First time shooting a Wedding!

<p>Hello Everyone,<br>

I will be shooting my first wedding in two weeks and I am suddenly getting nervous!!<br>

I have always had a love for photography, and have recently been asked to shoot 3 weddings. Ultimately, I love nature photography! A tree, flower or bird won't judge you if you screw up!<br>

I have shot one baby/toddler shoot, one engagement shoot, one boudoir shoot and one very tiny wedding shoot. Aside from hundreds of nature and family shots I have minimal professional experience.<br>

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Crystal R</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi Crystal, I think it's natural to feel apprehensive but there has to be a first time for everything, right?</p>

<p>Speaking as an amateur who has shot weddings for fun, everything will happen quickly so be psychologically prepared and remain focused; don't let your nervousness get in the way. Play through the anticipated sequence of events in your mind and make an equipment list as well as a do-not-forget list such as photo opportunities, group shots, gear settings, (spare) batteries charged, etc. </p>

<p>You still have 2 weeks to practice if you're lacking low-light shooting experience, and remember to take charge - your client is relying on you to get the shots. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>"and one very tiny wedding shoot. Aside from hundreds of nature and family shots <strong>I have minimal professional experience</strong>."</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br />So this Wedding Shoot is for money?</p>

<p>More information is required.<br>

You could provide information apropos:</p>

<ul>

<li>your gear</li>

<li>your preparation</li>

<li>the client relationship you have</li>

<li>is it likely litigation and / or complaints will cost you money</li>

</ul>

<p>and other information like that.</p>

<p>Prima facei – I tend to warn and ere to caution on questions like this.<br>

Are there other options such as getting a more seasoned professional to shoot the main gig and for you to second shoot – ideas like that for your consideration.</p>

<p><a href="../learn/wedding/">This link will give you more and general information </a></p>

<p>WW</p>

 

<p>I will be shooting with a Canon Rebel xs and a Canon T3i. I have 3 lenses: kit lens (18-55mm), telephoto lens 75-300mm and a 60mm macro lens. Other equipment: tripod, small reflector, external flash and a cable release/remote.<br>

I have also put together a kit of supplies such as: plastic clips to hold down fly away dresses or veil, tide to go, small stickers ( for the children in the wedding; i find this may help keep there hands down in photos, by asking them to hide the sticker under the other hand), safety pins, garbage bag and a blanket ( ground shots).<br>

I made an information sheet for the clients to fill out. Information such as names, locations, times etc. With this sheet I also provided them with a list of poses and a spot for them to add any special requests.<br>

I live in a small town and the wedding is a friends daughters, best friend.<br>

And yes I will be getting paid.<br>

Up until this past week I have been super excited about doing this, but like I said now I am starting to get nervous.</p>

<address>Crystal, I'll echo Michael's suggestion for a 'Don't Miss' list. (Bride, Groom, wedding party, families on both sides, alter, aisle, 1st dance, etc.) Good luck, and don't forget to follow up this thread with details your results. We're all pulling for you & waiting to hear how things went. Best, LM.</address>

<p>1. When in doubt, use Program, not Aperture Priority. AV sets too slow a shutter speed at times (particularly indoors).</p>

<p>2. Shoot RAW.</p>

<p>3. Remember to change your ISO when going from situation to situation (as the light level changes).</p>

<p>You've asked for advice and my advice is to do your clients a favour and find them an experienced professional who knows what they're doing. As you said, you like nature photography and a tree, flower, or bird "won't judge you when you screw up". You are not filling me with confidence, Crystal. You are taking money for a task you are woefully unprepared for - that to me is risky and potentially negligent. This is a tolerant and friendly forum - elsewhere you'd be slaughtered for this sort of post. A little more advice:</p>

<p>Stick the camera in P mode (that stands for "Professional" of course)<br />Take lots of pictures<br />Make sure you have backups of everything<br />Take more cards and batteries than you think you'll need<br />Add a disclaimer to your agreement stating that you are not a qualified or experienced wedding photographer therefore the client is proceeding on a low-expectation basis (though this may not afford much protection if things go wrong)<br />Make sure you have the right level of liability and indemnity insurance - you do have insurance, don't you?<br />Speak to the minister before the ceremony and ask what you can and can't do - most don't allow flash during key moments and some restrict photography entirely<br />Say a few prayers the night before.</p>

<p>Here in the UK the newspapers are full of cases where couples have paid inexperienced photographers to photograph their weddings - with tears (and litigation) all round. Carefully consider what you're getting in to and weigh up your clients' expectations - are they thinking they will get a set of professional wedding images like the ones they see in wedding magazines? If so, decline this outing. Otherwise, ensure they understand how little experience you really have in posing, lighting, and managing people. Clients are often easy going before the event - but they can be a nightmare afterwards.<br /> </p>

<p>Oh boy.... well considering this is my first forum. That last one was pretty brutal :(<br>

Just wanted to say thank you to the people who gave me some very SUPPORTIVE advice.<br>

And to add that I have been using an SLR camera for the last 15 years and have taken some<br>

courses in photography, so I am not a total newbie. <br>

Cheers</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Here in the UK the newspapers are full of cases where couples have paid inexperienced photographers to photograph their weddings - with tears (and litigation) all round.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well, only one that I can remember.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>It's fairly frequent Steve. Just last week one particular wedding was splashed around the papers and the photographers' names are now mud. It seems they'd taken payment but lacked experience. </p>

<p>I firmly believe that you shouldn't charge for your services until you're confident you can deliver the goods, and I didn't get that impression from Crystal's opening post. She has booked a wedding with little relevant experience and has then come on a forum asking for advice. Not advice on a particular area, but advice in general. That rings a few alarm bells.</p>

<p>I'll ask Crystal again to confirm that she will be taking out the proper insurances. And I think my point about managing client expectations is an important one. As is the need to get everything written down - in as much detail as possible - timings, locations, and the form of the final delivery and approximately when the product will be delivered etc etc. Never let clients assume anything. One of the biggest causes of arguments after weddings is down to misunderstandings and poor communication between the photographer and the client, most of which can be avoided.</p>

<p>Crystal, you implied you didn't have much experience of photographing people - but mention now that you've had training. Is that wedding related training/lighting/portraiture? Do you feel competent to shoot this wedding? If you want advice it's better to be specific - wedding photography is a big topic - if you can narrow down the areas you're worried about it will be much easier to advise you.</p>

 

<p>Actually she went easy on you. </p>

<p>You have 15 years of experience, however, just one baby shoot, one engagement shoot, one boudoir shoot and one very tiny wedding shoot. The classes and nature photography represent your level of interest in photography, however, this wedding commitment is a business decision that can backfire on you if you are not adequately prepared. Timing (it never goes as planned) and intuition (making the best of a bad situation) is everything - as the ability to know how to manipulate light to your advantage. Is this an indoor wedding? Is the reception in the evening and indoors? What is the maximum aperture on your lenses? Do you know your external flash like the back of your hand so that you can set it up within moments while everyone watches what you're doing (in the church). Do you have an assistant to hold your reflector? Have you done your research on what to expect throughout the day? Are you prepared to be proactive and in charge? </p>

<p>A photographer is a director - keeping things moving along when it comes to the bridal party (who can get unruly), without being bossy; cheerful enough to keep everyone happy; intuitive to the needs of the bride (meaning you don't ask her countless questions throughout the day because you should KNOW -- and you know because you are the photographer - this will make sense to you someday); know when to accommodate (do they look confused when it comes to cutting the cake ? - then guide them) or when to step back (don't crowd the dance floor during the first dance). Do you have a plan for rain? Because it will be you they turn to for a place to go for fabulous plan b shots (at a free location of course). This is all at the top of my head. Are you prepared for the perfectly planned timeline to be shot to h*** pretty much at the get go - so this means the time will be made up during the between wedding & reception shots -- reducing your hour and a half to about 20-30 minutes (though you can't reduce the number of poses they expect), because you cannot, absolutely cannot make them late to their reception. Indecision is your worst enemy. You can't take the time to think things through - like when the sun is beating down from you overhead and there's not a tree in sight, or when your external flash isn't enough light for the formals.</p>

<p>Post processing, album creation, blogging - there's an art to it all. </p>

<p>We all have been where you are now...and we know what you're in for. You may think that after all is said and done, you have a successful first wedding. Until you have shot your 10th wedding and look back at your first. Then you will realize what an amateur you were. Because you are - your 15 years of experiences/classes mean nothing until you've actually lived through it and proven to yourself that you, indeed, can handle the pressure of wedding photography. Not everyone is cut out for it. The last thing you want to do is piss of a photographer who has been through it all by typing frowny faces and thanking the SUPPORTIVE ones with all caps. Toughen up, suck it up and pay more attention to the critical advice, because that's how you will learn. Or don't. </p>

 

<p>Lindsay, allow me to voice a counterpoint. </p>

<p>Inexperience does not necessarily equate incompetence. Photography involves many disciplines and personal character traits that results can not be reliably predicted by interpreted experience alone.</p>

<p>The ratio of fees charged by photographers is not dissimilar to that of attorneys - a young lawyer just out of school might charge $80-100/hr vs. $400-500/hr for a top notch pro, and the results matter just as much to a client retaining a professional for those services.</p>

<p>Chrystal took some courses and has been shooting for 15 years, and she's understandably nervous just as an attorney in the courtroom for the first time would be facing strong adversaries/challenges. I don't think she's under any moral or ethical obligation to shoot for free any more than we should expect an inexperienced attorney to represent a client for free. </p>

<p>The fact that she's here to solicit input is a positive sign that she's conscientious and wants to do a good job, and it's our role to reinforce her confidence by offering helpful input, as you have, so that she can have an improved chance of success. </p>

<p>Maira,<br>

It was not my intention to "piss off" a professional. Your blog was very insightful and the kind of advice I was looking for.<br>

What got to me was the first line of the other post:<br>

"do your clients a favour and find them an experienced professional who knows what they're doing"<br>

How am I suppose to learn and become professional like you guys, if I give up on opportunities?<br>

I appreciate all of the critical advice and that is why I joined this forum.</p>

 

<p>Michael, your comparison isn't really valid - a young lawyer won't represent any clients until he/she is appropriately qualified to do so. We do not know what sort of courses Crystal has taken, I did ask her however to clarify that. My view is that you should not charge for a service unless you can competently and confidently deliver, and safeguards should always be in place (I also asked Crystal to clarify her level of insurance, just in case). If that is the case, then fine. But this is somebody's wedding day after all - there are no second chances. Yes, seeking advice is great - but I think that should be when you're learning your craft - not after you've booked your first wedding whilst suffering consequent and well justified nerves. We don't know what level Crystal's people photography is at - I don't see her website in her profile. And she has been entirely vague in what areas she needs advice on, which further compounds my fears. </p>

<p>Crystal - learning to become a professional wedding photographer can be a long road. Many assist other established pros, then second shoot, then take on small weddings of their own when they're confident with the flow and technical challenges of the day. It's good to take opportunities - but only if you're confident you can deliver. I think I asked you that in my last post - are you confident you can handle the challenges that the various parts of a wedding day will throw at you? Are you able to deal with difficult lighting situations - and people - with very little time to get the shots? Do you know how to pose people and direct them? Are you OK with lighting and using flash? Are your post production skills up to scratch? If you can answer yes to those things then I think that yes, you should take this opportunity. But if you're getting worried about handling it then I do think it might be best for you to think of your clients and suggest a pro. That is not meant to be an insult at all - but with your admission that you're not very experienced in this kind of photography it's hard to say anything else. I'm sure that's the same advice I would be given if I were to suddenly take on a job beyond my usual area of expertise. Don't take it personally. </p>

<p>Crystal,</p>

<p>It’s early Sunday Morning here and I am off to a . . . Wedding.<br>

Lindsay was not brutal, re read the advice – it was just “advice” nothing added nor subtracted.<br>

I trust the thread will be active and also harmonious and you will still be reading, upon my return – I wish to add more . . .</p>

<p>WW</p>

<p> </p>

<p>There are quite a few wedding photo basics videos on YT that you can watch. Plus videos about lenses and lighting and posing etc. I suggest watching them and getting some ideas and think through how you would be handling that scenareo. Ultimately you're watching the wedding as it happens and getting the frozen moments of all the important events as they happen. So whatever settings you use, you need frozen motion and good exposure, so that means adjusting as needed throughout the day to any lighting changes. This is extremely important. Using basic program mode is OK, but for some tricky backlit and high contrast scenes you should adjust in manual. If it's dark indoors have your flash and fresh batteries ready to go in a split second in case the natural light is giving you a too slow shutter. Much better to have a "flashy" picture of an important moment than a blurry underexposed frame of garbage which won't cut it. Don't crop too tight! Leave some room to play with your shots later in post. As the day goes along, spend time getting as many of the details such as flowers, nick nacks, decorations, food tables, toiletries, limos, and anything else of importance that they spent money on for threir special day.<br>

Have BOTH cameras ready to shoot, plenty of batteries and memory cards, some index cards with reminders that you can just keep in your pocket or bag and refer to. You have two flashes I hope. Keep one on each camera. Practice walking around shooting people or things in your house, and then walking outside immediately changing settings and continuing to shoot. OK have fun!</p>

<blockquote>

<p>And to add that I have been using an SLR camera for the last 15 years and have taken some<br /> courses in photography, so I am not a total newbie.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Shooting weddings IS a very different thing - from your description of your experience, <strong>you ARE a total newbie</strong>. I too would recommend you suggest a pro instead of taking money to perform this service. From what you have said, it seems you are actively marketing yourself as a wedding shooter (else why would you suddenly be booked for 3?). I assume (especially as you have not disagreed w/ the assertion) that you are being paid for your services, though likely less than a 'real' pro.<br>

Given the limitations of your equipment, and skills, I suppose the reduced rate is justified.</p>

<p>You have asked how you could learn if you don't do it yourself? ("<em>How am I suppose to learn and become professional like you guys, if I give up on opportunities?</em>") shoot as a second. Then it is not you getting dragged into court with no contract, no experience, a tearful bride, and potentially liable for the<em> entire cost of the event</em>. Can you afford a $10,000+ judgement against you?</p>

<p>However, it seems you wish to pursue this, and take on the full risk and liability of screwing up, which, given your equipment and experience, appears as likely as not. Remember, as a "pro", you are <em>already</em> being negligent. <em>My best advice is to seek the advice of an attorney who can better advise you of the risks you are taking.</em></p>

<p> </p>

Crystal,

A plan and a cool head will take you a long way towards your goal. However, I think the Rebel XS can be a tad slow in raw. Might want to check that.

 

Randyc

<p>Make sure you have a contract. Make sure you set expectations, clearly, thoroughly. </p>

<p>From a business perspective, even if you are charging it's really just about experience as imagine you'll be at a loss anyway. You need two more bodies, three more lenses. Probably a bunch of accessories like extra batteries, memory cards, extra flashes that all add up. T</p>

<p>Set expectations. Make your own plan. Keep calm and enjoy it, and everyone should come away happy.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>potentially liable for the<em> entire cost of the event</em>. Can you afford a $10,000+ judgement against you?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That's not very likely though is it?</p>

<p>A contract should state that you're only liable for the total fee received for the services at most. But of course, you should also be insured. </p>

<p>"From what you have said, it seems you are actively marketing yourself as a wedding shooter (else why would you suddenly be booked for 3?)"</p>

<p>All three of the wedding's that I have been asked to do are all people that I have known for a long time (10+ years). All of them are very much aware of what I have accomplished thus far and that I am new to photographing weddings.<br>

Insurance is the one thing I do not have. It is the one thing that I never thought about, nor was it mentioned in the wedding course I took at my local college. It is definatly something I will look into when I do start to market myself as a wedding photographer.<br>

As for now this is a learning experience for me. I have been very fortunate that my friends and co-workers have offered me these opportunities and that they trust me enough with their special day.</p>

<p>Hello,<br>

Don't take all the "harsh" advice here as an attack on you. I remember when I came here first and I thought the same thing about some of the comments. But if read them carefully you will get some insight that you can't get anywhere else, I know I did. <br>

On that note, I have shot quite few weddings since I have joined this forum and I have to say that some of the advice here saved my "butt" in few circumstances. <br>

1. Get a contract.....it does not matter if you are shooting a wedding for your best friend or a total stranger, the expectations and results have to be spelled out on paper, because this is your only defense against potential problems. <br>

2. You have told the people that this is your first or second wedding, right? As a client I would love to know that information, just to set my expectations, and If you exceed, great! If you meet, that is good too.<br>

3. The client should have seen some of your previous work so they have an idea of what they should expect as the final product. <br>

4. Weddings can be very fast, so make sure that you ask for all the details of the ceremony. I remember one wedding where the bride's side had traditional African roots and the groom was Jewish. The told me that there were going with the traditional civil ceremony only, so I was back out after the first kiss to capture them leaving the ceremony site, the officiant announced the traditional Jewish breaking of the glass. I ran back, got the shot. I moved back to my position for the walk shot, and the officiant announced the traditional "jump over the broom" African custom....so i ran back again.<br>

5. If you can go see the place of ceremony, to scope out the lighting situation...the 75-300 mm might be too slow, or to long. </p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>How am I suppose to learn and become professional like you guys, if I give up on opportunities?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>How learned pros have become learned pros for centuries... Apprenticeship.</p>

<p>You can be a second shooter or assistant for an experienced photographer. The good news is that it need not be for eons. Just long enough to learn the ropes.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>friends and co-workers have offered me these opportunities and that they trust me enough with their special day.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>This is typical. So many people equate nice photography results as wedding photographer qualifications. In the meantime you can learn as much as possible to produce the best results.</p>

<p>Be sure to attend the wedding rehearsal and bring the main camera and lens you will be shooting with. Make a few test shots to check lighting and metering. Also, stay for at least one run through of the rehearsal to get a feel for when you should take photos. </p>