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Been doing photography for about a year and a half, have a meeting about doing a wedding today watdo

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DavidDavidson said:
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I saw the location today, went around the rooms with my camera, stood in the centre and just did 360 degree burst mode so I knew what was where and I can go over them after. I also have top down diagrams of what the rooms will look like on the day. Including a few X marks where I can sit down and photograph the wedding or set up a tripod or monopod out of everyone's way with zero hassle; this would be especially true if I was using my 25mm lens which has no IS, but is a very fast lens.
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A monopod or IS will not help you if the subjects are moving. With a wide angle lens, I would expect subject movement to be more if an issue than camera movement.

DavidDavidson said:
I would assume aperture priority would be the best mode for shots of the vows (with it being a GH3 I could buy a directional mic and take stills while recording the vows on said tripod/monopod) as I can control DOF and get a DOF preview by hitting a FN button, I can also autofocus, hold down the shutter button and then manual focus it into tack sharp images.
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I would not take on more work than you have already agreed to. Concentrate on getting the best photos you can, don't spread yourself too thin to get worse photos and poor audio/video.

Have the bride ask her guests to bring their cell phones and encourage everyone to take photos and videos. If you miss anything, she should at least have a cell phone image of it.

DavidDavidson said:
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Thankfully the GH3 comes with good features like being able to move the focus point using the touch screen while using the viewfinder and the batteries last for a good 500 shots, though I'll probably grab a spare.
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As you are new at this, I suspect you may want to do a lot of "Spray and Pray". You take a whole lot of photos, and hopefully some of them turn out OK. I can easily see you going over 500 photos. I would bring at least two spare batteries if I were you, and enough memory cards to hold all the images.

Personally, I like large memory cards. I would rather have one 128GB card than 16 8GB cards. With multiple cards, you have more of an opportunity to lose, misplace, or overwrite a card. Other people prefer many smaller cards, on the theory that when a card fails, they don't lose as many images. (however with more cards, you are more likely to see a failure).

DavidDavidson said:
For the Yonguno shoe flash I have two sets of rechargeable batteries (one; I think 1300mah and the other set 2000mah. They don't run down quickly even if I have the flash taking- If I want it off the stand then it has a little shoe that can be connected to a tripod or balance it on a flat surface, if they want an outdoor kiss (I informed them that kissing looks more photogenic if they rub noses but obviously this won't be the case on "you may now kiss the bride" but afterwords if they want a nice photo of them together.
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Some flashes have a limit on how many and how quickly you can shoot. Reach that limit and the flash overheats, or slows down. Read your manual to find the limits for your flash.

Bouncing your flash off the ceiling uses more power. You will go through flash batteries faster than you expect. Bring spares.
 
Thanks a lot man, you've given me a well needed confidence boost.
I'll Probably use the 12-35 depending on room layout for the walking down the aisle and the lighting. If I can get a seat nearer the middle and it's low light I'll go with the fixed focal pana-leica and just crop shots if needed though then I can't wide angle on the bride being walked down. If I'm at the back and the lighting is good I can always go with the f2.8 constant zoom and switch to the 60mm and take a short portrait as the vows are being said. One thing I'm going to definitely practice is swapping out lenses super fast without breaking stuff.

One other question, should I go with my para cord wrist strap (which I use for street) or should I attach the GH3 neck strap to have my hands free at all times? I've also a neoprene strap that screws into the base and lets you move the camera from my hip to my eye. I find the paracord good for any https://www.flickr.com/photos/127440442@N06/ on street photog as they cant see the strap and will get yoinked right into a broken nose by the paracord but a neck strap might be more suitable at a venue like this as I can have to hands free moving about and setting stuff up rather than having a camera hanging from my wrist.
 
DavidDavidson said:
In short I heard that an ex f**kbuddy is getting married (to a man old enough to be his father, seriously this guy got engaged to her when she turned sixteen, the legal age of consent here but who am I to judge) I'd said that I'd do the wedding for no charge and if the work was good she would put in a good word with all the bridesmaids who are engaged. Thing is, I was supposed to be the backup photographer though it now looks like (I'll find out this afternoon) I'll be the main photographer as I was told there would be a meeting (I figured it would be with both photographers and the bride or groom), turns out it's just me and the bride and groom.
I've just shoved all my kit into my kit bag (GH3, 12-35 f2.8 constant, 60mm sigma, 20mm pana-leica, and the 14-140 superzoom) as well as a notepad to jot down times for events and map out rooms, locations of guests and places I can shoot from without disturbing the guests (I'll probably pick the best one on the day and use that), as well as that I'll take a good few shots of the empty rooms in case I need to make composites to isolate people.
Can you give me any tips. Tripod or monopod with a seperate ball head. I have a tripod though getting it into the suitcase from England meant that I had to remove the pan handle. I could have done a final check but my Aunt seems to try to arrive at the airport 2h in advance, probably because she's a terrible driver (didn't know that you should put a car in first gear when parking on a hill as well as having the handbrake on) but now I have the tripod fixed with a screw and it's only really good for landscapes.
I'll head into the city centre early and see if I can pick up a decent tripod from the pawn shop (they had one I should have bought.
So really tripod with pan/ball head and quick release or monopod with ball head and quick release?
And any other tips.
PS: I have a grey card, microfibre cloths, lens pen, blower and pretty much all required kit for normal photography.
Here's my current portfolio:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127440442@N06/
Let me know what you think. Personally I'm terrified but the more advice I get (the wedding proper is in 10 days) so I'll have plenty of time to get advice.
Cheers.
-David
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Focus on your f**kbuddy, let open up to your Camera and all of your pictures will look GREAT!

The rest you have it covered....the building plan, shooting locations , et al.
 
DavidDavidson said:
Edit: Lehill: bounce flashing is also my favourite method of using a flashgun, though if it's going to be outside the sky may be too high to bounce it off. Indoors though; bounce flash all the way. So long as you mean point flash at ceiling and let the light hit subjects like daylight.
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I was hoping it wasn't going to be an outdoor event. But you can bounce flash off almost anything - buildings, tents, hand-held cards/reflectors. One time I bounced off a plain dirt hillside behind me and it allowed me to get my shot (even at full power & ISO1600 it was ~1-stop underexposed but very fixable). Someday I'll try bouncing off the leaves of a tree.

For indoors, I prefer bouncing off walls, or ceiling slightly behind me. Light is little lower so there's less raccoon eyes.
 
It is an indoor event and one thing I've noticed is that they are being a little cheap on the wedding (ie changing the ceremony room from a large to small room to 'save money for the honeymoon'
Right now I really wish I never sold my bloody G3 but at the time I needed the money as my financial situation wasn't the best.
Since we live in such a small city I doubt even Jessops will do camera rentals/lens rentals and I really don't want to spend money renting kit on this wedding if the couple are skimping on the costs of the wedding as well as asking me to work for free/credit. I've no idea how much normal Hotel weddings cost though I heard the price being set at £2000 which will nearly be the price (I originally paid) of the kit I'm bringing.
I may only need the 12-35 f2.8 and the sigma 60mm f2.8 for the ceremony (and I can lens swap in about one minute, luckily the sigma comes in a hard case with belt loop so I can probably loop it somewhere on the outside of my bag for easier access which will eliminate me digging. I'll bring the superzoom but fire it into a different pocket of the bag (it's a laptop bag so it comes with 3 zip pockets and one zip pocket designed for a laptop, which I may bring along for when the wedding has quietened down a bit so they can see what a fully/quickly lightroomed image looks like on a 1080p screen and if it's quickly done I'll say it's not the final product. If they ask for the photographs on the day I'll explain that they're in .raw format and their cogitator probably can't cogitate them I'll just compare them to a meal and say it's like being in a resturant and asking the chef to bring you all the uncooked ingredients out to you, sure you have the meal, but it isn't made yet, it won't taste right, it won't look right but that's what it's based on.

Anyway, I've a dental apointment so I've gotta go for now. I might edit a bit though I have 8.5 days of study and if I do nail it I could have a nice cash sideline which will allow for new things like a G6 to be bought; if I don't it's not like I lose out on anything and they were being cheap and skimping on the wedding already, I'd expected to be backup but now I'm the main photographer unless the other guy happens to resurface.
 
You are over thinking the technical side. There isn't much you can do about it now. I think you are putting your focus in the wrong place.

You are shooting an event. I would put my focus on trying to catch "the event". You are trying to deliver visual storytelling. This is VASTLY more important than the technical side. You put a grainy photo of a moment that tells the story well side by side with a technically good photo that tells a bad story and the "bad photo" wins every time. I hope I am explaining this well. Obviously technical issues matter. You just have little control of that right now. You need to focus on the artistic/storytelling side. You have control over this.

Based on your portfolio you have little to no experience guiding people. This is VITAL! I really don't know even know where to start here.....maybe get to the library and see if there are any good books? Or he'll bad books.....anything
 
DavidDavidson said:
It is an indoor event and one thing I've noticed is that they are being a little cheap on the wedding (ie changing the ceremony room from a large to small room to 'save money for the honeymoon'
Right now I really wish I never sold my bloody G3 but at the time I needed the money as my financial situation wasn't the best.
Since we live in such a small city I doubt even Jessops will do camera rentals/lens rentals and I really don't want to spend money renting kit on this wedding if the couple are skimping on the costs of the wedding as well as asking me to work for free/credit. I've no idea how much normal Hotel weddings cost though I heard the price being set at £2000 which will nearly be the price (I originally paid) of the kit I'm bringing.
I may only need the 12-35 f2.8 and the sigma 60mm f2.8 for the ceremony (and I can lens swap in about one minute, luckily the sigma comes in a hard case with belt loop so I can probably loop it somewhere on the outside of my bag for easier access which will eliminate me digging. I'll bring the superzoom but fire it into a different pocket of the bag (it's a laptop bag so it comes with 3 zip pockets and one zip pocket designed for a laptop, which I may bring along for when the wedding has quietened down a bit so they can see what a fully/quickly lightroomed image looks like on a 1080p screen and if it's quickly done I'll say it's not the final product. If they ask for the photographs on the day I'll explain that they're in .raw format and their cogitator probably can't cogitate them I'll just compare them to a meal and say it's like being in a resturant and asking the chef to bring you all the uncooked ingredients out to you, sure you have the meal, but it isn't made yet, it won't taste right, it won't look right but that's what it's based on.
Anyway, I've a dental apointment so I've gotta go for now. I might edit a bit though I have 8.5 days of study and if I do nail it I could have a nice cash sideline which will allow for new things like a G6 to be bought; if I don't it's not like I lose out on anything and they were being cheap and skimping on the wedding already, I'd expected to be backup but now I'm the main photographer unless the other guy happens to resurface.
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Make sure the bride realizes that the level of photos she will get from you is not up to your typical standards. You have no experience in wedding photography, and therefore you are unlikely to be at your best.

For practice, try going to an event (party, reception, etc.) and capturing images. See where you are having difficultly so you know what your issues are before the wedding itself.

If there is a local night club or bar, ask them if you go there to practice. In exchange for letting you shoot in their facility, offer them the rights to use your images in their marketing.

Be careful, I once did a shoot at a club but I made the mistake of going on a Tuesday. As it happened, Tuesday was the night that married people went to that club without the people they were married to. I got a lot of threats that night from people who absolutely did not want to be photographed.
 
The wedding photographers will probably groan, but since you'll be doing formals for the first time:
 
One thing I've just thought of is make sure you have a list of poses, there are specific poses, to take throughout the event. You should be able to find it on google.
 
lehill said:
  1. lehill wrote:
The wedding photographers will probably groan, but since you'll be doing formals for the first time:
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DavidDavidson said:
It is an indoor event and one thing I've noticed is that they are being a little cheap on the wedding (ie changing the ceremony room from a large to small room to 'save money for the honeymoon'
Right now I really wish I never sold my bloody G3 but at the time I needed the money as my financial situation wasn't the best.
Since we live in such a small city I doubt even Jessops will do camera rentals/lens rentals and I really don't want to spend money renting kit on this wedding if the couple are skimping on the costs of the wedding as well as asking me to work for free/credit. I've no idea how much normal Hotel weddings cost though I heard the price being set at £2000 which will nearly be the price (I originally paid) of the kit I'm bringing.
I may only need the 12-35 f2.8 and the sigma 60mm f2.8 for the ceremony (and I can lens swap in about one minute, luckily the sigma comes in a hard case with belt loop so I can probably loop it somewhere on the outside of my bag for easier access which will eliminate me digging. I'll bring the superzoom but fire it into a different pocket of the bag (it's a laptop bag so it comes with 3 zip pockets and one zip pocket designed for a laptop, which I may bring along for when the wedding has quietened down a bit so they can see what a fully/quickly lightroomed image looks like on a 1080p screen and if it's quickly done I'll say it's not the final product. If they ask for the photographs on the day I'll explain that they're in .raw format and their cogitator probably can't cogitate them I'll just compare them to a meal and say it's like being in a resturant and asking the chef to bring you all the uncooked ingredients out to you, sure you have the meal, but it isn't made yet, it won't taste right, it won't look right but that's what it's based on.
Anyway, I've a dental apointment so I've gotta go for now. I might edit a bit though I have 8.5 days of study and if I do nail it I could have a nice cash sideline which will allow for new things like a G6 to be bought; if I don't it's not like I lose out on anything and they were being cheap and skimping on the wedding already, I'd expected to be backup but now I'm the main photographer unless the other guy happens to resurface.
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love to see the photos when your ready to show them :)
 
DavidDavidson said:
Cheers, she knows it's my first wedding shoot and I said "would it be possible if I could do backup to hone my skills" so she knows that it isn't A*** grade pro level work. They're getting their wedding done in a 4 star hotel that nobody and this is a 'city' of maybe 100k people. Personally due to the 20+ age gap I don't expect things to last though I'll obviously keep my trap shut on that front and make them out to be the perfect bride and groom, If I'm to be using my external flash should I grab up a bounce card/white diffuser online to get more even lighting if it's outdoors.
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Um, these are most useless outdoors. You have a lot to learn about using flash before you'll be ready to shoot indoor weddings.
DavidDavidson said:
Today I'll be going down to map things out, get the times of stuff and generally get an idea of what's happening when, then I have ten days to prepare.
Excellent advice, I'm glad I have mirrorless (just to make it a little quieter due to no mirror slap, I could use the electronic shutter but the pictures from the e-shutter are not DSLR-Mirrorless grade; closer to a large sensor smartphone.
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I strongly doubt this. My GX7 delivers same IQ with e-shutter or mechanical.
DavidDavidson said:
and am penniless so I really hope the body doesn't fail, I really don't have the cash to get another body so that's out the window but I'll explain to the bride and groom that there's a miniscule chance of the body failing. I'm sure I have an old 10mpix point and shoot so I can just disable flash, disable the AF light and run with that should the worst happen, though (touch wood) the GH3 survived a direct kick from some drunken idiot and nothing got damaged so it's proven it's hardiness, the body failing would be the absolute worst so I hope I am backup and he just couldn't make the meeting. In which case I'll try to do better than him just to try and win what I would call a sideline job.
I'd assume for the photographs where the light changes rapidly I should go for aperture priority so I can control depth of field and set the ISO limit to around 1600-3200 (after that the image gets a little noisy though I've had almost crystal clear shots at 6400 and this is a 2x crop sensor.
Anyway, thanks for the help, I've gotta run now and get this pre-wedding meeting done and see if that decent tripod is still on sale and if it is check it out and see if I can't haggle down the price a bit; if it's been sitting there for months it's likely that I could.
Goodbye and thanks for all the fish help! Keep the help coming please.
-David.
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Firstly you need to treat your client with respect and from various comments you have made you are both indiscreet and disrespectful to both clients. That is a terrible start. I hope they do not get to read your missives.

Secondly, as some others have mentioned, one of the biggest issues is likely to be your organisation and people management. If you don't get this right it will be like herding cats. The worst possible scenario is if you are not quick and efficient and people get fed up with waiting around for you and wonder off to do their own thing.

Honestly, try and get someone with proven organisational ability to help you schedule your day, get all the people and groups needed for formal shots together and posing properly but naturally so that you can concentrate on the shooting, which will itself be enough of a challenge I strongly suspect.
 
Aberaeron said:
Firstly you need to treat your client with respect and from various comments you have made you are both indiscreet and disrespectful to both clients. That is a terrible start. I hope they do not get to read your missives.

Secondly, as some others have mentioned, one of the biggest issues is likely to be your organisation and people management. If you don't get this right it will be like herding cats. The worst possible scenario is if you are not quick and efficient and people get fed up with waiting around for you and wonder off to do their own thing.

Honestly, try and get someone with proven organisational ability to help you schedule your day, get all the people and groups needed for formal shots together and posing properly but naturally so that you can concentrate on the shooting, which will itself be enough of a challenge I strongly suspect.
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do the group shots and formals right after the ceremony, there is no way you are going to herd all of those people together once they head off to the reception

good luck :)
 
If the couple has any budget at all, and if they really want wedding pictures - especially if they want an album to keep - have them hire a local wedding photographer! The OP here will likely produce some nice snapshots. But wedding photography is very difficult, stressful, and requires a heavy lift of patience, efficiency, and customer service. Forget technical issues, how will you calm the stressed out bride and family?

Now, maybe this family doesn't care about the pictures, and isn't willing to pay. In that case learn what you can and have fun. But I agree with others, the initial post shows a certain lack of professionalism and no knowledge of what's required to shoot a wedding. Sorry to be blunt, but it's why most people pay $3K - $4K for a wedding photographer.
 
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