. It was tough because they were on a tight schedule so we couldn't go anywhere nicer to shoot. Being a tog I was very critical of my shots but the couple loved them.

My second wedding was a fantastic event, Korean bride and Sikh groom. Over 200 guests so I drafted in a friend as a backup. The whole thing was so much fun, but also a gruelling nine hours of work. You feel like you've been in the gym when you've lugged around two bodies and lenses all day (first time for me).

Anyway, my point is, it is possible to start from scratch as a wedding tog but it's not easy. You need your wits about you. You need to know your equipment inside and out. You need too be able to manage people. You need to know the days proceedings exactly.

Most of all the B&G need to know what they are likely to get from you! If they know your level of experience and accept that they are not going to get images like an established tog (though to be fair after studying hundreds of wedding togs websites there are a good chunk who are pretty dire!) then go for it!
 
Good luck, hope you enjoy the experience, make sure you let us have a look when you're done! :)
 
Just messing Stu, had some very sound advice............looking forward to the shoot now!!
 
I'm doing the same this weekend. Friend's mum and new fella. They heard I had a 'fancy camera' and then wouldn't take no for an answer:bang:. I have zero experience of this type of photography and don't exactly have the kit for it either! :shake::shake::shake: I have warned them fully of the potential consequence of having a complete novice!
 
I did the SIL wedding on my bridge. Get loads of memory, loads of batteries for the camera and flash, get a list from the B+G of the shos they want, visit venue veforehand, at about the same time to get the light right. then just Chimp chimp chimp. If you take a couple thousand shots, odds are you will get at least say 10 good 'uns...!
 
dhdev said:
I'm doing the same this weekend. Friend's mum and new fella. They heard I had a 'fancy camera' and then wouldn't take no for an answer:bang:. I have zero experience of this type of photography and don't exactly have the kit for it either! :shake::shake::shake: I have warned them fully of the potential consequence of having a complete novice!
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Why don't you charge them what it would cost for you to rent some Pro kit?

Again I wish you all the best.

Stuart
 
One more thing Ross. With my first wedding the main hurdle I faced was the feeling that I was intruding!! Because it was in such a small room in the registry office, during the ceremony I wanted to get the shots but it was hard not to feel intrusive. I really was up against it though because my friend wasn't bothered about discussing the wedding before hand and I let him get away with that.
 
You have a very good auto ISO feature on the Nikon where you can set a "safety net" for a shutter speed and personally I don't ever go under 1/60 sec when shooting weddings. It's amazing just how much people move! Try to keep it to 1/100 if you can and set your auto ISO to bump the ISO at that point.

Check with the registry office that they actually allow photography. I had one this year who would not allow it at all! Go and visit the venue and the reception venue and plan where you can do the group shots. It's normal to do them where the couple get married but if the reception venue is a lot more photogenic then consider where you are going to shoot them. Don't forget things like the protocol of having the groom stand on the Bride's right (That's right as the bride stands so will be your left) This is so he can draw his sword and defend her honour but it still applies.

Research as much as possible poses for the B&G that you can pull off in a ten minute slot. Often that's all the time you have with them alone and you need to be able to capture some romance in that time frame. Sort the location and the poses you want bearing in mind the height and build of your couple. Look at other wedding togs work and if all you have is three or four shots you want to get then believe me that's a lot better than having a frozen B&G in front of you and you looking back at them! :)

Try to choose your moment and get any emotion you can, good emotion in a slightly flawed pic is better than no emotion in a technical masterpiece as far as most B&G's are concerned. Keep the camera with you 100% of the day and don't take your eye off anything. It's a long hard day, you will get to bed late and your head will still be spinning. :)

Don't move images off your cards afterwards but copy them and don't format your cards until you have backed it all up at least once.
 
Do I sense that TP is mellowing out about these wedding topics now?

Ross - Wedding threads have been getting a little heated on TP recently regarding people doing their first shoot underprepared so best ignore any posts other than those that offer advice.

You've got some sound advice already. You say it's an informal/low key shoot so hopefully you'll have made it clear that this is your first try and you can't make any promises about the results.

I wish you luck and look forward to seeing the results - it's sure to be a learning from what other's have said of their first!
 
stu_the_flat said:
Why don't you charge them what it would cost for you to rent some Pro kit?

Again I wish you all the best.

Stuart
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The last thing I want to do is add any form of payment into the deal, that will just raise their expectations! :lol:

Another downside is not having the opportunity to check out the venue before hand, I'm at uni over 100miles away! They have been very helpful and have sent through a list of the photos they want and the venues official rules on photography.
 
Website time then! Most have some piccies on their website so get hunting. :)
 
TriggerHappy said:
Do I sense that TP is mellowing out about these wedding topics now?

Ross - Wedding threads have been getting a little heated on TP recently regarding people doing their first shoot underprepared so best ignore any posts other than those that offer advice.

You've got some sound advice already. You say it's an informal/low key shoot so hopefully you'll have made it clear that this is your first try and you can't make any promises about the results.

I wish you luck and look forward to seeing the results - it's sure to be a learning from what other's have said of their first![/QUOTE

Thanks Jamie, i have warned them and they are happy with that!! I can only do my best and take onboard the sound advice given!!
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dhdev said:
Another downside is not having the opportunity to check out the venue before hand, I'm at uni over 100miles away!
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or ask - the odds are theres somebody on here who has shot there, and they may be willing to give some advice on the venue.
 
i dont have any great advice to offer (as a lot of it has been covered). Just remember to relax, have lots of fun. If its someone you know personally it will be that much easier and hopefully some of the guests will be familiar faces, so you can get right in there and do the B&G (and yourself) proud. Don't experiment with too many settings on your camera, i.e. if you havent mastered using spot metering techniques then leave that for another day, and dont make the schoolboy error of leaving your ISO upto max when moving to outdoor photography. I speak from experience! Did a shoot for a couple for free, and about 5 shots into the outdoor setting, I wondered why my shutter speed was around 1/8000! luckily i realised sooner rather than later and dropped my iso down to 100 and the couple got a set that they were chuffed about.

Good luck!
 
I think the problem is photographers see weddings as a massive challenge. getting the exposure perfect so that all the detail is in the brides dress and you can see the dark room around here....

But for those of us with face book accounts. The photo standards there are terrible! but people like the photos there because they evoke the memories of what was happening at the time. Thats all they want. So it all depends on what the couple want. if they don't care about the photos then I think its fine if they ask there friends to do it. as long as they are happy with the best the friend can do without suffering adversely from stress!

The worry starts when the couple see an amateur with a 400mm telephoto and think "Hey with kit like that he must be brilliant!"

Stuart
 
stu_the_flat said:
I think the problem is photographers see weddings as a massive challenge. getting the exposure perfect so that all the detail is in the brides dress and you can see the dark room around here....

But for those of us with face book accounts. The photo standards there are terrible! but people like the photos there because they evoke the memories of what was happening at the time. Thats all they want. So it all depends on what the couple want. if they don't care about the photos then I think its fine if they ask there friends to do it. as long as they are happy with the best the friend can do without suffering adversely from stress!

The worry starts when the couple see an amateur with a 400mm telephoto and think "Hey with kit like that he must be brilliant!"

Stuart
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agree, wholeheartedly with your post. I think a lot of the critics of lesser experienced weddings togs forget that point.

I often get people asking me questions about the 70-200 2.8 L asking how much it is, if its the same gear that paparazzi use. Cant help but laugh! :lol:
 
If you're shooting in RAW, save yourself some PP time and ensure you check your WB and expose for the brides dress. Assuming the bride is in white that's the colour you want her dress to be in the finished shots! If you're shooting JPEG this is an absolute must!!!

Good luck:)
 
Ive just got back from a wedding shoot in Glasgow. I agree with most of the advice above. Fast lenses are essential, unless your a whizz with flash.
The Nikon 70 - 200 2.8 is spot on for wedding jobs I find. But like hsuffyan says, it attracts a lot of attention, and after a full days shooting, it gets bloomin heavy. If you havent already got one, get yourself a 50mm 1.8 or
1.4 as well. A nice wide angle lens is a bunus but not essential.
Try and keep your ISO as low as possible, although sometimes this is not easy. 3200 on my D300, despite its claims of being great with high ISO is very noisy and not pleasant to look at in my opinion.
And as already mentioned, plenty of spare batteries for camera and flash. Plenty of memory. I chomped my way through 36 gigs worth of memory on Saturday. 4 x 8gig and 1 x 4 gig. Absolutely shoot in RAW
A second body. I use 2 D300's. This is for 2 reasons IMO. Firstly to have 2 lenses mounted and ready for use instantly and also for backup in case one fails.
Hope this is of some use to you. Good luck.
 
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