First time Wedding, 2nd shooter tips please

nicknackgtb

Hi guys,

Finally am getting a chance to be 2nd shooter on a wedding this weekend. Am very nervous so looking to get some tips if at all possible on what works and what doesn't, things I should do/ try out, long lens or short lens primarily, all the factors. Can you guide me on this at all?

Cheers,

Paddy

ImagenEstilo

Hey Paddy,

A few things I would keep in mind:

Don't try and outshine the main photographer. Shoot at an angle to the main photographer, never in his/her direct path (180 degrees) as you will appear in a lot of photos. Don't be afraid to voice suggestions, the main photographer has his/her hands full with other things too so a good suggestion is always welcome. Don't try and take the same shots as the main photographer, go for candids, things that s/he will miss, unusual angles, perspectives, get more of the guests s/he will more than likely miss. Bring variety, not copies of what s/he already has. Make sure your gear is in tip top condition. If you can, get some macros the main photographer won't have time to get.

And don't hand out your business cards to the guests! (I'm serious - I've seen it happen)

Dave

pixbyjohn

As above plus>>>>
Ensure that your subject is looking at you with eyes open and not at other guests camera when you take the shot.
A 24-70 (17-55) f2.8 lens if you have one and an external flash to use in bounce mode.

Borderfox

Don't shoot at the wedding, watch the main photographers back and help them with any groups they need to shoot. People management is one of the most important parts of the day and it's hard to learn at your own weddings.

nicknackgtb

Don't have the 24-70, am going with 5dmkii, 24-105 and sigma 70-200 2.8. Have a nifty 50 too so that might help a bit. Then the 430ex flash. About 24gig of cards and 2 batteries! Hope it will do for me!

ImagenEstilo

Adding to the above, find out what lens the main person is using. It may well be a 24-70. Find out how many cameras s/he has, in other words has s/he a 24-70 on one and a 70-200 strapped to another (this is what I tend to do). If s/he isn't using the 70-200 then I would have your 70-200 lens on a good chunk of time and flip between that and your nifty fifty. The 70-200 will give you cracking candids when used wide open and the results will have lovely compression with bokeh that little lenses will match when at full focal length (i'm not 100% up on the Sigma version though). The nifty fifty will add something different to the mix over the main photographers 24-70 as it has two stops over the 24-70.

You can be almost guaranteed the main photographer will have the 24-70, so if it were me I would be stepping well outside that focal range. It is all about variety and if the main person sees a load of stuff in your final photos that they don't have then it is job well done.

Dave

Farmlife

how did you go about getting it, would love to try as a second shooter. have a few christenings and conformations in the coming months and want to get familiar with shooting in a church

nicknackgtb

ImagenEstilo wrote: »

Adding to the above, find out what lens the main person is using. It may well be a 24-70. Find out how many cameras s/he has, in other words has s/he a 24-70 on one and a 70-200 strapped to another (this is what I tend to do). If s/he isn't using the 70-200 then I would have your 70-200 lens on a good chunk of time and flip between that and your nifty fifty. The 70-200 will give you cracking candids when used wide open and the results will have lovely compression with bokeh that little lenses will match when at full focal length (i'm not 100% up on the Sigma version though). The nifty fifty will add something different to the mix over the main photographers 24-70 as it has two stops over the 24-70.

You can be almost guaranteed the main photographer will have the 24-70, so if it were me I would be stepping well outside that focal range. It is all about variety and if the main person sees a load of stuff in your final photos that they don't have then it is job well done.

Dave

Yeah he will be using the 24/70 alright and he has 70/200 canon 2.8 also. I think he has two cameras alright also.

Thank you for all the replies above, looking forward to biting the bullet on weddings!

@farmlife I have been asking mates for a long time and the opportunity came along then from developing my portfolio and they can see I'm not just doing it for the fun of it, but that as a business point of view. They understood that they were in this position once and I'm glad they see it so I can develop my career and portfolio more!

Borderfox

One little thing about churches and Priests, during the course of my work I made a large point to have a chat with the Priest and I would explain that I understood that he was under as much if not more pressure than I was to hold everything together on that part of the day, I would also thank them afterwards and I never had any sort of problem even with the (on first appearances) most stubborn of celebrants.

You will have plenty of time to practice shooting but imo it the little nuances that help you get through the day with very little stress and that in turn helps with your shooting.

nicknackgtb

Borderfox wrote: »

One little thing about churches and Priests, during the course of my work I made a large point to have a chat with the Priest and I would explain that I understood that he was under as much if not more pressure than I was to hold everything together on that part of the day, I would also thank them afterwards and I never had any sort of problem even with the (on first appearances) most stubborn of celebrants.

You will have plenty of time to practice shooting but imo it the little nuances that help you get through the day with very little stress and that in turn helps with your shooting.

Good thinking mate, thanks for that ;-)

macannrb

How did you get on? What did you learn? Any tips for others doing something similar in the future?

I'm not planning on anything similar, but interested in what you came away with.

Cheers

nicknackgtb

macannrb wrote: »

How did you get on? What did you learn? Any tips for others doing something similar in the future?

I'm not planning on anything similar, but interested in what you came away with.

Cheers

Turned out he was shooting video instead of photos unfortunately. He forgot to tell me until last minute...:mad:

So I cant comment on this as it was video I was using on my 5d, snippets and other angles that he wasn't getting.

Other tog that was doing the photos was there, watched him and what he did, how he posed a few shots. Wasn't great imo so am still waiting to shoot photos at a wedding.....fml! So if anyone is out there to do one with them, I'm in Kildare so open to assisting at any stage!!

Thanks for all your useful tips in the previous posts though.

ImagenEstilo

Well that was poor form on his behalf not to tell you what you were to do. How the f**k is someone to prepare if that is the case. Video and Photo are worlds apart. I would ahve been livid.

Sorry to hear about that Paddy. I hope your opportunity arises soon for you. It sounds like you deserve it.

Dave

nicknackgtb

ImagenEstilo wrote: »

Well that was poor form on his behalf not to tell you what you were to do. How the f**k is someone to prepare if that is the case. Video and Photo are worlds apart. I would ahve been livid.

Sorry to hear about that Paddy. I hope your opportunity arises soon for you. It sounds like you deserve it.

Dave

Thanks Dave, hope so too! Been building the courage for 2 years now to get out and do a wedding cause its daunting to think about doing one!!