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HELP! It was bound to happen... (Wedding)

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greerfam

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Well, sorta.

A friend of mine from work just tapped me on the shoulder (he just got back from 30 days in Texas), and told me he as getting married....Today! They are one step away from eloping, only in that their families know, but they are still rushing it (Older in years and just want to get it done, second marriage for each I think).

Anyway, he wants me to take some "wedding" shots of them this afternoon/evening. I'm an amateur photographer, and barely at that. I've never done this, nor had I planned on it, so I really haven't prepared myself. I was hoping for a bit of advice in terms of poses, lens usage, etc. Here is what I know:

Shots will be at a local park that has a gazeebo, small stream, and pier out to the St. Johns River (Florida). Any good shot where the background isn't a park or a parking lot, is going to be facing due west, so I am worried about the sun. I can suggest a time, and they will go for it, so your thoughts are appreciated.

I have the following equipment:

20D
Canon 10-22
Canon 50mm 1.8
Tamron 28-200
Canon 18-55
420EX
Tripod
Monopod

Any recommendations, pointers, tips, prayers, appreciated :)

This is not-for-profit, so I feel less nervous, but don't want to leave them with anything they will regret not paying for.

Thanks!
 
particularly if you end up shooting them backlit - bounce it off a piece of white foamcore or something - really will help tremendously. But if you use a shallow DOF a park in the background doesn't seem so bad . . . the dock in the river sounds like a great place - get a shot from afar of them holding hands, or arms around each other or something out on that dock. You will do just fine! have fun, Cindy

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greerfam said:
greerfam said:
greerfam said:
My Galleries Here: http://www.pbase.com/cindyd
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Thanks, I'll definately incorporate that.

I might have stated it wrong, or at least confusingly. Almost all the shots, the couple will be facing west, so I'm more worried about the Sun in there eyes.

Thanks again,

Darren
 
There aren't any good shooting scenarios for setting sun directly into the faces of the subjects. That might work for a long distance tele shot of them on full length on the pier, but not for a H&S portrait.

If you look around you should be able to find some location where they can stand with the sun at their backs against a background which is in shade and dark for a H&S shot. If you bring along a 3-step ladder you'd be amazed at how distractions above the subject's heads will disappear.

Or just stick around until the sun sets. You can get some great looking shots just after the sun disappears over the horizon and lights up the sky

CG
 
Great advice, I'll pop the step later into my trunk before heading out.

I was planning on starting around 6:30/7:00 ish, so it shouldn't be too difficult to stick around for an hour and wait for sunset. Thanks for the advice.
 
I was thinking about that gazeebo as well, I should be able to get them at the back of it, and shield them from the sun. I'll search for those topics as you suggested.

I appreciate the response
 
I've been reading some of the threads on the use of a diffuser to help soften the light, and was going to try some shots this evening with one attached to my flash.

Called around to the two Ritz camera stores in my area, only to find out neither of them have any diffusers in stock.

Suggestions? Homemade?
 
Does your flash tilt? If it does, you can tape an index card behind the head, tilt it up, and let the flash reflect off the card. Of course, this will greatlty diminish the range.
--
Steve
 
Make sure to take several test shots before shooting in different locations throughout the wedding. If you're shooting against some trees with sunlight in the back, adjust your camera settings to what you feel would be best, then shoot off some tests to make sure everything's ok. If you move to a different spot, adjust your settings again if needed, and snap some more tests while everyone is gathering together for the shot. This will save a little aggravation if you get the settings wrong before the actual shot.

Remember, sunlight can be pretty harsh, especially on white clothing, so watch your lighting, and try to shoot away from the sun not into it. Choose a nice none-descript background if possible for any wide angle shots, and use a shallow DOF to get some nice bg blur if you find that the bg is a bit too busy.

Shooting into the setting sun may require a good flash, and that would be someone else's expertise. I imagine a good extrernal flash would work (like the 430 EX) but you would have to test it to determine the effects on your subjects. I've never shot people into a setting sun before so I can't advise on the set-up for it.

More importanly, if it's ok with the wedding party, post some images on here so everyone can see how you did. :)

Good luck!

Bryan

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Oak & Acorn

 
greerfam said:
I've been reading some of the threads on the use of a diffuser to
help soften the light, and was going to try some shots this evening
with one attached to my flash.
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greerfam said:
Suggestions? Homemade?
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Easy to make diffuser-any white flexible material will work:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1025&message=18308364

Here's my variant of the above design and previous ones:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1025&message=18361808

How to make one - with sample photos
http://super.nova.org/DPR/DIY01/

CG
 
Thank you so much for these suggestions. I don't think they'll have an issue with me sharing, so I'll definately post some, assuming I'm not too embarrased with the quality :)

Thanks again!
 
Thanks for the help everyone. I took about 100 shots of a very casual "wedding" (They just went to the courthouse), and many turned out. I still need to do a lot of post processing, but wanted to thank some of you directly first.

First off, thanks for the pointers to the homemade diffuser, here is what I whipped up 40 mintues before the shoot:





I think it worked pretty well for some of the closer shots. However, it was outdoors and bright so I didn't need it most of the time.

I'll try and post some of the decent shots I had a little later.

Thanks again!!
 
Glad to hear things worked out OK. Nice job with the diffuser :-)

I see you even managed to find the fun foam on short notice. For future reference the diffuser works great with a camera bracket like the Stoboframe camera-flip that keeps the flash stationary above the lens.

Raising the effective area of the flash by 12-18 inches (top to bottom of the diffuser produces a very nice glamor style lighting pattern on the face with the nose shadow falling down under hiding the nostrils, nice modeling of the cheekbones, and nice front to back fallout providing contrast between the front and sides of the face.

Add a bracket and the hotshoe extension cord 2 to your kit and you will not regret it.

CG
 
Your suggestions are much appreciated.

Yeah, I left work a tad early and stopped at Walmart. Found the Fun Foam with "sticky back", and bought some pastice mesh as was suggested in one of those articles to put between the two to add rigidity. All in all, I like it. I may need to go the stape route as when bent and velcroed, you can see the strain on the adhesive.

We'll see, maybe a little superglue on the edges will help.

Thanks again,

Darren
 
FWIW - I stitched mine with some black thread around the edges. Only took a few minutes and looks much better than the staples.

CG
 
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