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#1
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wedding photography
I'm amateur "advanced" and my sister in law wants me to shoot her wedding.
I'm comfortable with this. However, advice/tutorials or books would be an awesome tool to review prior to doing this wedding. Any recommendations as to tutorials or books or anything at all to help me, would be greatly appreciated Thanks, Peter |
#2
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wedding photography
"Peter" wrote:
I'm amateur "advanced" and my sister in law wants me to shoot her wedding. I'm comfortable with this. "Ignorance is bliss", and as soon as you find out more about it you may not be blissfully comfortable with it! :-) Typically the answer to your question is "Don't!"; your chances of losing friends and annoying family are great. However, advice/tutorials or books would be an awesome tool to review prior to doing this wedding. Any recommendations as to tutorials or books or anything at all to help me, would be greatly appreciated You'd be better off assisting them in finding the _right_ wedding photographer! That said... I see that you're a Canuck, eh? If you happen to live in a rural area where there simply are no wedding photographers, that's a very different thing. If it is your services or *no* photographs at all, go ahead and do it, but be sure you disclaim any ability at wedding photography loud and long *before* the wedding. (I've done a few for that very reason.) My brother is a retired photography studio owner. We were discussing his daughter's photography, a couple weeks ago. http://serenadavidson.blogspot.com/ He said he just couldn't do what she does! He described her style as "photojournalism"! He fussed at setting up the composition for every shot he ever took. She shoots _whatever_ it is they do. The difference is something you would want to be very clear about which it is that you are doing, and be equipped for in advance (plus have the wedding party well aware of in advance). -- Floyd L. Davidson http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) |
#3
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wedding photography
On 26-Mar-2006, "Peter" wrote: I'm amateur "advanced" and my sister in law wants me to shoot her wedding. I'm comfortable with this. However, advice/tutorials or books would be an awesome tool to review prior to doing this wedding. Any recommendations as to tutorials or books or anything at all to help me, would be greatly appreciated Ask yourself the question "What is it going to do to my relationship with my sister and family if I screw up and get nothing?" Having done that, I would - ensure that I have two or three times the image capacity (film or cards) that I could ever imagine needing - same goes for batteries for both the camera and flash - have backups for every critical piece of gear (camera, lens, flash, tripod,...) - find an 'assistant' to help schlep all the gear - list all the posed shots I want to get and arrange with the wedding party as to when they will be shot - check with the church about the use of tripods and flash during the ceremony - scout the church and reception hall for shooting locations, angles, lighting and take test shots This all presumes that by 'advanced amature' you know your gear inside and out without diving into the manuals. There are quite a few books on the subject. I am sure you can find several in any large bookstore. At one time I shot weddings professionally. Recently a close friend asked me to shoot her wedding. I asked her to hire a pro because 1) I want to keep her as a friend and 2) I want to enjoy her wedding. I am out of practice shooting weddings and I know that in the stress of the situation it's easy to forget something. If you're shooting film you may not know until you get the film back. If you're shooting digital you don't have time to check every shot and you may not be able to recreate the shot even if you do. My suggestion is have her hire a pro. Then you do your own shooting and give her a book of great candids. Whatever you decide good luck. -- Tom Thackrey www.creative-light.com tom (at) creative (dash) light (dot) com do NOT send email to (it's reserved for spammers) |
#4
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wedding photography
If you decide to do it, which is "bad" as already mentioned, i'll give
you only one advice : - Shoot the couple pictures BEFORE the wedding itself, everyone will be more relax, and you'll have time. Take one hour before the ceremony, and if the weather is alright shoot outside in a calm & green area, that you will have recognized BEFORE, to get ideas for the shoot. Do that will save you some serious worring during the wedding as you'll already have the more important photos. Peter wrote: I'm amateur "advanced" and my sister in law wants me to shoot her wedding. I'm comfortable with this. However, advice/tutorials or books would be an awesome tool to review prior to doing this wedding. Any recommendations as to tutorials or books or anything at all to help me, would be greatly appreciated Thanks, Peter -- Stéphane Bourzeix =============================== http://www.bourzeix.com/weblog/ =============================== |
#5
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wedding photography
Good advice.
I would add: - Shooting a wedding is like no other type of photography. There is no prep for it. You have to be 100% on your game for 100% of the time. Good skills and good tecnique are valuable, but the ability to do it right and do it right the first time is invaluable. It's about 50% technique, 50% technical skills, 50% people skills, 50% being ready for what's going to happen next, and 50% being in control of the situation. - Go to the rehearsal and do a walk through. Get a CLEAR understanding of what you can do and when you can do it. - There is no such thing as too much film, too much memory, or too bright of a flash. - If you are shooting film, get it ordered. Keep it refrigerated. Call a good company for a film recommendation. You don't want to buy it at your corner drugstore. - Shoot test photos during the rehearsal and analyze them before the wedding. Does the woodwork glare? Who is wearing glasses? - Carry two of everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Two cameras is a MUST. Even if it just keeps you from losing a shot while changing film. I shot a wedding last year and the next day shot a football game. About 20 images into the football game, one camera's shutter flew into pieces. The other camera had a lense malfuction. Nothing to do but pull the CF card, swap lenses, and keep going. - Go find a GREAT lab. No sense working your but off and having the lab be only so-so. - Go read some bridal magazine. See what the brides are seeing. (Do it on an empty stomach because some of it will make you want to hurl). - Shoot 100 pictures a day between now and the wedding so you are familar with lighting condition, etc., know how many shots you will get out of batteries, etc. (I just checked the counters on my cameras. For my current set of cameras, I've shot about 30,000 images in the last 20 months. I don't think that's all too unusual for people in this group). Figure out how to handle back lighting. Figure out how to catch a flower and bouquet in mid-air. - Go blindfold yourself. Figure out your camera setting and how to change them. You will want to be able to do it without looking. - Get a checklist from the bride of what she wants. Then shoot everything else, too. The list is a starting point. Also, don't use the list. They are pretty bad and mundane. - Get a dog or a small child and practice your "Stop" voice. The most important thing of the whole day is not your technical skills -- you say you have them -- but your ability to totally control the situation without getting anyone ****ed off at you. That will be nearly impossible to do for you, because you are dealing with relatives. So you need to be able to firmly but politely to tell your mother to stop gabbing with Aunt Clara and to get her butt over her and get her picture taken. This will make or break you. This is what the other posters mean about killing relationships. You MUST be assertive. Under no circumstanes let someone else get between you and the bride (okay, maybe the minister). - Realize that this will not be any cheaper than having a pro do it by the time you buy equipment and supplies. The only difference is that your sister-in-law has figured out how to get YOU to pay for it instead of her. She might cover the film, but she knows you aren't going to charge her for the second camera. So if you YOU want to enjoy the wedding, just go hire someone. Otherwise, start buying equipment. (ex. I am pretty frugal and I carry about between $5,000 and $6,000 in equipment with me. Go for a few "L" lenses and it can go up rapidly). - Send your camera(s) in for servicing and cleaning right now! - Search for other photographers in your area and see what the competition is doing. Then search outside your area. Figure out how every picture is taken and why it was taken. - Go study the picture's you've taken in the last year and see what you do good and incorporate it into your plans. Also, see what your sister has on her walls so you can see what she likes. - Finally, PANIC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Just kidding. Sort of. No, on second thought, panic isn't too bad of an idea) Good luck. Pat. |
#6
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wedding photography
"Tom Thackrey" wrote, along with other excellent advice: My suggestion is have her hire a pro. Then you do your own shooting and give her a book of great candids. Make sure you hire a wedding photographer who is OK with other folks running around taking pictures, some aren't. Go for the 'journalistic' style and stay away from the pro's staged setups. You may want to shoot B&W: it is hard to get the color balance wrong and B&W is developing a cachet - 'Real' photographs that last forever, especially as older wedding album pictures turn magenta-green. r.p.t.art may not be the optimum newsgroup... |
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