Wedding photography is tough! (a bunch of 5700 pics)

I shoot my weddings in PJ style - Instant-ON & 8FPS along with supposed Low-noise are great for what I do... I have heard that the 4MP D2H will be able to produce as good results as 6MP D1X ... I love the Wireless feature as well... that way I could have a Backup being made as I'm shooting without interruption For situations where I will need higher res I may just bring out a medium format and just shoot few shots with it.

I do love that Leaf-Valeo 22MP Medium-Format Digital Back... have you checked out Creo ... if I save up lots of pennies, I may be able to afford it

Arjh

Uncle Frank said:

adanac said:

I didn't read this completely but I hope you had a backup gear near
by just in case your main camera failed...

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I pulled together a team of 4 other photographers to shoot with me.
Not only did they provide backup, but we were able to get different
perspectives on each of the key events. But your point is well
made. It would have been comforting to have a second 5700 in my
bag, just in case.

Uncle Frank said:

I do weddings and take on average 700-1000 images on FILM ... yes
on film
You can imagine the work involved in editing a wedding book and
choosing the right images....

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All together, I'd image we took over 2,000 shots. Even with
digital, I'm facing an editing nightmare.

Uncle Frank said:

. D2H has been the closest thing that I'll buy unless D2X is
announced by the end of the year...

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If it's delayed, I'd think the d1x might be a better choice than
the d2x. Its got 6MP resolution and the capability for 3 fps, with
a 9 image buffer. The d2h is configured specifically for the
photojournalists and sports photogs.

--
Warm regards,
Uncle Frank, FCAS Charter Member, Hummingbird Hunter
Coolpix fifty seven hundred and nine ninety five
http://www.pbase.com/unclefrank/coolpix&page=all

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PhotoKhan said:

For the bride and groom, it was clearly a won bet. But how could
you accept such responsibility? You must have nerves of steel, lol!

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They were on a tight budget for their wedding, so lots of us friends chipped in to help. The food, decorating, flowers, cake, and even the bride's hairdo were all done by well wishers. It just seemed natural to volunteer, but my offer was to organize and lead a group of 5 digital shooters, not to be the Lone Ranger. Since none of the others are hobbyists, I started to get nervous when I reflected that I only had one camera and one flash to work with. Yes, Lady Luck was on our side, and I won't tempt her again... at least not until I have a backup prosumer grade camera in my bag.

Thank goodness it worked out. We had a great party, and I had a ball.



--
Warm regards,
Uncle Frank, FCAS Charter Member, Hummingbird Hunter
Coolpix fifty seven hundred and nine ninety five
http://www.pbase.com/unclefrank/coolpix&page=all

Uncle Frank said:

Thank goodness it worked out. We had a great party, and I had a ball.

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-------------

It looks like the 3 men prominent in your last photo all were having a ball! Were you any one of these? Please don't shock us by telling us that you were the one on the right side doing all the gyrating. ;

Your photos were excellent, BTW. They give viewers a sense of the joy that must have been felt by all during this wedding.

Larry Loo

Ah...the famous "5-shooter" conundrum! (lol)

I knew you had to have some kind of net. After all, amateur photography IS supposed to be a relaxing, fun activity.

Still, the job is tremendously well done and an excellent exercise in broadening the scope of handling the little CP.

I have also thought about doing a wedding as a "second line" photographer. I just have to wait for the right one, as a wedding of someone very close would be preferable.

PK

--
“Loose praise may feed my ego but constructive criticism advances my skills”
*************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.pbase.com/photokhan
(Pbase Supporter)

Larry Loo said:

It looks like the 3 men prominent in your last photo all were
having a ball! Were you any one of these? Please don't shock us by
telling us that you were the one on the right side doing all the
gyrating. ;

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I spent all of my time behind the camera, Larry. To tell you the truth, like many photographers, I hate to have my picture taken.

Larry Loo said:

Your photos were excellent, BTW. They give viewers a sense of the
joy that must have been felt by all during this wedding.

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It was one of the happiest weddings I've ever attended. If I managed to convey that, I've succeeded to my highest level of ambition.

--
Warm regards,
Uncle Frank, FCAS Charter Member, Hummingbird Hunter
Coolpix fifty seven hundred and nine ninety five
http://www.pbase.com/unclefrank/coolpix&page=all

Uncle Frank wrote:
...

Uncle Frank said:

As far as flash is concerned, the internal flash on your 885, and
all Coolpix cameras for that fact, are only useful in emergencies,
like one of those half sized spare tires they bundle with cars
these days. As far as I'm concerned, an external flash is
essential for low light situations,

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After my wedding experience, I came to that conclusion. The flash became nearly useless (Unless I wanted to get way too close and then it just looked harsh).

Uncle Frank said:

and I don't find the
alternative of pumping up ISO and introducing noise to be
acceptable. If you're going to do events, you just have to have
the right equipment.

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I went out and got a slave flash. Now, how do I use it so that it's not so harsh?

I am ready for my next wedding assignment. Mind you, I won't be "the" photographer, but IMO, if there are not many other people interested in photography, there won't be but so many decent photos by the end of the evening, so I'm trying to prepare myself for duty. ;-) (I am told that the bride & groom really aren't interested in formal photos, so I'll have to take what I can get. That's OK, I'd just as soon have the more casual shots, such as what Frank showed.)

I just know by the end of the night, people are going to be tired of my flash, and I doubt that my flash will last anyway, so I plan to use high ISO when necessary. :-/ Better noisy than blurry. Gotta do what ya gotta do...

BTW, I recently got a wide-angle adapter but I'm not sure how to make best use of it for the wedding. I have the feeling I'll be putting it on for group/crowd shots, but generally leaving it off?
--
Gary W.
c p 8 8 0 w/ generic wide angle

GaryW said:

I went out and got a slave flash. Now, how do I use it so that
it's not so harsh?

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Use it in bounce mode, or if that's impossible, have it several feet to the side of your lens.

GaryW said:

(I am told that the bride & groom really aren't
interested in formal photos, so I'll have to take what I can get.
That's OK, I'd just as soon have the more casual shots, such
as what Frank showed.)

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There are several mandatory formal shots, such as the picture of the bridal party...





...but other than those, I concentrated on snapshots of the guests having a good time.



--
Warm regards,
Uncle Frank, FCAS Charter Member, Hummingbird Hunter
Coolpix fifty seven hundred and nine ninety five
http://www.pbase.com/unclefrank/coolpix&page=all

Uncle Frank said:

GaryW said:

I went out and got a slave flash. Now, how do I use it so that
it's not so harsh?

Click to expand...

Use it in bounce mode, or if that's impossible, have it several
feet to the side of your lens.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the cheap thing is pretty fixed. I don't know if I can just lean it on it's back on a table or something to bounce off the ceiling. Definately, I'll try to keep it at a distance. Arm's length if I have to hold it, but I plan to find some place to sit it down. That'll mean a lot of time spent not socializing, but maneuvering equipment. Part of the "fun" and challenge of wedding photography, I'm sure!

....

Uncle Frank said:

There are several mandatory formal shots, such as the picture of
the bridal party...

Click to expand...

You are right, but I'm going to have to be the camera commando, taking photos that they don't want. ;-) (That's OK, the parents will want them!)

Uncle Frank said:

...but other than those, I concentrated on snapshots of the guests
having a good time.

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They turned out great! That's the kind of thing I'm more interested in. People socializing, having fun.

And the last wedding I attended, even with a number of flawed shots, they still seemed happy to have some more photos to remember the event, or to record who was there, etc. I turned on "movie mode" and got some cute shots of a kid running around -- not enough to be too annoying, but kind of funny watching him run rings around the adults.

I suppose a camcorder could also come in handy, but all I need is one more peice of equipment to have to keep track of.... ;-)

OH, this time I need to plan ahead. With the 880, settings set up in P, A, or M mode are pretty much shared. But you can have separate settings in the Custom mode. So, I need to set up one for non-flash (adjusting the white balance for incadescent lighting, and perhaps higher ISO), and the other for flash (and auto white balance). That would save me a lot of time, as I expect a lot of flipping back and forth....
--
Gary W.