Wedding Photography

My fiancee and I are getting married later this year and my father is keep
to rattle off some shots on our EOS 300D

Can anybody give any advice on how to achieve the best shots at a wedding
(or point to any sites which can).

Info such as lens choice and settings would be very useful.

He will probrably be standing next to a pro photographer anyway so the
setting and lighting should be fairly good..

Which reminds me.......We also need to find a pro photographer in the Cavan
area of Ireland.....any recommendations?

Hi John!

I'm an amateur and I did 2 weddings. It's not an easy task.
Some pointers:
1- Use an external flash - It's more powerful and you can direct it.
2- Get necessary permissions from the "officiant(s)" so as not to disturb
the ceremony.
3- Your lenses will have to work in conjunction with the flash / ambient
light. For instance, it would be useless to use a 200mm lens...
4- If there's an "official" photographer, don't get in the way.
5- Go to the pace of the ceremony before hand and shoot some photos to get
an idea of light, placement, etc.

This is almost basic but it's coming off as I write. You might say it shows
;-)

Marcel


"John Ortt" wrote in message
...
My fiancee and I are getting married later this year and my father is keep
to rattle off some shots on our EOS 300D

Can anybody give any advice on how to achieve the best shots at a wedding
(or point to any sites which can).

Info such as lens choice and settings would be very useful.

He will probrably be standing next to a pro photographer anyway so the
setting and lighting should be fairly good..

Which reminds me.......We also need to find a pro photographer in the
Cavan
area of Ireland.....any recommendations?

On Wed, 2 Feb 2005 12:23:46 -0000, "John Ortt"
wrote:

My fiancee and I are getting married later this year and my father is keep
to rattle off some shots on our EOS 300D

Can anybody give any advice on how to achieve the best shots at a wedding
(or point to any sites which can).

Pay someone?

Info such as lens choice and settings would be very useful.

Errrr.... most lenses would suffice, except I doubt he'll have much
use for macro or 1000mm. (Unless you don't invite him of course, in
which case 1000mm would be a good choice). Normal stuff, a 80-300 zoom
is useful for candid snaps of guests at a distance, 120mm for bride &
groom portraits, 28mm for the group shots. External flash of course.

Give him the camera at least a month before the event, so he has a
slim chance of learning how to use it.

He will probrably be standing next to a pro photographer anyway so the
setting and lighting should be fairly good..

Pros can get annoyed if they are being ghosted by another
photographer. It's a threat to possible sales of the photos they are
taking. I've heard they even own a share of the copyright if they
staged/lit a particular scene.

You may not mind annoying the pro, but a photographer who is being
hassled in this way is not 100% concentrating on what he is doing. If
it were me, I'd want 100% from him.

Make sure Dad is subtle - eg. definitely no tripod.

Which reminds me.......We also need to find a pro photographer in the Cavan
area of Ireland.....any recommendations?

--
Owamanga!

John Ortt wrote:
My fiancee and I are getting married later this year and my father is
keep to rattle off some shots on our EOS 300D

Can anybody give any advice on how to achieve the best shots at a
wedding (or point to any sites which can).

Info such as lens choice and settings would be very useful.

He will probrably be standing next to a pro photographer anyway so the
setting and lighting should be fairly good..

Which reminds me.......We also need to find a pro photographer in the
Cavan area of Ireland.....any recommendations?

I am glad you will be using a professional.

I suggest that if he is not familiar with the camera now, he needs to
spend some time getting friendly with it. Have him take photos as Sunday
dinner or anytime the family is together. Don't wait for a special
occasion. Go over the result with him and between the two of you figure out
what may have been done better. By the time of the wedding the camera
should be a tool he is comfortable with and is no longer thinking about how
to use the camera.

Second at the wedding, tell him not to stand next to the professional.
The professional is likely to get better photographs from there anyway.
Look for what the professional will not get, like a picture of the
professional taking pictures.

You father will know the people much better than the professional. He
should use that information. For example if uncle Pat and aunt Beth are
dancing together, the professional will think nothing of it, but your father
will know they have not even spoken to each other since the event 25 years
ago at the Cliffs hotel at Yough. He can get the photos of the children and
special family friends that the professional will not have on his list of
standard photographs.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

John Ortt wrote:
My fiancee and I are getting married later this year and my father is keep
to rattle off some shots on our EOS 300D

Can anybody give any advice on how to achieve the best shots at a wedding
(or point to any sites which can).

Be sure you know the camera you intend to use and its quirks inside out
well before the event. You can get astonishingly good informal images
with modern point and shoot digicams in the right hands. The trick is to
know how to use your equipment rather than in having the best gear.

Info such as lens choice and settings would be very useful.

A mild wide angle to mid zoom lens should suffice.

He will probrably be standing next to a pro photographer anyway so the
setting and lighting should be fairly good..

Be sure to stay out of the pro's way. I use an inconspicuous camera when
I am present as a wedding guest to avoid upsetting them.

Most don't mind as long as you stay well off their sight line. And if
one does just take pictures of your friends and wedding guests instead.
It is only fair to let the pro set up any formal poses of the couple in
peace and quiet.

Which reminds me.......We also need to find a pro photographer in the Cavan
area of Ireland.....any recommendations?

Ask around locally to see some of their portfolios.

Regards,
Marin Brown

John Ortt wrote:

He will probrably be standing next to a pro photographer anyway so the
setting and lighting should be fairly good..

The more people who stand next to the professional wedding photographer
shooting snap shots, the worse your overall outcome will be. People get
confused and don't know where to look (for the formal shots, that is).

For the ceremony itself, cameras tend to be a distraction -- the fewer
the better.

Ask him if he can shoot the reception, the rehearsal, and the
preparations, instead. There will be tremendous photo opportunities at
these other occasions, and his record can provide fantastic memories.

To pick a photographer, ask freinds who have married for
recommendations, talk to them, and look at their portfoios.

Bob

Thanks for all the advice so far people, this is just the sort of thing we
were wanting

One thing I should have made clear is that my dad is reasonably familiar
with the 300D as we bought it just after they were released in the UK (Dec
2003).

He has always been a keen amateur photographer (film) and I fell in love
with my V1 digital Ixus about 5 years ago (which I might add is still going
strong and has taken some amazing photos).

I decided I wanted to evolve onto SLR's after a Safari Trip using my Ixus
which was severely disappointing due to it's lack of zoom.
In the end I had to hold my binoculars to one eye and the camera to the
other binocular lens to try and get a shot of a lion

I vowed to get a digital SLR as soon as they were affordable and when my dad
found out he decided to go halves on it with me.
It has been an ideal solution....I get used to a more mature camera and my
dad goes digital.

We have used it mainly for outings and family gatherings so far...it is very
rare that we are both going somewhere interesting at the same time so we
have found sharing it to be very convienient.

We bought the 18-50 (I think) standard canon lens as an optional extra which
I think equates to about a 28-80 focal lenth in film cameras (please correct
me if I've got that one wrong).
we also have a 30-80 (50-120 ish?) which I bought off Ebay which might be
good for some facial closeups but not as much use as the other lens
Based on the coments so far I think this lens should be OK
I have also fitted the original lens with a hoya daylight filter, would
anybody recomend any different filters?

We have had great success with the night-time portrait mode in bars and
clubs on the family parties as the colours are lovely and rich and the
blurring where people move can produce some excellent results.
I also find outdoor shots on the standard point and shoot mode to be
excellent....but not as good as the pros
Neither of us have experimented with the true manual settings though....

I think my dad just wants to play with the camera at the wedding to try and
get some candid shots and other shots which the photographer might not have
been present at.
I also wanted him to get a couple of the group scenes aswell (just incase
the worst case scenario happens and the photographers film doesn't turn out
etc etc)

.........but as everybody has pointed out I would quite understand him
getting a bit peeved if he felt crowded.


Thanks once again and please feel free to leave any further advice if you
think it could help.

John

John Ortt wrote:
My fiancee and I are getting married later this year and my father is keep
to rattle off some shots on our EOS 300D

Can anybody give any advice on how to achieve the best shots at a wedding
(or point to any sites which can).

Info such as lens choice and settings would be very useful.

He will probrably be standing next to a pro photographer anyway so the
setting and lighting should be fairly good..

Which reminds me.......We also need to find a pro photographer in the Cavan
area of Ireland.....any recommendations?



Another respondent has suggested he concentrate on the 'informal' shots
which nobody else will. Don't forget your dad will be in some of the
formal shots too.

Also think about buying a disposable cameras with flash to put on each
table at the reception - you will then get the really fun shots of the
other guests in an informal setting like the toddlers and grannies.

Good luck.

Phil

John Ortt wrote:
Thanks for all the advice so far people, this is just the sort of
thing we were wanting


snip


I think my dad just wants to play with the camera at the wedding to
try and get some candid shots and other shots which the photographer
might not have been present at.
I also wanted him to get a couple of the group scenes aswell (just
incase the worst case scenario happens and the photographers film
doesn't turn out etc etc)

........but as everybody has pointed out I would quite understand him
getting a bit peeved if he felt crowded.


Thanks once again and please feel free to leave any further advice if
you think it could help.


Aha! Why does it have to be "him" getting peeved?

Wasn't there a woman from the Auld Sod here in the recent past, and
principally interested in doing weddings? It'd be quite a coincidence if
she were from the same area, but ...

How to find her?


--
Frank ess

PS: My daughter and granddaughter spent some time on the Dingle (?!)
Peninsula at New Year's. They said it was marvelous.

John Ortt wrote:
Thanks for all the advice so far people, this is just the sort of
thing we were wanting

....

I also wanted him to get a couple of the group scenes aswell (just
incase the worst case scenario happens and the photographers film
doesn't turn out etc etc)


And it does happen. I once worked for a large department store. The
general managers daughter was being married so he called on the store
portrait studio to do the job. They sent on of their regulars to do the
job. It was his second wedding of the day. He had tipped a few too many at
the first wedding and the entire second wedding was shoot on the same roll
of film. I was manager of the photo retail sales and photo processing
department. I ended up collecting all the pictures all the guest had taken
and ended up with a nice album. Years later she married my cousin.

....


Thanks once again and please feel free to leave any further advice if
you think it could help.

John

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math