copladocus

I had an unexpected opportunity thrust upon me this last Sunday. A couple we know were renewing their wedding vows on their 50th anniversary. We were invited as guests to the ceremony and reception. As I often do, I brought my camera bag with me. I was planning on taking some photos of the chapel and grounds prior to the ceremony. More for my own practice than anything else. So we were there about an hour before the ceremony time of 3pm. I was chatting with the couple and asked if they had engaged a professional photographer for the occasion. They had. With that in mind I finished up my own photos and packed up my equipment.

2:30 and no photographer is there... 2:45, 2:50... Now having lurked for months on UHH and reading the posts regarding wedding photography I was alarmed that the photographer was not there early to take per-ceremony photos of the couple and nail down lighting settings for the ceremony itself. The sanctuary is poorly lit even with all the lights on so I was amazed that a pro would be this cavalier or confident in their abilities. At 3pm the photographer is a distinct no show and the ceremony must go on as the chapel is reserved for another event a mere hour later. I realize this as the couple starts walking hand in hand down the aisle. I scramble to get my camera out and without flash start taking photos.

I just took it upon myself to get up and move around to get the angles on the couple without being obvious or obtrusive. I elected to NOT use a flash as I did not want it to be a distraction. I did bump up the ISO to 1K and wherever I could braced myself or the camera on a solid wall, pew even the organ case... I realized that I was not going to get a photo of both of them facing one direction as the officiant had them facing each other, so I had to do a crossing to the other side to get faces of both. And, yes, I felt pretty self-conscious doing that.

So I then continued being the photographer during the reception and at least there the lighting was much better and I was also able to use my flash. That is, until the batteries died. Now had I known I was going to take the photos I would have had backups for everything including those dead batteries. So I learned a lot that day. Many of you can surely guess many of those lessons. Let me list a few of the obvious: 1. get there ahead of time to set the camera for the lighting. In my case I could have upped the ISO much higher than 1K and still had acceptable noise in the photos. 2. My wonderful Canon 24-105 zoom at f4 is not as great as my decidedly cheaper 50mm f1.8 prime. In the rush to get photos I never even considered it. I consider this the biggest of my mistakes as my 6D MkII produces pretty large image files and they can be cropped extensively and still retain good image sharpness. This is especially the case as I suspect the very largest print might be 8x10 and no more. 3. Planning ahead is critical. Well, again, had I known... 4. Working as a second to the principle photographer would be a pretty good thing to do. All I had was my reading UHH posts and trying to remember the advice.

So as I write this I am going through the 240 photos I took between the ceremony and reception. As a preliminary assessment about 25 to 33 percent are worth doing any PP. Because I was so conservative on upping my ISO and not using the faster lens, there was a lot of camera shake and blurred movement of the celebrants due to the slow shutter speed. Happily, the color fidelity is pretty good so even though I used auto WB, it worked. Again, if I had known...

So after the ceremony the couple asked how much I would like for the photos and I could only say, "My gift to you." I felt really sorry for them being stood up by their pro. I can only speculate what happened to her, auto accident, grave illness would be understandable and excusable but very little else. That she didn't even give them a courtesey text or call is all the more disturbing. I don't know if there was a signed contract or pre-payment. Not my business. I have no idea if the couple has since conversed with her but I may eventually learn, as Paul Harvey says, "the rest of the story."

So here is the task for all of you out there. I listed only a few of the lessons to be learned here, With your responses, share with us all the other lessons we can learn from this unexpected Photography gig.

TBerwick Loc: Houston, Texas

You learn to not be embarrassed being the photographer. Everyone pretty much looks to you for direction after the actual ceremony. During the ceremony, everyone pretty much ignores you unless you manage to make yourself obvious. The only time I was self conscious during a wedding was when I used a Mamiya RB67. When that sucker fired, everyone knew it. It was NOT a quiet camera. Be careful, you're going to be everyone's go-to guy.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

You done good. And you’ve also done well elaborating the lessons learned. They will never forget the event or your role in it.

Well done, you!

Andy

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Normally I poo-poo folks who want to "be the wedding photographer" but in this case, you just stepped in to an impossible situation, helped out as well as you could with no guarantee, and then freely gave the fruits of your labor.

Bravo.

I hope that they have at least a few prints to keep out of the shots you got.

Dannj

That was a great gesture on your part. I’m sure the couple will appreciate your effort and the results as well.
We all want our photos to be perfect...a tall order even when we can properly prepare. In truth, many shots we will not be happy with will be perfectly acceptable to the viewer. Most people spend very little time looking at a compilation of event photos and they’re “eye” doesn’t see what our’s sees.
Good of you to step up👍

alby Loc: very eastern pa.

another hogger giving of himself (or herself) to help those in need.. well done.

Country Boy Loc: Beckley, WV

You did a great deed and you should feel proud to be able to help. It does say a lot about taking your camera with you when you attend events because you never know when it may be needed.

TonyF Loc: Bradenton, FL

Way to step up and good info!

Idaho

Sounds good except for the mystery of why you stayed at 1000 iso. You probably haven't experimented with any higher iso speeds on your camera before so going higher made you nervous. It shouldn't have. Otherwise, you did save the day.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I'm with rpavich on this one. Good show.
--Bob

thephotoman Loc: Rochester, NY

I always carry backup batteries with me. It has saved me a couple of times.
I had a similar experience back in the days of film. The "pro" ran out of film and wanted to buy a roll from me. I gave it too him. Then when my sister-in-law saw the results I was asked if I could put together an album from my photos. She said none of his were that good. She liked mine so much she was very happy. I ended up giving her a nice album that she loved. It also made my wife very happy. It was her sister.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

Very good!!! I too have been pressed into action as a stand-in for a no show (in this case the photog was in a auto-accident).. and although I had done many weddings prior I had minimal equipment with me..... In this case the folks knew I used to do weddings and came begging.... I told them please don't beg!! and then jumped in to do what I could with what I had (luckily my wife had assisted me before and she also jumped in with me, helping to arrange and such). I had (film days and I had just filled my film slots the day before) 8 rolls of 36 ASA 400 with me and shot it all, and it worked out pretty well. Ended up with a nice album with about 60 shots that I was pleased with (not thrilled, but happy I did well considering), they were thrilled, and it made a wonderful wedding gift. YOU DONE GOOD!!!!!!!! Yes, folks may start asking you to shoot!! I gave them all the negs and they made their own book of "candids" to go along with the album.

trainspotter Loc: Oregon

Dilly....Dilly!!

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

Nice job.
You mentioned that only a small portion of your shots were good shots. Consider that the photos are memories for the couple, not photos to be entered in a photography contest. There may be a terrible shot in the reject pile BUT it's the only shot that includes Aunt Lotty who gave them a nice gift. Best to let them decide what to discard and then fix up the ones they want to keep.
Unlike the pro Wedding Photographer you're not advertising your skills.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Very nice of you to do the save and better with no charge to keep friendship intact just in case they had different expectations from what you could produce with no planning or preparation.
Thank you for the story and lessons learned.