I don't think there is any tomfoolery here, just a person asking a legitimate question of concern. I have to assume the questioner is sincere and actually needs help. That is what this board is about. That is what UHH auspiciously advertises over and over, so it makes no sense to initially constantly project suspicious if a newbee violates some unspoken rule. Newbees use the board for what they feel is important and should unconditionally welcomed. Everybody here was a newbee once; some still are. UHH is a community of varying interests and skills, an opportunity for everybody to learn from each other. Many people seem to have forgotten this.... So, kindness is the starting point, with polite, helpful, guiding answers being our goal. Mistakes are okay.

Angels, welcome to the Sometimes Pretty Ugly Hedgehog! I sincerely hope you are still there rather than under the bed licking wounds. I too am very new here but I know about hand grenades. It is why I normally never weigh in on these things but rather sit back and wince, like Sbesaw. :mrgreen: (Sometimes we are being spoofed, but I think you are for real. Hope I'm not wrong.) :)

Many will tell you to run. Many will tell you that if you have to ask the question you have zero business shooting a wedding. I will tell you that Everybody has a First Wedding.

How many of you remember your first wedding? My bet is you never, ever forgot it. Good, bad, or indifferent, you can still remember details that stick out like nothing else you've ever photographed. I would suggest that is because you were nearly petrified with terror that you would screw it up, regardless of your skill level at the time. I would further suggest that if you were/are a real wedding photographer you know all too well that ugly twist in the gut before (and during!) every single job, all the things that can go wrong, the sure and certain knowledge that no matter how many weddings you shoot they are each and all unique and you are always only as good as your next job!

Top tier wedding photographers command the highest prices because of their experience. They got that experience one wedding at a time, all the way back to Number One. IF #1 is not an utter, abject, commit-hara-kiri-at-the-feet-of-the-bride catastrophe and you essay to do another one, you build on the experience of the first. And the second. And so on… (Come to think of it, that's true of pretty much everything you do in life!) :D

Angels, many thoughtful posters have told you that no one can tell you "settings for a wedding." I think there is little point in trying to tell you tech stuff. I also think it does little good to tell you at this stage that you need to work as a second shooter &c &c— Too late, you have the assignments, you have to make good now (unless you think you can, in fact, politely withdraw). Joer posted a link to a good shot list: http://www.knotforlife.com/planning/checklists/photography-poses.shtml I especially like the link Bobbee posted: http://digital-photography-school.com/wedding-photography-21-tips-for-for-amateur-wedding-photographers

Others have suggested to scout the venues. Definitely! I suggest having sit-down face-to-face meetings, checklists in hand, to know what they think they want. Tech and technique are absolutely necessary, but quite honestly some folks have suggested just putting the primary camera (you MUST have a backup—I used to carry three) on Auto and blast away. Worst case, that will work, esp. these days with digital, and might free you up to concentrate on the picture rather than the camera. It is absolutely true that ultimately the camera must become a natural extension of your hand and eye, but right now you just have to get pictures. I've always believed that the key to successfully shooting weddings is to lead the target (so to speak). Cameras and technique don't matter as much as, as Ansel Adams once said, "knowing where to stand." Experience eventually teaches that, but initially you need to have those critical meetings. You cannot be behind the action—you have to be ahead of it.

Honestly, Good Luck. You will need it! ;-)

So, thank you all for the vote of confidence on my endeavor to shoot these weddings. Obviously, these folks have seen my work, maybe not "wedding" work but family portraits, graduation shots, individual portfolios, landscape ,skyscape, still life, etc. I never even advertised photography yet was referred to all three by my Facebook albums. No, I have never shot an actual wedding. Am I willing to learn how? Yes. That's why I asked you. We all learn one way or the other. Could I just set the camera on a generic point Nd shoot setting? Of course, that's what the idiot button is there for. But I wanted to expand from that since I have a good month or two to practice maybe doing something "outside" the box. I know how meaningful a wedding shoot can be. Itake pride in my work. I just neeed a few pointers. I get t hat this is "reality". That's why I asked YOU! Folks I thought could inspire, educate and enlighten me. viously I was wrong. Thanks for you're time.

Often in studio the issxue you have is controlling the light and that may mean preventing it from spilling on an area where you do not want it. Softboxes are far better at that that umbrellas. Don;t misunderstand, you need umbrellas in your kit as well, for when you simply need general fill. But one of the issues with umbrellas is that they tend to scatter light everywhere and that is often not desirable.
Back to CLS...it's a great system, it's just that it's not reliable in strong daylight. I've been shooting Nikon since the mid '50s, so I'm obviously high on their gear, but when I do a shoot, I need for the gear to work EVERY time. Pocket Wizards do that and the TT5's will do everything the other PW's can do plus some things they don't.