The time is near - my first wedding

davidh6781

davidh6781

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Sorry but I need to ask a few pointers before my first wedding on Saturday, luckily I know the couple and they understand this.

Any way it's a church wedding and I've had a brief meeting with reverend and got some specifics, I'm not aloud right near the front during the ceremony but can move about quietly.

Where is best to stand while it's happening. Obviously get pics when they are leaving etc, should I get some before the bride walks up the aisle of the groom at the front etc also when she is walking up also?

Who should I take when in the gardens, family, friends etc?

Also what verse to use in the bible when taking the rings to form a heart shadow?

Sorry this may be basic stuff but just after some pointers

Thanks all in advance
 
I'm very much an amateur, having only done three weddings, but here's my little bit of input.

Yes, if you can move around then I'd certainly suggest some shots of the groom waiting at the altar and the bride's entrance.

It's a pity that you aren't allowed to be near the front for the ceremony as you'll miss the exchanging of rings which is the most important part of the service! Is there nowhere you can position yourself to capture this, without being intrusive?

The celebrant normally arranges a mock-up of the register signing after the real one...in my limited experience everyone wants to get snaps of this on their mobiles and compacts and it gets a bit silly...what worked best for me was letting them all snap away and then leave to get ready for the exit and the confetti throwing, giving me a few minutes of peace to be able to concentrate on getting the shot.

With regards to what to take in the gardens, haven't they given you a list of required shots? If not, then you really need to speak to them! It's no good them complaining that you didn't get a shot of Aunty Edna who's flown in from Australia if they didn't warn you!

I'd ask them to delegate a trusted friend/family member to help - have two lists - one for you and one for them and let them be responsible for getting everyone in place for you. It was relatively easy for me with two of the weddings I've done, as I know the families and had a good idea of what shots would be needed, but I still couldn't have coped without a list!

I found it best with the group shots to take the large one first, then send people off to the bar, gradually whittling the group down into the friends and family required shots.

Time is of the essence, with the wedding breakfast/reception coming up, so I found it better to wait until after this to take the more intimate and private shots of the bride and groom, provided it's not so late that you lose the light. By this time everyone is quite relaxed and it's easy to spirit the happy couple away into the grounds. I'd suggest that you don't have any hangers-on for this and politely ask Uncle Bob to wait until you've finished, leaving you free to concentrate.

Have you had chance to visit the venue for the reception and look for photogenic locations? Everything passes in such a rush and this little bit of advance preparation will save a lot of time and should ensure you get the best shots you can. Try to visit at roughly the same time of day as the event will be held so you can check what the light's likely to be like and also suss out alternative locations should the heavens open!

The night before, I'd suggest you check and double check your equipment! Make sure flash is working, batteries charged etc and memory cards formatted. I did my first wedding with just one camera and kit lenses...never again! Although the bride and groom loved the shots and I got another two bookings afterwards from people who had seen the photos, the stress and hassle of changing lenses was just way too much!

I've since bought a second body and for the last one I hired two top professional lenses to ensure that I could cope with low light conditions and didn't need to keep changing lenses.

Hope that was a little bit helpful? I'm sure some of our more experienced wedding photographers will be along soon with some proper advice!

Janet
 
unfortunately I haven't got a list of people they want in the shoots, I am seeing the couple tomorrow night at the church for a rehearsal so will get chance then.

that info was great, I have made some notes. its quite nerv racking isn't it.

Any more info will be appreciated
 
davidh6781 said:
unfortunately I haven't got a list of people they want in the shoots, I am seeing the couple tomorrow night at the church for a rehearsal so will get chance then.

that info was great, I have made some notes. its quite nerv racking isn't it.

Any more info will be appreciated
Click to expand...
Yes you need a list and persuade them not to have group shot with all the guests. It takes forever to setup and always look crap!:)
 
Hi David.
How long have you known about the wedding? If you have known for a while, then really I think you have left it till the last minute work out a shot list etc.
If, however, you only just found out, then I feel sorry for you !

Anyway, as said already, work out a shot list with the couple, this will be your saviour, because as long as you get all the shots on the (mutually agreed) list they can't moan at you for not getting one! Try and get to the venue before the day, preferably at the same time of day you will be there with the wedding party. Scout out locations, lighting etc, also a plan B just in case the weather turns nasty.

I've not looked at what's in your kit bag, but churches are often quite dark, and flash is usually a huge no-no, so something fast in the glass dept will help a lot.
Apart from this, Janet has posted some good points, worth taking note.

There are plenty of people who would say, get a second body, get insurance, get a contract etc etc etc, without which it's a non starter, but I would say if you want to do it, and you are confident that you aren't going to fluff it on the day, then you are the one who must decide whether you are suitably prepared/ready.
After all, every-one has to have a "first time"!!!
Finally, good luck ! Relax, don't panic, and enjoy the experience. It is quite daunting, even if it is for family/friends, as you don't want to ruin their special day, and with it ruin your friendship, which is one reason a lot of people won't do a friend's wedding !!
 
Hi David,

I'm a pro photographer and photographed about 100 weddings. The secret is in the planning, you must be well-prepared and always keep in mind what you need to do next, so you're ready.

Before the bride enters with her dad, take some shots from the front of the groom waiting all nervously, shoot this wide to show the context.
During the processional I used to stand at the front just for a short time to get the bride and dad coming down the aisle, I always shot this in Landscape orientation to include smilie guests. Mention to bride and dad beforehand not to look at the camera (it looks cheesy!). Let them go past you with you on the dad's side so there's no danger of treading on the dress.

It's quite common to be restricted to the back and sides, the bride and groom usually turn inwards when they're exchanging rings so you can get that shot from the back. Also, don't miss the kiss, that's an important one. Try occasionally to get to the same side as the groom is standing, so you can take pics of the bride and closeups of her too.

During the ceremony, remember to vary your shots, don't take lots of the same thing, go wide, zoom in, go to the sides, get to the back. Get low and incorporate the floor and pews. If they have readings, be sure to get those shots (close-up and wide to include the bride and groom), be quick, it's amazing how short some of the readings are.

During the pretend signing, I alwas used to take some high ISO shots (no flash) of the couple looking down as if they were really signing. Then I'd switch to flash with them looking up to get the standard signing the register photo, same with the witnesses. I never used flash at all in the church or ceremony room apart from that one signing shot.

These are just tips for the ceremony, you can get a feel now of how much there is to think about!!

By the way, urge the couple to give you a list of the 'must-have' family groups, you need something to work from (but tell them not to make the list too long, no more than a dozen otherwise you'll be there all day)

I don't do weddings any more but you can see on my website a couple of cut-down complete weddings to show you the range of images you could be aiming for.
http://www.raffephotography.co.uk/weddings/wedhome.aspx

Cheers,
Bernie
 
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GHP said:
Hi David.
How long have you known about the wedding? If you have known for a while, then really I think you have left it till the last minute work out a shot list etc.
If, however, you only just found out, then I feel sorry for you !

Anyway, as said already, work out a shot list with the couple, this will be your saviour, because as long as you get all the shots on the (mutually agreed) list they can't moan at you for not getting one! Try and get to the venue before the day, preferably at the same time of day you will be there with the wedding party. Scout out locations, lighting etc, also a plan B just in case the weather turns nasty.

I've not looked at what's in your kit bag, but churches are often quite dark, and flash is usually a huge no-no, so something fast in the glass dept will help a lot.
Apart from this, Janet has posted some good points, worth taking note.

There are plenty of people who would say, get a second body, get insurance, get a contract etc etc etc, without which it's a non starter, but I would say if you want to do it, and you are confident that you aren't going to fluff it on the day, then you are the one who must decide whether you are suitably prepared/ready.
After all, every-one has to have a "first time"!!!
Finally, good luck ! Relax, don't panic, and enjoy the experience. It is quite daunting, even if it is for family/friends, as you don't want to ruin their special day, and with it ruin your friendship, which is one reason a lot of people won't do a friend's wedding !!
Click to expand...

I haven't known for long but I did know they was getting married. Any way, I attended the church rehearsal this evening and got the shot list, however they are pretty open for ideas, when I own my website design co I had clients who said whatever you think, it makes life so hard.

My kit bag as it stands is this, Canon 40D gripped, Tamron F/2.8 15-50, Nifty fifty Mk1, and a 70-300 tele but this is the cheap tamron, flash equiv to the canon 580ex and a tripod with ball head, I also have remote release but cannot see me needing that.

Messing with our friendship is a biggy for me and i think thats making me nervous more than the actual wedding shots.

rjbell said:
Yes you need a list and persuade them not to have group shot with all the guests. It takes forever to setup and always look crap!:)
Click to expand...

I have a list finally however they insisted on the large group shot lol.

bernieraffe said:
Hi David,

I'm a pro photographer and photographed about 100 weddings. The secret is in the planning, you must be well-prepared and always keep in mind what you need to do next, so you're ready.

Before the bride enters with her dad, take some shots from the front of the groom waiting all nervously, shoot this wide to show the context.
During the processional I used to stand at the front just for a short time to get the bride and dad coming down the aisle, I always shot this in Landscape orientation to include smilie guests. Mention to bride and dad beforehand not to look at the camera (it looks cheesy!). Let them go past you with you on the dad's side so there's no danger of treading on the dress.

It's quite common to be restricted to the back and sides, the bride and groom usually turn inwards when they're exchanging rings so you can get that shot from the back. Also, don't miss the kiss, that's an important one. Try occasionally to get to the same side as the groom is standing, so you can take pics of the bride and closeups of her too.

During the ceremony, remember to vary your shots, don't take lots of the same thing, go wide, zoom in, go to the sides, get to the back. Get low and incorporate the floor and pews. If they have readings, be sure to get those shots (close-up and wide to include the bride and groom), be quick, it's amazing how short some of the readings are.

During the pretend signing, I alwas used to take some high ISO shots (no flash) of the couple looking down as if they were really signing. Then I'd switch to flash with them looking up to get the standard signing the register photo, same with the witnesses. I never used flash at all in the church or ceremony room apart from that one signing shot.

These are just tips for the ceremony, you can get a feel now of how much there is to think about!!

By the way, urge the couple to give you a list of the 'must-have' family groups, you need something to work from (but tell them not to make the list too long, no more than a dozen otherwise you'll be there all day)

I don't do weddings any more but you can see on my website a couple of cut-down complete weddings to show you the range of images you could be aiming for.
http://www.raffephotography.co.uk/weddings/wedhome.aspx

Cheers,
Bernie
Click to expand...

Hi Bernie, Im getting there with planning, I currently have a note book and making notes every time I read something or something is posted on here. its quite daunting and can see why some people are put off.

I was at the rehearsal this evening and I spoke to the Reverend about standing at the front as the Bride walks up the aisle and he is fine with that however during the ceremony I have to stay to the sides and the back, however I have access to a balcony on the left which unfortunately is the brides side but I may use this to capture the whole church, may be a pano styled shot. but not sure until the day.

Good thinking on the register, I will give that a try. Would you use flash throughout the whole ceremony? when I was in there tonight I felt it needed it and got better results.

thank you I will take a browse at your website and take some notes.

I feel I am getting more prepared and planned but Saturday will tell all.
 
David, I'm sure you'll do just fine. Remember to relax !!
As for the large group shot, see if you can get up high, like a balcony, or even lean out of an upstairs window, keep them tight, and do a countdown, take a good burst because there will always be some with eyes closed !!
 
With family groups I always start with all the bride's family and then gradually get rid of aunts, uncles etc until I'm down to the bride / groom + parents. I then add the groom's parents and work back up until I have all the groom's family.
 
Would you use flash throughout the whole ceremony? when I was in there tonight I felt it needed it and got better results
Click to expand...
Hi David, no I don't use flash at all during the ceremony, only for the traditional signing of the register with bride and groom looking up.

Most ministers will not allow flash during the ceremony, and in any case, unless you really knew what you were doing with flash it would destroy any lovely light in the church and make your images look like snaps that the guests might take.
 
rjbell said:
Yes you need a list and persuade them not to have group shot with all the guests. It takes forever to setup and always look crap!:)
Click to expand...

I don't agree - the key is to do the group shot first , imediately after the ceremony when you've got everyone handy , then pare down to just the B&G - trying to do it the other way round and build up to the group shot is asking for trouble as half the group will be awol in the bar/changing shoes/going to the toilet etc
 
davidh6781 said:
Also what verse to use in the bible when taking the rings to form a heart shadow?
Click to expand...

St Pauls letter to the corinthians is quite usual - but really anything that mentions love etc.

If they really want this (and its such a tacky cliche that not everyone does) check that you can stand the rings up in your bible - flat sided rings work a lot better than round sided ones which have a tendency to fall over.

If you can't get the rings to stand up - forgo the heart shadow and lay his flat and prop hers on it - if possible getting the word 'love' in the same focal plane as the rings - then shoot it at an angle for a small dof - sort of like this (though you'll note that this isnt a wedding shot, and I used LoR not a bible

day_14.jpg


Also if you know the couple you could see if you can get access to the rings to shoot this before hand with studio lighting rather than having to do it under presure on the day
 
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Thank you all I appreciate your advise and have made notes and pointers from it. its less than 24 hours now until the wedding,

Camera all set with 8 spare charged batteries.
Lens cleaned
Flash charged with spare batteries
Three memory cards formatted with capabilities of 1200 raw files
Tripod ready
Shoot list one for me and one for my helper

Don't think Ive missed anything.

Wish me luck
 
All the best of luck on your special day. Let us know how it goes.
Cheers,
Gary.
 
Well my first wedding complete,

I learnt a lot on Saturday, I felt like I needed 20 pairs of hands, however much I thought I was organised the wedding guests, ushers, groom etc were not lol. Luckily I had an assistant (The Wife) who did a great job rounding them up.

As mentioned time flies, people piggy backing me even at one point I had to ask them to move, politely of course.

However I got a good quantity of shoots of them all before the snap shotters came charging.

things I need to learn.
- people organisation
- take a drink, I was dehydrated by the end of the shoot
- different poses.

Things I need
- second body pref a full frame
- better glass
- a faster pc/mac

Here are two details shots I got, I can't post the formals yet at a request from the bride n groom. They with to see them first.

I feel they came out well and I must of done a cracking job as I took a family portrait booking and a meeting for a wedding.

Thought I would update you all.

7966188278_120e43ca0d_z.jpg


7961925754_b78f118969_z.jpg
 
Thank you, I tried my hardest and used my techniques from landscape shooting to get the most, hopefully
 
Looking excellent so far David. You must be pleased!

Don't forget to post the rest when you get the go ahead.

Well done.

Janet
 
Looking good! Cant wait to see more.

Got my first on October 13th, with another booked for December 2013!!

Bricking it, but I think Im prepared. On the upside, Ive been allowed to buy a ton more gear, which is always nice!
 
TCR4x4 said:
Looking good! Cant wait to see more.

Got my first on October 13th, with another booked for December 2013!!

Bricking it, but I think Im prepared. On the upside, Ive been allowed to buy a ton more gear, which is always nice!
Click to expand...

Thank you all, I'm just hoping the b and g like them too.

It's a scary thought and everyone I spoke to always mentioned something to make it even worse lol for instance, the big day is I'm your hands, oh thanks lol.

Good luck, I may suggest a helper of any sort just to shift people around and get them into shape.

Keep us posted on how it goes and how you enjoyed it.
 
Well done David, fabulous shots. I also shot my first wedding on Saturday, well in an official capacity at least. Was for a couple that are very good friends. Co-shot it with my mate, it was also his first time (ooh er).

Thought it might be useful to do a quick write up for anybody who finds themselves in a similar boat. Also for me to gather my own thoughts in case I'm ever daft enough to do this again!

I didn't raise a thread on here for fear of the usual backlash but both myself and my friend have been preparing for several months. Two recce trips to the venue, meeting with bride and groom, absorbing an awful lot of useful stuff from the here and other websites as well as a couple of books.

I think we were lucky in many ways in that the bride and groom were fairly anti posed shots other than some groups of mainly family members. This put me much more at ease as posing is not something I've ever got involved with though I did have an ideas sheet with me just in case.

Despite rehearsing various flash techniques etc beforehand I made decision a couple of days prior to the wedding that I was going to keep things as simple as possible and rely on natural light where I could.

Kit wise, we had two D700's a D90 and a D2X. A 24-70 2.8, 2x 70-200 2.8's and 5 or 6 primes. Three flashes, two tripods, a stack of memory cards and batteries, step ladders, a laptop, an external hard drive and plenty of other bits.

On the day itself, we arrived early to blazing sunshine. Great weather but seriously harsh light! Not a lot we could do about that other than re planning a few shot locations to avoid harsh shadows.

Had one last walk around the venue and then shot a few detail shots before the groomsmen arrived. Spent the next hour or so shooting the groomsmen, mainly fun shots, some a bit posed but quite informal.

We then made our way to the ceremony room. Lighting was really troublesome in here, three very big windows, all with fairly direct sunlight on them. One of the windows directly behind where the B&G would be standing. Blown highlight city but then I don't think you have choice in these circumstances. It was a case of switching to manual and finding an exposure that worked and leaving it there.

Waited for the bride to make an appearance. I had a shot planned for this. The room was very small but by standing in one of the rear corners I was able to fit the groom and entrance doorway in shot. So in theory I'd get that classic groom looking back shot. Here comes the first error of the day, just as I'd lined the shot up, the registrar asked everybody to stand up which completely blocked my view. I quickly jumped onto a nearby chair but the resulting shot isn't half of what I was hoping for. Otherwise ceremony went fairly smoothly I think. We deliberately kept the shot count down in there as the room was so small that the shutter was pretty audible to everyone.

Next up were a few candids of the guests congratulating the B&G and obligatory confetti shot.

After that the intention was to get a few candids of the drinks reception. At this stage I made my second error of the day. I'd decided to switch to my D2X with 70-200 attached to save farting on with lens changes. The D2X has a high speed crop mode where by instead of using all 10 mp of the sensor it uses an area in the centre approx 6mp. There is no indicator on the view finder that this is happening. I'd checked settings beforehand but somehow missed this, doh. Consequently all of my shots using this lens are very tightly cropped. I usually leave a fair bit of room fro cropping after. None of these shots have any and some chop important bits out. Really gutted about this. I was oblivious on the day of course and only found out afterwards. On the upside there are plenty of shots that are usable from the 200 or so I took with the D2X and of course my co shooter has plenty more.

Light was still seriously harsh at this stage. We decided to do the group shots in a shadowed area in front of the main entrance to the building. I'd actually been a little worried about the groups, not particularly relishing the prospect of herding guests and getting them where I wanted them. As it transpired, it was actually the easiest part of the day. The groomsmen and other photographer did a great job rounding people up and posing went fairly smoothly. We did a full group shot from an upstairs balcony as well. With only 60 odd guests this wasn't too difficult to set up though I had be careful of harsh shadows creeping into shot. There was also a sign in the backrgound that I didn't notice at the time. It's cloned out easily but kicking myself a little for not spotting it moving it at the time.

The reception/sit down meal followed shortly after. The room was presented a tricky set of challenges. Firstly the walls were white washed which meant that matrix metering was giving significant under exposure. I made the decision to switch to spot metering as the walls were not always going to be in shots and I didn't want to constantly have to dial in exposure compensation. Generally used bounced flash though ceiling was pretty high so did have to careful with shadows.

Lastly, first dance. Really tricky this. Got a couple of shots I like but lots with harsh flash shadows or missing feet! Would use a wider lens next time.

After the first dance and a few shots of the guests we downed the cameras, backed up memory cards and hit the bar.

Basically had two hours where I felt like a guest rather than an employee!

Would I do it again? Hmmm, not sure, I wish I could this one again with the benefit of some hindsight. I enjoyed it but it was very hard work. I was shattered by about 6pm!

I might put some pics up in due course but i'll hold off until the B&G have seen them.
 
Thank you, I tried to get formals and the extra details like above, including the large dreaded group shot.

I like your write it sums up how quick or something can be missed, I had a similar issue when the bride and groom was going to walk out the church, planned my position, tripod set everything, as soon as they turned around the guest dived in front lol, couldn't believe it I had a rush of panic, as I wanted this shot a lot in spilt second I had to bull dose my way past and rush my shot, didn't get the perspective I wanted but I got a shot but not got to that in LR yet.

I also did a couple of weeks planning, reading on here and browsing Flickr, pinterest etc for rough pose ideas, as it turned out I barely used any.

I need a bit more kit like glass and a second body or an upgrade to my current body, then I don't have to switch lens for different shots. However I will have to work a tad harder before new glass and body are doable.

although I was shattered by the speeches, I did enjoy the atmosphere and strange but the pressure to get results, think this stems from me co owning a business in a no guarantee industry, I will do another wedding and as you say in hindsight I would do something's different if I could turn back time, just have to learn from in a implement on the next one.

At the reception/first dance I found bouncing my flash over my head worked best for me, may not be the correct use but worked a treat for me, flash photography is something I need to learn more in depth.

If you enjoyed it do it again if the opportunity arises, we all have to learn and start somewhere, wedding photography was way out my comfort zone, I concentrated on landscapes etc where I could alway shoot again.

thanks for your reply I enjoyed reading someone else's first time. ( in a photography sense lol)


gad-westy said:
Well done David, fabulous shots. I also shot my first wedding on Saturday, well in an official capacity at least. Was for a couple that are very good friends. Co-shot it with my mate, it was also his first time (ooh er).

Thought it might be useful to do a quick write up for anybody who finds themselves in a similar boat. Also for me to gather my own thoughts in case I'm ever daft enough to do this again!

I didn't raise a thread on here for fear of the usual backlash but both myself and my friend have been preparing for several months. Two recce trips to the venue, meeting with bride and groom, absorbing an awful lot of useful stuff from the here and other websites as well as a couple of books.

I think we were lucky in many ways in that the bride and groom were fairly anti posed shots other than some groups of mainly family members. This put me much more at ease as posing is not something I've ever got involved with though I did have an ideas sheet with me just in case.

Despite rehearsing various flash techniques etc beforehand I made decision a couple of days prior to the wedding that I was going to keep things as simple as possible and rely on natural light where I could.

Kit wise, we had two D700's a D90 and a D2X. A 24-70 2.8, 2x 70-200 2.8's and 5 or 6 primes. Three flashes, two tripods, a stack of memory cards and batteries, step ladders, a laptop, an external hard drive and plenty of other bits.

On the day itself, we arrived early to blazing sunshine. Great weather but seriously harsh light! Not a lot we could do about that other than re planning a few shot locations to avoid harsh shadows.

Had one last walk around the venue and then shot a few detail shots before the groomsmen arrived. Spent the next hour or so shooting the groomsmen, mainly fun shots, some a bit posed but quite informal.

We then made our way to the ceremony room. Lighting was really troublesome in here, three very big windows, all with fairly direct sunlight on them. One of the windows directly behind where the B&G would be standing. Blown highlight city but then I don't think you have choice in these circumstances. It was a case of switching to manual and finding an exposure that worked and leaving it there.

Waited for the bride to make an appearance. I had a shot planned for this. The room was very small but by standing in one of the rear corners I was able to fit the groom and entrance doorway in shot. So in theory I'd get that classic groom looking back shot. Here comes the first error of the day, just as I'd lined the shot up, the registrar asked everybody to stand up which completely blocked my view. I quickly jumped onto a nearby chair but the resulting shot isn't half of what I was hoping for. Otherwise ceremony went fairly smoothly I think. We deliberately kept the shot count down in there as the room was so small that the shutter was pretty audible to everyone.

Next up were a few candids of the guests congratulating the B&G and obligatory confetti shot.

After that the intention was to get a few candids of the drinks reception. At this stage I made my second error of the day. I'd decided to switch to my D2X with 70-200 attached to save farting on with lens changes. The D2X has a high speed crop mode where by instead of using all 10 mp of the sensor it uses an area in the centre approx 6mp. There is no indicator on the view finder that this is happening. I'd checked settings beforehand but somehow missed this, doh. Consequently all of my shots using this lens are very tightly cropped. I usually leave a fair bit of room fro cropping after. None of these shots have any and some chop important bits out. Really gutted about this. I was oblivious on the day of course and only found out afterwards. On the upside there are plenty of shots that are usable from the 200 or so I took with the D2X and of course my co shooter has plenty more.

Light was still seriously harsh at this stage. We decided to do the group shots in a shadowed area in front of the main entrance to the building. I'd actually been a little worried about the groups, not particularly relishing the prospect of herding guests and getting them where I wanted them. As it transpired, it was actually the easiest part of the day. The groomsmen and other photographer did a great job rounding people up and posing went fairly smoothly. We did a full group shot from an upstairs balcony as well. With only 60 odd guests this wasn't too difficult to set up though I had be careful of harsh shadows creeping into shot. There was also a sign in the backrgound that I didn't notice at the time. It's cloned out easily but kicking myself a little for not spotting it moving it at the time.

The reception/sit down meal followed shortly after. The room was presented a tricky set of challenges. Firstly the walls were white washed which meant that matrix metering was giving significant under exposure. I made the decision to switch to spot metering as the walls were not always going to be in shots and I didn't want to constantly have to dial in exposure compensation. Generally used bounced flash though ceiling was pretty high so did have to careful with shadows.

Lastly, first dance. Really tricky this. Got a couple of shots I like but lots with harsh flash shadows or missing feet! Would use a wider lens next time.

After the first dance and a few shots of the guests we downed the cameras, backed up memory cards and hit the bar.

Basically had two hours where I felt like a guest rather than an employee!

Would I do it again? Hmmm, not sure, I wish I could this one again with the benefit of some hindsight. I enjoyed it but it was very hard work. I was shattered by about 6pm!

I might put some pics up in due course but i'll hold off until the B&G have seen them.
Click to expand...
 
I did my first wedding a few weeks ago. I trawled the various threads on here for tips and advice, and I think the day went pretty smoothly (from my point of view). The B&G are happy with the shots.

I have worked in some pretty stressful jobs (I'm an ex-Prison Officer, and I'm now a School Bus Driver) but these were nothing to how I felt during my drive to the church. Certain parts of me were twitching away ;) I got to the church early, and had a walk around to calm my nerves. I fired off some test shots and talked to some of the guests.

Word was going around the guests that there was a major problem with the wedding cars - there were none. Apparently, there had been a mistake, and the cars were double booked. As a result, the B&G had to turn up in hastily arraigned taxis. This didn't go down too well as the Bride really wanted a shot of her and her father in the car, and her getting out.

Once I got inside the church, I just seemed to switch into auto. I felt really relaxed and confident. As I quietly glided around the church, I fired off a few candid shots of the guests. This also helped in getting a rapport with them - this helped later....

The ceremony seemed to go waaaay to quickly, and before I knew it, I was getting the shots of them walking back down the isle as man and wife. The rapport I got going with the guests helped as they went were I wanted them to, when I wanted.

Like I said, the B&G liked the results, and recommended me to some of their friends. It looks like I'll be doing a few more next year :)
 
davidh6781 said:
Good luck and keep us posted on how it went
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Thanks very much
I think I'm all set, snacks and drinks at the ready, gear all clean, spare clothe sitting

I was worried for a while, the groom had went quite on my, but final got all the info out of him a couple of days ago, so that was a big releafe, as me and the second shooter will be going different directions to the wedding it self

So from what I can tell its going to be small, I asked for a shoot list of who they want, but I'm still waiting on it I don't think il get it now, I have over a hour after the wedding do pictures, but I'm looking forward to it
 
To those doing their first wedding this weekend - all the best! I did my first just under a year ago and I was very nervous but absolutely loved it once I got there and started shooting.
 
Well done chaps. Looking forward to hearing how you got on.
 
Well - that was scary and tiring, but in a perverse way it was also fun!
I'm very glad this was a one-off; I've no idea how the full time wedding togs cope :cuckoo:

The service was held in a woodland glade. Which was great, but made for really challenging photography conditions as the wood was dark and whichever direction I pointed the camera the background was massively over-exposed. At least the cloud cover reduced the contrast to tolerable levels!
i-44QJSzp-X3.jpg


I've lots of shots of the service, B+G on the bouncy castle, meal and dancing; but the images I'm most proud of were taken late evening. The B+G wandered over to the woodland glade to join friends and family chilling out in the somewhat magical setting.
This is a grab shot in horrendous light. The image quality is not up to my usual standard, but I love the mood.
i-m4WJxdt-M.jpg


This was posed and I'm pleased with how it turned out.
That leaf top left is beginning to annoy me though; I can feel a Photoshop edit coming on.
i-98RVJQd-X3.jpg


Finally, my favourite from the evening - another grab shot from the woodland glade as the B+G walked towards a group of friends.
i-5rh4zhm-X3.jpg


I've just been over to the groom's parent's house to deliver some cherry picked images.
There were a lot of people there for the post-wedding lunch and it was really nice to get positive feedback and join in the laughter over some of my more characterful images.
Still got a heck of a lot of processing to do though!
 
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Great shots, looks like a fun wedding!

My bride was supposed to be coming today to discuss the shot list, but still no sign of her yet. I guess I'm more organised than she is!
 
TCR4x4 said:
Great shots, looks like a fun wedding!

My bride was supposed to be coming today to discuss the shot list, but still no sign of her yet. I guess I'm more organised than she is!
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That's brides my friend. She'll be late, possibly cancel several times and when she appears she'll want a 4 hour coversation condenssed into 15 minutes. Make sure she gives you the list of pictures she wants, don't leave it all to your instinct.

They are never hapy!
 
That wedding looks cool

TCR4x4 said:
Great shots, looks like a fun wedding!

My bride was supposed to be coming today to discuss the shot list, but still no sign of her yet. I guess I'm more organised than she is!
Click to expand...

I had a hard time getting my shot list from the B and G and had to put on together myself and send it them to amend. but I did get in the end.


DuncanDisorderly said:
Well - that was scary and tiring, but in a perverse way it was also fun!
I'm very glad this was a one-off; I've no idea how the full time wedding togs cope :cuckoo:

The service was held in a woodland glade. Which was great, but made for really challenging photography conditions as the wood was dark and whichever direction I pointed the camera the background was massively over-exposed. At least the cloud cover reduced the contrast to tolerable levels!

I've lots of shots of the service, B+G on the bouncy castle, meal and dancing; but the images I'm most proud of were taken late evening. The B+G wandered over to the woodland glade to join friends and family chilling out in the somewhat magical setting.
This is a grab shot in horrendous light. The image quality is not up to my usual standard, but I love the mood.

This was posed and I'm pleased with how it turned out.
That leaf top left is beginning to annoy me though; I can feel a Photoshop edit coming on.

Finally, my favourite from the evening - another grab shot from the woodland glade as the B+G walked towards a group of friends.

I've just been over to the groom's parent's house to deliver some cherry picked images.
There were a lot of people there for the post-wedding lunch and it was really nice to get positive feedback and join in the laughter over some of my more characterful images.
Still got a heck of a lot of processing to do though![/QUOTE

After doing my first wedding I can now understand why wedding togs are so expensive as I am just about finished editing and lets put it this way I didn't get a weeks worth of money, that a lesson learnt.

JamesBarclay said:
That's brides my friend. She'll be late, possibly cancel several times and when she appears she'll want a 4 hour coversation condenssed into 15 minutes. Make sure she gives you the list of pictures she wants, don't leave it all to your instinct.

They are never hapy!
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lol, hectic lifestyle.

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