Help me achieve my goal to shoot weddings for family and friends

<p>Wow! I totally get that 99% of you feel like i should not do this. That you have made obvious. I have numerous times in this thread explained the situation.<br>

1. I have sit down with each of these couples and explained the extent of my knowledge and the lack of equipment compared to a pro. <br>

2. I have a personal connection and know all of their situations. Where you assume they can pay a professional when I have already stated that financially it is not an option. <br>

3. I have made a commitment (which I do not take lightly) to these friends and intend to honor that. <br>

4. Instead of just showing up with my camera I am taking as many steps as I can..online classes, purchasing lightroom, taking a lightroom class, reading every article I can get my hands on. Doing free portrait sessions with my other friends just to get more experience with my camera and with editing. <br>

I have indeed found much of your advice helpful and you have raised points that I had not considered. Points that I am following through on like insurance, contracts and backup plans. Just to be clear however, I am not disregarding anyones advice nor am I only accepting the advice that I like. I did NOT ask for advice on whether or not I should accept the job I asked for advice on Shooting the wedding. For example...one photographer friend told me to tell the couple to hold there kiss because a quick peck could easily be missed. I read maybe here or somewhere else to get a list of the important pictures the couple wants so you don't miss any poses with special family or friends. These are the types of things I was asking for in order to be prepared for the task at hand, my apologies if I did not make it clear what I was asking for. </p>

<p>Telling the B&G to hold their First Kiss and making a list of important pictures that the couple wants so that there no poses are missed with Family and Friends, is a sub-genre of Wedding Photography which requires Direction and Prescription by the Photographer.</p>

<p>If you follow that course, then you will need to have above average people management skills and be able to execute those skills under the pressure of time and under the pressure of those people possibly being in an highly emotive state.</p>

<p>The general trend in Wedding Photography around the world today, is toward a more journalistic approach and it is my expectation that very few Wedding Photographers nowadays would ever direct the couple to hold their first kiss: and when any did that direction would have to be expertly managed to have the best result.</p>

<p>As for a list of “formals” – be aware that, that of itself creates more expectations of the Photographer as once the list is made then realistically it is expected that the list will be completed successfully irrespective of any situation which arises and who causes those situations.</p>

<p>WW</p>

<p>An interesting thread and Athena - I'm impressed you are still reading and still fighting to do these weddings considering some of the advice you have been given! With regard to this advice, I'm a fairly new wedding (amongst other things) photographer myself and I'd be interested to know how to go about getting someone as a backup for <em>me</em>, as the photographer, which is recommended in a post, above. Insurance, two bodies, spare batteries, cards etc (some overlap in lenses, but I don't carry two copies of each - can't afford to, and besides, I literally couldn't carry all that weight - I'm one of those three 2.8 zooms people): all these I understand and have reasonably well covered. But someone to cover for <em>me</em> if I am ill has been a question I've had for a while and one for which I don't have an answer. Perhaps getting to know a few more photographers is likely the answer (joining an association?) but if anyone has more thoughts about this particular aspect of a** covering, I'd be very pleased to hear it! I'm honest when booking weddings and tell clients that I don't have a backup photographer, though I also say that I'd have to be very very unwell indeed before I'd even consider not fulfilling my responsibilities. <br>

I hope this isn't butting in on your thread Athena. As I say, I don't have much experience, but from the little I do have I would say that being a bit nervous is a good sign - it doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but really, it is only when you think about all the things that could go wrong that you realise the enormity of what it is you are setting out to do. Another thing that rings true from what has been said, above, is that you are often taking pictures for many more people than the bride and groom and this can lead to difficulties. With this in mind, if you are making up contracts I'd strongly recommend including something along the lines of the fact that you NEVER share all the photos you take and that you cannot guarantee to get all the shots requested (things happen, timings go out of whack, one person changes their mind...) and, if the wedding is a reasonable size, nor can you guarantee you will get shots of all the people in attendance (group shots, perhaps, excepted, though even then Uncle Ted pops off to the bathroom and hey presto, someone's complaining!).<br>

Anyway, sorry if this all adds to the doom and gloom - it really isn't meant to :-) - weddings are beautiful occasions and the feeling when you nail a shot you are pretty sure no one else would have seen or anticipated - well, that's part of what keeps me going back for more. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Athena, I think you are absolutely correct, nearly all of us feel that given your lack of experience, you are not ready to do this.<br>

However, you seem bound and determined. Whether that ends in a glorious success, or an unmitigated disaster, only the future will tell.</p>

<p>At this point we NEED additional information to give you decent advice. I'm not sure why, but it seems that you do not wish to share what additional lenses/equipment you have access to. <br>

To be absolutely honest the quality of a kit lens's (18-55) output far outshines the quality of your 70-200 (or 50/1.8) if you can't fit everyone in the frame. If it makes you feel any better, my first wedding was shot on an EOS650 with a 35-105 kit lens. no VR/IS, questionable quality, no flash, film. I hated that camera, but the green box seemed to work alright, as my prior experience was w/ an all manual K1000. <br>

When I first started shooting digital, my widest lens was a FF 28-70/2.8. On the crop, that had a miserable widest FOV of ~45mm. I quickly snapped up a 17-85, and it was like I could actually zoom out again (quite reassuring, believe me!). The first group picture w/ the digital (XTi) I had to stand against the far wall, and still have the group squeeeeeze together, it was frankly a bit embarrassing. (and I ended up using the Elan (film) after one attempt)<br>

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that backup is not the most important thing. Don't get me wrong, you may regret not having it, but 1st and foremost is actually having something to backup. You have a camera (check), a flash (check), a long tele (check), and a fast 50 (actually 75mm FOV). You absolutely can NOT do it without something (anything really) that is WIDER. The very best of us would have a very very hard time shooting a wedding with that kind of limitation, and many of us have hundreds and hundreds of weddings behind us.<br>

An 18-55 VR lens shouldn't cost more than $100 used, a non-VR no more than $50. I'd heartily recommend the VR (given the speed), but even with the 18-55 non-VR it puts you into the realm of possibility of maybe capturing decent shots (by cranking the ISO, and hoping for good light). And how hard is a group shot, really? You can put a lot into it, but you can also make it very simple. The results will show your work (from beautiful to a line of people), but at least the essentials are documented.</p>

<p>My other advice would be simply. crash a few weddings - ones with pro photogs. Go... simply to watch them work. See if you can get invited to others. bring the camera, and see how it feels through the lens. If you are invited, no one (even the photog) will be offended if you spend all your time snapping pics. It's a world of difference when you loose all your peripheral vision. </p>

<p>One of the first weddings I did w/ digital (and w/ film) we did the ceremony in a dark as heck church, then walked out and did some group shots out in the glaring afternoon sun. Stress was up, we were moving fast, I was significantly less experienced. I forgot to switch from ISO1600 to ISO1/200. Since my camera was on shutter priority, my 1/4000 sec exposures were completely blown. Every last one was utter sh--. Thank goodness I was still shooting w/ the Elan's at that time. Even though I had only an exposure or two of each group, it was something, and I was more careful w/ the film. Even though I had done scores of weddings at that point, inexperience with that equipment led to a simple, momentary error, an error which could have been disastrous. If you can't see yourself doing that, or think it won't happen, you are wrong. it WILL happen, and the only thing that will save you then is your preparedness.</p>

<p> IMO the insurance for you, in this situation, is largely a red herring. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been asked for proof, and those were all at uber-snobby hotels... I highly doubt that it'll be relevant given the context. And as long as you aren't being paid, your liability is minimal.</p>

<p>So again, we come to 'getting paid'. I would say that if your friends are as broke as you have implied, you didn't try real hard to turn away their money. Simply saying "I'm willing to take money for my work... if you like your pictures" eases your responsibility, saves face, and puts you out of 'professional' territory (someplace you do NOT want to be given your experience)</p>

<p>All that said, I can't give you any more advice if you don't share some information with us. For all practical purposes, all this is 'common sense' stuff every wedding photog knows, but to obtain more helpful advice, you must share details. A thank you would be appropriate every now and then too.</p>

 

<p >Patrick, one of the best methods of securing a "back-up" Photographer is to involve oneself in a collegiate of Photographers. That can be done in several arenas and by several methods, for example, ranging from within camera clubs to professional associations.</p>

<p >Whatever the arena, the activity involves networking: and networking not restricted internet activity, but rather one to one; face to face and toe to toe human social intercourse. </p>

<p >It occurs to me that the default for new entrants to this profession is to seek mostly all answers ‘on-line’ and also address mostly all the technical aspect of their photography via methods of ‘post production’: for example I note the priority mention of the product “Lightroom” in this thread. </p>

<p >It is my opinion that the value of time spent with other Photographers and doing Photography practice to a structured program is overlooked or disregarded.</p>

<p > <br>

WW</p>

<p>for example I note the priority mention of the product “Lightroom” in this thread.<br>

Really? I guess trying to learn "Lightroom" is frowned upon too since it was a priority I mentioned it. Is it not in the habit of most photographers to do post production work on their photos. I only mentioned to bring attention to the fact that although I am a highly unqualified ameateur photographer with no experience and sadly underrated equipment I do care enough about my work to try to not just hand the them the memory card at the end of the night. <br>

Maybe in lieu of shooting their weddings I should just buy them each a case of disposable cameras and call it a day!</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I guess trying to learn "Lightroom" is frowned upon too since it was a priority I mentioned it... ...Maybe in lieu of shooting their weddings I should just buy them each a case of disposable cameras and call it a day!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>William wasn't expressing disapproval because you mentioned it. Indeed, he didn't even express disapproval at all. Rather, there was a response to someone else's commentary and noted, accurately, that many novices place undue amounts of priority on post production rather than matters which have more effect on achieving success. Its reasonable to infer that such an issue could be taking place here. Its not a conclusion to that effect however. In any event, Its not an insult to make the possibility known. In fact, its helpful to take it in to account. William has given and will continue to provide good advice. One of the things mentioned was that<em>....</em><br /> <br /> <em>"you will need to have above average people management skills and be able to execute those skills"<br /><br /></em>Indeed, further acquisition of these particular skills may be needed for the shoots to be successful considering the unnecessary resort to lashing out as seen here. It may be the most valuable advice given.</p>

<p>Thanks William - I've been, and remain, guilty of way too much time spent online and do not get enough face-to-face interaction with others. In many spheres, not just this one, it would be good for me to get out more and meet people. </p>

You are correct I did lash out in frustrationand I do apologize. I have been trying to maintain a positive outlook but It's

never easy to be told over and over that you are doomed to fail when you are determined to succeed.

<p>What kind of advice are you looking for. If you want tips or posing examples you can find find plenty of examples by simply googling "wedding posing". Find what you like and practice it until you can do it in your sleep. At least then you will have some decent posed shots of the B&G.</p>

<p>Just keep things simple don't try to get too clever on the wedding day concentrate on people having fun. Sure most of the shots might not be masterpieces but thats OK you're not a Pro you're trying to help out some friends or family members who would otherwise have no pictures at all.</p>

<p>If you really want to get into wedding photography and start a business someday them find a local pro to assist and build your skills that way.</p>

<p>the best thing you can do is follow the bride and groom around and take shots of them with there family and friends. I would recommend to have them turn around to the camera for a nice clean shot and at that point if you want to take a true candid of them interacting then do so. watch your shutter speed and keep it minimum 160sec to insure every shot is salvageable. There is nothing worse than a great shot that is out of focus because of camera movement or subject movement. I would rather have a underexposed or overexposed picture in focus than vise versa. when using your 200mm lens then up the speed to min 200 or faster.</p>

<p>Athena - have you read Jasmine Star on becoming a wedding photographer? I know this isn't what you want to do but her thoughts might nonetheless be of some use to you: </p>

<p>http://www.jasminestarblog.com/index.cfm?postID=1764&the-photo-business-learning-curve</p>

<p>She's not to everyone's taste but there is no denying her positivity and commitment. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>"Really? I guess trying to learn "Lightroom" is frowned upon too since it was a priority I mentioned it. Is it not in the habit of most photographers to do post production work on their photos. I only mentioned to bring attention to the fact that although I am a highly unqualified ameateur photographer with no experience and sadly underrated equipment I do care enough about my work to try to not just hand the them the memory card at the end of the night. <br /> Maybe in lieu of shooting their weddings I should just buy them each a case of disposable cameras and call it a day!"</p>

</blockquote>

<p>John H has responded adequately and has also expressed my opinion to your words that I have quoted above.<br>

I’ll just add that the thrust of that comment was to underscore that one must have a technically good shot to make the most of Lightroom (or any Post Production Tool) and my point was that one cannot rely on Post Production to attain that technically good shot. <br>

***<br>

plus:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"You are correct I did lash out in frustration and I do apologize. I have been trying to maintain a positive outlook but It's never easy to be told over and over that you are doomed to fail when you are determined to succeed."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Firstly, your apology is welcomed and accepted, though not really necessary.</p>

<p>Secondly, it occurs to me that you would do yourself better service if you had a little introspective look at your own <em><strong>viewpoint</strong></em>.</p>

<p>I don't really read any text on this thread which categorically expresses that you are "doomed to failure". The portions of this thread which it seems you wish to term "negative" are in reality only words of caution from those who have already MADE MISTAKES. The first title of the thread was "Why so much negativity directed to New Photographers?" Maybe one is reading all the responses from that perspective, that is to say one is simply seeking out what appears to be ‘negativity’, rather than reading what the words mean: and reading the advice which is contained in those words. So if I were in your shoes I would re read all the advice, but from a different standpoint.</p>

<p>I also note that there is not yet list of the other lenses which is at disposal for the tasks you outlined. On the other hand, however, valuable time has been taken to express ‘frustration’. Surely, we all understand that (as only an example) Marcus Ian and I, who have asked for a list of other lenses that you have, would be frustrated by the non-response.</p>

<p>I mention these elements specifically because it is “advice”: not only about how you will best extract the many good hints and tips which are in this thread, but, also it would bode well in general to have a positive viewpoint about (your) photography generally, before you venture into these tasks, and I think that if you continue to read this thread as “negative” some of that <strong><em>perceived</em></strong> negativity will have an affect.</p>

<p>Personally, I would like all the chatter and conversation in this thread about negative advice on forums to newbie Photographers, simply to cease. As I understand, it was never the stated intent of your opening post to explore that topic, anyway – so why would one want to continue to pursue it?<br>

<br>

WW</p>

<p>Athena, you are NOT doomed to failure. Stuart Moxham and Michael Mowry had some good advice in my opinion. You don't need to worry about incredibly artistic photographs at this point, but if you see one grab it:). Focus on getting decently taken/exposed/framed shots. If the b/g want formals etc than find out before hand what they have in mind and have them assign a person for family shots if they want them. That way you don't have to "herd the cats". If there is a wedding coordinator, chat -them-up well before, even get a schedule. Its good to know what's going to be happening during the event and when, that way you can stay ahead of the action and anticipate where to be while keeping an eye on the b/g. You also have a couple of big advantages that no-one has mentioned. It sounds like you know the people and the families to a certain extent. This can allow you to relax and participate in the great atmosphere that a fun wedding is while you are taking photos. Make sure you get to eat:) Just get into the flow of it and have fun while focusing (no pun intended) on making sure the photography is basically solid. Good luck and have fun with it. Like others have said if you are intending to make this a business then their are several already stated steps you can take to be able to work your way into a professional business.</p>

<p>Athena,</p>

<p>I'm going to wade into this a second time and try to be helpful as I can. I'm going to start with very mundane stuff (equipment, insurance, contracts) and end up with the really serious stuff.</p>

<p><strong>1. Don't fret about your camera body.</strong><br>

I agree with those who've observed that the D5100 isn't a Professional Wedding Photographer's camera. But the truth is, there's no such thing as a Professional Wedding Photographer's camera, and in any case, you're not a professional wedding photographer. If you know your camera inside out (and all the rest of your gear) there's no reason the D5100 can't take fine photos. </p>

<p>Only 1 tip here: Be absolutely sure that you shoot raw, or if you wish, raw + jpeg.</p>

<p><strong>2. On the other hand, the rest of your equipment may not work so well for you.</strong><br>

The focal lengths of the two lenses you mention are popular with wedding photographers, but more with those <em>who shoot with full-frame bodies. </em><br>

<em> </em><br>

As William W pointed out, the 70-200 is a bit 'long' on your APS-C D5100. The corresponding focal length for an APS-C body would be 50-135. You may have good luck with the 70-200 for portraits, but a wedding is not a portrait session. It may be useful during the ceremony, when you typically can't get too close to the bride and groom and the celebrant. On the other hand, it probably won't help you much before (say, in the dressing room) or after (say, for the formals or at the reception). That's a lot of lens to carry around if you're going to be staying at 70mm all day. </p>

<p>Even the 50 f.18 on your APS-C camera is a "near telephoto" lens, but of the two lenses, I would consider this the more useful one. More often than not in the past I have worked with primes only. But achieving success with primes involves thinking differently — being aware of the limitations imposed by the single focal length and trying to turn those liabilities into advantages. If your experience has all been with zoom lenses, you may not find this easy. And when I'm working I always have <em>two</em> cameras hanging around my neck, each with a different focal length. Changing lenses is a big problem while shooting a wedding for a whole slew of reasons and I avoid it or at any rate plan changes ahead of time and keep them to a minimum. If I were in your shoes, I'd go to the rehearsals, see if the 70-200 can be useful at all for the ceremony, but I'd probably end up working with the 50 exclusively. I'm not saying this will work for you or that it will be easy. I'm just saying that it's doable.</p>

<p>Did you say that the only flash you have is the on-camera flash? No hot-shoe/removable flash at all? If that's the case, my advice would be to immediately start working with your camera's auto ISO options and see how well your camera can do up to, oh, ISO 2000 or even 3200. Then plan to shoot the entire wedding without flash. This too will be a challenge but it will be <em>less</em> of a challenge than trying to take usable photos with the built-in pop-up flash. </p>

<p>To recap: a wedding <em>can</em> be shot with success with a single body, a single 50mm lens, and no flash. Jeff Ascough could do it. Tony Korbel can do it. It ain't going to be easy, but the truth is, if you were to buy a good hot-shoe flash (or better two) today, it wouldn't be easy to master flash photography between now and your first wedding, either. </p>

<p><strong>3. Second body? Second lens?</strong><br>

I've said this before in this forum: You <em>can</em> shoot a wedding with a single body and no backup. The question is, <em>should</em> you? How bad would it be if your one and only camera stops working on you? I can help you a little by saying, it won't be the end of the world. You may cry, the bride may cry, but life will go on. My brother-in-law shot my wedding and lost most of the photos. I'm still talking to him. ;-)</p>

<p>Now it's unlikely that you'll experience a failure. But when I say "unlikely," I absolutely do NOT mean it won't happen. My feeling is, anybody who hasn't had equipment fail on them is either inexperienced or living a charmed life. Curiously, I've never had any piece of camera equipment fail on me when I've been shooting on my own, say, on vacation while hiking the Grand Canyon in extreme weather. But I've had just about every item in my kit break on me <em>while I'm working.</em> Lenses have stopped communicating with the camera. Multiple flash units have broken on me during weddings or graduations or first communions. I one had an odd, unexpected problem with a camera body: it just sort of froze. I've broken 2 tripods while working. Batteries have failed on me — not run down, but failed. Remote control units have jammed. I ripped my pants once, shooting a wedding, and that was the only time I did NOT have a backup. I actually do take an extra shirt.<strong><br /></strong></p>

<p>SO it's <em>dumb</em> or at least reckless to work without backups of <em>everything.</em> Dumb like, say, driving around without wearing a seatbelt. If you <em>were</em> a pro, working without backups is item #1 in the list of things that constitute professional malpractice, or would do so, if wedding photography were a regulated professional field of endeavor. But again, you're not a pro, so if you feel comfortable taking the risk, well, God bless you.</p>

<p>I will admit, that having extra equipment complicates your working. That's why many pros bring backups but leave the backups in the car or in a storage room nearby.</p>

<p><strong>4. Insurance: equipment and/or liability</strong><br>

Both good to have, but not essential. Again, these are pro concerns. You'll know when you need liability insurance. As for insuring your own equipment, you can insure yourself easily enough. I would suggest however that you keep your eye on your equipment. ABOVE ALL don't let the SD cards that contain the images get off your person. I shoot now with 32GB cards. I have backups in my pocket but I haven't needed to change out a card during a wedding in the last couple of years.</p>

<p><strong>5. Contract vs letter of understanding</strong><br>

As a non-pro, you do not need to have a document with the word "contract" at the top of it.</p>

<p>But you do need to come to a detailed understanding with the bride, about what you expect, what she expects. And this really ought to be in writing. An email will do. You'll want to give her at least a general idea about what parts of the ceremony you're going to cover, what exactly you're going to deliver to the bride and when (say, 150-200 high-res jpegs within 30 days after the wedding). Avoid promising to take specific shots. State explicitly that the bride will NOT get every shot that you took. Make the memo or email short, sweet, friendly. You don't have to ask the bride to sign it. You just need to be sure that she gets it, that you discussed it, and that she accepts the terms up front.</p>

<p>The whole point of contracts — or memoranda of the sort I'm describing — is to <em>avoid</em> <em>misunderstandings.</em> And misunderstandings arise very easily, <em>especially</em> among friends and family. "I thought you were going to be here to take photos while I was getting dressed!" Or "I thought you knew that I wanted a picture of me and Aunt Edna!" Or "It's been 72 hours since the wedding and you haven't yet shown me a thing!"</p>

<p><strong>6. Preparation</strong><br>

Wedding photography takes a very wide set of skills: technical photographic skills, obviously, but various personal skills are almost more important. Wedding photographers need to know what's happening next and make sure they're in the right place at the right time, anticipating their shots. They need to be able to melt invisibly into the background a lot of the time, and then take charge of a crowd at other times. You need to be able to keep your cool while working with people who themselves may be quite stressed. </p>

<p>How do you prepare for this? Well, ideally, by working for a good while as a second shooter. I never did that myself. My preparation came from years of shooting events that vaguely, kinda-sorta resemble weddings (particularly school graduations, first communions and confirmations, graduation parties, fundraising parties, etc). Even with those experiences, I was nowhere as well prepared as I would like to have been. I think it was Roberto Valenzuela (but it might have been Hiram Trillo) who said, in a seminar I attended last year, that he shot a couple dozen weddings for free before charging for the first time. You get experience by getting experience. </p>

<p>If you can't work as a second shooter, the next best thing might be to get a job as a war correspondent, preferably someplace where there's shooting with live ammo. Failing that, practice in every way you can think of. Photograph your husband cooking dinner. </p>

<p>Think ahead of time about the group shots, which are a somewhat specialized problem. </p>

<p>Practice!</p>

<p><strong>7. Execution</strong><br>

I choose the word “execution” as a bit of black humor. Come the morning of the wedding you may feel a bit like a convict walking to the gallows.</p>

<p>Anyway, about the actual shooting of the event, I can only offer a couple of pieces of general advice. Well, I could offer lots of specific advice but you’ve gotten some of that already, and in any case, you’re not likely to remember much of what we say. The skills you bring to the wedding aren’t going to be in your memory, as if you’d crammed for a test. They’re going to have to be in your muscles, in your habits, in your personality. That’s why preparation is really so important.</p>

<p>But here are the general tips.</p>

<p>Make friends <em>at your earliest opportunity</em> with the wedding coordinator and the disk jockey or band leader. Ask them if they can help you know in advance when things are going to happen at the reception.</p>

<p>The famous quote ascribed to the Roman emperor Augustus comes to mind: festina lente “make haste slowly.” That is, you will need to move a lot to be everywhere you must be, but you MUST at all times remain calm and deliberate. Move quickly but don’t allow yourself to feel rushed. SLOW DOWN. Breathe.</p>

<p>And be deliberate about your shots. LOOK before pressing the shutter button. Scientific research has shown that it is in fact quite possible — in fact, downright easy — to take 800 photos <em>none of which is any good. </em>Don’t shoot to be safe. You absolutely will miss lots and lots of shots, that’s life, don’t be bothered by it. But if you look and wait — or if you are willing to work deliberately to set them up, then do that — and try as often as possible to take a shot that you know in advance is going to be be worth taking. As one great photographer advises, STARE. (Was that Walker Evans?)</p>

<p>Even knowing your camera inside out (as you should), you’re still going to be feeling a lot of pressure, from many directions. For that reason, keep things as simple as possible. Stow gear that you’re not using somewhere safe. And don’t be embarrassed to shoot in P mode or even Auto. Nobody is going to notice or care that you shot in M if the pictures are lousy; and nobody is going to notice or care that you shot in Auto if the pictures are great. The camera has a lot of intelligence built in. Let it help you. You <em>never </em>want to be waste precious mental energy <em>worrying </em>about exposure settings, flash settings, focal lengths, depth of field, focus, etc. <br>

The most important things for a photographer to get right at a wedding are (a) light and (b) composition and © the moment. Get those three right, and the camera will take care of everything else for you, at least to a degree that will be satisfactory. </p>

<p>Finally, <em>be a stranger </em>at the wedding. You’re there to work, to apply whatever skills you have to get a job done. You cannot be The Photographer <em>and </em>A Guest at the same time. Do not think of yourself as a guest. At some point, especially late in the party, you may be able to relax a little. But basically, for somewhere between three and six hours (maybe longer) you’re going to work your rear end off trying to capture memories of a great party that you did not take part in.</p>

<p><strong>8. Post mortem</strong><br>

As soon as possible after the wedding — ideally the same night — copy all the images from your card or cards. Do NOT erase the cards. Put them away someplace safe and don't touch them again until you've delivered the final photos to the bride.</p>

<p>I always take the next day off (usually it's a Sunday). I like to let my head clear before I tackle the processing. If the bride is still around, and if I remember a shot that I think is good, I might email just one or two quick shots to the bride. Otherwise, I take 24-48 hours off before getting back to the processing.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>Will</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"I guess trying to learn "Lightroom" is frowned upon too since it was a priority I mentioned it."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Quite the opposite. Lightroom is a terrific tool. I wish it had been available when I did weddings and events as gifts for family and friends several years ago. Lightroom is easy to learn, intuitively designed and helps ensure continuity in the overall look of a session or series of related photos. In fact, LR is so good I'm gradually returning to my backlog of photos dating back to 2005 to re-edit them in Lightroom.</p>

<p>Editing is the easiest part of Lightroom. Download a few freebie presets from <a href="http://lightroomkillertips.com/">Matt Kloskowski's site</a>, modify them to suit your tastes, and off you go. That's what I did to get my feet wet in Lightroom editing in 2012.</p>

<p>The tricky bit is using Lightroom effectively for organizing your photos. I'm still working on that.</p>

<p>But Lightroom may be the best tool ever developed for photographers who have to edit lots of photos quickly for weddings and events. And you can easily interface with tools like DxO Filmpack, Nik and Perfect Effects for custom effects beyond Lightroom. Perfect Effects in particular is a nifty utility that works well with Lightroom, although it is a bit more resource intensive than Lightroom itself, or DxO or Nik software. But Perfect Effects has a great support team and regularly scheduled free online tutorials. I sat in on one for Perfect Effects 8 recently and got a lot out of it.</p>

<p>By the way, I'll take a slightly different angle on the backup camera advice:</p>

<p>Get a really good point and shoot digital camera as your backup. There are some outstanding P&S digicams that are so good you'll actually *want* to use them for certain types of photos even in preference to your dSLR. Yeah, sounds weird, I know. But, for example, the Ricoh GR digital cameras are so good -- particularly their flash photos -- that you may even prefer it for candid snaps.</p>

<p>This is the golden age for P&S digicams, comparable to the 1980s-'90s golden age of 35mm film compact cameras. Right now there are many good choices of affordable compact digital cameras in APS-C format (same as your Nikon DX sensor dSLR): the Ricoh GR digital; Nikon Coolpix A (too expensive, IMO); several Sony NEX and other models.</p>

<p>If I was starting out with one dSLR as you are, I'd grab something like a Sony P&S with APS sensor, built-in flash, and use it as my backup for candid snaps and direct flash snaps. The smaller, lighter camera gives you so much flexibility - you can be spontaneous, weave in and out and around intimate moments such as couples dancing, or kids interacting with each other, and get truly spontaneous photos.</p>

<p>Don't consider it a replacement for a serious backup camera, but a valuable extension to your toolbox. And if the budget right now is tight, something like the Sony NEX 3N is very affordable.</p>

<p>The equipment I have is <br>

Nikon D5100 camera body<br>

Nikon 18-55mm lens <br>

Nikon 55-200mm lens<br>

I originally stated 70 -200mm lens in error, I was referring to this lens that came with my kit. I rarely use the kit lens as I also have a Tamron 18-270mm lens. This is the lens that stays on my camera most of the time.<br>

Nikon 50mm lens<br>

Nikon SB 400 Speedlight</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Finally, <em>be a stranger </em>at the wedding.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>You can be very professional and not be a stranger. Not mutually exclusive. Just do your job but have fun. You know the people, its an advantage, just don't forget why your there.</p>

<p>Thank you for the list of gear.</p>

<p>I suggest that you use the Tamron 18 to 270mm lens and the Nikon SB 400 for as much of the Wedding as possible.</p>

<p>The rationale is that, that lens is the most familiar to you and also will give the range of Focal Lengths that you require. Also you do not want (at least I would not want) you to waste valuable time changing lenses un-necessarily.</p>

<p>I suggest that you learn and practice <em><strong>Flash as Fill</strong></em> (mainly for the outdoor shots) and also look at making or buying a Flash Diffuser or Flash Bounce Card (mainly for the indoor shots) - you might consider making a DIY White Bounce Card.</p>

<p>(already mentioned) You need to know if and when you are NOT ALLOWED to use FLASH and have a plan to accommodate that - (most likely inside the Church) - so for that period you WILL need to use only available light - and as the 18 to 270 is a relatively slow lens (i.e. not a large maximum aperture), you might have to use the 50/1.8, which as we have discussed is a short telephoto lens on your camera - so you need to reconnoitre to ensure you will have the SPACE to use the 50mm lens.</p>

<p>I concur that for the pro bono assistance jobs that you are doing a P&S will suffice as a back-up camera, perhaps you could borrow one which also is compatible with your speedlite - I have two (Canon) P&S cameras and it is very useful that they both fit into my (Canon) DSLR kit in so far as they use the same ETTL metering system.</p>

<p>I am still unclear about the exact arrangements for the wedding for which you are being “paid” – but suffice to say that my opinion is if any money or gift is being transacted to you, then you should be aware that some folk would consider this a ‘professional engagement’.</p>

<p>WW</p>

<p> </p>

<blockquote>

<p>It's never easy to be told over and over that you are doomed to fail when you are determined to succeed.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>There's a risk of course but to say its a forgone conclusion is silly. The irony is that those comments turn out to be helpful because now you know what type of issues or problems to be aware of. At least on a conceptual level. This can help when you shape some of your goals and then incorporate techniques and information others provide that where useful and manageable. Plus asking questions is good. Its not like your just blundering in all clueless here. <br /><br />Come up with a manageable game plan. Take it out for a spin and practice. Make adjustments as needed at the time. You'll get useful images. By the third one you'll have three weddings under your belt. The naysayers will rue the day they said you couldn't do it.</p>

<p> </p>

<blockquote>

<p>The equipment I have is <br />Nikon D5100 camera body<br />Nikon 18-55mm lens <br />Nikon 55-200mm lens<br />I originally stated 70 -200mm lens in error, I was referring to this lens that came with my kit. I rarely use the kit lens as I also have a Tamron 18-270mm lens. This is the lens that stays on my camera most of the time.<br />Nikon 50mm lens<br />Nikon SB 400 Speedlight</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Phew! I am sooooo relieved to hear that! <br>

Given that gear, I would say that you have adequate primary coverage, and even redundancy for your primary focal lengths. At this point, while your lens selection is kind of slow, you are well positioned from a gear standpoint with the exception of flash and camera body.<br>

I think you should plan on the 18-270 being your 1st line shooting w/ one camera. It has VC, and it's versatility will make up, in large part, for it's speed. It's versatile zoom range will give you good opportunities that many kits (even ones 10x as expensive) would be hard pressed to catch. I carried that particular lens for awhile on my crops, and the flexibility of an 18-270 zoom allowed me to catch shots that even switching cameras (much less switching lenses) would have caused me to miss (though obviously not in a wedding situation).</p>

<p>I would say that, given your likely setup, the 18-55, and 55-200 should be with you - only as backups should you need them, and as such, kept in the bottom of the bag and out of the way, and out of mind. Neither are advantageous over the 18-270. I don't see any situation where they will give preferable IQ or speed over the 18-270.</p>

<p>But be prepared to forgoe it in low light situations. In a dark church it will be less than helpful - same goes for dark/late reception duties. Keep the 50 handy, but stick w/ the 18-270 for most of your 'average' wedding duties. Suffice it to say that if you had started the conversation w/ <em>"I have an 18-270 and a 50/1.8"</em> I would have been <em>vastly</em> less concerned about your capability from a gear standpoint. I have seen several weddings covered adequately with that very combination (though they all were daylight/daytime affairs).</p>

<p>I would add that given your gear, in your shoes, I would say a second body and a second flash rank pretty high up there as things you really <em>do</em> need. For a few hundred dollars you should be able to acquire units which will serve. An older Nikon (rebel-equivelant) body should be easy and cheap to find, and the same goes for a flash. <br>

The advantage to a second DSLR body as a back up can not be understated. One advantage which you may not have considered is that you can mount your 50/1.8 to the older body, and if you find yourself in a pinch where the light is not adequate to use your 18-270 effectively, but time is of the essence, simply grab the back-up body to grab snaps. You will be capable of doing due-dilligence, and very well may be pleasantly surprised at the effectiveness of such.</p>

<p>As far as a flash setup goes, your flash is the <em>single most unreliable, yet can be the most important component of a system. </em>In a wedding environment, I have damaged or destroyed numerous flash units - they hang off, get caught on things, and are the easiest component to damage - (not to mention they burn through batteries like there is no tomorrow!). Always frustrating, but rarely disastrous. --<em>Only because I always have a back up.</em> Always be prepared to loose a flash! The thing about flash units is that often, your first clue there is a problem is when they failed to fire & if your eye is looking through the VF, since the mirror goes up, you may not even notice! Sometimes even the camera doesn't know there is a problem. When using the flash, gimp, and gimp often!</p>

<p>If you're determined to do this then...</p>

<ol>

<li>Get a second D5100. I know for a fact that there's nothing wrong with that design because I use one myself. However, test both cameras before leaving home.</li>

<li>Get two spare batteries and make sure all batteries are fully charged.</li>

<li>Get a second speedlight. SB14s are dirt cheap these days and will do everything you need.</li>

<li>Start out with the 18-55 on one body and the 18-270 on the other, speedlights on both cameras.</li>

<li>Before the day - practice using each camera/lens alternatively on something like birds in the park. Your goal is to be able to switch from one camera to the other without thinking about it. When you get home, <em>analyse</em> the pictures to make sure that they look as if they came from a single camera.</li>

<li>Now follow your partner, kids, friend around for a couple of hours shooting with alternating cameras. Your aim is to forget about the cameras and the switching and concentrate on getting the best pictures. Once again, analyse the results carefully.</li>

<li>On the day, check everything again.</li>

<li>From the moment you arrive, switch cameras for every shot. That way, if there's a camera fault, you should have at least 50% of the images safe.</li>

<li>At that point, try to forget all about the technicalities and concentrate on taking the pictures.</li>

</ol>

<p>This is actually how I work when I do <em>anything</em> that I regard as important and it seems to work well.</p>

<p>I hope this helps.</p>

<p>Hi Athena. As I stated earlier I literally stumbled into the wedding business by taking on a wedding at the last minute when the contracted photographer backed out. I think it important that you understand basics before you do the weddings. These include the relationship between shutter speed, lens opening, and ISO and the relationship between aperture and depth of field. You should also understand how to use a flash that mounts on the camera. Find a friend with some kind of camera you can use in case you need a back up. You have said nothing about the locations where these wedding are to take place so it is hard to figure out what you need in the way of flash. I have used LR for a several years. Sit down now and practice editing on some of your current photographs in the Develop mode. Make sure you know how to upload from a card and how to specify a file to upload to. Two things that saved weddings for me when I started were shooting a lot of pictures and fill flash when stuck in difficult lighting conditions. When you think you have shot enough pictures shoot some more and if you are going to shoot groups get someone from each side of the families to help you get groups together. I think the 17-55 is fine as long as you have enough light. You will use it the most I think. Make sure you get at least thirty minutes to shoot the wedding parties between the ceremony and the reception. I have tried to do this before weddings but too many times critical people are late. I think you can do it with the forgiving groups you are starting with but please, please, take some of the advice others more experienced than I have given. There is a background among them of thousands of weddings and the great number of lessons learned through theirs and my mistakes. The most important thing is to have a good relationship with your customers and a relaxed attitude during the wedding. Expressions really count. </p>

<p>Athena,</p>

<p>The reason these admonitions are taking place are as warnings so that you <em>don't</em> do what too many people do, which is either ruin someone's wedding or get themselves into legal trouble by not being properly prepared. There are <em>far</em> too many horror stories out there which start out <em>exactly </em>like your post did. The advice is there to help protect you, to help protect the couples, and to help protect the industry. These are not "you are doomed to fail" responses, they are "many have failed miserably doing the exact same thing you are doing, so you'd best get the following in place if you hope to avoid calamity" responses.</p>

<p>You said you sat down with them. Great. Now <em><strong>get it in writing</strong></em>. If you don't, you are setting yourself up for a serious falling out and potential legal trouble.</p>

<p>Get the insurance: Backup equipment, backup people, commercial liability. Minimum. Someone earlier asked how you get backup people: you call around and you forge relationships with other photographers who could potentially step into your place if needed, at your expense, regardless of what you are being paid or not paid.</p>

<p>Communicate with the couple and find out what their expectations are for their wedding photography. No two weddings are alike, and assumption is the mother of all mistakes. If they say "the usual" do <em>not</em> let them go with that. "The usual" to one person is usually completely different than it is for someone else.</p>

<p>Understand going in that the following will very likely happen: You are doing this for little or no money, thus you are not considered a real professional, thus they will treat you as such <strong><em>and</em> </strong>inexplicably expect the world from you for their little or no money paid. There is a perception of low value attached to your "favor" and it will probably cost you in time, money, or both. Don't be upset if this happens, you pretty much are asking for it. <em>No good deed goes unpunished</em>, as they say.</p>

<p>If you think something is going to take fifteen minutes, schedule forty-five. If the wedding day is going A to B to C on a strict deadline, you're probably going to be screwed. Put that into your contract: You are not liable for photographs not taken if the schedule of the day gets altered due to lateness.</p>

<p>If your start time is 1:00pm, you'd better be there at 12:30 if not 12:00. If you haven't been to the locations before, scout them out. Find out where the trouble spots are going to be with lighting. Nothing is going to mess you up more than showing up to do family portraits on that staircase they all like, which is poorly lit and which no amount of bounce flash will rectify. If you suddenly find yourself having to boost your ISO to overcome such a situation, your shots are going to be really grainy and you may also get motion blur because you cannot hand-hold for a 1/10th of a second shot (few people can). Bring a tripod. I don't care if it's a pain in the neck. Bring it.</p>

<p>If you are still using the Auto function of your camera, you have from now until the first wedding to master at the very least, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, or (best of all) full manual. If you don't understand the balancing act between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, <em><strong>learn this to a level that you barely have to think about it.</strong></em><br>

<em><strong> </strong></em><br>

Now for the really obvious (or what should be)<br>

1) Act professionally, but keep things fun.<br>

2) Take control of family portraits and don't let the subjects get distracted by other people photographing them. Manage the people photographing behind you, or be prepared to deal with people not looking at you.<br>

3) Take more than one picture of people posing for you. They will blink or get distracted by a shiny. Don't give the couple all of those - give them the one of each that worked out.<br>

4) You are the photographer, paid or not, and you must have priority position for each thing to be photographed. The guests, especially Uncle Bob who has been called in to "back you up" are <em><strong>not</strong></em><strong> </strong>more important than you. Unless you're 6'7" like me, you'd better get in front.<br>

5) The word of the day: Breathe. That's for the couple, not you.<br>

6) Hydrate. Eat. You need fuel as well.<br>

7) Do not photograph people eating or drinking. That's not flattering. Photographing the group take shots together is a moment and thus okay.<br>

8) Do some research on posing techniques. Nothing screams amateur like standing there not knowing what to do with people who are looking to you for guidance.<br>

9) Don't forget to photograph the boring table in the back. They're wedding guests too.<br>

10) Watch your backgrounds. If there are windows or mirrors, shoot at an angle or you will get reflections of you, other guests, or worst of all, your flash. Make sure Uncle Bob isn't scratching himself behind the people you're photographing.</p>

<p>We all started somewhere, and the warnings you are being given are <em><strong>good advice.</strong></em><strong> </strong> You should very carefully take it all to heart.</p>