How many rolls of 35mm do you shoot at wedding?

[tim_mcpain]

At a typical wedding of 6 hours, how many rolls of 35mm do you shoot?

<br>

Are they 36 exp? or 24exp?<br>

I shoot about 12 rolls of 36 exp. I wonder if I'm shooting too much

or too little compared to the others.<br>

Thank you

[grahams]

Tim

Depends how competent a photographer you are! If you know every shot will be in the proof album, not that many, but if you are unsure of your results, many more.

 

I used to shoot about six rolls of 36 which included about 75 "papparazzi" shots of guests and V.I.P's.

 

One roll on the ceremony

One roll on the formal groups

One roll on the speeches & first dance

One roll on the cake, garter, bouquet throw etc.

Two rolls on candids.

 

Hope this helps.

[bruce_rubenstein]

How much you shoot depends on your style of coverage, price range and if you are working for a studio. A low end, tradtitional style wedding mill may tell you to shoot no more than 3 rolls of film. A contemporary PJ'er, whose charging enough, might shoot 30 rolls. (I don't think pro film comes in rolls shorter than 36 exp, and I wouldn't want to reload any more than necessary.)

 

It really comes down to your style of shooting, client expectations and what you feel comfortable with.

[kevin m.]

That sounds about right. I shoot between 10 and 15 rolls of

36exp. The better the crowd and the more fun the wedding, the

more I shoot ;-)

[think27]

I agree with Bruce. I used to shoot 12 to 15 rolls in 8 hours when I was charging $1,000 to $1600. Now I am shooting 25-30 rolls in 6 hours but am charging $2800 to $3500. I am shooting PJ style and it has nothing to do with being unsure of my results. I only take out 2 to 5 unacceptable prints per roll. Mostly that is eyes closed, flash failure or other anomolies. What my clients want is moment by moment documentation and some things shot both in color and black and white. Sure a color shot can be turned into a black and white but I don't always like the result. I also have a different "eye" when shooting black and white. <p>So - bottom line - in my opinion.. it depends on price and style as Bruce says... It also depends on your market! What are the other photographers in your area in your price and quality range offering?

[rodolfo_negrete]

Mary Ball do you mind elabotting on " I also have a different "eye" when shooting black and white. "

Thank you

[philip_meadows1]

Tim, I also agree with above statements. 2-3 rolls per hr is about average. I differ a little by using 24 exp rolls of Fuji X-tra 800. I like the extra contrast especially at receptions, the colors are a little punchier too. Reasons for shorter rolls: I check, check and re-check that my gear is working correctly and that film did'nt break or other such stupid stuff (it's happend!).

[steve_levine]

Im always amazed at the PJers high roll counts.I have heard some brag of 40 rolls or more at a wedding!The minimalist,low budget king I worked for years ago,shot 6 rolls every wedding.Therefore,somewhere between 6 and 40,is the correct answer here.Regardless of format,my average day is about 300 frames.I shoot a mix of traditional and candid styles.(Which according to the PJ purists,isnt possible).Around 90% of what I shoot goes to the bride,only blinks and doubles are omitted.

[think27]

Rodolfo -- A different 'eye'... for color and black and white: <p>

When I'm shooting color - I'm mostly looking for great color compliments and warm shade... Usually if I can find it - that means sunlight coming through leaves as a background. Sometimes it means I have to avoid garden flowers or other things that compete with the bouquet. However, for black and white I will look for cleaner backgrounds...lighter backgrounds...interesting lines....simpler. Or - I'll zoom in for a tighter simple composition. Or, if it is during the ceremony and have black and white in my hands - I might zoom in and fill the frame with the hands as the rings are exchanged but might not do that shot in color.

[wedding-photography-denver]

I had used as many as 13 rolls when shooting film. Thats about 450 shots. B&G get about 300.

 

These days I,m shooting digital and typically get about 100-120 per hour. I still give the B&G about 300.

 

Hope that helps?? Regards.

[mark wells]

Last wedding I shot, used about 500 frames with my 10D. And I did both photojournalist style and traditional poses (there's no reason you can't do both, after all portraits often are part of photojournalists work).

A partner was also shooting, and picked up about 500 more frames. There was too much duplication in the end, and I think we were shooting sometimes just out of boredom. Time spent we could've have used setting other things up.

Also, if you do shoot up to 1000, think about how much work you are giving yourself setting up the album, etc. Letting the clients pick photos will only make the process longer.

In the end, you've only shot too little if you missed something. Shoot enough to be confident you've got all the shots. Bring extra film. You don't have to use it all, but you'll be happier having too much than too little.

[rick_gray]

I shoot 5 or 6 rolls of B&W T400CN per wedding(this is my seventh year). B&G get all prints(proofs) and negs sized 5x7 C-41 processing. I'm not a pro but a decent photographer ... and I love the intensity/atmosphere/emotion of weddings! Sometimes less is more.

[kimberly c.]

A better question, How do you guys stop yourselves from

shooting??? Im a 20-30 roll queen, if I see it I shoot it. I just cant

help it.

[fotografz]

At twenty to twenty five dollars a roll for film, processing and proofing, 30 rolls is over

$600. (last film wedding I did was even more for film and developing because I shot MF

220 films). That's like $10,000 a year if you shoot 15 to 20 weddings annually... or about

the cost of a Canon 1DMKII plus a Digital Rebel back-up body, a 24-70/2.8 L & 70-200/

2.8 L, a 550EX flash and six 1 gig cards. The question is, if you shoot that many films, how

can you afford to not go digital?

 

On the other hand, I'm actually considering NOT shooting digital come this September

because I have 9 weddings booked then. If I shoot digital I'll be chained to my computer

for the entire month of October (even using all the batch correction tricks in the book).

 

I'll just take the financial hit for that one month and use film, letting the lab do all the

work, including the enlargements for the album. Not going to be a very profitable month

as far as I can calculate.

[kimberly c.]

Marc, Im lucky enough to work for a lab, I process my rolls, make

the contact sheets and just go through and pick the ones I really

want, and I have another lab print them. its more work, but it

gives me the oppurtunity to really disect my images, oh and did I

tell you I'm 35, female, and bald.

[fotografz]

Bald?

 

Hope it's not due to an illness.

[gmahler5th]

Marc, my lab, Pro Lab of Seattle, charges $0.99 per print for Digital Diamond prints. Compared to film, printing form digital is more expensive than the $17 the lab charges me for processing and proof prints, and the $5 I paid for the film.

 

Are you printing contact sheets or 4x6 at your lab? How much do you pay? Are they doing any color balancing or touch ups for you?

[fotografz]

Steven, my lab is about the same as yours for film development and 4X6 proofs. so,

including film purchase, $22. to $25. a roll total cost is where I net out when shooting

film.

 

When I shoot digital, I crop and correct myself (usually netting about 200-250 keepers)

and provide 13X19 contact sheets printed on the Epson 2200 for client review. All those

keepers that are burned to a DVD.

 

Total count of images shot is about 600 to 800, which translates to about 20 rolls of 36

exposure film, or roughly the equivalent of $500 in film expenses.

 

The question is whether $500 is enough to cover my time processing digital files.