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Pre-wedding shots of bridal party


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Hi, I'm an experienced amateur photographer, although I do mainly

concerts and travel stuff.

 

I'm best man at a wedding in 3 week's time in Norfolk, England. I've

been asked to do photographs of the bridal party prior to the

ceremony - purely whilst they are getting ready at home in the

morning.

 

There will be one bridesmaid, the bride and her baby, and the mother

of the bride.

 

Their cottage is very small and isn't great for natural light. I'll

be working with a D2X, and I assume I'm going to have to resort to

bouncing flash with my SB28DX. I'll probably use 17-35 f/2.8-4, 50mm

f/1.8 and 28-70 f/2.8 lenses because of lack of space.

 

I'm getting no guidance from them as to what they want so I'm going

to do informal / reportage style shots.

 

What I'm after is suggestions for the 'must have' shots, interesting

angles, moments, key details to catch etc. I guess I'll want to

convert some to black and white in PS so advice on the best way to do

that from a D2X RAW file would also be appreciated. I'm not going to

have any other equipment or lights, and it will be very very cold so

we'll be staying indoors.

 

Would people think it would also be worth loading up the old F100

with a roll of Delta 3200 for some grainy shots that I know won't

need flash? D2X is fine at 1600 but lousy at 3200 IMHO.

 

Many thanks,

 

Neil

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Neil, the very best advice I can give you is to look at Jeff Ascough's web site and see how he handles this kind of situation.

 

www.jeffascough.com

 

I really don't believe you need anything faster than EI 1600. Don't hesitate to use those lenses wide open. It's your choice, of course, but I wouldn't want the distraction of trying to shoot both film and digital at the same time. Delta 3200 should be rated at 1600 for best results anyway.

 

There are no specific "must-gets." Just observe everything that happens and try to cover it with as much artistry as possible. (Again, see Jeff Ascough's work!)

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to answer your questions about the NEF file, I convert to B&W in ACR by desaturation the image and adjusting the temperature and tint sliders as needed to acheive the look I desire, you can also play with the individual color controls and the shadow tint. You probably won't need anything higher than ISO 800.

 

Keep in mind that you're the best man, don't spend the entire day trying to run around and take pictures of everything possible, enjoy the day and make sure you're friend is ready for the wedding.

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I think there are some must-haves...you need to make sure that you have at least one potential enlargement for the living room wall; a 3/4 length portrait of B&G and a full length one of them showing a bit more of the location. They may not choose either but they'll feel that something is missing if they don't have the option.
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Neil

 

I would try and get the following.

 

1) Dress hanging up before the bride puts it on (try hanging it from a chandeler, or in a position where the light will catch it).

 

2) Detail shots - Close up showing texture of the dress, shoes, flowers, jewellry, perfume etc.

 

3) Bridesmaids putting the finishing touch on the brides dress. This is often quite a fun but emotional moment they will treasure.

 

4) If the mother / grandmother / aunts are around be sure to include them.

 

I would load up the F100 with some 3200. Try and make use of light coming through a window. The picture attached was taken with Kodak Tmax 3200 using window light only.<div>00EK6U-26705684.jpg.af057028aefc243b17123491ee61aa0d.jpg</div>

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