First wedding chalked off

[Blasted]

Its done and dusted. I delivered the pictures, the pressure is off.

I got the chance to shoot a friends wedding this year. I hadn't asked to do it and hadn't expressed any intention of shooting weddings previously, but hes seen a lot of the stuff I post on line and liked it enough to ask me to do the job. Hes not daft and working as a sought after tattooist he has a good idea about what makes a good picture, I wasn't sure if this added pressure or took it away. I explained a dozen times that I had never done a wedding before and that pros are paid what they charge for a reason. He said that if he had wanted a run of the mill wedding photographer he would have gone out and hired one. So I agreed and asked that he only covered expenses. To me it was a challenge and an opportunity. I had a year to prepare and I really appreciate some of the help I got on here. In reflection I liked the pressure and having to perform and think on the spot and its something I would seriously consider doing again.

Here are a few pointers that I noted and may be of use for others facing their first wedding.

1. Keep it simple, don't over complicate, even Joe Buissink shoots in P.
2. Get an itinerary, know where to go and what the timings are, be one step ahead and make judgement calls where necessary.
3. Check the location out in advance and at a similar time of the day
4. Talk to the church person and ask what you can and can't do, the one I spoke to gave me no end of great tips.
5. Don't be afraid to take control of groups, speak up and direct in a confident and assertive way (polite though)
6. Mars bars and bottles of water are a must
7. Have lots of memory cards and some back up kit (I cant imagine what would have happened had I not had spare kit and my main went down)
8. Do lots of research, loads of you tube vids of professional talks to inspire and motivate, ask questions here, browse other togs web sites

If anyone else out there wants to add a few first time pointers feel free.

I've also added a few pictures of my choice to my website blog, click signature. I'm happy with them and the couple are happy, but if anyone wan't to add constructive advice then please do.

 

[ianp5a]

All good advice. All the preparation stuff. Point 4. It's good if they have time to give tips. Often the won't.
Point 5 however is a huge part of the job. Which is not easy for some people. Setting up groups of complete strangers politely and quickly with a confidence and ease where people are happy to oblige makes a big difference to the day.

 

[Blasted]

I totally agree and I'm lucky that I don't mind doing that sort of thing, if anything I was worried about overstepping the mark.

I can easily see how things could break down if you don't take control, people wandering off, not paying attention, it would be a nightmare.

 

[ianp5a]

.......

 

[Serendipitous Sid]

Well done. I'll have a look at your snaps later, but for now ...

Keep it simple, don't over complicate, even Joe Buissink shoots in P.

I get your point, but it would be more accurate to say that Mr Buissink says that he sometimes shoots in P

Get an itinerary, know where to go and what the timings are, be one step ahead and make judgement calls where necessary.

Yep - but be prepared for all those timings to go out the window right from the start

Check the location out in advance and at a similar time of the day

Not something I ever did because so much can be completely different on the day, but hey, why not?

Talk to the church person and ask what you can and can't do, the one I spoke to gave me no end of great tips.

Yep, always talk to the priest and find out the limitations, but bear in mind that the priest is not a wedding photographer. Don't use flash during the ceremony.

Don't be afraid to take control of groups, speak up and direct in a confident and assertive way (polite though)

Do that if it's necessary in order to get the pictures the couple want and it's appropriate for the wedding you're photographing. Otherwise, maintain a low profile. Remember that it's a wedding, not a photoshoot.

Mars bars and bottles of water are a must

So are cans of Red Bull IMO

Have lots of memory cards and some back up kit (I cant imagine what would have happened had I not had spare kit and my main went down)

If you're shooting with just one body, consider what you're going to do when you're at the front of the church, they're about to exchange rings, your camera goes down, and your spare kit's in your car

Do lots of research, loads of you tube vids of professional talks to inspire and motivate, ask questions here, browse other togs web sites

Yep, but treat online vids and "how to" articles with caution. Many of them are American, and American weddings are a different ballgame. Some of those "instructionals" are little more than ego trips.

 

[ianp5a]

>Don't be afraid to take control of groups

Do that if it's necessary in order to get the pictures the couple want and it's appropriate for the wedding you're photographing. Otherwise, maintain a low profile. Remember that it's a wedding, not a photoshoot.

If they requested family groups, then it is better get them set up and done quickly and move on, rather than let guests dither about, chat to relatives they haven't seen for years, take ages and keep people waiting. You can't do it from the sidelines with a long lens like a reporter. Done tactfully, people don't realise they have been herded around and are usually happy to follow instructions when they see you clearly know what you are doing. And before they can say "show us yer garter", it's all over.

 

[Serendipitous Sid]

>Don't be afraid to take control of groups

If they requested family groups, then it is better get them set up and done quickly and move on, rather than let guests dither about, chat to relatives they haven't seen for years, take ages and keep people waiting. You can't do it from the sidelines with a long lens like a reporter. Done tactfully, people don't realise they have been herded around and are usually happy to follow instructions when they see you clearly know what you are doing. And before they can say "show us yer garter", it's all over.

Yep - but my point was that (a) not every couple want groups and (b) how you go about the shooting of them depends on the nature of the wedding.

If the bride turned up at the church in a Beauford with pink ribbons on it and has 6 bridesmaids, 6 flowergirls and three pageboys, and when the groom kneels before the altar it says "HE" on his left shoe and "LP" on his right, you need to be a combination of toastmaster, ringmaster and stand-up comedian in order to do the groups.

If the bride turns up in her dad's Morris Minor Traveller, he owns half the county, all the blokes are wearing their own morning coats and the reception's in a tent in a corner of the paddock at the back of the house (pronounced "hice"), their idea of a group photo might not be the same as yours. The best plan is usually to let them get on with it in their own sweet way and just nudge/tweak things as required.

 

[Serendipitous Sid]

... if anyone wan't to add constructive advice then please do.

OK then ...IMO a lot of those on your blog are fine for a first attempt, but here's a few comments which might hopefully help a bit with your next one.

#4 try to improve your framing so there's not all that space above his head. If in doubt, see if you can get the eyes 2/3 of the way up the frame.

#5 is really nice, but next time don't put the girl with the biggest arms at the end, sideways on like that. It just emphasises the size of her arm.

#6 would have been better IMO shot portrait, comme ça ...

#8 there was a good shot to be had there, but you were in the wrong place to get it.

#9 Nicely done. Bummer that Mum blinked when she did, but hey, that's wedding photography for you!

#11 if you'd tilted up a bit, you'd have gained a bit more church and lost the empty pews, which is something that never looks too good to the casual viewer. Also, this shot works better when they're facing each other for the vows or the exchange.

#12 is really nice, as is #13

#15 & 16 - I had the same problem when I started, in that I was so locked into capturing the moment that I often forgot to recompose by tilting down a bit. Still well caught though.

#20 - that's a non-picture IMO, simply because it's deadly boring. If you'd stayed put and waited for something to happen, it would have done ...

#21 and 22 - still a bit of a focus/recompose thing going on, but #21 is very well caught indeed.

#24 - that's a bloody good portrait IMO.

#26 & 27 - well done for doing both sides (not many professionals would bother). #27's really nice.

#30 - spot on IMO.

Couple shots are very good indeed. Gosh that guy loves the camera!

#37 is just lovely - and well done you for getting in close.

#38 is well caught but it's focus/recompose time again ...

So there you go mister. Did the priest say to stand on the bride's side of the church or was that your choice?

 

[Blasted]

Wow, thanks for taking the time for such great feedback.

Few points just for clarification

• I could only stand to one side of the priest, he had a door to the side so i could dart outside and come round the back without disturbing everyone.
• Not to many of the little girl, she was young and it was a long day and tiring for her, i would have wasted a lot of time trying to get her just right and neglected a lot of other stuff.
• The groom has quite dark eyes/furrowed brow so will always look a bit panda'ish, he also hates his picture being taken therefore movement and expression is slightly rigid, but I worked with him and we did ok, in hindsight I would have done more with the hands.

Granted a lot of points I added could be argued to the Nth degree, but we live and learn. One thing I have kept in mind is the difference between the views we have as photographers and what non photographers with an emotional attachment see, worlds apart. I'm not going to beat myself up over minor technical infringements, I've done the job and will move on.

 

[Serendipitous Sid]

I could only stand to one side of the priest, he had a door to the side so i could dart outside and come round the back without disturbing everyone.

In which case you chose the best option.

Not to many of the little girl, she was young and it was a long day and tiring for her, i would have wasted a lot of time trying to get her just right and neglected a lot of other stuff.

And that's a trap that many newbies fall into at weddings

... in hindsight I would have done more with the hands.

It's good to be critical of your own snaps but I can't say I saw a hands problem.

One thing I have kept in mind is the difference between the views we have as photographers and what non photographers with an emotional attachment see, worlds apart.

And ain't that the truth. But there's actually a third viewpoint that you need to consider where weddings are concerned, and that is how an interested third party views the pictures e.g. a bride who is thinking of engaging you to photograph her wedding. The classic example is a cracking good snap on your blog or wherever of the bride pulling a silly face. You might think it's a cool shot, the couple and the guests will love it because it's entirely characteristic of her to do just that, but a potential customer can be guaranteed to think "OMG, what kind of wedding photographer puts a picture on the internet of the bride looking like an idiot?"