I HATE Weddings but....

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Yv

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Yvonne, pronounced Eve...
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...I have been charged with photographing one :( Cant say no either, its my dads and as he and his g/f are only having a small 'do' he has asked would I do the photos. Simple enough, registry office followed by sit down meal for some 30 people and thats it.

So, ok I have read enough threads round here to know the sort of stuff I need to do and use, I have found the user manual to remind me how the timer on camera works [I suppose I will be expected to appear in a few of them], but one thing I dont know....anyone done a wedding at Llandudno Town Hall before? Its some 250 miles away from me so a recce mission is probably not an option. If so, can you take pictures inside and what is the light like? Bearing in mind I have a D200 so higher ISO's are only any good for those 'atmospheric' shots and the one thing I dont own kit wise is any kind of flash. Just trying to decide if getting a flash and diffuser will be a good idea, or see if I can afford to hire a D300 for the weekend.

I have googled images from outside and it looks pretty enough and I have told Dad they have to try and find a pub/hotel with nice gardens for the meal afterwards as well as a decent interior [its good being nearly 40, I can finally give dad a few orders :lol: ]

Any help would be appreciated :thumbs:
 
Niver been to the place, so can't advise. However if you are planning on shooting indoors then a half decent external flash (with swivel head) is not just a "good idea", but a must have. IMHO. The piddly little inbuilt flash will soon lose the plot.
 
Flash is a must really. You would most likely want to use it for fill as well as any indoor shots. For a diffuser I bought the lambency one off ebay (It's just like the expensive Gary Fong one) and it works a treat. Nikon do some great flashes, one of their real strong points and it will help in keeping the ISO down too. Group shots, still use the flash but take the diffuser off if you are a few meters from the subjects.

And have fun on the day Llandudno is a lovely town.
 
oldgit said:
Niver been to the place, so can't advise. However if you are planning on shooting indoors then a half decent external flash (with swivel head) is not just a "good idea", but a must have. IMHO. The piddly little inbuilt flash will soon lose the plot.
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That was my thoughts, the on board is no good for anything more than a bit of fill in.

AliB said:
Flash is a must really. You would most likely want to use it for fill as well as any indoor shots. For a diffuser I bought the lambency one off ebay (It's just like the expensive Gary Fong one) and it works a treat. Nikon do some great flashes, one of their real strong points and it will help in keeping the ISO down too. Group shots, still use the flash but take the diffuser off if you are a few meters from the subjects.

And have fun on the day Llandudno is a lovely town.
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Thanks Ali, looks like I will have to start perusing the classifieds for s/h nikon flash.

As for Llandudno, I know, do you KNOW how many holidays we spent in the area as kids? :lol: We are Stockport born and bred and dad and g/f are in process of moving to N Wales for retirement, hence the choice of registry office.
 
Good grief I live just outside Stockport (Marple) and I cover Llandudno as part of my job. I'm there on the 30th. I've spent a few nights there as one of the professional bodies we support holds an annual meeting there so I get imprisoned in a nice hotel for a few days. If you get the weather right it's a lovely old town, full of photo opportunities!

The real advantage with the Nikon flash system is that they incorporate optical slaves, so you can add an SB24/26 and have a mobile multi flash setup relatively cheap :)
 
You need to know all about them, inside and out
Plus Are there any decent gardens nearby, parks etc
Plus what do you do if it ps down
Plus whats allowed in the town hall??

Think the flash issue is important, but fades rapidly when everything else is considered..
Good luck:nuts:

Quote: '..simple enough..' :eek: you hope !!!

PS: See also my post #22
 
I have covered many miles in Marple, most of them on the back of a pony, the riding scholl i went to was off High Lane and we used to ride from there up onto the Ridge, then in my late teens my boyfriends aunt had a small holding on the ridge and a couple or ponies so we would cross the area. I use to love the fact most of the pubs we stopped at had rails and water troughs for the ponies.
 
ivortripod said:
You need to know all about them, inside and out
Plus Are there any decent gardens nearby, parks etc
Plus what do you do if it ps down
Plus whats allowed in the town hall??

Think the flash issue is important, but fades rapidly when everything else is considered..
Good luck:nuts:
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Town Hall already emailed to ask about what is and isnt allowed photography wise - its Wales, it will probably rain in september, so hoping dad finds a hotel with decent 'scenery' for indoor shots. If I can get up there in next month or so, will do a recce mission, but its looking unlikely atm, but you never know. :shrug:
 
Oh dear, this is not what you want to hear... but its not a good idea :( I did my dads wedding last year, I had to be in the photos as well. It just didnt work.

I would suggest you get a second person to help you, they will get the shots of you and your dad, then you could do the other photos yourself?

Its not impossible, its just a pain in the arse :D
 
LadyLens you have a PM

Alan
 
Betty said:
Oh dear, this is not what you want to hear... but its not a good idea :( I did my dads wedding last year, I had to be in the photos as well. It just didnt work.

I would suggest you get a second person to help you, they will get the shots of you and your dad, then you could do the other photos yourself?

Its not impossible, its just a pain in the arse :D
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I guessed it might be and have covered some of the bases on that and at least its only a few people all of whom I have known for many years and will accept some bossing around from me :cuckoo:

Hooky said:
LadyLens you have a PM

Alan
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Thanks Hooky, replied :thumbs:


For info - flash situation now sorted, so just need to wait for information from registry office and keep fingers crossed dad finds some nice scenery and location. :nuts:
 
:eek::eek::eek:

Where's your commitment LL ???

A good reccy will only take 12 hours driving - :D

Or...

Google maps on the Town Hall's postcode LL30 2UP and you'll see there's no obvious park nearby, but it is only a few hundreds yards from a beach - so go play on the sand with them !!! Should be fab

:thumbs:

DD
 
LadyLens said:
:lol:

You know, if the weather is good, some pier and beach shots would be excellent and certainly different....but end of September....can everyone please start praying for a Welsh Indian Summer please? :nuts:
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COWARD !!!

Do you think we all only turn up on 'nice' days ??? :lol::lol::lol:

Get stuck in whatever the weather I say - have you seen the latest fad called "Trash the dress" ??? Often done on a beach too

:D

DD
 
I'm going to a wedding there on the 23rd August, so I'll let you know how I get on.

Gareth.
 
Do 430ex flash's swivvle, aswell as tilt?

Sorry to hi-jack LL, but that questions been bugging me for weeks and i've totally forgotten about it.
 
Yep.

It's 90 degrees in one direction. And 180 degrees in the other. But I can't remember which way round is which...
 
My advice ... don't do it - it's your Dad's wedding - you can either be the photographer, or enjoy the wedding, but not both. I no longer shoot family or friends weddings for this reason.

If you must do it, most likely you will not be allowed to use flash during the ceremony, so fast lenses / good high ISO are also important.
 
cant you just say that you would rather be at the wedding instead of working at it.
Like someone said, you just are not going to be able to get all the pictures and concentrate enough to get anything amazing. Sure take your camera and get some pics during the wedding but to do your own dads wedding is a bit much.
I think its a little unfair to ask your own child to do photos of your wedding.
 
rgrebby said:
cant you just say that you would rather be at the wedding instead of working at it.
Like someone said, you just are not going to be able to get all the pictures and concentrate enough to get anything amazing. Sure take your camera and get some pics during the wedding but to do your own dads wedding is a bit much.
I think its a little unfair to ask your own child to do photos of your wedding.
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Couldn't agree more: problem is that generally people have no real idea how difficult the job is, only after the event, which is a bit late..:nuts:
 
Adam. said:
Yep.

It's 90 degrees in one direction. And 180 degrees in the other. But I can't remember which way round is which...
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I say this a lot for other reasons but regarding your post, check planetneil.com... the blog ;) or youtube peter gregg
 
WeddingHack said:
My advice ... don't do it - it's your Dad's wedding - you can either be the photographer, or enjoy the wedding, but not both. I no longer shoot family or friends weddings for this reason.

If you must do it, most likely you will not be allowed to use flash during the ceremony, so fast lenses / good high ISO are also important.
Click to expand...

I did a friend's wedding about 10 days ago, i didn't actually enjoy the day as i spent it working. The only time i put the camera down was when i had the food (20 mins) and went to the bog. The rest of the time i had the camera in my hand constantly looking for the next shot. It is the only way to get good images, if you start to enjoy yourself you will lose a lot of good photos.

For 1 thing, you are not going to be able to dance in the evening if you are going to take photos, as there are some brilliant candids to be had.

If you are going to capture the moment, you have to step out of it in order to see it.
 
Guys, I appreciate your concern and its very valid, but its a tiny 'do', literally 20 mins registry office and a meal, with some 25-30 family and thats it! no evening reception, no fancy wedding dresses or bridesmaids, or posh cars. The B&G are both in their 60's and already widowed once, if I dont do some pics, they just won't have any done, simple as that. If dad has his way there wouldnt even be any 'nice scenery' shots [weather permiting] it's me that has insisted on those because I feel they will regret it later if they don't make an effort to do a few fun/formal pictures as a keepsake. They just wanted ceremony and on steps of town hall and thats it, maybe a few snaps at the meal. They are merging their two current homes into one, so what else do you suggest I offer as a gift apart from something I know I can do?

Yes, I agree, if it was anything more grand, I would be running for the hills, but I have been asked and I intend to do it to the best of my ability, even if it's a couple of hours of hard work, it pi**es down with rain and the two young kids that will be there scream all afternoon. Anyway, stops you thinking about absent loved ones if you have something to do doesn't it ;)
 
I did a Registry Office wedding a few weeks ago (not at your location unfortunately)for my girlfiend's brother and they only had an evening disco/buffet and not the usual sit down meal and speeches etc.

I was allowed to use flash as long as it wasnt constant. As it was local I managed to do a reccie prior to the day.. A MUST!!
If not I would ring them to find out their rules.

Make sure you dont do what I did and using manual mode I forgot to change the ISO from 800 down to 100 or 200 once outside and had quite a few washed out shots. Luckily I saw the mistake before it was too late. PHEW!!

The B&G where very happy with the shots which is the main thing but Im not 100% happy as some are a little soft. I did find a quiet lake nearby so took them there for some quiet time couple shots. I will post some on here soon.

Good luck. Im sure you will produce shots of your usual high standards.

Vinny
 
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