Shooting My First Wedding, Need Advice!

Hello everyone!

So, a friend of a friend is getting married and can't afford a regular wedding photographer. So of course my friend volunteers me to do it (I'm sure some of you guys can sympathize with getting volunteer).

Anyway, I'm really not geared for shooting a wedding, and I made this abundantly clear to the bride. She assured me that what I can provide would be much better than nothing at all, which I suppose is true.

So, here is my kit:
K20D
Sigma 17-70
M50/1.7
M28/2.8
Elicar 90mm/2.5 Macro

Since this is my first wedding, I'd like to do it right and I know that means I need a good flash. So I'm thinking of either A) renting the AF540FGZ B) buying the Sigma EF-530 DG Super or C) buying the Metz 48 AF-1.

I'd love to hear what some of you guys think? I'd say right now, I'm leaning towards option A, but B and C are starting to gain ground.

• Farnaby

--
'Heaven for climate and Hell for company.' - Mark Twain

Hi!

How much time do you have until the wedding?
How much time can you invest in training for the event?

You could join the bride and groom on their preparation to the wedding. Meaning dress rehearsal, cake selection and the like and shoot them there.

At the very least you get some experience, maybe even a shot or two for their album.

How much money do you want to invest into this yourself?

Farnaby said:

K20D
Sigma 17-70
M50/1.7
M28/2.8
Elicar 90mm/2.5 Macro

Click to expand...

As a zoom user myself, I'd think the 17-70 and a flash would be a decent start, depending on the venue.

Do you have an older body as backup? Even a film body would be better than nothing. An ZX-50/60/70 costs nearly nothing and AFAIK works with the M lenses and P-TTL flashes. Get four or five or more rolls of medium rating (ASA 200 or 400) and mixed style (Kodak, Fuiji Reala, B&W, ...)

In any case, the more you use your equipment in a similar setting as the wedding, the better.

Farnaby said:

Since this is my first wedding, I'd like to do it right and I know that means I need a good flash. So I'm thinking of either A) renting the AF540FGZ B) buying the Sigma EF-530 DG Super or C) buying the Metz 48 AF-1.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure how much renting a 540 is, but my guess is that it would be a better choice to buy a flash. They do cost a lot, but are useful for so many applications.

Sorry for the incoherent post. I just had coffee.

Cheers
Jens

--

'Well, 'Zooming with your feet' is usually a stupid thing as zoom rings are designed for hands.' (Me, 2006)
'I don't own lenses. I pwn lenses.' (2009)
My Homepage: http://www.JensRoesner.de

Yeah, I'll probably be staying away from the manual lenses for this.

I do have a K100D Super I can use as a back-up.

I have until April 11th to "practice." I was an usher in a wedding this past weekend so I used the opportunity to take a LOT of pictures. That's when I realized that I really need a flash!

And that's what I was thinking in regards to the flash. To rent it for 4 days will cost me just a little less than $50, which is a much easier pill to swallow!
--
'Heaven for climate and Hell for company.' - Mark Twain

Farnaby said:

And that's what I was thinking in regards to the flash. To rent it for 4 days will cost me just a little less than $50, which is a much easier pill to swallow!

Click to expand...

That seems like a fair price.

Still, you have to think about whether you have use for a flash for future shoots and your general photography. It comes in very handy for macro photography, for example and can be the start of a simple home-studio.

--

'Well, 'Zooming with your feet' is usually a stupid thing as zoom rings are designed for hands.' (Me, 2006)
'I don't own lenses. I pwn lenses.' (2009)
My Homepage: http://www.JensRoesner.de

wrote the following for another person who was talking about shooting a wedding.
i realize there are many pros who are wedding phtographers, so ignore this.

many yrs ago i shot 2 weddings; one for a friend and one for my brother in law. afterwards i made myself a promise that i have kept: NEVER AGAIN.
if you must-

-do your research. there are plenty of web sites available. find out what scenes EXACTLY to shoot and what to shoot it with. make yourself a list of expected shots and take it with you. make it in order of the shots.

-for the bride and groom, especially the bride, this is their day. the once in a lifetime event. you cannot look at this as just another day for to take pictures and have fun with a hobby. weddings are extremely serious business and the pressure is on the photographer to DELIVER. there are no excuses for poor or not gotten shots at a wedding for the photographer. rpt no excuses for not getting the shots.

-check out the church and check out the reception hall. this means go to them. can you use flash in the church? ASK the minister without fail before the ceremony starts, preferably when you check out the church. are you supposed to be at the brides home BEFORE everything on wedding day for pictures? which pictures of who, are they going to be there, who tells them to be there? i was for one of my weddings. my day started at 5:00am and i didn't leave the reception till past 2:00am. it was almost 24hrs on my feet. get rest and prior to wedding no liquid courage. at wedding and reception, pop or water only. you will be the soberest one there. your job is to produce pictures nothing else. what shots are needed at every place? of who are the shots at everyplace needed? where are these people? you are going to tell/ask anyone that you need after the ceremony to remain? if you do not ask them, who is?

-get a external flash, as big as you can buy. also brackets, cables, more batteries(if flash takes extra), any other needed accessories. you do have more than one camera battery, right? and charger? do you need a12volt charger as well???
-again. read. research so you know everything about taking wedding pics.
-after reading. do you need any more lenses? what kind, what size, what fstop?

• memory cards. do you have enough gb? if no, buy major brands only. do not take a chance on any great deals on memory cards. if you have el chepo cards do not use them, replace them. in all respects this is when you go with the best and most dependable equipment you can find.
• consider a backup dslr. if you do not have one-buy, rent, borrow.

-you mentioned setting up your tripod and taking many pics with it. do you absolutely have permission of the priest/vicar to use a tripod at that location. do not assume. also the same question about flash in the church.

-find some way to talk the couple into using a wedding pro. this couple may not be your friends AFTER the wedding.
try these web sites-
http://www.creehanweddings.com/shotlist.shtml
http://wedding-photographers-directory.com/
http://www.christophermaxwell.com/wedding-photography-tips.htm

this is a pdf file, 79 pages.
http://www.aljacobs.com/NEW%20WEDDING.pdf

you should read the following web site. very interesting.
http://tips.romanzolin.com/articles/article006.php

where do wedding photographers learn their trade???

by being an assistant to a PRO wedding photographer. do it without fee if you have to but get the experience.

• and very lastly. THE VERY VERY BEST OF LUCK. you will need it.

gary

another reply-

at the wedding i was referring to i was in the house with the brides and all the bridesmaids at 7:40am, having arrived 10min earlier. at the reception i was shooting till about 2am when the bride/groom finally left. that ended up at just under 18hrs shooting. when i did this it was with film, not digital.

though i have been asked, the one thing i learned was never again. the 2 weddings were done gratis, no fee, that was the wedding present.

if you want to do more weddings i suggest glen johnson's book "digital wedding photography". not cheap, but well worth it. i have read it, and my conclusion is anybody who reads the book will never do a wedding. he simply tells what you have to do to photograph a wedding.

I have both the Sigma ST and the Super. The Super has many more options and I would recommend it. It costs $219 w/ free shipping from B & H. If you intend to do this type of shooting more often then it may be worth it to spend the additional $169. Then you will have your own.

Shoot the entire event on the Sigma 17-70 and the 540FGZ flash from ISO 1600.You'll just challenge yourself by switching lenses or settings.

The key to your first wedding is to NOT overdo anything. If you don't know how to do off camera lighting, don't try it. Do NOT challenge yourself. Your job is not to really "shoot" the wedding "professionally." Look at yourself as simply documenting the event. In fact, TELL that to her. "I'm just going to document the event. Nothing fancy." That's probably all she wants.

Given there is no option but to shoot the wedding and this is not going to be the start to a career, then I can recommend the following:

Sit with the couple and work out the essential shot list - groups they want, if they want some pre-ceremony shots and whether they want anything at the reception. This way, you'll be a bit more comfortable in working out what gear you'll really need or be able to explain prior to the wedding that there are certain shots you will not be able to get.

Arrange to have someone close to the bride/groom who knows the wedding party to arrange/collect the groups for the formal elements so all you have to do is concentrate on shooting.

If you can, scope out the venues beforehand at the approximate time of day to work out where good shooting locations are and potential issues with lighting.

If at a church, called the priest/vicar and explain what you'll be doing to see if flash is ok and whether they have any hints to help you get the shots and not get in the way of the guests/ceremony.

As a rough guess, I think it is reasonable to look at getting the following shots for any wedding:

Groom's party waiting

Bride Arrival (both contextual and close up of faces of wedding party if possible)
Walk down the aisle
Ceremony shot if allowed
First Kiss!
Signing
Leaving the venue
Staged group shots
Happy couple shots

Anything else is a lovely bonus and especially if you can capture the rapturous mood of the guests!

Good luck and if all else fails, get the contact details of everyone you see with cameras on the day - they may get some shots you can PP to present to the happy couple and bulk out your shots.

I won't recommend Flash as I am using a 30 year old Olympus OM-32 flash using good old manual control. For the wedding, while I haven't shot many of them beside my own... ! ...but have been an assistant to pro, I'd say:

1. plan the critical moments: getting ready, groom waiting for the bride... the kiss... the signatures... walking out... driving away... post ceremony - pre-reception shots with newly weds and family in a nice pre-chosen surrounding (e.g. park)... remember you may need special permission as you cannot just walk into a garden and start shooting, some do not allow "professional photography", other require special permissions.

2. know your gear, practice in a variety of settings

3. use an assistant to carry gear and hold reflector (cardboard, anything that reflects some light to soften the harsh flash light, especially with one single flash source)

4. discuss with the happy couple the plan, and ensure their understanding... you are not a pro and they must take an active part to make your life easy.

5. take no responsibility... the couple must understand that to save a buck they must accept the risks and consequences and not blame you if things don't go as they imagine or expected

6. don't switch lens in mid course if you don't control the sequence of events, stick to one lens no matter what

7. shoot RAW, this way you have max flex

8. lots of batteries, makes sure you have more than one for the camera, fully charged (don't skip on that one !)

9. have sufficient memory available

10. during down times, look for interesting occasions (e.g. bored kits fooling around ! )

11. don't rush if you have control of time

12. double check your exposure, long before the critical moments come about (i.e. don't wait for the kiss to check your exposure... got only one chance ! )

13. check your camera parameters every 3-4 pictures... nothing worse than finding out you've been shooting at ISO 1200 when you could have used 200 ! Lock the max ISO to avoid risk of accidentally slipping over your acceptable limit.

That's it for a start...

--
Roger

I am going to be doing a wedding for my friend in September. I am already freaking out about it a bit, haha.

To be honest, I am worried about the sound created by my K-x's shutter. In a silent church, it could be too much... Maybe I will have to rent a K-7 or switch to Nikon...

Sorry for saying this but be very careful, think, plan, practise until you are as one with your camera using your new! flash. That is, if you cannot get out of it. Get someone good to back you up, help control crowd. Better, beg and get yourself to shoot as a backup for another wedding a couple of times first. Visit the venue beforehand. Plan plan plan. This is someone's wedding and there will be so much expectation, not just from the bride, but everyone else. It is not just about what equipment you have and knowing to use them, it is not just about capturing those important shots, but getting the right expressions, angles, poses and so it means also able to take control and get people into position, being calm and knowing exactly what to do even in unexpected situations, e.g. with lighting, with available space, time. Good luck.

I would also recommend getting a flash, and use the 17-70mm lens exclusively.

Using a flash, however, requires a bit of practice, so you should buy it in advance. For how to use a flash properly, read up on this web page written by a professional wedding photographer:
http://www.neilvn.com/tangents

The key message is that you should never use direct flash, but always try to bounce it off either a wall or ceiling for more pleasing, directional light. Also, crank up the ISO a bit to blend the flash light with ambient light.

Hi Farnaby,

I was in the same situation as you last year when I was volunteered to be the photographer at a wedding. I don't claim to be particularly good at it,
but here's some advice anyway that you may find useful.

-Change your flash batteries to fresh ones
just before the start of the wedding ceremony.
Regardless of whether or not you think your current batteries are running low.

You don't want to run out halfway during the ceremony, pre wedding photos can drain your initial set of batteries quickly

-Don't be a afraid to use alot of compensation when using bounce flash.

I've had to use up to +2 with my 540 to get exposure i would consider bright enough,

-Know the difference between your flash not having enough power
and just underexposing. Because of my previous point its easy to think
you don't have enough power to bounce the flash when its just underexposing

-I'm not sure what the specs of the other sigma

flashes you are considering but make sure they can swivel both vertically and horizontally.

You don't limit yourself to landscape aspects only for portraits and bounced flash

-Do you have post processing software like lightroom or Silkypix?. I highly recommend getting one if you don't.

Then you save shoot RAW and be able to save many photos that weren't so great out of the camera

-Check all group shots for people blinking immediately after you take each photo,

the more people in the shot the more chance of the photo being ruined because of blinking.

-If you have to get in one of the group shots with the bride and groom,
don't just give the camera to anyone to take the photo,

make sure you have someone available that knows what they are doing with a camera

-Plan your formal shots.

Come up a variety of poses rather than just lots of shots of them smiling at the camera, each other and kissing.

-I stuck my camera on manual and varied

between f2.8 and f4 and kept the shutter speed above 1/100 most of the time, which seemed to work well.

Letting the camera decide seemed to drop the shutter speed too much and close the aperture too
which results in a blurred shot due to movement if your not careful.

-Know what a good histogram looks like in wedding situations.
I was used to scenery histograms with lots of 2nd Quarter activity

and not much 4th quarter activity. For indoor weddings I ended up fixing in post processing so that they were much more evenly spread,

and often with a little blown out in the bright area to ensure a good overall exposure.
(The bright areas were usually background windows and reflections anyway).

If the 4th quarter has significantly less activity than the 2nd and 3rd, the photo is too dark.

-avoid ISO settings higher than 400 unless you are confident that the exposure won't need brightening later.
Brightening an underexposed ISO 400 turns out a lot better then 800 and 1600.

-Consider getting a fast lens in the 50-150 range. They are perfect for events/weddings. I got a sigma 50-150 2.8 and used it a lot.

It lets you get great casual portraits of people while being far enough away from them to notice you taking the photo.

-Consider giving your backup camera to someone else who

might know how to use it and get them to take photos as well. You can't be everywhere at once.

--
Lance

I found myself in a similar position last month and the greatest problem to me was the stress of being responsible for producing decent pictures of a unique event - quite a different feeling from simply being there as a guest and taking a few photos!

I warned the couple in no uncertain terms that they were not to expect professional results but of course I hoped to get close to them

I had a K7 with sigma 17-70 plus the Sigma 530 DGst flashgun and that combination proved be very adequate. 17-70 gave just the right zoom range and the Sigma flash is very powerful. I would recommend a lot of practice with it - if you can use it in the actual wedding venue - maybe with someone standing in as happy pair, you can get an idea of what settings work best. The pentax flashgun equivalent to this is much dearer but might be a good buy as I imagine this can be triggered wirelessly whereas the Sigma can not be used in this way. I am not suggesting for one moment that you exploit this feature at the wedding - you will have enough to worry about without that such of complication, but you might find it useful later on!

I endorse all the advice given above. One other thing is that , having ascertained what group shots are required, do not be afraid to direct people to stand where you want them to be. Above all shoot RAW. You are going to have to process each photo individually anyway so you might as well give yourself the greatest amount of flexibility to optimise your shots.

I shot my photos at ISO 200, AV mode, matrix metering and spot focus and that seemed to work for me.
--
Miles500

Farnaby said:

Hello everyone!

So, a friend of a friend is getting married and can't afford a regular wedding photographer. So of course my friend volunteers me to do it (I'm sure some of you guys can sympathize with getting volunteer).

Click to expand...

I am not sure i would appreciate being dragged into shooting a wedding at all, but I can understand that you have accepted or have had no other option than to accept.

Farnaby said:

Anyway, I'm really not geared for shooting a wedding, and I made this abundantly clear to the bride. She assured me that what I can provide would be much better than nothing at all, which I suppose is true.

Click to expand...

Well that was my first advise, make sure that the bride and groom understands what they are getting and I would perhaps suggest putting that down in writing before hand too.

At least i would not shoot anything without acontract, I shoot one or two charity events a year and even these are under contract, to make sure everybody knows what to expect and what not to expect.

Farnaby said:

So, here is my kit:
K20D
Sigma 17-70
M50/1.7
M28/2.8
Elicar 90mm/2.5 Macro

Since this is my first wedding, I'd like to do it right and I know that means I need a good flash. So I'm thinking of either A) renting the AF540FGZ B) buying the Sigma EF-530 DG Super or C) buying the Metz 48 AF-1.

Click to expand...

Now your kit is not a total mess and that is good news

My big question is how much of the wedding you are going to shoot, just the formals or are we talking a full blown wedding shoot?

Either way I would advise against renting a flash, you want to buy one ASAP and start practise using it, the Metz would be my advise and some kind of diffuser for it, to soften and even the light further when used as a bounced flash indoors, I would personally suggest something like the lightsphere from gary fong, but if you are new to flash photography or off camera lighting then perhaps just stick with the basics.

Anyway you need to know your flash every bit as good as your other gear and that leaves out renting IMHO.

lens wise your 17-70 will probably turn into your bread and butter lens of the day.

and it will likely be able to work for you as your priamry lens, but what if it breaks down?
What if your camera does?
It is generally advised to have backup for all of your primary gear.

A decent portrait lens perhaps for the formals with the couple, I would want it, but strictly speaking you do not need it, the sigma can shoot it all if it has to.

Regardless i would want something in the 100-135mm range too and fast and with AF, very useful for the formals, but also for the reception and other stuff where you want to step a bit in the background, but still be able to get your images.

You need to be able to get your images without interfering with the wedding more than aboslutely necessary, it is about a wedding first aftaer all.

Farnaby said:

I'd love to hear what some of you guys think? I'd say right now, I'm leaning towards option A, but B and C are starting to gain ground.

Click to expand...

Option C or buying the FGZ540AF would be my two recommendations.

Other than that it is really all about practice you will get along way with that, preferably with the couple, pose them a number of times. Go over the resulting images with them is a great way to find out what they want and what fits their personal preferences,which will tell you how to shoot the images on the day.

scout 2-3 locations for the formals indoor and outdoors? andhave a backup plan for foul weather, if they are up for it foul weather can make for some very unique images

Make a list of "must get" images with the couple and follow that list as your primary guideline, anything outside that list is a bonus

Think through what you need of memory cards and batteries and bring twice that

Arrive well rested, well fed and well prepared, a couple of energy bars in the pocket and stick to soft drinks

The main objective of the day will be to come home with images that will make them happy, not you. Shooting for someone else is very different than shooting for yourself.

All that said have fun, it will likely be stressful and hard, but something you will remember and you will come away a wedding smarter.

Ohh and do not forget to share your experiences afterwards.

Just my slightly more than 2 cents
--
Thomas

Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool
http://main.duplophotography.com/

A follow-up question.

If/when shooting the reception etc. after the church, will using a monopod help or hinder?

Wow, thanks for all of the advice!

The common thread I'm seeing amongst the advice is to shoot RAW, which I do already. Like I said above, I shot my cousin's wedding this past weekend (as a tertiary photographer) and yeah, shooting RAW saved a lot of photos! I'm going to pick up a few extra memory cards too, just to be on the safe side.

Also, I am starting to learn towards purchasing a flash instead of renting. A flash would definitely help me round out my kit, and getting in some practice would be helpful. That said, I think I'm probably going to go for the Metz 48...

As much as I'd love to, adding a new lens to my kit is out of the question. The 17-70 will be on my K20D and my 50mm will be on my K100D.

Oh and thanks for all of the ISO tips... I would have NEVER thought of that!

• Farnaby

--
'Heaven for climate and Hell for company.' - Mark Twain

I have the Metz 48 and it is a pretty decent flash. I think a lot of bang for buck!

--
Regards
Christopher
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15074601@N00/

My advice: Shoot w/natural or available light.

If not possible, a flash that has two axis (ie bend and rotate) of motion, so you can ALWAYS point the flash at a ceiling or wall (or better still, a corner)

Why?

Direct flash basically can turn a beautiful dSLR image into point-n-shoot trash in literally an instant.

So unless the venues will have low (12' or less) ceilings, forget flash.

If you must use flash, test your focal lengths and working distances; where can you get good exposures? where do background shadows start to become distracting? Can you go off camera (pls say yes! I use my lowly 360 off camera in slave mode, or use peasantwizards and cheaper flashes, like $20 vivitars).

But you actually have a huge advantage already over any pro; you already, if indirectly - know the friends friend. This will actually show in the pictures - and possibly make them more relevant to the couple - because you will probably have some common interests/friends/experiences/etc.

If you can incorporate this into the images, even just a little, in 20 years, when all those little things are forgotten, they will look back at their images and be reminded of those things that were funny or important back then.

--
Noel.
http://www.afterexposure.com

http://www.amazingexpressions.ca/

http://twitter.com/afterexposure