Wedding - HELP!!!!

Richard King said:
Lets be fair here

You have to start somewhere, we all did. We dont know the expectations of the couple. My first wedding was for a couple who were very close to me, and very broke. It was a no-brainer, get me to do it, or have no photographs at all. I worked with them, and they worked with me, and we produced a superb set of images

If somone has the required technical skills, the camera craft, and is fairly good at dealing with people... there is no reason why using first principles that they should not make a decent job of it. Really all the OP will need to learn (if the tech skills are up to scratch) is how to pose people and how to get a decent variety of shots quickly and fast. There are a few other very wedding specific practacle things he will need to know / cover off, apart from that, it is pretty much the same principle as any other social phootgraphy

Yes ideally they should second shoot with someone first (*hint) Yes ideally they should have 2 lots of "all the kit on the prefered list" However, we dont live in an ideal world, and sometimes the comprimise is pretty damm good

I am not saying shooting a wedding is easy, it is bloody hard work, and you need to be ahead of the ball at all times - it just seems at hat at the moment anyone asks for a little bit of help, a deluge of negativity is thrown at them

As Ii said earlier, we all started somewhere, and most of our starts were not perfect or ideal
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What he said. I think that post sums it up perfectly.

You also have to remember that:

1. Not everyone can afford to pay for top end pro wedding work
2. Perhaps more importantly, not eveyone wants top end pro work. Some people just aren't that bothered. I think some wedding photographers, perhaps understandably as it's their profession, sometimes put more importance on the pics than the bride or groom ever will. Grooms more than brides I'm sure ;)
 
I haven't got much to add on the technical side - I have never shot a wedding, and I probably never will. BUT - I think the posing that has been touched on is really important. You see quite a lot of well exposed wedding photos in a nice setting, but the bride and groom look a bit lost, or awkward. I see it often in the crit sections (I enjoy looking at other people's wedding pics!), and often you see comments along the lines of "get the groom to hold the bride with both arms" etc.

So I would spend some time looking at the wedding threads in the photo sharing section and see what works posing wise. Hopefully because you know the B&G they should be comfortable posing for you. But you might have to work with the group shots to get everyone engaged and looking the same way.

I felt quite strange posing for our wedding photographer on the day, but he was a pro and knew what he was doing, and it shows. We didn't have any dangling arms or squinty faces or pictures where we're 3 feet apart!
 
Kiki said:
I am going to borrow my SO's 1D MKIIIN and 24-70. I also have a 60mm that I can take, which seems to be something I might need. I have a friend who has a 70-200 and a flash, which he will probably let me use, might rope him in to be assistant on the day!
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Might have been an idea to mention the more suitable equipment you have ready access to in the first post, would have saved a lot of hassle.

good luck.
 
If pro togs weren't so expensive? They would get loads of work! ... How much does it cost to make a few prints anyway? :D
 
Splog said:
If pro togs weren't so expensive? They would get loads of work! ... How much does it cost to make a few prints anyway? :D
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:schtum::tumbleweed::bat:
 
Kev M said:
Might have been an idea to mention the more suitable equipment you have ready access to in the first post, would have saved a lot of hassle.
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Because when I initially posted I didn't think my 60mm was suitable and I wasn't sure about borrowing the other stuff. After reading some stuff on the web (and then some of the comments made in this thread) asked about borrowing stuff - i.e. was hubby serious when he said I could borrow his 1D etc
 
Just a thought Kiki, but I assume your hubby has been invited too.....Has he not been asked to photograph the wedding?
 
Marcel said:
Just a thought Kiki, but I assume your hubby has been invited too.....Has he not been asked to photograph the wedding?
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Good point!

OP - obviously a lot of chat has passed under the bridge since your first post and we've all been second guessing everything. It's nice to see that you actually want to shoot the wedding. Good luck to you :thumbs:
 
Marcel said:
Just a thought Kiki, but I assume your hubby has been invited too.....Has he not been asked to photograph the wedding?
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Yes, he has been invited but, he's rather anti social and so, won't go.

I have a walking/photography companion who is going to come and be assistant/ second shooter at the wedding, and then enjoy the meal with me afterwards. As far as the B&G are concerned, once the reception starts, our official bit is done, which means we can relax and enjoy the meal etc. Apart from worrying about the edit.....
 
Kiki said:
Yes, he has been invited but, he's rather anti social and so, won't go.

I have a walking/photography companion who is going to come and be assistant/ second shooter at the wedding, and then enjoy the meal with me afterwards. As far as the B&G are concerned, once the reception starts, our official bit is done, which means we can relax and enjoy the meal etc. Apart from worrying about the edit.....
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I'll bet you don't put your camera away all night, your adrenalin will be high and all the other guests will be pestering you to shoot the reception too.
 
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