Greenninja
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- Paul
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I thought I'd share my experiences for the benefit of anyone who has been contemplating shooting a wedding - I apologise in advance as this is going to be long and rambing.........
About a year ago my nephew asked me to photograph his wedding. I duly explained the situation that weddings were uncharted territory and was he absolutely sure, he was, so I agreed.
The wedding took place this weekend (Friday) and although I won't be posting any pictures yet (the first viewing is for the Bride and Groom who are currently in Mexico, where it is sunny) I thought I would share my thoughts and experiences.
As the initial conversation took place around 12 months ago, we agreed that we would not talk in detail until early 2012. I took the opportunity to get through some books (I'll pass the titles on in a later post), read some websites, look at lots of wedding photographs and extensively read the TP business section - I learned a lot from the regular wedding contributors there (thanks guys, not a single word posted went unheeded!). While I contemplated second shooting, this proved to be a non viable option
We had an initial consultation in January, discussing the venue and their initial thoughts, we also booked an engagement shoot to produce an image for their invitations and give them some camera practice.
I took the details of the venue (I was familar with it anyway) and arranged a meeting with their coordinator and a visit to site. On the visit I made a bunch of notes and drawings, making note of where the best backdrops were and the broad direction of the sun.
A further meeting took place about a month before the event to cover the final details
I also undertook a kit review. The final kit I used on the day was:
5D MkII
5D
50D (Backup - never left bag)
24-105 F4L
70-200 F4L
50mm F1.4
50mm Compact Macro (used primarily for Jewelry and Ring Shots)
2 x EX 430 MkII Speedlights
Stofen Diffuser
Radio Triggers (not required)
Circ Polariser
8 Batteries (plus chargers)
8 x 8Gb Cards
Hard Drive
Collapsable Reflector/Diffuser
6 x 4 packs of Duracell Batteries
I organised public liability insurance through Axa - about a week before the event. I shopped around, but all seemed pretty much of a muchness.
So the day came - the wedding was being held at a country pub/wedding venue. The forecast was for a dryish morning with heavy rain starting around 1pm - just in time for the ceremony. As it happened it was raining when I arrived on site at 9am and continued to do so for the whole morning.
I started with some setup shots of the venue and the Marquee being prepared, then started shooting the bridal party preparations.
Due to the proximity of the venue to the groom's home address I left after a couple of hours to grab some shots of the groom and groomsmen getting prepared (and larking around). After which I returned to the venue to catch the grooms arrival and then headed back to bridal party for buttoning in shots.
When the celebrant arrived I had a conversation with her to clarify what I could and could not shoot - she was wonderfully helpful.
Then to the ceremony - this was now being held indoors (in a barn styled building). Due to the nature of the building - bounce flash was a non stater as the it had a high pitched roof and red brick walls. So it was ISO4000 all the way, with some direct flash when appropriate. As the ceremony progressed the weather changed again - the sun came out increasing ambient light, allowing me to back down the ISO. I took the opportunity of lulls in the ceremony to descreetly change position. I was shooting from either side of the celebrant, kneeling or standing.
The ceremony concluded and we moved outside into bright sunshine, so back to plan A. We had already prearranged the list of group shots so we got through these relatively quickly. There was the constant threat of the weather changing which brought added urgency to the proceedings.
There was a lull between group shots and the wedding breakfast - so I took this time for a quick gear check, a review of some images and a backup of the 4 cards I had used to that point. It was also a great time to shoot off some candids.
Onto the wedding breakfast - concentrated on shooting candids and then onto the speeches - I found these some of the hardest images to capture as I was often shooting around people or between heads/tables. 70-200 got a lot more use than I thought.
Post reception we had another lull, before the guests stared arriving for the reception, again more candids. Final formal shots of the day was the first dance and then final candids of people dancing.
At 11pm my day official ended - 16 hours of straight work, full memory cards and very sore feet.
Conclusions (purely my opinion based on the day)
Candids and bridal prep shots are the easiest to get.
The most pressure comes in the ceremony, but ultimatly as long as the settings were correct, the rest was just composition.
Formal Groups - easiest part of the day photographically, requires the most people and organisational skill
Speeches - found these tough - but not overtly difficult - moving around is the key to getting a nice variety of shots. Reaction of guests is as important as shooting the speaker.
Reception - found this hard - dragging the shutter is essential to capturing atmosphere, however in my case this was complicted by working in a well lit (by sunlight) marquee.
Equipment
I could not fault the 5D MkII - ISO performance is spectacular, as is the colour rendition.
EX 430 performed really well, but I think the power of the EX580 would have helped - especially for fill flash in the strong sun
Stofen Diffuser - not a lot of good - seemed to kill the flash too much, preffered standard bounce.
F4 Lenses - these were fine for indoor and outdoor use (used with the 5D MkII). BUT if i were to do it again I would go for the 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 equivalent, as much for shallower DOF as extra stop.
My Performance
I am pleased with the images produced, as are the couple (they have seen around 10 shot I emailed post event). I did make some errors (a flag pole was my constant nemisis when composing the group shots!!) and there are some things I would do differently next time. As said at the start some examples will be up at a future date. Setting checks should be second nature - especially before running off a batch of shots.
I am least pleased with cake cutting shots - I was caught out by the position of the cake next to a wall, I got an OK angle, but not the best.
It was exhausting - don't underestimate how much physical and mental strain this type of work is. If you are of the opinion that wedding photography is an easy way to earn, it's really not. There is pressure for crucial shots, time deadlines, difficult people and constant changes to cope with.
That said it is immensly satisfying - especially when you get a text at 3am that says "OMG You made me look sooooo beautiful, thank you so much!!"
I learned a lot during this experience, I still have a hell of a lot to learn. Would I do another wedding - yes, but subject to me feeling confident enough to do it.
Advice to others - read the wedding posts on here and understand the the advice given - take on board the stuff that is relevant and bear in mind the stuff you think is not. Listen to what pros say - they have experience to draw on and offer sensible advice. Read all books, websites and look at what other people are doing.
I hope this proves to be of some interest images will be added in due course!
About a year ago my nephew asked me to photograph his wedding. I duly explained the situation that weddings were uncharted territory and was he absolutely sure, he was, so I agreed.
The wedding took place this weekend (Friday) and although I won't be posting any pictures yet (the first viewing is for the Bride and Groom who are currently in Mexico, where it is sunny) I thought I would share my thoughts and experiences.
As the initial conversation took place around 12 months ago, we agreed that we would not talk in detail until early 2012. I took the opportunity to get through some books (I'll pass the titles on in a later post), read some websites, look at lots of wedding photographs and extensively read the TP business section - I learned a lot from the regular wedding contributors there (thanks guys, not a single word posted went unheeded!). While I contemplated second shooting, this proved to be a non viable option
We had an initial consultation in January, discussing the venue and their initial thoughts, we also booked an engagement shoot to produce an image for their invitations and give them some camera practice.
I took the details of the venue (I was familar with it anyway) and arranged a meeting with their coordinator and a visit to site. On the visit I made a bunch of notes and drawings, making note of where the best backdrops were and the broad direction of the sun.
A further meeting took place about a month before the event to cover the final details
I also undertook a kit review. The final kit I used on the day was:
5D MkII
5D
50D (Backup - never left bag)
24-105 F4L
70-200 F4L
50mm F1.4
50mm Compact Macro (used primarily for Jewelry and Ring Shots)
2 x EX 430 MkII Speedlights
Stofen Diffuser
Radio Triggers (not required)
Circ Polariser
8 Batteries (plus chargers)
8 x 8Gb Cards
Hard Drive
Collapsable Reflector/Diffuser
6 x 4 packs of Duracell Batteries
I organised public liability insurance through Axa - about a week before the event. I shopped around, but all seemed pretty much of a muchness.
So the day came - the wedding was being held at a country pub/wedding venue. The forecast was for a dryish morning with heavy rain starting around 1pm - just in time for the ceremony. As it happened it was raining when I arrived on site at 9am and continued to do so for the whole morning.
I started with some setup shots of the venue and the Marquee being prepared, then started shooting the bridal party preparations.
Due to the proximity of the venue to the groom's home address I left after a couple of hours to grab some shots of the groom and groomsmen getting prepared (and larking around). After which I returned to the venue to catch the grooms arrival and then headed back to bridal party for buttoning in shots.
When the celebrant arrived I had a conversation with her to clarify what I could and could not shoot - she was wonderfully helpful.
Then to the ceremony - this was now being held indoors (in a barn styled building). Due to the nature of the building - bounce flash was a non stater as the it had a high pitched roof and red brick walls. So it was ISO4000 all the way, with some direct flash when appropriate. As the ceremony progressed the weather changed again - the sun came out increasing ambient light, allowing me to back down the ISO. I took the opportunity of lulls in the ceremony to descreetly change position. I was shooting from either side of the celebrant, kneeling or standing.
The ceremony concluded and we moved outside into bright sunshine, so back to plan A. We had already prearranged the list of group shots so we got through these relatively quickly. There was the constant threat of the weather changing which brought added urgency to the proceedings.
There was a lull between group shots and the wedding breakfast - so I took this time for a quick gear check, a review of some images and a backup of the 4 cards I had used to that point. It was also a great time to shoot off some candids.
Onto the wedding breakfast - concentrated on shooting candids and then onto the speeches - I found these some of the hardest images to capture as I was often shooting around people or between heads/tables. 70-200 got a lot more use than I thought.
Post reception we had another lull, before the guests stared arriving for the reception, again more candids. Final formal shots of the day was the first dance and then final candids of people dancing.
At 11pm my day official ended - 16 hours of straight work, full memory cards and very sore feet.
Conclusions (purely my opinion based on the day)
Candids and bridal prep shots are the easiest to get.
The most pressure comes in the ceremony, but ultimatly as long as the settings were correct, the rest was just composition.
Formal Groups - easiest part of the day photographically, requires the most people and organisational skill
Speeches - found these tough - but not overtly difficult - moving around is the key to getting a nice variety of shots. Reaction of guests is as important as shooting the speaker.
Reception - found this hard - dragging the shutter is essential to capturing atmosphere, however in my case this was complicted by working in a well lit (by sunlight) marquee.
Equipment
I could not fault the 5D MkII - ISO performance is spectacular, as is the colour rendition.
EX 430 performed really well, but I think the power of the EX580 would have helped - especially for fill flash in the strong sun
Stofen Diffuser - not a lot of good - seemed to kill the flash too much, preffered standard bounce.
F4 Lenses - these were fine for indoor and outdoor use (used with the 5D MkII). BUT if i were to do it again I would go for the 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 equivalent, as much for shallower DOF as extra stop.
My Performance
I am pleased with the images produced, as are the couple (they have seen around 10 shot I emailed post event). I did make some errors (a flag pole was my constant nemisis when composing the group shots!!) and there are some things I would do differently next time. As said at the start some examples will be up at a future date. Setting checks should be second nature - especially before running off a batch of shots.
I am least pleased with cake cutting shots - I was caught out by the position of the cake next to a wall, I got an OK angle, but not the best.
It was exhausting - don't underestimate how much physical and mental strain this type of work is. If you are of the opinion that wedding photography is an easy way to earn, it's really not. There is pressure for crucial shots, time deadlines, difficult people and constant changes to cope with.
That said it is immensly satisfying - especially when you get a text at 3am that says "OMG You made me look sooooo beautiful, thank you so much!!"
I learned a lot during this experience, I still have a hell of a lot to learn. Would I do another wedding - yes, but subject to me feeling confident enough to do it.
Advice to others - read the wedding posts on here and understand the the advice given - take on board the stuff that is relevant and bear in mind the stuff you think is not. Listen to what pros say - they have experience to draw on and offer sensible advice. Read all books, websites and look at what other people are doing.
I hope this proves to be of some interest images will be added in due course!
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