Help wanted for Involuntary Wedding Photographer
Mar 9, 2020 11:38:41 #
Dahveed
Loc: Minneapolis
There's a treasure trove of wedding photography tutorials on YouTube: tips, tricks, cameras, lenses, posing, venues, essential shots, beginner lessons and things not to do. I'd watch and rewatch everything I could about it there. It will open your mind to things you never knew or expected. Good luck.
Mar 9, 2020 11:56:05 #
Having been in your exact situation and not able to gracefully bow out, I understand your concerns. My $0.02 is:
1. If possible, find a "second shooter" to help. It's tough for one person to cover it all.
2. Have at least one assistant who understands what you're trying to accomplish (i.e. knows how to hold/place reflectors, get lenses from the bag, etc.)
3. Use fill flash if shooting outdoors.
I was fortunate to have #1 and #2 covered. I didn't do enough of #3. Good luck!
1. If possible, find a "second shooter" to help. It's tough for one person to cover it all.
2. Have at least one assistant who understands what you're trying to accomplish (i.e. knows how to hold/place reflectors, get lenses from the bag, etc.)
3. Use fill flash if shooting outdoors.
I was fortunate to have #1 and #2 covered. I didn't do enough of #3. Good luck!
Mar 9, 2020 12:19:38 #
PGHphoto
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
zumarose wrote:
I'm a hobbyist photographer. My friends ask me fro... (show quote)
My biggest recommendation is to have an "assistant" (not necessary for them to be a photographer themselves) and a shot list. Your assistant can be anybody with good people skills and they can gather the people you need for each shot while you dedicate yourself to photography. Scout the area ahead of time at the approximate time of day that you will be shooting in. Take note of light levels and angles that you want to shoot.
Keep in mind that you will be working and not just attending. Thats always the most difficult part.
Mar 9, 2020 12:20:11 #
zumarose wrote:
Thank you. I'll look into that. Or maybe this will be the impetus for med to go to full frame. But then are my other lenses useless. I'll look into that
The biggest advantage of full frame (assuming your crop frame has at least 20MP) is low light performance (high ISO). Other than that, there isn't much to tempt me.
P.S. I used "quote reply" so you can see to what I responded.
BEST OF LUCK!
Mar 9, 2020 12:28:28 #
twr25
Loc: New Jersey
I know your plight! Been there … anyway it seem you lack the most basic lens used generally. Nikon 24-70 2.8 is a work horse. Switching lens during a wedding is tough. The other lens I might take would be the 70-200 mm either Nikon or Tamron for covering those distant shots or to shoot portraits from the dance floor edges.
Mar 9, 2020 12:31:01 #
Dahveed
Loc: Minneapolis
twr25 wrote:
I know your plight! Been there … anyway it seem you lack the most basic lens used generally. Nikon 24-70 2.8 is a work horse. Switching lens during a wedding is tough. The other lens I might take would be the 70-200 mm either Nikon or Tamron for covering those distant shots or to shoot portraits from the dance floor edges.
These are great suggestions. If money is an issue you can always rent lenses for practice and the actual event.
Mar 9, 2020 12:38:07 #
Mar 9, 2020 12:41:24 #
I forgot a couple of important suggestions:
*** Create a shot list that the bride & groom have approved way ahead of time; then be sure and follow the list.
*** Take control of the process during the formal shots. This means you have to be actively directing who goes where and when. You have to be a friendly dictator.
*** Create a shot list that the bride & groom have approved way ahead of time; then be sure and follow the list.
*** Take control of the process during the formal shots. This means you have to be actively directing who goes where and when. You have to be a friendly dictator.
Mar 9, 2020 13:00:15 #
Mar 9, 2020 13:00:58 #
scallihan
Loc: Tigard, OR
Discuss with the couple ahead of time -at the venue- what you can and cannot do because of the geographic limitations and noon flat lighting. You can hope for a nice high cirrus cover to soften the lighting. Let them know you will need time before the ceremony for staged shots and set them up. Pore over wedding photo blogs for ideas.
My husband and I did a few weddings, all of which turned out great except the one couple who insisted on all candids- no posing. Let the guests do candids. And ask the couple to announce and introduce you as the photographer and ask that the guests do not get in your shots during the ceremony!!! One of my favorite shots was taken during the ceremony when I crept up behind the couple and took a close up of their hands entwined behind them with their prayer beads. That was one they framed and hung up! These little shots can be precious.
My husband and I did a few weddings, all of which turned out great except the one couple who insisted on all candids- no posing. Let the guests do candids. And ask the couple to announce and introduce you as the photographer and ask that the guests do not get in your shots during the ceremony!!! One of my favorite shots was taken during the ceremony when I crept up behind the couple and took a close up of their hands entwined behind them with their prayer beads. That was one they framed and hung up! These little shots can be precious.
Mar 9, 2020 13:14:21 #
ELNikkor wrote:
I had many broke friends none of whom's parents wo... (show quote)
The advice to go to the rehearsal is excellent. Thanks.
Mar 9, 2020 13:17:56 #
charlienow wrote:
First off, good luck in this adventure. br br Ma... (show quote)
Thanks for all this. I have a decent Canon Point and Shoot. I'm going to give that to a friend to roam around with. I'm taking my lens in this weekend.
Mar 9, 2020 13:30:37 #
First, I am not now, nor have I ever been a wedding photographer.
I was (am?) a photojournalist, so I don't think like a professional wedding photographer, at all.
My advice has little to do with all the things that have been discussed, here, so far.
It is more of what I would try to do, if it were me shooting a wedding for the first time.
You have a luxury I never had - time.
A pro HAS to get everything in the moment or he/she loses money or misses the shot.
You don't, so take as much time as you can get.
Keep in mind that "a wedding" does not equal "a wedding ceremony".
Practice similar subjects beforehand!
I would get a friend (or life-sized dummy) to act as a stand-in and do a pre-shoot ON LOCATION for practice.
This way, you wouldn't bore/aggravate the wedding party by unnecessarily wasting their time.
This is where you verify camera and flash settings, backgrounds, lighting, etc.
This far out, get involved with the wedding planner (mom, bride, best friend, pet dog, whoever) and set up some times (plural) BEFORE the actual ceremony to take pictures.
I am talking about WEEKS before the ceremony.
Not only will you get to take the photographs with less pressure, it will give you a chance to check your technique/equipment and fix anything dubious.
Get shots you can't take at the actual ceremony or that will save you time on the big day:
The bride and mother picking out/checking out the gown.
A re-enactment of the proposal.
The caterer's preparing the cake.
The bride in her gown with her pet (fill in blank here - dog, cat, parakeet, snake, mongoose, meerkat, whatever).
Groom (in tux) with said pet.
Vice versa. (Bride with groom's pet, etc.)
All of them in a pre-new-family wad.
Semi-formal portraits of the officials.
In other words, get as many shots as the bride will allow BEFORE the big day.
Realize everybody's time is going to be limited, so you may have to schedule several shoots to get all the main players.
Remember, none of them may cooperate and you will have to wing it on the big day, anyway.
At least, you tried.
Get an arbor rented to use with your background for portraits on the big day.
The work with the friend-model on location will come in handy for this.
If the 18-200 is more expensive to repair than a 55-200, you can get the latter for about $75, used, if budget is a factor.
If you want more esoteric glass, RENT (maybe several times) what you need.
Keep a telephoto zoom on one body, a wide zoom on the other and don't think about focal lengths.
Being outside at high noon, you should be able to position your static subjects far enough away from the background to get nice bokeh without a super-fast lens.
This is something you can determine during the pre-shoot.
If you don't want to buy one, rent a Nikon SB-700 with or without the SC-29 cord.
The automatic fill-flash function on newer Nikons is phenomenal, even at high noon.
Spare batteries and storage media should be a given.
Bring twice as much as you think you will need.
If you have a friend with a compatible Nikon, ask to borrow it "just in case".
Better yet, con them into helping you!
Redundancy is your friend.
Enlist as much competent help as you can (the more, the merrier) and have them shoot candids, direct traffic, fetch the next subject, keep you in water, etc.
MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL (!), get plenty of water and sleep the two days and nights before the wedding, eat a meaty breakfast on the day and take snackage and water - for YOU!
It is going to be a physical workout, any way you look at it, so prepare (physically) as if you were about to run a marathon.
Pick the brains of as many folks who DO shoot weddings as you can.
Good luck!
I was (am?) a photojournalist, so I don't think like a professional wedding photographer, at all.
My advice has little to do with all the things that have been discussed, here, so far.
It is more of what I would try to do, if it were me shooting a wedding for the first time.
You have a luxury I never had - time.
A pro HAS to get everything in the moment or he/she loses money or misses the shot.
You don't, so take as much time as you can get.
Keep in mind that "a wedding" does not equal "a wedding ceremony".
Practice similar subjects beforehand!
I would get a friend (or life-sized dummy) to act as a stand-in and do a pre-shoot ON LOCATION for practice.
This way, you wouldn't bore/aggravate the wedding party by unnecessarily wasting their time.
This is where you verify camera and flash settings, backgrounds, lighting, etc.
This far out, get involved with the wedding planner (mom, bride, best friend, pet dog, whoever) and set up some times (plural) BEFORE the actual ceremony to take pictures.
I am talking about WEEKS before the ceremony.
Not only will you get to take the photographs with less pressure, it will give you a chance to check your technique/equipment and fix anything dubious.
Get shots you can't take at the actual ceremony or that will save you time on the big day:
The bride and mother picking out/checking out the gown.
A re-enactment of the proposal.
The caterer's preparing the cake.
The bride in her gown with her pet (fill in blank here - dog, cat, parakeet, snake, mongoose, meerkat, whatever).
Groom (in tux) with said pet.
Vice versa. (Bride with groom's pet, etc.)
All of them in a pre-new-family wad.
Semi-formal portraits of the officials.
In other words, get as many shots as the bride will allow BEFORE the big day.
Realize everybody's time is going to be limited, so you may have to schedule several shoots to get all the main players.
Remember, none of them may cooperate and you will have to wing it on the big day, anyway.
At least, you tried.
Get an arbor rented to use with your background for portraits on the big day.
The work with the friend-model on location will come in handy for this.
If the 18-200 is more expensive to repair than a 55-200, you can get the latter for about $75, used, if budget is a factor.
If you want more esoteric glass, RENT (maybe several times) what you need.
Keep a telephoto zoom on one body, a wide zoom on the other and don't think about focal lengths.
Being outside at high noon, you should be able to position your static subjects far enough away from the background to get nice bokeh without a super-fast lens.
This is something you can determine during the pre-shoot.
If you don't want to buy one, rent a Nikon SB-700 with or without the SC-29 cord.
The automatic fill-flash function on newer Nikons is phenomenal, even at high noon.
Spare batteries and storage media should be a given.
Bring twice as much as you think you will need.
If you have a friend with a compatible Nikon, ask to borrow it "just in case".
Better yet, con them into helping you!
Redundancy is your friend.
Enlist as much competent help as you can (the more, the merrier) and have them shoot candids, direct traffic, fetch the next subject, keep you in water, etc.
MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL (!), get plenty of water and sleep the two days and nights before the wedding, eat a meaty breakfast on the day and take snackage and water - for YOU!
It is going to be a physical workout, any way you look at it, so prepare (physically) as if you were about to run a marathon.
Pick the brains of as many folks who DO shoot weddings as you can.
Good luck!
Mar 9, 2020 13:56:45 #
I shot many weddings over a period of about 10 years, until I ran into a problem with my hip. Lots of good advice here, so I won't go into tremendous detail.
1. Rent/Buy/Borrow a moderate zoom - in the range of 24 -70, 24-80, or 24-105. I wouldn't use a lens that had trouble focusing. Also, not having to change lenses will make the wedding far easier to do and avoid missing key shots.
2. Rent/Buy/Borrow a flash. Fill light will be your friend, and if the wedding goes into dusk will be a necessity. The $110 Godox TT685N is an inexpensive flash that works well in auto.
3. Get an assistant/ friend of the family to do the posing for you.
4. Shoot raw and if your camera(s) have 2 card slots, have the 2nd slot back up the first.
Good luck, and I hope you post some of the results.
1. Rent/Buy/Borrow a moderate zoom - in the range of 24 -70, 24-80, or 24-105. I wouldn't use a lens that had trouble focusing. Also, not having to change lenses will make the wedding far easier to do and avoid missing key shots.
2. Rent/Buy/Borrow a flash. Fill light will be your friend, and if the wedding goes into dusk will be a necessity. The $110 Godox TT685N is an inexpensive flash that works well in auto.
3. Get an assistant/ friend of the family to do the posing for you.
4. Shoot raw and if your camera(s) have 2 card slots, have the 2nd slot back up the first.
Good luck, and I hope you post some of the results.
Mar 9, 2020 13:57:19 #
n4jee
Loc: New Bern, NC
I shot most of my weddings with medium format until the last few where I used only 35mm. I had two f5's, one with a 35-70 F2.8 and the other with a 80-200 F2.8. I seldom shot a full roll of film with the 80-200. The 35-70 was the work horse. Your 18-200 will give you the equivalent of a 27-300 which is everything you could want. Most of your shots will be in the slightly wide to slightly tele range.
To get pleasing shots in harsh sunlight you will need a fill flash. It will be using a lot of energy so take a lot of batteries. Even so you will experience a longer then normal recycle time which can be annoying for posed shots. The only solution for that is a flash that uses an external battery pack, but they aren't cheap.
Remember, every wedding photographer has his/her first wedding.
To get pleasing shots in harsh sunlight you will need a fill flash. It will be using a lot of energy so take a lot of batteries. Even so you will experience a longer then normal recycle time which can be annoying for posed shots. The only solution for that is a flash that uses an external battery pack, but they aren't cheap.
Remember, every wedding photographer has his/her first wedding.
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