Sergey

Hi all,

I am horrified. My wife's niece is getting married and wants me to take pictures of the place settings (table setting? - not sure about correct term). She will have a professional wedding photographer but for some reason wants me to take these pictures. I don't have any experience in this, nor did I ever have any interest in this kind of photography. I can't say no - I tried, believe me.

I will have Olympus OM-D E-M1 mark III camera with 12-100/f4 zoom lens, no flash or any other light. The tables most likely will be set up outside.

Can someone with experience in this kind of photography give some tips - how to set up shots, how to compose. I primarily interested in landscape photography, never was interested in lifestyle photography or magazines, so I have no idea what is the best way to do it. If someone has any links to articles or can recommend YouTube video(s) I would appreciate greatly.

We love our niece and I don't want to disappoint her in this life time event.

Thank you in advance,
Sergey

jim quist Loc: Missouri

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=en&q=wedding+photos+place+settings&tbm=isch&chips=q:wedding+photos+place+settings,online_chips:dinner+table:Ps-pzrcQS4k%3D&usg=AI4_-
A few ideas:
kSUSNr7_y83KmTvvNe9cKFh6koh9Q&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjO4b2A8o_3AhUAg4kEHTbBAogQgIoDKAF6BAgDEA4&biw=375&bih=716&dpr=3

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I will defer to others to advise you on what to photograph and how to stage and compose. But it is clear that your biggest technical chalkenge is going to be capturing a lot of most likely white china on an almost certainly white tablecloth. The two main challenges will be proper exposure and proper color balance.

If you don't do post processing, my suggestion is to use matrix metering with exposure compensation of +1.5 or perhaps even +2 stops. The good news is that it should be easy to practice doing that and determining if a different amount of EC is appropriate. You will also want to learn how to preset a fixed White Balance setting in your camera to match the lighting. Others will claim you can't do this successfully, but you can easily get very close to the correct setting, especially if you are shooting outside. And you can start practicing that also.

I'm guessing that you have some time to learn and practice. If I guessed wrong and you are familiar with post processing the white balance problem will be easier to deal with. If ypu let us know what kind of camera you have, I'm sure someone with equipment like yours will provide more specific assistance.

Good luck with your project.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

I'm thinking you are going to stress over this. Remember...NO is an answer.

cdayton

My camera would develop a mechanical problem and not be available.

Sergey

Thank you Jim

Sergey

Thank you larryepage.

I shoot mostly in RAW and post process in LightRoom Classic. You are probably right and I will have to deal with a lot of white on white, so I'll have to compensate exposure like I do in winter for snow scenes. I do use histogram and trying to expose to the right.

My gear will be Olympus OM-D E-M1 mark III camera with 12-100/f4 zoom lens. I don't have any lights. Not sure if I will be able to bring a collapsible reflector (I definitely was not planning originally). I'm not planning to use a tripod but I hope that is not going to be a problem because it will be outside and the camera with the lens should give me about 5-6 (maybe even 7) stops of IBIS.

Unfortunately I don't have any time to practice as the wedding is taking place in about a week and I have a job not related to photography. I was asked to do it just 2 days ago.

I did look at some images I found online. My biggest concerns are handling light (with possible harsh shadows) and composition. Many images that I found online use shallow depth of field which might be a problem with the maximum aperture 4 on the body with x2 factor. Maybe I should be farther away from the tables so I use 50-100mm focal length range (100-200mm 35mm equivalent) to decrease depth of field.

I will try to set something up outside this weekend to practice if the weather cooperate.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Using raw and being to post process will help. It may be helpful to bring some sort of portable "shade" to block direct sunlight might make things a little easier. It would also let you set with balance to "Open Shade" to give you a good starting point for editing. But since you already feel uncomfortable about doing this, I'd suggest changing your regular routine as little as possible.

And balieve me, I understand that just saying "No" is not the viable option that others are suggesting. Even if what you end up with is not absolutely perfect, I'm guessing that it will be very nice and be much appreciated.

tcthome Loc: NJ

Any way possible you can practice/experiment beforehand. Like finding a reception hall near you & getting in before the wedding of someone else's to practice? Doesn't hurt to ask.

Sergey

Thank you!

Sergey

Unfortunately this is not an option. I just don't have time for that and even if I had I wouldn't know where to start.

Thank you for suggestion though, I appreciate it

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Stop! Take a deep breath- in through your nose and through your mouth- and please do not have a panic attack or a nervous breakdown over a simple task! Think about this. Just look at Facebook or Tic-Tock or whatever and notice that all the young folks are photographing their food with their cellphone cameras. You go to a restaurant and folks are standing on chairs shooting their dinner before they eat it. It sounds weird but many of the pictures are surprisingly good. They use whatever light exists in the room and it usually works- they are probably not settg the exposure manually and just pointing and shooting!

You are gonna laugh- I am a commercial photograher and one of my specialties is food and beverage work- I also do china and flatware. When I am at home and my wife cooks up a new recipe and wants to post it to our kids or friends or if we go to a restaurant and order up a fancy dish, I do not create an elaborate setup- I just whip outhte old cellphone and shoot- its FUN!

You can do the same thing with place settings. It's just plates, silverware, and decore without the food! You really do not have to worry about "composition" or placement because the caterer will look after that. They usually arrange things nicely. There should be adequate lighting in a reception venue, hopefully, it will set some kind of mood.

This entire shoot shod takes about 10 minutes. Shoot each individual setting, and do an all-over shot of each table, including flowers or candelabra if there are these decorative elements. If there are candles- light them. If the entire reception is out of doors, there will be plenty of natural light. Try to avoid harsh direct sunlight. A table lighted on any skylight or in the shade will probably be best.

When folks sit at t table they are viewing the plates at about 45 degrees, which is a natural angle from which to shoot each setting. To shoot an entire round table you may need a bit of elevation. I would bring along an old towel or cloth to protect a chair and stand on it. If there is a long head table or dais table shoot it from a few different angles. Oftentimes the wedding cake may be on display at the from and center of the head table.

Now- you, have a better camera than a cell phone. Use the camera's internal meter and if necessary bracket the exposures. You are shooting DIGITAL and you will see the results immediately and make and required adjustments. OR, just put the camera in PROGRAMME mode and shoot away. You can shoot Jpegs or RAW- I can't imagine any requirement for extreme post-processing.

You shod be able to shoot hand-held. You will need some depth of field so you may want to boost your ISO to accommodate that. If you anticipate very low light, bring a tripod.

If you are still worried, back it up with your cellphone camera- believe me, it works if you have a decent one.

Enjoy the wedding and give the bride a big hug. I don't want to read about you in the newspaper- something about the bride's favourite uncle havg a nervous breakdown at a wedding!

Sergey

" I don't want to read about you in the newspaper- something about the bride's favourite uncle have a nervous breakdown at a wedding!" LOL!

Thank you E.L.. Shapiro. You made me laugh!

It's very good idea to use the phone as a backup, I even didn't think about it. I have iPhone 11 Pro which though is not the latest and greatest but does take good pictures. I used it on many occasions, especially when backpacking and not feeling to add weight of a real camera to my pack.

I didn't know or think about 45 degrees angle - that's good to know. Thanks again

photoman43

This is excellent advice! I would add that you should also include pictures of any table decorations, like flower arrangements, and any printed programs or seating (name) tags. Use depth of field to your advantage--to capture the whole setting as in focus and as sharp as possible. And to take some pictures where the depth of field is very narrow and the background is out of focus but still very artistic. If you have a tripod use it. If you have a macro lens use it too.

The wedding venue might be set up in advance of the wedding and you might be able to et some pictures before the wedding when no one else is around. This is the best time to use a tripod. Ask the bride about this.

Just Google wedding table settings

https://www.google.com/search?q=wedding+pictures+table+settings&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS842US842&sxsrf=APq-WBtAjzgtaYVqBiGZKz-HCYPUF0aMLw:1649860700340&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjExOOHopH3AhWUkGoFHQjnDrIQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1536&bih=721&dpr=2.5




If possible, get a picture of the bride's bouquet at her place setting at the table.

Lucian Loc: From Wales, living in Ohio

Any real Professional wedding photographer will also be taking photos of the room, tables and place settings. I shot weddings for years and that is a standard part of covering a day. If he is good, he or she, will be taking better images than yours, so don't worry.

Use a wide angle lens and a long telephoto. Get shallow depth of field images with a long telephoto. Vary your angle but only by a few degrees both left and right and straight to see what looks best with an image. Use your cell phone too and you may find they give you the best images, if you don't know how to use your equipment.

Basically, anyone here who calls themselves a real photographer should know all the things being suggested here about equipment. You should know your camera and how to use its setting and be able to compose and focus properly and use the camera to adjust for lighting situations. If you don't, then stop calling yourself a photographer and do not do any work, paid or free for anyone, until you can truthfully call yourself a photographer.

Just put out a few plates and cutlery and glasses on your home table and move around, low, high, mid view, straight down, and see what works best one you have a taken several images and viewed them on your computer screen. That will give you a good idea of how you should approach this very basic and simple job. If you have a flash then shoot it straight up in the air to bounce the light off the ceiling. That will give you nice shadows and light to work with. Just stick your camera on P (for professional!) and don't play around with all sorts of exposures unless you want to get shallow DOF, if so then stick it on A and set that to a minimum and do a few shots that way too.

Don't forget to revert back to P or whatever you feel most comfortable with, after playing around with settings on your camera. Just shoot in Jpeg and chimp at the back screen to see if they came out okay with exposure. These are not going to be huge advertising blow up, so a Jpeg will more than suffice and that way you don't need to play about in Post. However, just remember the photographer she hired will be doing all of this as well, so don't worry. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Better yet, screw up all the photos and then for the rest of your life, you can rest assured that no one will be putting you on the spot in future, by asking you to take photos of something!