First Wedding... HELP! - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

10/12/2006 12:05:15 AM · #1

Ok, so I am shooting my first wedding on Oct 28. I have only ever been to 2 weddings in my life, one was when I was like 10, so that doesn't count, and the other was earlier this year.

I am pretty sure I know what to do at the ceremony itself, and the reception shouldn't be too hard, but please, give me some advice on curtousy, idea's for poses (where to get ideas), some important shots I might not know about/good to get, certain things to do in preperation, ect ect ect.

I am doing this for free, and am friends with the Bride and Groom. My Sister is also a bridesmaid.

I went to the church today to scout it out, and lighting is going to be tricky, but at least managable with a flash. Flash shouldn't be a problem for anyone that matters.

The Equipment:

Nikon D100
Nikon D50

Nikkor 18-70 f/3.5-4.5
Nikkor 50 f/1.8
Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6

SB-800 Speedlight

Possible Equipment (might be able to borrow from friends):

Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VR
Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6
SB-600 Speedlight

Message edited by author 2006-10-12 00:06:25.

lentil

Canon EOS-5D

10/12/2006 12:11:16 AM · #2

do some research, look up other photographers websites regarding what they do and start a list from the start of the day till the end and keep adding to it as you think of anything. Take this list with you and go over it on the day in between takes.
Dont be "pretty sure" about what to do at the ceremony.. Be "sure". They cant do the day over again if you forget something.
Shoot in RAW for the church. If you can, shoot in RAW all day. Ask the minister at the church if you can use flash. I wasnt allowed to at all. Everyone is different.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G

10/12/2006 12:18:38 AM · #3

I don't know how I could manage with no flash. I honestly don't think it would be possible in that building. Even with the 50 1.8 I was sitting at 1/30th sec to properly expose shots. I will be shooting in RAW the entire day, and that's all I ever shoot with the SLR's.

I have a list from the Bride and Groom of what shots they for sure want and what shots they would like to see. The one nice thing, is that both the Bride and the Groom are photographers, and understand lighting problems and such. The groom is actually a member on DPC and the D50 is their camera.

yann

10/12/2006 12:28:14 AM · #4

I had my first wedding this summer and I'm glad it was outside, for a friend and 20 people only. I think I would have freaked out if I was getting paid, was inside and with alot of people I didn't know.

You better be prepared and feel confident about what you can do or it might turn out to be your worst day ever. Anyways, it's always easier when it's for a friend and you're not even getting paid but still.

Good luck with your wedding!

Tim

Nikon D300

10/12/2006 12:29:31 AM · #5

If you can get hold of the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VR then do it - IMO it's the most important lens you can use at a wedding.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G

10/12/2006 12:36:17 AM · #6

Originally posted by dr_timbo:

If you can get hold of the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VR then do it - IMO it's the most important lens you can use at a wedding.

When I was in the church today, I tried using the 70-300, and it didn't work very well, the reach was just too much (it's not really a large church, although it does have a balcony, which is awesome!). I could see using a few times, but not often. I will use it alot more at the reception than any other place.

Message edited by author 2006-10-12 00:36:55.

Tim

Nikon D300

10/12/2006 12:46:39 AM · #7

Originally posted by LERtastic:

Originally posted by dr_timbo:
If you can get hold of the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VR then do it - IMO it's the most important lens you can use at a wedding.

When I was in the church today, I tried using the 70-300, and it didn't work very well, the reach was just too much (it's not really a large church, although it does have a balcony, which is awesome!). I could see using a few times, but not often. I will use it alot more at the reception than any other place.

Dont forget that not every photo has to be full length - its a great lens for closeups of bride/groom saying/listening to vows and the look on mums face. I agree that in some churches the reach might be a bit hard to handle but yes its really good for the reception.
Good Luck!

drewbixcube

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

10/12/2006 11:44:34 AM · #8

Sorry this is getting long...I am just dumping my brain.

MAP YOUR TIME! Ask if doing all formals before/after the wedding or some before and groups after (this is bride's choice b/c she may not want to see groom before wedding) Also look into church usage...is there a mass before or after causing time constraints. If shooting group formals after the wedding it is VERY IMPORTANT that ALL WEDDING PARTY MEMBERS AND FAMILY stay after the wedding. Have this annnounced several times at the rehersal the night before. I shot a wedding where the ushers and bride's parents went to set up the reception and we had no pictures of them with both the bride and groom. Also, if shooting bride and groom seperate before the wedding figure how much time you will need (say 2 hours) of smooth shooting to get everything done with minimal stuff left for after, then add an hour or so! If the wedding is at 5pm you should be done shooting 4:15 at the latest. You need 2 hours to shoot...2:15 pm - 1ish hour = 1pm. Tell them to have either the women or men dressed and ready at 1 pm (their choice, but make it prior to that day) becuase no one will be ready at 1pm and you will still get all your shots in time.

TAKE CHARGE! Everyone will be looking to you for direction, so give it and give it firmly. Everyone will listen to you if you sound like you know what you are doing. If things get out of hand and no one is paying attention to you during formals, have the bride get everyone in line. They WILL listen to her on her wedding day.

Other than that, bring plenty of memory or somewhere to dump it if you have down time. That way you can shoot plenty of pictures, shoot enough well planned shots and you will have a few genius ones. Look over the wedding program and plan where you need to be, when; so you are not going up or down the balcony stairs when they kiss! Shoot formals wide and crop in photoshop...they like full pictures of the wedding dress. You have good equipment and plenty of megapixels to do this and still have photos that can be blown up. Learn how to give directions for the cake cutting. Every wedding photog I have seen has set these pictures up...the bride and groom have never done this before and are looking for you to know. (Have them cut cake, throw garter, etc slowly and pose some fake cut/toss pictures before they let go).

Lastly, look nice! If you look pro, people will treat you like one. And bring a small towel, 'cause you are gonna get all kinds of hot and sweaty!

If you can think of any specifics, send me an email or PM. Glad to help and welcome to the stress filled world of non-professional wedding photography.

Message edited by author 2006-10-12 11:50:02.

quiet_observation

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

10/12/2006 11:57:05 AM · #9

Barbara Warren Weddings

Prof_Fate

10/12/2006 02:02:12 PM · #10

Nothing agaisnt the OP, and I don't mean to sound, umm, mean, but IMO and experience, couples that value photography will spend on it. So the fact these folks are having a newb do it and spending nothing implies strongly they couldn't care less what images they get.

As you all know you get better with practice - be it wildlife, still life, landscapes, etc. Most photogs, particularly amateurs, are not take charge director type folks, but sit back and observe, photographing things as they unfold. Your shots are much better if you can visualize what you want and then 'create' that by posing or moving the scene around, etc. This is why I made the comment above - a great photog one may be, but a first wedding is just that - a first wedding and it won't be as good as the second, fifth or tenth.

Weddings are long, at times boring and at times things move way too fast so you need to be prepared. Things change by the moment - i've been to reheasals and on the wedding day suddenly the bride walks down a different aisle or things get into a different sequence, etc. What I'm saying is you have to be prepared to think and work on your feet.

You must get the 'money shots' and then you can get creative. The Kiss, a portrait of the bride, the groom, and then all the formals (shoot at F8-11 if you want nice detail on those shots - what, not enough light? Then you need to get it or deliver low quaility images, your choice)

Usually the B&G don't know, or care, what shots are needed or how the photog gets them - it's up to the photog. Want a shot of the rings or bouquet or dad hugging the bride? You're gonna have to ask for them. Yes, you'll spend all day butting into the festivities, but that's the job you've agreed to do.

You've seen the bad light - that's who wedding photogs shoot high ISO and use fast glass. A tripod at the ceremony is a great thing as most clergy won't permit flash during the ceremony, and the few that do I don't use flash anyway - whose supposed to be the center of attention? The photog or the B&G? Use that 70-200 2.8 VR! that and the 10-20 and you can sit in the back of the church and do just fine.

Posing, do you know it? I mean more than 'stand there and look at me, smile!' It's the one thing that sets pros apart from amateurs. You'll need it for the individual ports and couple shots. The bigger group shots can be 'police line ups' - not fancy, but it's traditional and what 80% of photogs seem to do.

It helps to preview the venues at the same time as the ceremony, ask about lighting, the placement of the head table, cake, bride's entrance, etc. And be prepared in case the weather sucks - it'll be dark and no one will want to go outside so that always makes it more fun!

How much memory you got to use? I shoot RAW and manage to fill 1 card or 10 so i quite getting more memory LOL. I take 800-850 shots on 9Gb just to give you an idea.

Message edited by author 2006-10-12 14:03:52.

dassilem

Nikon D90

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

10/12/2006 02:02:22 PM · #11

not much to add here, in addition to the list that the bride/groom gave you, try to think of any/all combinations that may need to be taken and then organize your shots so you are not shuffling them all the time. (this person is in this shot and not the next then again in the third) Are there any 'step' siblings? Divorced couples? (i.e. At my boyfriends daughters wedding, the only 'pro' shot of him and the couple includes his ex-wife (mother of the bride), the photographer set up the shot with the brides parents.....if I hadn't taken my own shot we would not have a photo that he would want to hang on the wall. Obviously the bride would want one photo of the parents, but the photog lost out on a sale of the father and the couple.)

Try to familiarize yourself with the pertinant people while at the dress rehearsal. It helps on photo day. And try to evenly cover both sides of the family with any candids you may take. When I got married, a friend of the grooms parents took the pictures as a gift. Nearly all the candid shots were of the grooms family (as the photog didn't know my family)

Have fun, it will be stressful, but very rewarding....

UNCLEBRO

Canon EOS-30D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

10/12/2006 02:11:51 PM · #12

I just did a quick google search under wedding poses list
and there were loads of hits.
This just the first one I looked at...
list of poses
it seems to cover pretty much all the poses you could want.

And as you have a couple of weeks to spare, why not find some weddings in your area and offer the bride and groom your services for free to take candid shots for them-that way you can watch their "professional" photographer at work and also get a feel for the whole event and how quick things can happen etc.
And it'll be a good try out for your equipment.
It's all experience?

fotomann_forever

10/12/2006 02:15:20 PM · #13

Originally posted by LERtastic:

The one nice thing, is that both the Bride and the Groom are photographers, and understand lighting problems and such. The groom is actually a member on DPC and the D50 is their camera.

Let's just hope they don't give ya a DNMC :-)

Seriously, don't sweat it

drewbixcube

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

10/12/2006 05:59:50 PM · #14

Oh and I was going to warn you that

Prof_Fate would stumble across this thread and ream you a new one for asking how to perfectly shoot your first wedding...too late. But this time he wasn't that harsh, and had some good advice. (The above was absolutely nothing against the Prof, he has given some great advice, but I have realized this is his hot button issue!

As far as posing keep the bride and groom on the same side of every single picture, usually bride on your left, groom on your right. Keep them in about the same spot and just move people around them all day. Oh and don't let the men hold their hands infront of their belt buckles...it makes the tux puff up all funny, relaxed at their sides works better.

Don't feel bad about butting in, asking questions, or politely demanding people do this or that...like the Prof said, that's what you are there for.

Prof_Fate

10/12/2006 06:41:12 PM · #15

Originally posted by drewbixcube:

Oh and I was going to warn you that Prof_Fate would stumble across this thread and ream you a new one for asking how to perfectly shoot your first wedding...too late. But this time he wasn't that harsh, and had some good advice. (The above was absolutely nothing against the Prof, he has given some great advice, but I have realized this is his hot button issue!

As far as posing keep the bride and groom on the same side of every single picture, usually bride on your left, groom on your right. Keep them in about the same spot and just move people around them all day. Oh and don't let the men hold their hands infront of their belt buckles...it makes the tux puff up all funny, relaxed at their sides works better.

Don't feel bad about butting in, asking questions, or politely demanding people do this or that...like the Prof said, that's what you are there for.

The OP came in with a different attitude than most would be wedding photogs. And plans to have backup equipment!

Hands in front of the crotch is a man's first reaction - self protection! Hands behind the back isn't much better if the jacket is buttoned - it'll ride up and look bad.

MaryO

Nikon Z8

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR

10/13/2006 09:27:28 AM · #16

I shot my first wedding a few weeks ago for the daughter of a friend; I did get paid, but much less than an experienced wedding photographer, which was fair. I read a couple of books on wedding photography and looked at a bunch of websites ahead of time to get ideas on posing and what I call context shots (various interesting things about the location, closeups of the bouquet, etc.), brought a spare camera (not as good as my D50 but better than nothing if there was a catastrophe), lots of spare batteries, spare memory and my laptop to download onto if need be; checked out the wedding/reception location the day before (it was out of town so I couldn't really do it before then) and spoke with the event coordinator there to get ideas on what is "usually" done and where, got a list of "must-haves" from the bride, and attended the rehearsal to take candids (a.k.a. practice shots). The big kicker was that the room was very dark, lit by electric candle-like lights for atmosphere, and the wedding was at night! It was challenging, alright!!

I think all of the prep helped enormously because I did know which shots I HAD to get and about when and where I needed to be to get them. Other lessons learned from wedding #1: I would like to have had a faster lens for that setting, it's OK to take some time composing the formal shots and checking them (I think I worried too much about keeping the bridal party from doing other things and rushed a few shots), and if you take enough pix you are bound to get some really great ones!

Best of luck :-)

Mary O.