Urgent help needed with Wedding Photography please

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Eventing-TOG

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Emma
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Hello,

I am shooting at my first wedding this weekend and I just need some tips and ideas on where to stand in the ceremony and other such details.

Thank you very much
 
Hi Emma, welcome to the forum. :)
I assume that you mean shooting as a guest?

Kev.
 
Eventing-TOG said:
Hello,

I am shooting at my first wedding this weekend and I just need some tips and ideas on where to stand in the ceremony and other such details.

Thank you very much
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Welcome to the forum Emma :)

You might want to reword your question though or use the search facility. I don't think this will end well. Iain
 
Hello,

Sorry, didn't give any info!

One of the teachers at the school where I just finished my A level photography course wanted to give the opportunity of being photographer at his wedding, to one of the photography students. Hence why I don't have any experience. He is having a low key wedding, so is not putting extreme pressure on me to produce amazing shots, but instead wants candids to remember the occasion.

Thanks :)
 
OK Emma, first of all, do as Iain suggested, do a forum search for wedding advice threads, there is loads of useful advice in the existing threads. However, if you read some of them, you will understand the rest of my message - this is more aimed at those that are thinking of posting, not at yourself - the mods are watching and we expect any answers to be polite and helpful.

I am sure you are delighted that this teacher has given you such a chance, but a wedding is a LOT of hard work, and most successful wedding photographers spend a lot of time and money learning their trade. My daughter has just finished AS level, and I would not expect her to be ready to take on a wedding single handedly even a year from now.
However, to grab the bull by the horns and jump in, some answers to your questions....In terms of where to stand, the best advice is to ask the person conducting the ceremony [vicar, priest, registrar] where they are happy to allow you to stand. Most will not allow you to use flash, so be aware of that beforehand and work out how you are going to deal with a low light situation. Be friendly to people, have a good understanding of how your camera works, and just get the best pictures you are capable of. Go and have a look at the venue before the wedding so you know what sort of location you will be working in. Don't forget to try and get shots of the details, cake, flowers, etc

Good Luck :)
 
It may also be a good idea to put up a list of the gear that you'll be using :thumbs: I'm will into bet that they'll want a little more than candid, I'd bet that they will want some formals too plus things like walking down the isle and first kiss etc..

When it comes as to where to stand as Yvonne has already said get there early have a good look at the venue and talk with the person conducting the ceremony see what they will allow and won't, and then try and sort a location to shoot coming down the isle and then move to the rear of the ceremony to capture some dynamic shots with the guest in and the first kiss and then walking out as man and wife, also get things like signing the register though this will be a fake signing as it's really rare that you photograph the signing :lol:

Welcome to TP :wave:

Matt
MWHCVT
 
Excellent, thank you so much for the replies.

I have a Pentax K-x with a 18-55mm and a 75-300mm lenses.

The 18-55mm will be the most appropriate, but I'll take the other just in case.

Thankfully he wants everything low key and isn't expecting anything mega, so it takes the pressure off of me a lot!!
 
Somewhere on the forum is a list of standard wedding shots, probably buried in the Business section.
 
Eventing-TOG said:
Excellent, thank you so much for the replies.

I have a Pentax K-x with a 18-55mm and a 75-300mm lenses.

The 18-55mm will be the most appropriate, but I'll take the other just in case.

Thankfully he wants everything low key and isn't expecting anything mega, so it takes the pressure off of me a lot!!
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Your probably going to struggle to get anything correctly exposed and not blurred in a church with that combo. I used to have the kr so know the capabilities of them lenses on that body. Try to source a cheap prime lens off eBay something with an f stop of 2 or faster for in the church. There are some kmount bargains on eBay i still use them on my canon now. You will not need to break the bank as these can be picked up dirt cheap although you will loose auto functions you are used to with your kit lens.
 
Eventing-TOG said:
Hello,

Sorry, didn't give any info!

One of the teachers at the school where I just finished my A level photography course wanted to give the opportunity of being photographer at his wedding, to one of the photography students.
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More like wanted to take advantage of one of his students........ I'm assuming he is paying you. Or was the "opportunity" payment enough.

Just do your best. You can't learn wedding photography in 4 days. Just use the skills you have for the use of light and composition, watch your backgrounds and capture emotion and you'll be fine - in so far as you'll have delivered to the best of your ability.

If he wanted more than that then he would have hired an experienced pro.
 
I did a wedding on Sunday, the vicar said to the photographers (there was 3 of us) that we could do anything but use flash which seemed fair. Even though the chapel looked bright enough to the eye I was at ISO3200 with F2 so don't underestimate how dark the venue can be.

Make sure you've got backups (cameras, lenses, cards) and you have a backup plan in place for the shots, I used two cards in each camera, small (4-8Gb) CF as the main card and a 32Gb SDHC in the second slot, both recording raws, the smaller cards were swapped out frequently into crushproof waterproof cases in my inside jacket pocket. After the event I dropped one set of cards at my mum's house for off-site storage till I've finished and the b&g have all they want. The main cards then came to my house where they were downloaded to my Macbook, then onto two external hard drives, one of which went, with the original cards, to my dad's house, again for another off-site backup.

All this sounds extreme but I wanted nothing to stand in the way of my friends, the b&g, getting the shots of their big day. It doesn't need a lot of equipment, just planning.
 
Specifically thinking about your gear. Try and visit the venue in advance. See what the light will be like for the ceremony. Take some test shots if you can. Don't be afraid to bump up the ISO on the K-x. It may not be a professional body but it handles low light better than many that are.

Would a pro want to be using this gear. Obviously the answer is no. Would a decent pro be able to shoot a wedding with this kit. The answer is certainly yes.

So, just be aware of the limitations and go for it
 
Look at it this way, your not being paid, the brief is for relaxed candids and there is no pressure to deliver the "goods"
So relax! Take one camera, one lens.
Enjoy the day and don't worry if your getting the shots you think you should be getting and instead, shoot what you see as a guest.
Too many people will tell you to make sure your kitted out with spare bodies, batteries, lenses, spare lenses, memory cards, flash guns, spare flash guns and yes, if it were a paid gig, you were expected to deliver its essential to ensure every possibility and angle is covered.
But back to your brief, you have been told that its a low key affair so for you to portray this then surely the best way to approach is... Well, low key?
I attended a cousins wedding last month and my sister was asked to cover the wedding, i naturally offered to shoot some impromptu stuff. I took along my main camera, flash, triggers, bag, batteries, cards ect and as we were traveling to the reception i thought what is wrong with me? I've been invited to enjoy the day, not worry about carrying around a bag, camera, framing shots and ducking and diving around my family for good light.
So i ditched all the gear, picked up my rangefinder and three rolls of tri x and enjoyed myself and the resulting images show, people were more relaxed and hardly noticed i was taking their picture half the time!
Up to you but sometimes, less is more.
 
Why does everyone see the word wedding and assume that means a full on wedding setup with backup cameras, top lenses etc, etc,.

This sounds to me like a candid relaxed affair and is not even close to what would be seen as wedding photography.

The teacher clearly has faith in the ability to provide what they require and after working with the student is probably in a better position than anyone here.

If I were you I would take a look at the list of standard wedding shots and throw it out the window. Candid shots and standard wedding shots are two completely different things. I don't like standard, traditional, cliched wedding shots personally and would be happier with a set of candids showing the people on the day acting naturally. Maybe the teacher has the same outlook...
 
ernesto said:
Why does everyone see the word wedding and assume that means a full on wedding setup with backup cameras, top lenses etc, etc,.

This sounds to me like a candid relaxed affair and is not even close to what would be seen as wedding photography.
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It's a wedding, and therefore it is wedding photography. I can guarantee you with hundreds of weddings under my belt that if there is more than one person involved in the actual wedding then there will be a difference of opinion as to what is required from the photographs.

Very very few couples *only* want documentary coverage - and actually good quality documentary coverage is harder to consistently shoot than traditional wedding photography.

But you'll find the bride may have different ideas, particularly about her in her dress, and I'll bet the parents and/or grandparents might as well. On the day you have one client, but many people to please.

Unless this photography teacher really only wants snaps then some element of what has been discussed will be of some importance. There is never an issue about being over-prepared.

The teacher clearly has faith in the ability to provide what they require and after working with the student is probably in a better position than anyone here.
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Exactly I'll agree with you on that - which is why the OP should concentrate on the skills they have learnt on the course and executing those to the best of their ability and not to try to become someone else in the short space of a few days.

If I were you I would take a look at the list of standard wedding shots and throw it out the window. Candid shots and standard wedding shots are two completely different things. I don't like standard, traditional, cliched wedding shots personally and would be happier with a set of candids showing the people on the day acting naturally. Maybe the teacher has the same outlook...
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From experience weddings don't always have people on the day acting naturally, and certainly not always happily chatting and laughing. Smaller weddings are often quieter, have less going on to create action and emotion and are harder to photograph.

Your preferences are really irrelevant in this situation. standard - traditional and cliched don't necessarily have to go together in wedding photography and IMVHO posed or directed images have a place in coverage of a wedding.

Until you are the client you should leave your own prejudices and personal preferences at the door, you could well be steering the OP down the wrong path based on them.
 
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I am putting forward a perspective that may match the clients, may be irrelevant, may be not. None of us know what they want other than what has been stated - a set of candid shots. This says to me nothing like the standard wedding photographs.
The word candid may have been incorrectly used but why would it?

I am not saying good candid shots are easy but maybe Emma has good ability in getting them (again, which is why the teacher may have asked her)
 
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