I broke my sister's heart .. (Page 4): Yea but he carried around, a long barrowed Colt 45 ??? Not many people gona make him do what he don't want-ta do??

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JCook wrote:

Clint Eastwood said it best " A mans got to know his limitations"

Yea but he carried around, a long barrowed Colt 45 ??? Not many people gona make him do what he don't want-ta do??

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Wanda Krack wrote:

(I got a call the next morning from by sister-in-l... (show quote)

I think that's great advice, get them candids that no one else will have, great fun in both worlds.

AnnaZ Loc: SW Wis.

My oldest son had a "professional" do their wedding.........the imbecile didn't even get a shot of my son escorting me down the aisle and up to the organ.........I played the prelude music, then he escorted me down to play the processional. Then my DIL badgered him for a year for the pix.........he finally GAVE her everything to shut her up. I mean, a year???? Oh, he he came highly recommended. Oh, a good friend played the rest of the music and sang.......and we are still friend. LOL I had someone take a photo of her and me sitting on the organ bench with my camera...........Love the photo.

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

AVarley wrote:

... when I told her I wouldn't shoot her wedding. ... (show quote)

Avarley,
All I can say to you is that you did the right thing! You as a photographer realize that you do have limitations, people photography being one of them. I will not do weddings, would not even do my nieces wedding and I actually had my gear with me. Weddings are a portion of the industry that takes a special person that can shoot on the go, and quickly. The pace that I have seen Wedding Pros maintain is amazing, could I do it, sure when I was a lot younger. There is a skill level there that very few and far between possess. That once in a lifetime photo of the bride outlined by the stained glass window, or the ring sliding on her finger. You were smart, you will never have to worry if you did a good job, but you did you turned her down, best move you could make. Now you can look at her album and say gee that photographer really captured your wedding much better than I could have.

George

flyfishxprt

Sounds like the right time to expand your horizons and do your family proud. Do the research first. See what kinds of photos other people take at weddings and make a shot list. Some require you to orchestrate the shot and others are candid. Take 2 or more cameras, all with charged batteries and extra memory. If one fails, you have backup. Get a talkative person to run around the reception with a video camera getting comments and well wishes from friends and family while you concentrate on getting still shots.

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

SO much difference between shooting mountains and trees and shooting a wedding. Stick to your guns!

You probably would do better than you think. However, if you're not feeling confident about it, you will be so stressed you will not be able to enjoy your sister's big day. And unless your sister intends to leave you out of all the shots, you'd have to hire a 2nd shooter, too.

AndyT Loc: Hampstead, New Hampshire

GoofyNewfie wrote:

Great advise. I blew my sister's wedding. I was just out of high school and was using my Mamiya C330. The photos I took with the 80mm normal lens were all dark. The MX switch had slipped to M, for flash bulbs. In that setting, my electronic flash was firing before the shutter opened.
Everything I shot with the 55mm was fine. They're still married though. I've shot countless weddings since then, but check & double check to make sure things are working properly.

Dear GoofieNewfie. I shot weddings for 32 years, starting off with the Mamiya C330. (I still have it for sentimental reasons). One of the first thing I did was to put a carefully placed drop of epoxy on the sliding lever keeping it on X forever. I also made my own distance scale that I attached to the side. Some wedding guests thought it was an "old fashioned" camera, but the 2 1/4 format, and once you got used to the parallex correction...it was a sweet camera. Andy

nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

AVarley wrote:

... when I told her I wouldn't shoot her wedding. ... (show quote)

Brilliant - Compassionate - awesome sister!!!!! I am certain you would have done well ....but I applaud your decision! We do shoot weddings - we have at least two shooters - most of the time 3...and one is always female (she can go where men shouldn't in pre wedding photos). We have cameras, flashes, reflectors, and backups....still things go wrong.

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

I agree with you and Snowbear. You did the right thing. It's pretty much a lose-lose situation. If you do it, she'll always complain about something, and if you don't, she'll always complain about you not doing it. Eventually, she'll get over you not doing it.

marycar53 Loc: Tuscumbia Al

tramsey's advice is right on. A high school friends daughter just insisted that I take pictures at her wedding as she subscribes to my gardening blog and I kept saying no. Her Mom finally talked me into it when she said the grooms brother would be the main photographer. The wedding was supposed to be an outside wedding. As soon as the band started playing it started raining and we moved into an old 150 yr old building with very little light. The groom & his family were from Kenya. About 5 minutes into ceremony the groom's brother new Nikon broke & I landed up being the only photographer. I'm still stressed thinking about it. Since they were headed back to New York, I just handed them the card, so I never saw the pictures. They said they turned out fine. They must have, now they want some of my flower pictures for the restaurant in Atlanta. I'm still stressed just writing this, don't do it.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

AndyT wrote:

Dear GoofieNewfie. I shot weddings for 32 years, starting off with the Mamiya C330. (I still have it for sentimental reasons). One of the first thing I did was to put a carefully placed drop of epoxy on the sliding lever keeping it on X forever. I also made my own distance scale that I attached to the side. Some wedding guests thought it was an "old fashioned" camera, but the 2 1/4 format, and once you got used to the parallex correction...it was a sweet camera. Andy

Believe me, I fixed mine as well, I think with tape.
I loved that camera, epecially with the 150mm lens.
Moved up to the RB 67 in later years.

emilio Loc: Minnesota

I remember attending a wedding in Phoenix. All the tables had a disposable camera at each setting and a little note saying that people could use the cameras when they saw something interesting, and to leave the cameras on the tables at the end of the reception. I never got to see any of the pictures taken that evening, but I sure bet there were some interesting ones.

Freeaviator Loc: Buffalo,NY

AVarley wrote:

... when I told her I wouldn't shoot her wedding. ... (show quote)

Like Harry Callahan said..." a mans got to know his limitations"

ole sarg Loc: south florida

I do not take my camera to any event such as a wedding. I am there as a guest and I enjoy being and acting like a guest.

Freeaviator Loc: Buffalo,NY

checkmark wrote:

JCook wrote:

Clint Eastwood said it best " A mans got to know his limitations"

Yea but he carried around, a long barrowed Colt 45 ??? Not many people gona make him do what he don't want-ta do??

....a .44 magnum.."the most powerful handgun in the world, capable of blowin your head CLEAN OFF, now I ask ya do you feel lucky?"