Wedding Photos Fear

slumped

Hi All

My sister has asked me to be the 'official' photographer at her wedding in June 2009.

I've told her NO WAY - but it has got me thinking about it.

If I were to do it, what lenses would I need? At that stage I'll have 2 bodies D300 and a D70 as back up.

Thanks

S

Thirdfox

70-200 f2.8 is a favourite I hear (allows you to get close without actually being close to altars etc.)

85 f1.8 for low light no flash work? Some churchs do not allow flash I hear

17-55 f2.8 for the typical shots

(this advice coming from someone who hasn't ever done a wedding shoot but this is what I would bring if I could!)

And I agree - shooting for relatives is very daunting!

slumped

Thirdfox wrote: »

And I agree - shooting for relatives is very daunting!

It is daunting - but I know I'm not good enough to be able to do it.

What I'm thinking of is shadowing the main photographer on the day.

I've also got at least two friends weddings this year to practice at.

S

peter1892

What I'm thinking of is shadowing the main photographer on the day.

I've done that & it's a good idea. On that particular occasion the official photographer was a mate of mine anyway so there was no problem working with him.

One thing you could do in that case is try something different (I was shooting B&W film that day) so that your shots will have something unique when compared to the official ones.

Another thing is to look out for candid moments while the main shots are being done, you can get some nice results that way.

Dades

Just take loads of fluffy shots with a shallow DOF. Brides just love them!

Shadowing an official photographer is a great idea. I did the same last November at my sister-in-law's wedding. I think it's very important to appear to know what you are doing - you'll find it much easier to 'herd' people/family into shots with an authoritative air. (They can smell fear :eek:).

And make a detailed list of each "set" you want to shoot. e.g. Bridal party makeup, church arrival/vows/departure, details of the various family shots etc...

Off to wedding tomorrow myself. Don't really know many people so am going to entertain myself by trying to get some keeper shots for the couple!

Ricky91t

Could'nt you get in contact with a local wedding photographer and explain your situation and ask can you go along to a few wedding's with him he might be happy to help(and have some help from you) if you find a nice one this way you can show photos to your sister see what she thinks and at the end of the day you'll get no one complaining(im not saying they will be bad they'll porbably be good!) of bad photos because they've hired the pro and if you think they're good and they ask to see your photos you might even end up seeling them a few of your photos too.

PaulieC

I think you should do it. Directing someone who is a willling participant (in this case your sister) is a lot easier than directing strangers. Also, she's more likely to keep the families in check when the photos have to be done.
Lastly, you're a much better photographer than probably you realise. Everyone on boards is, I think. When 'ordinary' people see your photographs they think they're a lot better than you think they are, am I right? I find this to be true - I show people photos and they're all like "OMG that's brilliant!" because all they're used to seeing is snaps from P&S or camera phones. I look at the same photos and I am hypercritical because I'm looking at things that they don't see - it's not sharp in the right area, there's something distracting in the background, it's over/underexposed etc.

Take the bull by the horns and go for it! It can be quite scary, but you'll benefiit from it no end!

Hugh_C

Just do it! Of course you're good enough.

Stick a nifty fifty (50mm f/1.8) on the D70 and a good zoom on the D300 and get an accomplice.

Make a list of all the formal shots they want and bring a tripod for outside the church. Pray for a fine day, and scout the church before the ceremony. Talk to the priest (I didn't and was frowned at a bit) and establish the ground rules.

Use the D70/fast lens at the reception and late into the night as you'll probably be pissed/relaxed by then and you'll take great candids.

Most of all get an accomplice who'll help you gather all the relations together for the formal shots.

Borderfox

Slumped you only need one lens and thats a 24-70 thats all nothing else. Last two weddings I did thats where 98% of the shots were taken. If its an f2.8 then with the D300 you will be fine at high ISO...

rymus

slumped wrote: »

What I'm thinking of is shadowing the main photographer on the day.

A stellar idea.. just try not to piss them off

What I use 90% of the time is a 24-70 on one body and the 70-200 f2.8 IS on the other. Rarely I go to to 30 f1.4 for some of the preparation and brides house stuff. Decent flash and a diffuser would come in handy too.

Doing it for the family is possibly the worst thing I can imagine. You'll get all the pressure but probably won't be given the full respect and attention they'd give to a highly paid photographer.

AnCatDubh

Eirebear has a wonderful thread way back when on just this subject;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055184390

While the advice assumes you don't know the happy couple, it gives a great run through of what to expect on the day.

If you go as 'official' photographer i.e. no main photographer to stalk on the day, you could/should seek to bring along a second shooter - there are likely to be plenty of gifted amateurs who would be dying to get a bit of wedding day experience and probably at no cost. Dave, from degitalbeginners (also posts here) runs a course on the subject (with model bride and all!) - perhaps there would be an opportunity to give one of his students who may want to try shooting a 'real wedding' to hook up with you for the day. There's a comfort factor in it for you knowing that if something goes wrong with a part of the day on your gear that you have a second chance. It also give you options.

Take a look at flickr, there are some nice groups to be found dedicated to the wedding business. Read back the old threads, view others work, and prepare with the happy couple in terms of what kind of shots they would like in the final result - this far more likely gives you a better chance to produce photographs which will please them which at the end of the day i guess is what you'd be trying to do.

Best of luck with it.

Borderfox

I would second AnCatDubh's idea, I went on the Digitalbegineer wedding course and found it excellent.

b318isp

I'd strongly advise:

1. Do NOT become the offical tog. The experts are experts for a reason. They have the right gear and the right techniques. They know what works in different situations. Taking wedding shots does not give you scope to experiment and "learn" these things as you go. You risk seriously disappointing people and you can't exactly reshoot.

2. By all means shadow the tog, but you may get more mileage from shooting away from them. If you shadow, you risk reproducing similar pictures, which may be worse than the pro's (e.g. because people are looking at him/her, not you) - and so the couple will not be terribly interested in them. From my experience, the couple can often be delighted with high quality impromptu shots taken at the same time.

3. You can afford to capture friends and family much more which may especially worthwhile. The expressions and emotions of family when watching the couple (even while they are being photographed) are always worth seeking out. You can also take more risky or abstract shots.

whiteshadow

http://www.nikon.co.uk/training/digital_imaging_seminars/default.asp?nextProc=CourseDetails&course=101

Fajitas!

I can just put my 24-70 2.8L on my 5D, and 580ex on top, and never have to change for the whole day, really!

Carrigman

b318isp wrote: »

I'd strongly advise:

1. Do NOT become the offical tog. The experts are experts for a reason. They have the right gear and the right techniques. They know what works in different situations. Taking wedding shots does not give you scope to experiment and "learn" these things as you go. You risk seriously disappointing people and you can't exactly reshoot.

I disagree. Event the "experts" had to shoot their first wedding sometime.

Any competent photographer familiar with his/her equipment can photograph a wedding subject to doing some basic research on standard shots, posing and the like.

You are not going to be charging a professional price for your services which is why, I presume, your sister has asked you to do it.

You don't need a brace of lenses. You could get by with a 50mm f/1.8 (I successfully photographed several weddings with a medium format camera and the equivalent of a (35mm) 50mm lens lens) but a medium telephoto would give you more range.

A second camera body is good to have but the chances of you needing the back-up are remote. Again, I shot several weddings with just the one body and nothing went wrong. (When was the last time your camera seized up on you?). Likewise with a good flashgun - nice to have a back-up but it's a bit of a luxury. (On another forum I saw a professional wedding photographer saying that you needed back-up lenses as well! I am convinced that some of the scare mongering perpetrated by wedding professionals is designed just to keep others out of their very lucrative trade).

So, don't get hung up on equipment and keep it to a minimum. Look through typical wedding albums, study the poses, take cuttings of good wedding photos from newspapers and magazines, trawl the web for hints and suggestions.

And, incidentally, the one additional vital piece of equipment you will need is a tripod: don't attempt a wedding without one. Not merely will it give you the support necessary when taking certain shots, it will set you apart on the day as the "professional".

Regards,

John

Borderfox

Going on useage at my last weddings, yes except for some with a 70-200 f2.8IS. I would be happy enough to do that and get the shots the client wanted. You can use other lenses but 9 times out of 10 the 24-70 comes out on top. Really !!

Fajitas! wrote: »

I can just put my 24-70 2.8L on my 5D, and 580ex on top, and never have to change for the whole day, really!

Benster

Slumped - I have the 17-55 f2.8 and used it on a D200 for a wedding last year - my first one where I was the only photographer. Completely bricking it for the first hour, but got into the swing anyway. Lens was great but I had to up the iso for better speeds. And I shot in Raw so exposure could be boosted later (and I had to bigtime!)

Don't let it daunt you, just get out and shoot church interiors with your mates for a few weekends :-)

B.

bradnailer

DON'T DO IT My sister asked me to do hers because she's tighter then a fish's ass. It took the good out of the day for me big time, I think it's a horrible to ask a family member to do.
I did it and she was happy with the results. I used a D70s,18-70 zoom,SB 600 flash,Tripod and remote. Any of the shots I was in myself were crap because people are like sheep when your not keeping a eye on them they wander. Got myself a good spot on the alter in the church,did some shots outside the church, main formal shots at the hotel when everybody got there, didn't give them a chance to get settled.Started with one big group shot on the hotel steps then got rid of who I didn't need as I set up my mental list of shots. It meant I was in control all the time and I didn't have to run around looking for Aunts,family blah blah blah.

Dades

bradnailer wrote: »

It took the good out of the day for me big time, I think it's a horrible to ask a family member to do.

That's actually quite true - you're effectively working at your sister's wedding if you are "the" photographer.

It could be done as wedding present of course!

bradnailer

I did do it as a present,got a album let her pick the shots printed them up and mounted them in album, did some for parents etc.

mikeanywhere

rymus wrote: »

What I use 90% of the time is a 24-70 on one body and the 70-200 f2.8 IS on the other. Rarely I go to to 30 f1.4 for some of the preparation and brides house stuff. Decent flash and a diffuser would come in handy too.

My exact setup from yesterday and it worked a treat, I also have my nifty fifty for some other stuff I do but didnt need it yesterday.

RoryW

Carrigman wrote: »

And, incidentally, the one additional vital piece of equipment you will need is a tripod: don't attempt a wedding without one. Not merely will it give you the support necessary when taking certain shots, it will set you apart on the day as the "professional".

...and using the timer on your camera or remote control you can then run into one family portrait photo

mikeanywhere

Edit: .........

janmc

I would definitely say don't do it. I don't doubt that you wouldn't do a great job, but you're far too close to this one to enjoy it. Practically speaking, you're supposed to be in a lot of photos... what happens then?

Also as brother to the bride, part of your unofficial duties is mingling. If you're concentrating on photo ops I can guarantee you will be a little out of things. You should be able to have a few drinks without worrying that you might forget what settings/lens you should use.

Basically I think it would take all the good out of the day. My 2 cents

b318isp

Carrigman wrote: »

I disagree. Event the "experts" had to shoot their first wedding sometime.

Any competent photographer familiar with his/her equipment can photograph a wedding subject to doing some basic research on standard shots, posing and the like.

I'd say that if you are relying on research rather than experience to shot your first wedding then you are starting from the wrong place. It's the experience that you paying for. I personally wouldn't gamble my skills on getting it right under pressure.

Freddie59

slumped wrote: »

Hi All

My sister has asked me to be the 'official' photographer at her wedding in June 2009.

I've told her NO WAY - but it has got me thinking about it.

If I were to do it, what lenses would I need? At that stage I'll have 2 bodies D300 and a D70 as back up.

Thanks

S

Can't say which lenses - but DO IT!:D I did a Wedding video (in 1993) for a friend and never looked back. I only do the odd one nowadays for friends and families but I'm glad I got the opportunity. I got into Video editing on the PC as a result and gained experience I never would have if the opportunity had not arisen. And you have MUCH more technology at your disposal today than someone would have had years ago.

As someone else said here, the Pros had to shoot THEIR fist wedding once. I'd love a chance at one. But be prepared. And be honest with yourself on one thing: do YOU think you're photographer enough to do it and deliver the results?

Also - tell your sis that you ARE NOT a pro and that the results may not be up to those delivered by Pros. That way when you pull it off (and I'll bet you will) it will be a nice surprise.

The best of luck to you.:)

Freddie59

I don't believe this. I was asked myself today if I could oblige with the photography at a reggistry office ceremony in June.:o By then I hope to have a Canon Eos 450D and some additional lenses. Would this camera suffice - and what lenses would you recommend for it?

rymus

a 450D would be grand.. What lenses do you have already and what were you considering purchasing anyway?

If you're 'obliging', i.e. not getting paid, I wouldn't stress yourself out about it.

AnCatDubh

I know a number of posters are homing in on the "family friendly" angle and anticipate that you would be out of circulation with other guests etc... Logically, this line of thinking makes perfect sense - you can't really argue with it. However in practical terms and to offer some balance to such thinking, I can vouch for doing the opposite actually and still lived to tell the tale. Well to be truthful I was more the second shooter on the day to my good lady but that's not really important. My wife and I who were/are in no way professional - just a reasonable good eye for a good take and herself is a dab at knowing how to get a group together. We took on her sisters wedding (in more ways than i think about recalling - but that’s another story). I won't even say what our equipment of the day was but suffice to say it matched our non professional status.

We did our prep work. Hung out on the flickr wedding groups to identify the shot list - didn't even know boards.ie existed; actually at the time i don't even know if it did exist!. Read all the articles we could find. Popped into the local church where the wedding was to take place a few times over a number of weekends at the time that the wedding was due to take place on. etc..., etc..... Basically, as i recall - we did our prep work pretty well.

The day itself went fine. We found enough time for pleasantries on the day - The day isn't all about photos - yes strategic moments; weddings, poses, candids - it was all quite possible. Let's face it - the professional will arrive on the morning of the wedding, get their takes, move to the church, get their takes, organise the formals, get their takes, probably then at the reception, and get their takes, etc.., etc.. - even a professional won't be tied up all day long. Professional photographers will probably offer a package somewhere between 2 and 8 hours shooting (phew!) – for you; plenty of time to do the meet and greet.

Overall, as a photographer; it was an incredibly rewarding experience - highly recommended. All I can say is that at some point in the future I hope to do more - I found it highly enjoyable. With the right prep work done - you'll be fine. Just to reiterate the point about a second shooter or having someone shadow you on the day – even if they aren't technically skilled just get them to put their camera on auto (can’t believe I just typed that… oh my shame! ) and double up on the shots – there is an amount of security in having a second take available. Again - put the feelers out here nearer the time and there may be people quite happy to help out.

If you are a reasonably competent amateur/enthusiast and have no major difficulty with light and shooting in a variety of conditions (including challenging) then I think for the purposes of this discussion, it may be getting to a point where the question that you have to answer is "do you want / would you like to do it?".

Best of luck with it. Cheers.

MCMLXXXIII

I have no idea how you are as a photographer, but I assume you are pretty good, otherwise your sister would not have asked this favor from you.

You can buy all the fancy lenzes in the whole world, but you will also know how to use them - and it takes a while to learn.

I am a fan of photography, but I would still not feel comfortable recording the only "hard" memory of such an event.

I think a great wedding gift to your sister is to pay for a professional photographer to come in and photograph the wedding. Plus, they usually have access to better software and development facilities.

I would still take some of my own, just for fun...but that's kind of a large, important event to take on as your first time.

bradnailer

MCMLXXXIII wrote: »

I think a great wedding gift to your sister is to pay for a professional photographer to come in and photograph the wedding.

I thought of that when my sister asked me, €800 and that just got me a disc, no prints, no album. I didn't shop around, but that's the reason I ended up shooting it myself.

ThenComesDudley

Hi,
Ive done two family weddings as the photographer. Im not professional. I only had a canon 300 with the packaged lens and a canon speedlite flash (cant remeber the type at the moment.) It was good for the experience, i learned alot, but i have to say it was not the best fun. The fact that you are outside allot of the event is a big problem. You might feel left out.
Then there is the worry that you may not have done a good job. The biggest problem i had was just trying to get everyone to look in the same direction etc....
Glad i did it but i wont do it again. But that was just me.
THe Photos mostly turned out find, but there was allot that i was not happy with.

With a professional they do a set amount of work etc then they leave. As the family member you will be at the wedding for the day. Be ready for people asking you to take more pictures after all the set photos have been finished. It can get annoying when you just want to relax and enjoy the day etc etc etc..

I made this sound really negative. Sorry

Great as a learning experience for me anyway.

slumped

Thanks to all who responded to my OP.

I've decided that I won't act as the main photographer - but will be there for candid shots etc.

In the mean time I'm probably going to buy a D300 and a 24-70mm 2.8 lens. I may also buy the 70-200m 2.8 but budget might be tight.

I've got a few weddings to practice at over the coming months - once I have a few shots taken I'll post them here for C&C!

Thanks again. Really apprecate advice.

S

dhaslam

Don't worry about the longer lens. For my daughters wedding I just used a 17-35 lens. I didn't use flash so wide wide aperture and high ISO were important . This is an example at ISO 1600, although in this case the light was fairly bright 1/40th at f6.3, KM 5D and Sigma 17-35.

www.pbase.com/dhaslam/image/86307135/original

Freddie59

rymus wrote: »

a 450D would be grand.. What lenses do you have already and what were you considering purchasing anyway?

If you're 'obliging', i.e. not getting paid, I wouldn't stress yourself out about it.

Thanks for responding. Well, I'm looking for suggestions for the lenses. It is really only an obliging thing - so both of us will benefit.:) I see some people recommend a 'walkabout?' 50mm lens and maybe a 55-250mm lens. What do you think of those?

bradnailer

slumped wrote: »

Thanks to all who responded to my OP.

I've decided that I won't act as the main photographer - but will be there for candid shots etc.

In the mean time I'm probably going to buy a D300 and a 24-70mm 2.8 lens. I may also buy the 70-200m 2.8 but budget might be tight.

I've got a few weddings to practice at over the coming months - once I have a few shots taken I'll post them here for C&C!

Thanks again. Really apprecate advice.

S

That's a great idea, there's no pressure you can have some fun (and maybe a few drinks) Good luck, I'd like to see some of your candid shots when your done.