beginner wedding advice ( please read)

ChrisDonnelly

ChrisDonnelly

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Ok, i shoot sports and have been doing for 15 years and 5 a high level.
Ive decided to venture into weddings as ive got so many people nagging me to do them ( id normally refuse as ive got so much stuff on) but with the current climate, decided to go for it. I actually like attending weddings.

So ive got my gear:
Canon 1dmk4
Canon 1dmk3
Canon 70-200 2.8 mk2
Canon 24-70 2.8
Canon 17-40 f4
2 x 430 speedlights...anything else i need comes in handy?

Ok so i pretty much only have experience with sports, and shooting wide open with fast SS and high ISO's

If someone could point me right with the big DO's and DONT's with regards to settings and general things you guy's have learned from shooting weddings id be very grateful.

Please note, i have a been shooting sports for a good 15 years but have little to no experience with shooting Still/Group subjects indoors or outdoors.

Any advice would be very much apreciated!!

Thanks in advance

Chris
 
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Chris

I think the way you have to look at this is to turn the tables and ask you how you would advise a 15 year experienced wedding photographer who wants to shoot their first football match.

It isn't so much about the kit, although it is fair to say you have enough kit and of sufficient quality to shoot weddings, but more about the logistics of the day and having an understanding about what happens (i.e. some knowledge of the sport being photographed) - more so than the settings to be used.

The biggest difference you are going to see is that for many aspects of the day - ceremony, speeches, first dance you are going to be at much much slower shutter speeds but still at high ISO than you would be for sport.

There is also a massive difference between enjoying attending weddings, and photographing them - just as there is going to a sporting eventing and enjoying it as a spectator and working it as a photographer.

You also have significantly more responsibility after the event working with the couple to prepare your Album for them - if that is what you choose to offer, print orders, parents album etc - far more than you might having wired off your images that evening after a match.

My advice to you is to try to find a photographer to bag carry for for 3-5 weddings to get a real feel for what it entails on the day. Weddings vary so much in formality, style and coverage that until you start looking at them through the eyes of a photographer you won't get it - and you won't be prepared for your first one just by reading the plethora of threads already on this forum or by attending a portfolio course.
 
I'm not a wedding photographer but having attended a few recently and being a nosey photographer I did look in the kit bag.
You'll be wracking up the Iso in some situations, particularly as we head towards late afternoons with poor light will be happening soon, so I guess the bodies you have will be just about OK, although a lot of wedding snappers use FF for a good reason and a 5D3 is a weapon of choice as it produces images that need little or no PP (or so I'm told). That aside I did spot fast primes, although not used I guess these were back-up items. Reflectors, modifiers, triggers and stands for the lights.

I would agree though its more about technique (including how you handle the people during the day) than kit.

Matt
 
meonshore said:
Chris

I think the way you have to look at this is to turn the tables and ask you how you would advise a 15 year experienced wedding photographer who wants to shoot their first football match.

It isn't so much about the kit, although it is fair to say you have enough kit and of sufficient quality to shoot weddings, but more about the logistics of the day and having an understanding about what happens (i.e. some knowledge of the sport being photographed) - more so than the settings to be used.

The biggest difference you are going to see is that for many aspects of the day - ceremony, speeches, first dance you are going to be at much much slower shutter speeds but still at high ISO than you would be for sport.

There is also a massive difference between enjoying attending weddings, and photographing them - just as there is going to a sporting eventing and enjoying it as a spectator and working it as a photographer.

You also have significantly more responsibility after the event working with the couple to prepare your Album for them - if that is what you choose to offer, print orders, parents album etc - far more than you might having wired off your images that evening after a match.

My advice to you is to try to find a photographer to bag carry for for 3-5 weddings to get a real feel for what it entails on the day. Weddings vary so much in formality, style and coverage that until you start looking at them through the eyes of a photographer you won't get it - and you won't be prepared for your first one just by reading the plethora of threads already on this forum or by attending a portfolio course.
Click to expand...

What Mike said.

And for everyone who shoots other stuff and wants to have a go at weddings - particularly the bold part. Photographing something requires an understanding of that thing, not of cameras lenses and the exposure triangle.
 
Phil V said:
What Mike said.

And for everyone who shoots other stuff and wants to have a go at weddings - particularly the bold part. Photographing something requires an understanding of that thing, not of cameras lenses and the exposure triangle.
Click to expand...

Totally with Phil you have to ask yourself things like
What are your people skills like
What do you know about posing
Can you control crowds without offending people
Are you a team player,you will be working with Vicars/Registrars, Car Drivers,Hotel and Catering staff all of whom have their own agenda's and timescales

In a way having the best kit is just an incidental part of weddings and remember if you get it wrong through lack of understanding and preparation you will ruin the happiest day of someone's life
 
brilliant advise guys!!
dont worry ive no intension in agreeing to these weddings till ive had a few tasters.
problem is trying to find someone to shadow is nigh on impossible.
thanks again
chris
 
brilliant advise guys!!
dont worry ive no intension in agreeing to these weddings till ive had a few tasters.
problem is trying to find someone to shadow is nigh on impossible.
thanks again
chris
 
My advice.

1. As already said, second shoot with someone or bag carry
2. Have an understanding of the day regarding timings - knowing what is coming up next is essential
3. Make sure you know how to deal with tricky lighting e.g. bride entering the church (bright backlight), dim churches, use of bounce flash, minimim shutter speeds v focal lengths, group shots in bright light / indoor when raining

I guess I've shot 50ish weddings, and still learning. I suspect those that have shot 100s, or 1000s would say the same.a
 
One of the best bit of advice i can give having shot over 600 weddings is play safe. What i mean by that, 90% of your shots at the wedding take in such a way you know they WILL come out. Safe lighting, shutter speed and aperture. If you think f4 should give you enough DOF shoot F5.6 just to be safe if you think a shutter speed of 1/200 should be quick enough shoot at 1/500. In the church if you think you may get away without a tripod dont risk it play safe and use one. Play safe with all the must have shots. Now with the remaining 10% experiment a little, try to be creative. You will find that half these shots wont work but the ones that do, will often be the best of the day. It also means you will always be learning. The experimental shots that do work, the next time you can take as part of your safe. No shots.
 
Superb advice bovey.... Can't agree more. And advice I will be heeding at my next wedding.
 
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