carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida

Best way to lose a friend.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

You're much more likely to lose a friend if you are trying to be the primary photographer with not enough experience. They have a pro, and if he's good he should get all the necessary shots, and any good shots the OP gets are just icing on the cake, so to speak.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Seriously, this is exactly why the wedding photography section was "invented." You will get tons of posts about why you should "never"....

The wedding section is filled with seasoned pros, to people who are interested in catching a few nice shots. Our main rule in that section is to not beat up people who, either by choice, or by force, have agreed to shoot all or part of a wedding, and want to know what next.

The main key is to be honest with everyone. Honest that you are not the main photographer, honest that this is just a favor, and honest that this isn't what you normally do.

I'm assuming you understand which end of the camera to look through. You understand exposure, and how to get the best photo possible out of your equipment when you are in challenging lighting conditions. You don't need to worry about posing people, think of yourself as a photojournalist in a war zone. You don't need to take 2000 random photos that nobody will be interested in. If you catch 1 magical look, or moment, then your friend will be thrilled.

Nothing is worse than having to go through thousands of photos, that's why most disks handed out by "shoot and burners" end up in a drawer somewhere, and nothing is ever done with it. Have you ever seen a disk in a picture frame on a wall?

Concentrate on getting some really stellar candid shots that invoke emotion, actually print them in a modest size, and hand them to the couple.

IF (I have no idea if they did, or didn't) they happen to have hired a true shoot and burn, toss 2000+ images on a disk and had it to them with no edits, your photos could be the only ones they ever display or look at in the future.

I have done weddings for over 30 years, and I can tell you without a doubt, if you get a cheap dollar store album, and fill it with a few really great 4x6 prints, that will probably get put in a place of honor and looked at over the years, long after a disk is unreadable.

Just my 2 cents. (and stop by the wedding section, we'd be glad to "talk" to you about what you are in for......and you may end up HOOKED like the rest of us crazies that love wedding photography) Whatever you do, don't listen to people who have never shot a wedding, when they tell you to run away. If they shot one, maybe the problem was them, and not the wedding party or mother of the bride. Wedding photography is as much about psychiatry as it is photography. If you are a people person, you can really make some good (and fun) money.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
(With the caveat that I no longer do (many) weddings!)

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

We can't all stay crazy forever. After 32 years (pretty sure my first wedding was in '84(ish), I've slept since then)

I still feel like a wedding crasher, and LOVE the whole thing. When I lose the love for weddings, I will bow out gracefully. I can tell you that people don't realize that hourly, I make more money doing portrait work. Weddings are just a fun way to make a little more. If you aren't a nutberger like me, then wedding photography isn't for you.