christina_mallet Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 I'm shooting my first wedding July 1 and want to get people's down and dirty 1-2 top words of advice. FYI: I have two bodies (5D & 20D), 3 L series lenses, two speed lights, 20gigs of memory, and an assistant...am I missing anything? Thanks for your words of wisdom Christina :) p.s. Hi LeonP :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edsel_adams Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Never take your eyes off the bride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon_pryor Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Hey Cristina! Be assertive - there are going to be people there with cameras (or drinks) that will get in the way. Politely but firmly ask them to move. A camera with a large lens and a bracket is typically all you need to get people to vacate. Also make sure you make it clear that you need to take certain shots first - ie cutting of the cake so their speedlights don't interfere with yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen dohring Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 You have some good stuff on your site so one word for everything details: Details of the wedding: (gifts, favors, guest book, jewelry, tables, holding hands, flower grils with their baskets etc.) Details of positioning: holding the flowers, stray hairs, feet, dress, hands, buttons on jackets. Details of your camera: ISO setting, SS and aperture. When going from inside to out keep an eye on you settings and meter through the viewfinder if your not a big chimper like me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_schilling___chicago_ Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Looks like you've got a great website & good equipment....but no experience shooting weddings. I'm sure that with your photographic experience that you'll get lots of nice images but I think you'll also find that good wedding coverage is alot more difficult than it looks. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christina_mallet Posted June 15, 2007 Author Share Posted June 15, 2007 Just so y'all know: I in no way think shooting a wedding will be easy, which is why I'm asking for sage advice ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ni_gentry Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 <p> Be much less concerned with your gear than with the moments and the people you are attempting to capute. All the "L series lenses" and 5D's in the world don't mean squat if you don't have a true understanding of light and if you don't know how to communicate something with your images. <p> Always be looking for good natural light. <p> Have fun. <p> Don't take yourself too seriously. <p> Take your job very seriously. <p> There's other stuff, but that's what comes to mind off the top of my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annealmasy Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Bring your battery charger. Nothing like realizing your batteries are dying and you have no way to charge them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregory_c Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Breathe slow, work quickly, take your time to correctly shoot each image, check your settings every few shots. Sometimes you will go to a different location & for a few shots & come back to orginal location & forget to change settings. Do not dress casual. Finally,,believe in yourself, be confident & professional, trust your equipment. good luck !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_k1 Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 <i>"Be much less concerned with your gear than with the moments and the people you are attempting to capute. "</i><p> Of course that last word should be <i>"capture"</i>! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_k1 Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 I'd suggest studying all your favorite images from other photographers and have a plan for what you want to shoot during all the parts of the day. Also have backup plans because things have a way of not going how you expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicola inglis Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Have a plan, be able to change it (give yourself permission to throw it all out but know that it's there if you need it). Change batteries when you arrive at the reception (or they die during the speeches, cake cut or first dance). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy s. Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Check your settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christina_mallet Posted June 15, 2007 Author Share Posted June 15, 2007 Ni, I get the sense that you think by stating my gear that I'm relying on my gear to shoot the wedding for me instead of using my knowledge of light. I'm not worried about my skills as a photographer or understanding light. I merely stated my equipment so I could avoid getting responses like 1. have an extra body 2. have low light glass, etc. Thanks for your two cents though. Christina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaimie blue Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Nancy hit this one right on the mark, check your settings, and throughout the entire event keep on checking especially if you are shooting manual and going from indoors to out, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 1. Stay flexible and calm. If you've never shot a wedding before, no matter how high your technical skills are, you may find yourself stressed or not sure what to do or how to respond to people and situations. 2. Smile a lot. Everything goes better when people perceive you to be confident, friendly, and in control (even if you're not). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffreyc Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 "Don't take yourself too seriously. Take your job very seriously." Ni, you beat me too it. Good thing I have a backup: "Don't panic" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timcorridan Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 don't overshoot your flash/batterries capability. change them often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timcorridan Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 start doing squat excercise's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conraderb Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 lots of batteries, lots of flash cards, always checking settings and histogram. unless you are using optical slaves (I doubt it), you should NOT be worrying about other people's speedlights messing up the pictures. it sounds nice, but totally untrue. news photographers routinely work in packs, and they ALL have the same body (canon 1d Mk 2) and the same lens (usually 16-35L, 24-70L or 70-200L) and the same flash (canon 580EX), and there are literally dozens of flashes firing each SECOND inches away from each other, and they do just fine. conrad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg jansen Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Keep it simple. Don't try some new equipment, new techniques, etc. when you are starting out. Do what works for you and stick to it. I'll never forget one of my first weddings where I tried a new flash reflector. I had bumped my flash head a bit so the head was pointed slightly downwards. Most of the shots on one roll had a dark shadow from half way up. There is enough to think about, sometimes too much. Remember to pause, catch your breath, be in charge, and take a moment to look, really look and think about your camera settings. Do this as often as possible, only takes a few seconds. You don't want to find you are shooting at iso 1600 and outdoors in daylight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 We have shot over 600 weddings in 8 years (this includes Fri, Sat, Sun) just one word... Breathe, its not rocket science, just do what comes natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretchen_steele Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 When I first starte doing weddings I need Valium more the bride...my big rule is have fun and try to make it a fun and enjoyable experience for the bride.....Once I learned to just breathe and go with flow and be part of the experience the quality of my shots shot up! I take a turn at all the dollar dances...and get good feedback from that..gives me a minute to just zone and makes the couple feel like I really do care about them as people.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug_axford1 Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Don't smash into the car in front of you on the way to the church. It happened once, just as the limo went by. Wasn't funny at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jan shim Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Think twice when you get asked to shoot a wedding for a family relative. I made a mistake of letting history repeated itself when I agreed to shoot their wedding. I had honestly thought there's no better gift to the wedding couple than the images I produced exclusively for them. Unfortunately, they decided to reward me with attitude! I'm not saying all relatives are nasty but from the responses I received on my blog, it seems a common enough occurence to document it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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