Beach Wedding

<p>I need some advice. I shot a beach wedding with about 35 in attendance. The wedding was planned in a 2 week time period. On the beach were no chairs for guest so I had them equally stand on each side so that there was a walk for the bride and so I could get the images that I would need to get. I was shooting with a 70-200. I said this in from of the Officiant. After the wedding started the officiant told everyone to "come in closer". Now those 35 people are within 2 feet of the bride and groom so I was forced at this point to shoot from behind them. She is upset that the ocean is not her background and wanting all the "original" photos. I tried to explain to her that I don't give originals and that wasn't gonna change the fact here. She said I should have made my way and they would have moved that she paid me to do the job. This wedding was short no music simple vows it would have been over by that point. There are about 3 photos this way all the others are facing the beach. She's telling me she is highly disappointed and cannot redo her wedding. She did not tell me at any time to make sure all was facing the beach. If I would have known that was very important I would have had us replay the moment after the fact. But there was no way of getting through 35 people I was shooting with a 70-200 and I needed a little distance.<br /><br>

I am sick over this because I like for things to be right. I don't know what to tell her. I so hate that the officiant did that at the last minute like that. Ugh!</p>

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<p>I need some advice . . . I don't know what to tell her.</p>

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<p>I think what you tell her depends a lot on your level of preparedness to shoot the Wedding. From what you've disclosed so far, it occurs that you might not have been sufficiently prepared: but more information is needed to confirm or exclude that possibility.</p>

<p>I think the first question to ask yourself (and also answer here) is in regard to this comment -</p>

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<p>"there was no way of getting through 35 people I was shooting with a 70-200 and I needed a little distance."</p>

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<p>Why couldn't you have used another (shorter) lens to get in tighter to the B&G and just push your way in closer to have quicker and easier manoeuvrability around the tight bunch of people, to allow you to get better camera positions on the B&G?</p>

<p>WW</p>

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<p> I so hate that the officiant did that at the last minute like that. Ugh!</p>

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<p>LOL I once had an officiant who yelled at the whole crowd (~80-100 guests) to turn their cell phones off! Then he turned to me (I was shooting the procession from behind him and through the wedding party), as the Bride was handed off, and in a loud commandeering voice said "And <em>you</em> had better not move one step until we are done!"</p>

<p>...I was livid, but you've sometimes got to roll with the punches. Every <em>single</em> wedding since, I speak to the officiant prior to the ceremony to lay out my expectations, and give them an opportunity to contradict me. I haven't had the same problem since - even though I've shot two other weddings with the <em>same</em> officiant. </p>

<p>I too am curious why you didn't simply swap lenses and shove your way in. Are you not prepared with two cameras? Do you not carry a wide->normal <em>and </em> a normal -> tele at <em>all</em> times while shooting a wedding?</p>

<p>In fairness, in the mob scene you are describing, you <em>must</em> be forceful enough to push through and past 'normal' guests. Believe it or not, most (but NOT ALL) 'normal' guest have an aversion to getting between a pro and their subject. It is the expectation of clientele that you will behave as a pro, and make the situation work to your advantage... In this circumstance though, a 16-35 (or equivalent) would probably have been preferable to a 24-70... That's not to say that a 24-70 couldn't easily be made to work, and a 70-200 (@ 70mm FOV) could probably be made to work as well - once in the crowd!</p>

<p>If I was doing weddings, I'd definiately have someone from family to intervene and to make room (in those awkward moments) for the photographer. Someone who is assertive...auntie/ancle whatever. I'm not all that great at elbowing folks, so I'd rely on someone.<br>

Les</p>

<p>Why a 70-200, a 24-70 would have been much better.</p>

<p>Gwen, this experience is behind you … not much you can do about it now. </p>

<p>The important thing is to learn from it if you intend shooting weddings in future.</p>

<p>A few thoughts to consider:</p>

<p>When shooting a wedding on location, (any location that the photographer or the client may choose), it is important to include that location as part of the coverage. If it is the beach, then that ambience must be an obvious part of the imagery. Your bride was disappointed because of this oversight.</p>

<p>Expect the best, plan for the worst. We all go to a wedding with preconceived creative notions, and almost always<em> reality</em> forces us to adapt. This is exactly what happened to you when the officiant ask the guests to move in for a more intimate experience.</p>

<p>All of us here have the luxury of hindsight in our responses. However, experience would tell many of us how to be ready for almost anything. Here's what I would have done in prep for your wedding:</p>

<p>I never shoot a wedding without a 24-70/2.8 or f/4, or 24-105/4 zoom. People have mentioned this already, but it bears repeating. It is the staple of most every wedding shooter.</p>

<p>It would have allowed you to be behind the crowd and lift your camera above them using your LCD to capture a wide-angle shot of the proceedings and the ocean/beach behind them.</p>

<p>What if your LCD doesn't tilt down, or you couldn't see it in the bright light of the beach? Personally, this is why I take a small step ladder to every wedding so I can shoot from an elevated perspective no matter what is in front of me. Camera bag and step ladder. </p>

<p>Also, with the wider zoom, you could have just went to the front of the crowd, squatted down or sat down dead center and shot the whole ceremony … without blocking anyone standing behind you. Maybe occasionally standing up for a different perspective. </p>

<p>BTW, I've shoot hundreds of weddings and don't even own a 70-200. I have used a 135 or 200mm to shoot from a balcony at a church … but they are my least used lenses.</p>

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<p>I have never been a professional wedding photographer, but I have taken pictures at weddings.</p>

<p>I am not sure what you mean by "I don't give originals and that wasn't gonna change the fact here."<br>

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In the film days, I believe that some photographers give all the negatives to the couple, others don't. But now it is digital, and you can give copies of JPG files.<br>

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Seems to me that you should at least give her a 4x6 of every shot, unedited, uncropped, and such, so that she knows you aren't holding out. </p>

<p>In recent professional family photo sessions that I have been in, among the package choices are ones with all the JPG files on CD. I suspect that should be a choice for wedding photographers, and that the one I went to offers that for weddings.</p>

<p>I also have CDs from our kids high school and college graduation photographers, so I can make more copies if the ones we have fade. In some cases, I only bought the CD.</p>

<p>Otherwise, it seems to me that one chooses a wedding photographer and then, as much as possible, leaves it up to the photographer to get it right. You should have samples to show from previous weddings, though on location makes it hard to have representative samples.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I think you should do something to help settle the matter, and, as above, an album with all the 4x6s in it is one possibility. Or maybe some other special treat, or a discount on a later session. How about a one year anniversary shoot at the same beach, 20% off the usual price?</p>

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<p>I am not sure what you mean by "I don't give originals and that wasn't gonna change the fact here."</p>

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<p>I understand this has two layers of meaning: firstly that the OP does not provide ALL the shots that were made (i.e. to have control over CULLING); secondly that the OP does not provide images which have not gone through some degree of Post Production. Only Gwen can confirm if that interpretation is correct, or not.</p>

<p>*</p>

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<p>Seems to me that you should at least give her a 4x6 of every shot, unedited, uncropped, and such, so that she knows you aren't holding out. </p>

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<p>I think that is not a good option to pursue: firstly, for the most part, prints are generally passé; secondly and more importantly, providing ALL the images taken at the wedding (i.e. the UN-CULLED set) and then providing all those images in their UNEDITED form is, by the above definition, providing a PRODUCT for which the OP was <strong>not</strong> engaged to supply and moreover likely <strong>it could worsen the situation of customer dissatisfaction by so doing</strong>.</p>

<p>WW </p>

<p>Sounds like a difficult wedding to shoot. We've all been there with the unhappy client and the uneasy feeling in our stomach, I don't envy you.<br>

A 70-200mm is in my experience almost always a bad choice to cover the ceremony. Its just too long! If you only have one body and you have to choose, I would always go for a 24-70mm F2.8 or if it's an outdoor wedding and there's enough light, the 24-105mm F4. <br>

Can you explain to the client why there aren't many images like the ones she had in mind? It's not going to make her less disappointed but might help to explain your thought process and the issues you had (very short ceremony, lots of people blocking you, officiant moving people with no warning). Not to make excuses, just to explain hat happened. <br>

I would be inclined to offer them a mock-up of the ceremony (without the officiant), just the two of them in full wedding gear exchanging rings, vows and a kiss on the beach. Not sure that's do-able or feasible? You'd obviously have to do it in roughly the same light conditions so it fits in with the rest of the photos but it might be possible to organise? <br>

You don't have to show the bride all the unedited photos but it might help illustrate the point you're making about lack of space and people blocking you. Sometimes it also helps if a client sees that you are not hiding any "extra special" photos from them for some weird reason...</p>

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<p>Some people are unreasonable, and you can't do anything about that.</p>

<p>I would try to look at it the other way. If those were your wedding photos, how would you feel about them? What would you want to say to the photographer? If you would be happy with them, then say that the bride is unreasonable. If not, then you should try to make up for the disappointment.</p>

<p>I suspect some photographers charge extra for difficult settings, like a beach. If so, you might consider a partial refund. You could consider the extra as an insurance payment against problems, and a partial refund as a claim on that insurance.</p>

<p>Otherwise, for difficult settings, the contract should indicate the difficulty, the possibility of disappointment due to conditions, and that there won't be any compensation for conditions beyond your control. </p>

<p>But I still like the coupon for a discount on a one year anniversary photo session. The studios that I know seem to have coupons and specials all the time, anyway.</p>

Well I think your camera case should have been close by allowing you to change lenses. Or carry 2 bodies with 2

different lenses. I'm sorry to say this is a photographers mistake. During weddings I liked the 70-200, but the main lens

was the 24-105. I also carry the 16-35 and I will take a few shots using a 15 mm fish eye. With the 70-200 I only take

maybe 12 shots with this lens for things like a close up of the rings, tears on the brides face. With the 24-105 you can

crop like crazy, take a full length shot and crop the ring exchange. Unless you are using stinky camera kits from Costco

or something, or your ISO settings are at 6400 and you are shooting with an f-stop at F-32.

So figure out a way to carry your gear, at least a 16-35 lens and for sure the 24-105. You really don't need the 70-200,

unless you have someone that can carry your gear for you. The 24-70 is actually a much better lens compared to the 24-

105. By the way, there are times when the photographer can't walk around and has to be in the back of the church/temple. I'll use the 24-105 without fear and crop. Holding the 70-200 during a service is too heavy.

So it's a lesson learned, don't worry about it, try to fix whatever images you can, and go on from there. You can offer to

have her get into her dress, rent the tux, and buy the flowers and re-shoot a mess of photos on the beach. Shoot about

150 shots, romantics, by herself, the groom, bring some champagne and glasses, they may agree. You may lose a few

dollars, but you've gained experience and perhaps a friendship and referrals from this couple. They may also reorder several enlargements.