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First Wedding Jitters


b. raye

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So I am shooting my first wedding on July 29th. Any tips or advice would be

great.

 

I am shooting with a Nikon D50 digital and a Vivitar flash. They are really

good friends of mine, but I am not sure if that eases the pressure or makes it

worse.

 

Thanks for your help

bryndi

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I shot my sister's wedding. That's the last I "officially" shoot for a reletive. :)

 

As far as backup gear goes ...

 

Two nights ago I broke my 550ex. My 420ex is in a container somewhere between here and Japan for repairs, broke last month. Now I'm down to a pair of 580ex speedlights with two weddings this weekend on the calendar. Couple months ago I broke a sync cord. (glad the sync cord broke instead of the speedlight!!)

 

Yeah, stuff breaks.

 

Know what you want in advance. Best not to improvise too much once the big day arrives. When it's time to direct traffic, such as "formals," do so with authority. The rest of the time, go with the flow.

 

It largely depends on your level of self confidence in this kind of situation. It's no easy task, but a lot of fun if you don't sweat the small stuff!

 

Good luck!

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back-up gear. ask someone for help. keep the lights up to a resonable level at reception if possible. take care of your physical needs, ie; asprin, good shoes, ect...shoot alot, bring plenty of batterry juice, don't over shoot your flash, meaning, give it time to be ready again, wich could take up to a looonnng 7 seconds. buy rechargable batterries if you have none.

the friends of yours part will make working with them easier, most of the time, as long as they are resonable people.

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I came here three years ago, asking the same questions- these guys are great but there is one thing no one here told me and it is important- wear comfortable shoes!! You will be on your feet for hours. The first wedding I photographed was for my niece so I was a guest as well as the "photographer". I dressed the guest part and my feet paid the price. One other thing- enjoy the day and the people you are photographing and your work will reflect that.
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I second the comfortable shoe thing.

 

People advise against shooting at a friend's wedding, but I did it twice in the last two weeks, and had such a great time! I wrote a post on it last week - that I think I get better pictures when I know the people I'm photographing.

 

Be ready to learn SO much from your day! I did my first wedding a year ago (and have done about 22 since then) and am SO much better now than I was then. It's incredible how much learning can take place over a 5 hour period (and even more AFTER the 5 hours is over!).

 

Finally, have fun!

 

Jen

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take people pictures around the house and at any street fairs in your town every day until then to get comfortable with your gear.

 

are you in control of your camera/flash combination?

 

do you know how much flash to ambient you will use indoors and out?

 

after the wedding keep taking people pictures wherever you can so you keep retain fluency with your gear.

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