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First Wedding - Lessons Learned
tcole1983
Posts: 981Member
So I had the opportunity to photograph my first wedding a little while back. I know lots have done or do currently do it, but I know some haven't.
Equipment I used: D5200, D5000, Nikon lenses 17-55 F2.8, 35 F1.8, 105 F2.8, 300 F4, SB 400, SB 600.
1.) I don't need to do it again ;-) It was lots of work. As photography is usually just a hobby for me...it was too much like work. The stress, the long hours, running all around to get just the right picture, planning and almost everything about the wedding. It kind of took the fun out of taking pictures. I got paid, but it was a semi favor too since I knew the bride's dad.
2.) Be prepared. Read and do whatever you can to prepare for the day. Get a list of pictures they want. Check out the venues and contact the church beforehand to see if there are any specific restrictions...like we couldn't use flash during the ceremony, be in the main isle or shoot from the front anywhere, but the sides of the church, there were several places they didn't want us to go like behind the organ.
3.) As much equipment as you have...good lenses or not...it will test it all. I had two bodies. My D5000 which I didn't really plan to use and my D5200. Man did I give both a workout. I had the majority of the time my 17-55 on my D5200 and then my 105 F2.8 on my D5000. I planned to use it this way. During some parts of the ceremony I used my 300 F4 on a monopod and I attempted to use my 35 F1.8 (which I still hate). Both of those...while could have been ok didn't really do it for me. The 300 being so long and not having VR was a beast to tame in the poor light of the church. Super boosting the ISO to get steady shots was the only way and of course the pics suffered from that. I really used my D5000 more than I thought just so I didn't have to switch lenses all the time. I was really pleased with the D5000 results still in all but the worst lighting. At screen size viewing I can't really tell the difference in which camera I was using...ideally two of the same body would be best.
4.) Even in the "good" midday lighting at the church as we were told...it was poorly lit. Just plan on doing whatever you can to get more light. Flash...essential unless you want to bang off of ISO 4000+ all day. Get a good one...I used my friends SB600 and I probably needed more and a small softbox or diffuser would have helped. So basically everything indoors was high ISO + flash. The church was dark, the reception was black. After dinner there was almost no light...and moving people. Flash was the only way to do it.
5.) Have fast glass! I love my 300 F4, but the wedding made me envy a 300 F2.8 with VR. You need all you can get. Pretty much every shot was wide open. I was able to stop down and bring the ISO back down outside, but that is only if you have that luxury. I don't know how pistnbroke does it with variable lenses and a sb400. Only in small rooms was the SB400 sufficient and well I don't have any variable aperture lenses, but it gave my F1.8, F2.8 and F4 lenses a workout.
6.) It is different then you are used to. You will leave lens caps off. You will carry lenses in your pockets. You will set stuff down around the church or wherever you are. I absolutely never leave my lens caps off...until I did this. I see how professionals stuff looks so beat up. It made me cringe most of the time...I just had to remind myself that the wedding paid for my body.
7.) Memory cards and batteries. Have plenty. I had two 32 GB cards, two 16 GB cards and a couple of smaller in a pinch cards. 3 batteries on one body, two for my other, lots of AA for flashes. It was probably overkill, but I used both 32 GB cards and one 16 GB, two batteries in one body and 1 in the other, plus had to switch out 5 AA's. So it wasn't too far of a stretch. I had a netbook I backed up pictures on...I am still up in the air on this one. On one hand it gives you piece of mind...on the other it was so quick and hectic that I was afraid I was going to screw something up or corrupt something. Not sure I would do it that was again...if you had a body that shot dual cards..just buy a couple more cards..especially SD they are cheap.
8.) Have two people! I shot it with my long time friend. I don't see how you could get all the shots by yourself. Even with two I know one shot we both screwed up. Double the chances...it is just better. Have someone you are confident in though. If you are worried about the other person being able to take OK pictures then it might almost be worse. I however could leave my friend to himself and knew he could do it.
9.) Last but not least...editing pictures. Do what you can to unify pictures or settings. I did a pretty poor job of this and it took forever to edit pictures. We went through and rated pictures in LR by stars. The more stars the better they were and the more editing attention they got. It still took FOREVER.
Equipment I used: D5200, D5000, Nikon lenses 17-55 F2.8, 35 F1.8, 105 F2.8, 300 F4, SB 400, SB 600.
1.) I don't need to do it again ;-) It was lots of work. As photography is usually just a hobby for me...it was too much like work. The stress, the long hours, running all around to get just the right picture, planning and almost everything about the wedding. It kind of took the fun out of taking pictures. I got paid, but it was a semi favor too since I knew the bride's dad.
2.) Be prepared. Read and do whatever you can to prepare for the day. Get a list of pictures they want. Check out the venues and contact the church beforehand to see if there are any specific restrictions...like we couldn't use flash during the ceremony, be in the main isle or shoot from the front anywhere, but the sides of the church, there were several places they didn't want us to go like behind the organ.
3.) As much equipment as you have...good lenses or not...it will test it all. I had two bodies. My D5000 which I didn't really plan to use and my D5200. Man did I give both a workout. I had the majority of the time my 17-55 on my D5200 and then my 105 F2.8 on my D5000. I planned to use it this way. During some parts of the ceremony I used my 300 F4 on a monopod and I attempted to use my 35 F1.8 (which I still hate). Both of those...while could have been ok didn't really do it for me. The 300 being so long and not having VR was a beast to tame in the poor light of the church. Super boosting the ISO to get steady shots was the only way and of course the pics suffered from that. I really used my D5000 more than I thought just so I didn't have to switch lenses all the time. I was really pleased with the D5000 results still in all but the worst lighting. At screen size viewing I can't really tell the difference in which camera I was using...ideally two of the same body would be best.
4.) Even in the "good" midday lighting at the church as we were told...it was poorly lit. Just plan on doing whatever you can to get more light. Flash...essential unless you want to bang off of ISO 4000+ all day. Get a good one...I used my friends SB600 and I probably needed more and a small softbox or diffuser would have helped. So basically everything indoors was high ISO + flash. The church was dark, the reception was black. After dinner there was almost no light...and moving people. Flash was the only way to do it.
5.) Have fast glass! I love my 300 F4, but the wedding made me envy a 300 F2.8 with VR. You need all you can get. Pretty much every shot was wide open. I was able to stop down and bring the ISO back down outside, but that is only if you have that luxury. I don't know how pistnbroke does it with variable lenses and a sb400. Only in small rooms was the SB400 sufficient and well I don't have any variable aperture lenses, but it gave my F1.8, F2.8 and F4 lenses a workout.
6.) It is different then you are used to. You will leave lens caps off. You will carry lenses in your pockets. You will set stuff down around the church or wherever you are. I absolutely never leave my lens caps off...until I did this. I see how professionals stuff looks so beat up. It made me cringe most of the time...I just had to remind myself that the wedding paid for my body.
7.) Memory cards and batteries. Have plenty. I had two 32 GB cards, two 16 GB cards and a couple of smaller in a pinch cards. 3 batteries on one body, two for my other, lots of AA for flashes. It was probably overkill, but I used both 32 GB cards and one 16 GB, two batteries in one body and 1 in the other, plus had to switch out 5 AA's. So it wasn't too far of a stretch. I had a netbook I backed up pictures on...I am still up in the air on this one. On one hand it gives you piece of mind...on the other it was so quick and hectic that I was afraid I was going to screw something up or corrupt something. Not sure I would do it that was again...if you had a body that shot dual cards..just buy a couple more cards..especially SD they are cheap.
8.) Have two people! I shot it with my long time friend. I don't see how you could get all the shots by yourself. Even with two I know one shot we both screwed up. Double the chances...it is just better. Have someone you are confident in though. If you are worried about the other person being able to take OK pictures then it might almost be worse. I however could leave my friend to himself and knew he could do it.
9.) Last but not least...editing pictures. Do what you can to unify pictures or settings. I did a pretty poor job of this and it took forever to edit pictures. We went through and rated pictures in LR by stars. The more stars the better they were and the more editing attention they got. It still took FOREVER.
D5200, D5000, S31, 18-55 VR, 17-55 F2.8, 35 F1.8G, 105 F2.8 VR, 300 F4 AF-S (Previously owned 18-200 VRI, Tokina 12-24 F4 II)
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Comments
I did it twice, both for my best friends. Hated every second, because at your best friend's wedding, shouldn't you be able to enjoy the occasion? They both knew I was into photography and asked me, and stupid me couldn't turn them down.
I rented a 17-55 and flash the first time, a D610 the second time around, as my D80 was showing age...
This is definitely not something I'd like to pursue professionally, and I thought I sucked badly, but hey, ma pals loved the pictures... at least, they said so *u-hum*. I don't really believe them.. :-D
I got a couple of pics out of both weddings I really liked, but that doesn't cut it, right? You got to be Derice in Cool Runnings, and go through every single curve in your mind over and over again while sitting in the bathtub...
Things do go wrong. For example the biggest wrong that happened to me in the last one was one of the flash triggers was off while we were inside a dark beach house. I pulled it off with one flash but I kept checking why the flash was not going off not realizing all I needed was to check the receiver. I had to play it cool because there were over 12 people here watching me like a hawk.
If you ever have do a wedding again rent a high ISO body to help with the dark areas.
I used a DF for this and flash on the d800.
Also don't forget to have a contract. It protects you and the client and will save you headaches.
I have a client who is also a friend who keeps asking questions that are easily found on the contract.
For the weddings that I shot I did ask the couples for 1 or 2 things to be re-staged because I flubbed the focus or the activity happened to fast. You had a good lens set. (Not sure I would have taken the 300mm though). My only wish is that I'd bought or at least rented a fisheye lens for a couple of wide angle views of the venues. I think it's Scott Robert Lim (Scott Robert Photography) who does some interesting portraiture with the fisheye - which most people wouldn't even think about using. Susan Stripling is another good educator in the area of wedding photography and gives an excellent rundown of the lenses you're most likely to use.
I will say that if you're given the opportunity to shoot another you'll likely use what you learned from the first one to do a better job in the second.
@Rx4Photo the 300mm was of limited use. I love it and would really take more pictures with it...even portraits if it was practical. I need to invest in Kirk tripod collar, that would increase its stability. I brought it for the ceremony. There was no way to get close enough with any other lens. The front sides and back of the church were too far away...it gave me some good views of them at the front that I couldn't get with my other lenses. It was a toss up because I originally wasn't going to mess with it as I think it is probably my worst lens for shots to keepers....especially inside Again I think the Kirk tripod foot would help.
I do photography for fun and I want to keep it that way.
I have attended, worked (as in providing the transportation for the attendees) and watched many wedding photographers do their thing. The size of the wedding itself (i.e. 100 vs 200+ people) will also have a great impact on the number of photographers needed. Their have been plenty of times where I have seen a 6 man crew doing a weeding. I'm willing to go out on the edge and say, for every wedding photographer, he or she, needs at least one assistant. They play a major role in getting you the gear needed/setup as you pre-pair in taking a shot. It is, as you have said, HARD work. I know for a fact because I have watched the action going on from a hobbits perspective. I have been asked many time to do them. My answer has always been: "Photography, for me is a passion...not a job. Please consult a paid-working professional." I, know I can do the job and do it well, but don't want to put a bitter taste in my mouth for not getting all the shots I see.
I have great respect for professional weeding photographers...
Just say no. Insistance does not mean compulsion.
"tried to remove myself as the photographer but for whatever reason she wants me to shoot it and will not hire a photographer"
She will, if you say no, and she won't as long as you say yes.
A photographer can't attend the wedding as a guest. The two are incompatable. Do you really want to risk messing up with your stepdaughter's wedding? You will have to associate with her for the rest of your life!
Stand in front of a mirror and practice your sympathetic, understanding, wise look and say "no". Keep practicing until you can get it down pat. :-* You don't have to be mean when you say no, but you gots to be firm.
Tell her that you want to enjoy her wedding and be there in case she needs anything and that will take up all of your time (and it will).
Shooting a wedding is draining. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate ... and not with what pouring out of that fancy fountain.
@pistnbroke my comment was more of I don't have any idea how you shoot weddings the way you have explained previously. I am not saying it is wrong and you obviously have more experience than I do with it. It seems like a simplified approach...maybe it would help if a person did lots of them. I am unsure how you deal with low light and I don't know how you get any pictures with what I would call "personality" ...bokeh, subject and background separation, background blur, subject isolation...etc.
Another couple of notes:
10.) People ruin pictures in every way they can. Everything from cell phones, standing in front of you, being in the background looking bored. There was one bridesmaid that ruined half the pictures of them because of her facial expressions...she got cropped out when possible, but it wasn't always so they went into the junk pile.
11.) High ISO stinks, but the pictures are still usable. Blurry pictures are worthless. Auto ISO was a must, but I think I could have worked on it with the flash. I am unsure how it would have worked at a set ISO vs auto ISO and it boosting it to 1600.
And as someone who almost always shoots natural light...I had to use the flash. There was no way around it really. To stop anything moving in such dark situations it was impossible to not use it. The alternative was to use the highest ISO in the camera...flash was worth it. It is definitely something I could work on. And I hadn't use the SB600 before so that was a bit of a learning situation as well.
12. Nobody is ever on time except the guests and the minister...Don't expect the reception hall to be ready ahead of time for pictures (like they say it will be), flowers to be done on time, etc, etc, etc.
13. I always try and plan ahead for a couple of really special locations that are unique to the location, that I can steal the bride and groom off to. My goal is to try and get something in evening light. I ask them ahead of time and most are really open to it. Their Moms and Dads can wait for their dances :-). One of the handiest tools is "The Photographer's Ephemeris" in the iTunes store. I love this app. Shows me by GPS where the sun is setting, angles, times etc. What's handy is if you are working with them a couple months ahead of time, you can still show them exactly what things are going to be like for the light.
14. More than anything, always expect the unexpected.
I don't like to do them often, but I find weddings the most rewarding. I love getting to see and hear the reactions to the pictures. It makes all the stress worthwhile.
http://www.photographsbyrob.com
Before you buy that Kirk tripod collar, go check out the RRS LC-A10 collar and foot package. I have seen the Kirk and RRS and plan to buy the RRS LC-A10 next year for my 200 F4. Lets not sabotage this forum and move over to the RRS forum to discuss further.
@pigeyejacksn - are you still in the Milwaukee area? Excellent additions on wedding photographers. At the last wedding I was at 12 months ago the Mother of the bride was always a step ahead of the pro photographer and then when I started pulling groups together to photograph the Pro would run up to get his shots or would miss what I pulled together. But that is a whole another story.
|SB-800, Amaran Halo LED Ring light | MB-D16 grip| Gitzo GT3541 + RRS BH-55LR, Gitzo GM2942 + Sirui L-10 | RRS gear | Lowepro, ThinkTank, & Hoodman gear | BosStrap | Vello Freewave Plus wireless Remote, Leica Lens Cleaning Cloth |
@kenadams, I'm sure you are right.
The hardest part is truly being the "General of the army" when needed. A lot of rapport building is needed. This section is really concerning to read. I would have threatened to walk off if no flash, or any of those restrictions were in place. A church that has those is just absurd. You can put those restrictions on attendees, but not on the hired photographer. That is a place where taking control of the situation needs to happen. It is not fair to the bride and groom to have an arbitrary set of rules that do not consider the needs of the person documenting the day.
@tcole1983: Sounds like you learned well under pressure.
@all: Do not think you can ever be a guest and a photographer - unless you are happy to under-perform as both.
(@tcole1983 - please note this is not criticism on your situation at all. You didn't even describe how your prepared etc. and I realize that. This is for everyone's benefit.)
Allow me to outline a few things:
1. If you are shooting a wedding, you need to contact the venue, meet with them (if you don't know them) and find out what their requirements are very soon after you are hired. Finding these out the day of or week is inexcusable. I always set an appointment and visit every location within days of accepting a job.
2. You need to clearly explain your "plan" (in broad terms) to the venue. If there are concerns about flash (or anything else), you learn what they are, and provide options to let the venue (include priest, pastor, etc.), and show them if needed, what you can do to alleviate their concerns and be able to use the lighting you need. Your employer expects the best images and you need to push hard to create the best situation. You are there on their behalf to get them.
3. Understand that weddings are about everyone making the wedding party happy. From the dress, to the church decorating (which gets unrealistic pushback as well), after party, transportation, music - everyone is in business - and yes the churches are as well. Churches operate as a businesses Monday to Saturday, and weddings brings a lot of money into them. There is not a person who works for the churches, who don't realize this. They understand everyone who is hired, are hired to do a job to pull an event off, even if an individual doesn't fully agree with it. If it goes bad, those entities gain a reputation, and they suffer for it. I have seen pastors get fired by their congregations because they started to put strict policies on weddings and events and the church's finances suffered for it.
Professional courtesy is required from everyone. A photographer just showing up the day of, that is a discourtesy to the venue. A photographer is a business - you need to act like it. It is just basic professionalism. If you don't, some will allow some spite in, and put restrictions on you. That is unprofessional as well. Point is, it easily could be avoided.
4. The hired photographer is not some bystander or standard attendee. They are hired by the people who rented the venue. (And yes, churches are rented (or given a set donation) for the ceremony. In court, it is considered a rented space.) For that time/day, the church has made itself at the disposal to the couple, agrees to their desires/wants/requirements. At the most basic level, is for the venue to allow all business they wedding party hired to do their job. As a photographer, you are in the employment of the wedding party, and given access to the venue per their wishes. It is a photographer's job to get the images they were hired to do. That means they at times you may need to stand up for their "employer" and ensure you are able to fulfill their expectations. That is one of the unspoken understandings - you will do what you can on their behalf to perform what you were hired to do.
(Disclaimer: There are a very few, very strict religious belief church's that do not allow flash or even photography at the event but they are very rare. I have never encountered a church that has ever limited the Hired photographer. I do know with some of those churches, if you are not a member, you are not going to be shooting there.)
DO make sure whomever you hire, it states clearly in the contract or they are made very aware that you too will be taking images as well. One of the new "contract lines" is to ban other photographers with DSLRs or camera's with external flash units. I have seen where there is a "fine" (breach of contract, whatever it is called) for quite a hefty fee to the wedding party.
For some documenting a wedding is more important than the wedding - not for me.
and you will get on better (in UK anyway) if you dress properly ..dinner jacket and bow tie goes well with vicars.
One bride told me " oh just take the picture I paid for it " to which the grooms father said "no I paid " in front of 100 guests ...end of problem.
I often say " dont employ a professional if you want amatur photos"
It is because of the unpredictability of many guests that you go wired ..any complaints just play it back to the judge.
But, this is not really different when shooting any event with lots of people involved. A very involved product set with models requires the same type of organization and direction. It is the photographer's job to be the one in control doing any professional shoot, but this is done with a grab deal of tactful interactions. I think it is called multitasking... 8-}