Back yard wedding questions.

I've been asked by a co-worker to photograph her backyard wedding. It will be an informal affair and since she is on a

tight budget I'll be donating to the cause. 2 problems. Frst I'm a decent hodge podge photographer but not a wedding

photographer. 2nd problem is the wedding is in central Texas and it seems the ever bright summer sun is at high

noon all day. Very harsh. I'll probably use my Pentax 645 and a Nikon F100 as a back up. both will be loaded with

Portra 160. Any suggestions for dealing with the harsh sun would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Mike

Try a taking some shots with a polarizer at the same time as the wedding about a week before the wedding. And then hope for a partly cloudy day! Have you seen the backyard? Are there trees that will shade the ceremony or can the bride and groom rent or buy a gazebo-type tent? If they can afford the rental, and you can show them how the photos will look if shot in the sun and in shade, they may choose to rent the tent! Good luck!

Flash. If you don't have an external flash, rent one. You did not mention what your primary body is (Nikon I think), simply push your flash up (power wise) till the shadows are gone from their face. Also make sure you don't have half the people in the shade and the other in full sun as that will be even more difficult. Remember Flash is your best friend. Good luck, V/R Buffdr

I'm thinking my Pentax 645 as the main body but I only get 1/60 flash sink on that camera unless i pick up a used leaf shutter lens. Maybe I should use the Nikon. I'll check with the bride to be as to what they're using for shade. Hopefully they're using something as you really can't tolerate the sun here all day in the summer.

You may want to use the Nikon as the main camera for fast handling.

 

ISO 100 film for the outdoors may be slow enough to get good fill from your flash. You will need to test it before the day. Try using 1/250th at f16 and f22 with TTL flash and see how it works.

Please check this area of Photo Net

 

 

 

 

http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/?category=Wedding+Photography+%2d+A+wedding+Primer+for+Newcomers

 

 

 

 

 

A wedding is a one-time deal. Without a back-up camera (usually of the same type....) you may try to decline shooting your low-budget friend's request. Perhaps you can take up a office collection and find a wedding phtographer that will hire out for one to two hours? [Changing rolls of 120 film in extreme sunshine could be interesting, too.]

You can use ND filters with the Pentax and 1/60th sync speed for the formals, so you don't need to use f22 or something, but use the Nikon for everything else. Against bright sun, you basically need to use fill flash. What flash are you using with the Pentax?

Also, you may want to get that used leaf shutter lens--1/500th sync would be really nice...

I haven't been around much, but I lurk around. I'm also an armchair wedding photographer.<br>

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One thing I can suggest is to get a contract. Granted, it's a freebie, but you want things like times and dates nailed down. Also when pictures are delivered, what happens when the "fit hits the shan."<br>

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Here's a contract <a href="http://www.photo.net/search/?sitesearch=Photo.net&client=pub-1734703147688622&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&safe=active&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23CCCCCC%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3ADDDDDD%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A45%3BLW%3A225%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.photo.net%2Fv2graphics%2Flogo.gif%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.photo.net%2F%3BFORID%3A11&hl=en&qx=wedding+contracts&q=wedding+contracts&section=all&x=0&y=0#1362" target="_blank">search</a>

Well Like I said I am an experienced photographer it's just a new situation for me. Since the wedding will get shot with her friends point and shoots if i don't help her out i'm not worried about contracts and whether my bodies match or not. I know how to use them both. I'd love to use the 645 for better quality on the formals and the F100 for quick grabs after. I appreciate all the advice.