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Phil Young

Phil Young

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I've got my first paid booking for a wedding on the 24th August!

Very happy about that as next year onwards I want to be doing wedding photography and videography (more videos to be honest) on a professional basis.

Looking forward to it and I'll make sure to be organised and not wing it. I'm aiming to blend in and try my best to go unnoticed, for the group shots I'll be starting big and then going down but any other useful tips that I might not know will be appreciated.

So that's a video, I'm making for someone in the 2nd and photos on the 24th...excitement!
 
danmon_81 said:
plan...plan and plan again.....

seriously, create a walkthrough shot by shot plan for the day, for each phase of the celebrations. Print 2 copies, one in the car, one in your pocket.
Click to expand...

Perhaps have an assistant even to let me know what's happening next?
 
Phil Young said:
Perhaps have an assistant even to let me know what's happening next?
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you could but in all honesty you should know what's going to happen and when...you should be atuned to what coming next and be ready for it...on most occasions the wedding tog becomes the organiser and co-ordinator, you will get asked 'where do we go now'...'what time does the ceremony begin'...'where do you want us to go', so be ready to know everything.
 
danmon_81 said:
you could but in all honesty you should know what's going to happen and when...you should be atuned to what coming next and be ready for it...on most occasions the wedding tog becomes the organiser and co-ordinator, you will get asked 'where do we go now'...'what time does the ceremony begin'...'where do you want us to go', so be ready to know everything.
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Gotcha! Thanks for the tip, I'll meet up with both bride and grooms a couple of weeks before hand and go to any rehearsals and be sure to revise so it's drummed into my head!
 
Well done!

I stopped doing weddings years back, but...

I'd suggest scouting the venues (reception as well) so you know what the light is like, speak to whoever is conducting the service and running the reception to get the ground rules about what you can and cannot shoot. Is flash allowed, for instance.

Speak to the couple about any special shots they may want. See if you can get a couple of people to act as runners to get your groups together.People have a habit of wandering off right after the ceremony - I found youngsters were good for this, and it keeps them interested.

Be nice to everyone, even Uncle Bob.
 
Sounds good!

Just be confident. Make sure you have extra equipment with you just incase something gets broken. Going to visit locations is important and have back up plans (like if it rains, where you gonna shoot).

But most importantly.... HAVE FUN! The couple will relax if you are. If you seem stressed the couple will be as well!
 
my 2p.....

i used to make a list of all the shots required- but in the days of film - I limited to a package of 24 or 36 prints - so not quite as important - but i would still get that list
and then have two people nominated from either side of the families - so when you need uncle Bob in the group - someone knows uncle bob and can go and get him

check out the venue at the time of day you will be there - so you know the light conditions and also choices of background and if it rains etc
I went to a registry office and found a park just a hundred yards away - which worked really well for all the group shots - as the reception was at the house which was very small - if i had not visitedi would never have known about the park

also at another venue - found a great staircase in the registry office we could use for a group , if the weather was bad - which it was on the day - a lot of rain - and had the discussion with the officials long before the wedding about the can dos and can nots and want I wanted to do re position, flash, signing register etc
also took along some steps which helped a lot at a golf course wedding again with poor weather


have a chat with the officials - vicar, registrar , hotel owners and make sure you know what is and what is not allowed when - flash, where you are allowed to go

i like using a tripod for groups, you can set up the shot and then in amongst the group to sort out details and adjustments without losing the composition, it also gains the attention of the group and guests

have backup kit and camera - plenty of batteries , cards etc - dont put all the shots onto just 1 big memory card -
 
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be aware, that while you should plan the day, that plan can go tits up in seconds :)

As already mentioned, insurance, back up kit etc?
 
Thanks for all the tips guys, it seems to correspond with what I thought is that organisation is key, but there's some stuff coming out that I might not have thought of so thanks guys!

I'll be by myself most likely so i'm reluctant to take my tripod but monopod will be with me! I would like it for the groups but it will hinder me for other shots where I need to be quick.

Equipmentwise, I'll borrow my dads D5000 for the day and use that as my second body and combine that with a 35mm f1.8 and as an ultimate backup / convenience I'll have my trusty compact (don't knock it, it's a wonderful bit of kit!). I'll most likely keep to a combo of 55-200mm and 35/1.8 and just use the wide angle when needed.

I don't think I'll be bulking myself up with lighting equipment, if I had an assistant then maybe...but I don't :)

The venue is a manor house with ma-hoosive windows so i'm not concerned about my slow tele so much. I have a 50mm f1.8 but if i'm honest I don't like it as it's too soft below 2.8 but I'll take it anyway and then worst case scenario (lighting wise) I have 2 fast primes.
 
I would think about getting some insurance (PL and loss insurance too)
Just in case.
Whereabouts are you?
 
Well I'm only in Essex, so if you want a free 2nd/assistant/bag carrier let me know.
I also shoot D7000, with a good range of "pro" lenses.
I'm after experience, and if you want me to help, I will.
Anyway, the offer's there if you want it.
If not, good luck anyway.
 
GHP said:
Well I'm only in Essex, so if you want a free 2nd/assistant/bag carrier let me know.
I also shoot D7000, with a good range of "pro" lenses.
I'm after experience, and if you want me to help, I will.
Anyway, the offer's there if you want it.
If not, good luck anyway.
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Exchange images?
 
If you mean images from the day, of course, you can use any I take that you think are worthwhile. It's good experience for me, and I would get some shots for my portfolio !

If you want to discuss further, go to PM?
 
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GHP said:
If you mean images from the day, of course, you can use any I take that you think are worthwhile. It's good experience for me, and I would get some shots for my portfolio !
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Could be interesting and well worth a serious think! Can you pm me with anything I might want to see... ;)
 
May I make a suggestion for a shot ?

When I was at my younger daughter's wedding in February [ at a nice place in Kent ] the table plan was on view and instead of having Bride and Groom , it actually used their names as Mr and Mrs Xxxxx , first time I've seen that. I was intrigued - tried to get a decent photo of it , failed abysmally as it was on an easel with window light shining through it :(

I beetled over to the Pro who was there [ he knew I was shooting using my K-x - we had each sniggered as we shot each other shooting each other shooting the B & G and we were staying out of each other's way , not like the Groom's daughter :( ] and asked him to try and get the shot for me - he'd never spotted that on a table plan before and had done quite a few weddings in that hotel in the past . He managed to get it - and it got a lot of approving comments from folk afterwards - the newly weds were also appreciative. He's now watching for that in other places and using it as an opening shot for the reception.
 
camerassassin said:
May I make a suggestion for a shot ?

When I was at my younger daughter's wedding in February [ at a nice place in Kent ] the table plan was on view and instead of having Bride and Groom , it actually used their names as Mr and Mrs Xxxxx , first time I've seen that. I was intrigued - tried to get a decent photo of it , failed abysmally as it was on an easel with window light shining through it :(

I beetled over to the Pro who was there [ he knew I was shooting using my K-x - we had each sniggered as we shot each other shooting each other shooting the B & G and we were staying out of each other's way , not like the Groom's daughter :( ] and asked him to try and get the shot for me - he'd never spotted that on a table plan before and had done quite a few weddings in that hotel in the past . He managed to get it - and it got a lot of approving comments from folk afterwards - the newly weds were also appreciative. He's now watching for that in other places and using it as an opening shot for the reception.
Click to expand...

I'm heavily into getting the small details but I'll pay particular attention to their names, it would make a lovely shot with a bit of depth of field stuff going on, cheers ;)
 
Hi
I shot my first 6 weddings last year. I had a timed plan for the day (agreed with the B&G) and I plan for the B&G photos. I too like to shoot the biggest groups first then they can 'b****r-off' if they want to! You have to be very assertive for the group shots. The guests will be wilfully disobedient (in a nice way). List the groups in advance with the B&G and ask them to nominate a 'bossy' friend who knows everyone. I had 30 mins to shoot 20 groups at one wedding LY and this worked a treat. She had them lined up waiting!!!! Agree with the B&G how much time they are willing to give you for their B&G shots and stick to it. Make sure they understand what you can achieve in that time! Also make it VERY clear that you don't accept 'hangers-on' of any type during this part of the photography. I someone tags a long it can be very distracting for everyone and can stop the B&G relaxing and giving you those great intimate shots!
Most of all be friendly, charming etc with the guests and they will remember you and recommend you even if they never see your work (it's happened to me!).
Marion
www.marionfrances.co.uk
 
i would only show them you choices and the ones you are happy with, that way you also will not have low quality out there to distract from your style or reputation - that would be my view and what I always did with the prints from film - usually took around 5 rolls of 36 exposure (maximum) to then give 36 in an album , and a couple of larger prints max
 
Phil Young said:
Here's a question...

After everything is done and dusted, should I go through the unedited photos and have them choose what gets edited or do I go ahead and then show them my choices???
Click to expand...

You choose, delete the rest. Showing rejects just leads to pain
 
Phil Young said:
I've got my first paid booking for a wedding on the 24th August!

Very happy about that as next year onwards I want to be doing wedding photography and videography (more videos to be honest) on a professional basis.

Looking forward to it and I'll make sure to be organised and not wing it. I'm aiming to blend in and try my best to go unnoticed, for the group shots I'll be starting big and then going down but any other useful tips that I might not know will be appreciated.

So that's a video, I'm making for someone in the 2nd and photos on the 24th...excitement!
Click to expand...

Congrats Phil. Time to get your thinking cap on now.
 
boyfalldown said:
You choose, delete the rest. Showing rejects just leads to pain
Click to expand...

Cheers, I did think this was the avenue to go down.

I said in my email:

"In terms of the images, when you are back from your honeymoon (or as soon as you like after the day) we can go through the filtered selection (filtered being the ones that didn't meet my standard) and choose your favourites and then discuss how you would like them to be finished. I will give you all the images but edit up to 80. This will give you enough for 2 wedding albums in the future You should anticipate selecting from around 150-200 shots and from that you may want."

How's that???
 
Phil Young said:
Here's a question...

After everything is done and dusted, should I go through the unedited photos and have them choose what gets edited or do I go ahead and then show them my choices???
Click to expand...

You need to get your head around what it is you're planning to deliver - everything you don't deliver is a reject, either because it's a duplicate - contains blinkers - is unsharp etc.

Why would you want anyone else to decide what work represents YOUR view of the wedding.:cuckoo:

The usual workflow is to go through everything and select the keepers. The keepers then get WB and any exposure tweaks in your choice of RAW editor ( I use Canon's DPP) if you're a lightroom user you might do other processing at this stage.

Once I've converted to JPEG I do other edits, the B&W conversions and select the shots for the Blog post - these get a batch to convert to web etc. Whatever is done next is preparation for the proofing process, and would depend on how you're proofing.

Of course there are backups made, kept off-sitee etc too.
 
Phil Young said:
Cheers, I did think this was the avenue to go down.

I said in my email:

"In terms of the images, when you are back from your honeymoon (or as soon as you like after the day) we can go through the filtered selection (filtered being the ones that didn't meet my standard) and choose your favourites and then discuss how you would like them to be finished. I will give you all the images but edit up to 80. This will give you enough for 2 wedding albums in the future You should anticipate selecting from around 150-200 shots and from that you may want."

How's that???
Click to expand...

I personally never show unedited work to customers - not necessarily print ready but its easier to edit them all in one go than to keep going back to them.

And for me that's a small number of deliverables - but it's your wedding to find your feet.
 
Let me make myself a bit more clear...

Obviously I won't show them blinkers, softies etc my question is/was should I go ahead and process first our wait to go through with them?

If i'm only giving them 80 edits it seems pointless for me to choose for them no?
 
Phil Young said:
Let me make myself a bit more clear...

Obviously I won't show them blinkers, softies etc my question is/was should I go ahead and process first our wait to go through with them?

If i'm only giving them 80 edits it seems pointless for me to choose for them no?
Click to expand...

That's what I can't answer, if you're shooting a full wedding, why would you limit the number of delivered images to 80?

I can't imagine doing that.
 
I regularly edit 400 photos for a wedding.

If I am there all day, i can shoot 800-1300, and that's from 9am - 1am.

Cut that down to 3-500, quick edit, do another skim delete and then start proper processing.

You are there to document the day and no matter what your main aim should be to provide the photos that does that. By the time you've done getting ready photos, ceremony, set photos, greeting line, speaches, cake cut, rings, first dance, night do etc it soon starts to add up.

May I also point out that your 50mm, even at 2.8 will be much better than the 50-200 which I guess is a min of f4-5.6?

Not sure how that D7000 handles high ISO shots either so investing in a light would be a good idea before then. The venue may have big windows, but that doesn't mean lots of light. What if it's peeing down with rain and black outside?
 
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Harvey_nikon said:
I regularly edit 400 photos for a wedding.

If I am there all day, i can shoot 800-1300, and that's from 9am - 1am.

Cut that down to 3-500, quick edit, do another skim delete and then start proper processing.

You are there to document the day and no matter what your main aim should be to provide the photos that does that. By the time you've done getting ready photos, ceremony, set photos, greeting line, speaches, cake cut, rings, first dance, night do etc it soon starts to add up.

May I also point out that your 50mm, even at 2.8 will be much better than the 50-200 which I guess is a min of f4-5.6?

Not sure how that D7000 handles high ISO shots either so investing in a light would be a good idea before then. The venue may have big windows, but that doesn't mean lots of light. What if it's peeing down with rain and black outside?
Click to expand...

D7000 has great high iso capability.
 
Harvey_nikon said:
I regularly edit 400 photos for a wedding.

If I am there all day, i can shoot 800-1300, and that's from 9am - 1am.

Cut that down to 3-500, quick edit, do another skim delete and then start proper processing.

You are there to document the day and no matter what your main aim should be to provide the photos that does that. By the time you've done getting ready photos, ceremony, set photos, greeting line, speaches, cake cut, rings, first dance, night do etc it soon starts to add up.

May I also point out that your 50mm, even at 2.8 will be much better than the 50-200 which I guess is a min of f4-5.6?

Not sure how that D7000 handles high ISO shots either so investing in a light would be a good idea before then. The venue may have big windows, but that doesn't mean lots of light. What if it's peeing down with rain and black outside?
Click to expand...

I see...ok so whatever I come out with that's good is what I should edit then? Ok... better send another email ;)

Yes the 50mm is 2 stops better than my 55-200mm but it doesn't have the reach. The D7000 is pretty good, your 12800 is like my 6400...so 1 stop worse than the D700.

Anyway, I'm pretty confident with the light and what I can produce with my equipment. I will of course use what I need to produce the results I want.
 
You have to remember that you are not only charging for the day but for all your expenses and the time it will take you to process the images for delivery to the client.

Perhaps this is why you thought the price given for the 2 photographers in the job offers thread you started was high.
 
PsiFox said:
You have to remember that you are not only charging for the day but for all your expenses and the time it will take you to process the images for delivery to the client.

Perhaps this is why you thought the price given for the 2 photographers in the job offers thread you started was high.
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Not at all, I think £1500 would be the "average" people pay, less than 1k being a good price (if you get good results) and over £2 to be expensive - all based on the "normal" packages of a luxury album and shooting the day etc.

Also, it wasn't just my opinion that it's a high price.

Please don't think I don't know what people are paying for, I said this is my first wedding not first job :)

That is why I originally capped the photos at 80 edits because of my breakdown in time spent on the job.

Perhaps I should just accept this as a lower price as my first wedding gig but still deliver whatever I take that's good.
 
i dont want to take the thread off track - but very interested in the 80 shots v 400 shots , why do people expect that many shots - been to a few weddings recently and seen the images , 1 wedding had 800-1000 shots = playing on the tv and to be honest we were all very bored after 30mins and had only reached the church
Now the book was great - not sure how many photos in that ranged between 1-6 per page
but it told the story and was about the right amount of images to maintain interest

I guess because theres very little cost involved in taking 1000 v 10 against the old days of film, just wondered why so many shots these days.

my experience is old fashioned and used to dealing in film for weddings, But i would still think 80 shots edited and telling the story of the day would be great for the couple
 
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I stopped doing weddings about the time digital was beginning to become affordable. (Too many Uncle Bobs!) I only ever shot, I think, two weddings that were't on film. My usual target was 100 decent snaps for a big bash.
 
I dont see why anyone would cap the amount of images. I hand over all final images. This normally works out at around 300 - 500 all edited. The time this takes is worked into my price. Why is this expected? Why not? Yes in the film days that couldnt be done but god i get bored of people saying that, its not the film days and we do not need to limit the amount of shots we take so why not give the client more for there money. I never shoot for a sake of shooting and can easy take 1000 exposures from a wedding with details, candids, formals, creative shots and what ever else happens on the day. Why would you reduce 1000 exposures down to 80 final shots, unless your only getting a good shot rate of that.
 
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