Less than 48hours, my first wedding..HELP!!!!

[parasko_p]

Hi all,

 

A photographer has asked me at short notice to shoot a wedding. I agreed

thinking I would be assisting him but he wants me to go it alone.

 

I've never shot a wedding before...ever!! Not even assisting!!

 

Ok so I need help asap...PLEASE...I am stressed out of my skin about this.

 

Equipment first...I don't even have my own equipment so I am going to request

the following from him:

1. 2 bodies

2. a 24-70 and a 70-200 mm lens

3. Flash guns for both lenses.

 

Is there anything else I will need? I want to keep this as simple as possible.

 

I thought about a tripod but it will just get in the way.

 

How many gigs for the CF cards? I'm assuming I will be shooting everything in

RAW?

 

OK, secondly:

 

Are there any quick links on the web for standard wedding shots. You know,

there must be at least a dozen or so standard shots that everybody takes. If I

can at least nail these shots, I will wing the rest.

Any ideas?

 

Any advice at all you can give me would be MUCH APPRECIATED!!!

 

Cheers.

[stephen dohring]

You should not accept to be alone and he should have never put you in that position your both not thinking straight. "Wing" someones wedding day. Then again if they are paying $500.00 for the 1st photographer who backed out they should have known better and my advice is capture moments and you will find a standard list on the net.

[35mmdelux]

Follow B&G around and photograph everything that can be photographed and pray you get something worthwhile.

[william-porter]

<p>Oh, dear. I think that most of the pros here will tell you that the best option you have at this point is to talk to the photographer and tell him you aren't up to the job, that you were expecting to be the second shooter. If that doesn't work, try coming down with the flu, immediately. </p>

<p>If you decide to go ahead, here's a link to <a href="http://weddings.about.com/od/photographer/a/Photogchecklist.htm">a list of the usual shots</a>. There are many such lists; you can probably Google a couple and get some other ideas.</p>

<p>The two lenses sound okay, although my feeling is that you will wish you had something wider than 24mm at some point.</p>

<p>I am assuming that you have some idea how to take photographs, although the fact that you don't have your own equipment is a bit worrying. Normally, I would say that you'd want to know your equipment thoroughly, but by "thoroughly," I mean knowing it in a way that you can only know equipment after using it for a long time. It sounds as if you're going to need to put the camera into Program mode, use the most automated TTL option for the flash, and basically take a point and shoot approach. At this point, if you tried to get fancy, you'd almost certainly do far worse.</p>

<p>How much storage? Hard to say. The right answer is, <em>more than you expect to use</em>. But it's hard to know what to expect. Someone I respect here recommended 16 GB the other day. But it depends on the size of your files, and how many photos you'll be shooting. You ought to know how many files you can get on a card and you ought to have some idea how many photos you'll shoot. Do the math. If you don't go with way more storage than you need, then you'll need to pay close attention throughout the day as you shoot so that you don't fill up your cards by the end of the ceremony.</p>

<p>Shooting raw is almost always a good idea -- unless you don't have enough storage. Better to be able to keep shooting, even if the files are converted to jpeg in the camera, than to run out of storage and fail to cover the reception.</p>

<p>You can find more tips on shooting weddings <a href="http://www.christophermaxwell.com/wedding-photography-tips.htm">here</a> and <a href="http://www.rokkorfiles.com/Wedding101-page1.html">here</a>. I'm almost reluctant to recommend those articles, though. You have so little time, you will probably be better off getting your cameras a.s.a.p. and simply practicing in P mode. You've got to know how the camera works, how the flash works, etc.!</p>

<p>Re the tripod: Do you know what lighting conditions you'll face? Is the wedding in a church? Is the lighting in the church typically low? What speed will those lenses be? Will the camera body or the lenses be stabilized? Unless the lighting is unusually good, even an f/2.8 lens is not going to be fast enough to let you use shutter speeds that are fast enough to keep the photos from blurring, if you shoot handheld, especially if you're using the telephoto lens at, say, 100mm.</p>

[edward_brewington]

Request all the equipment that you can use from your photographer friend. Relax and just shoot what you see. This is way to late to ask what should I do now. You are not going to become a good wedding photographer over night. NO WAY. So just do what you do and hopefuly the Bride will understand that she cheaped out. Sorry there aren't any quick fix answers. Good luck

[william-porter]

Oh, I forgot something very important: BATTERIES. Make sure you've got freshly charged batteries in the camera bodies and the flash units. And take lots of extra batteries.

[conraderb]

this is a really bad idea - not on YOUR part, but on the other photographer's part. I hope that you are good at what you do and get paid well.

[parasko_p]

thanks everyone for your quick responses...great advice so far..

 

...good idea re: the batteries..thanks William (thanks for your lengthy response also!).

 

I should clarify that I am not completely new to photography (but no way am I a pro!). In fact I recently sold my Canon gear in order to learn 4x5 exclusively. I have never undertaken any paid work for photography so everything has been personal work to date.

 

I thought about using the flu excuse, but this may be a way in to the industry for me...albeit the very steep learning way in..I just don't want to ruin things for the couple on the day.

 

I have yet to discuss all the ins and outs with the photographer (tomorrow) so hopefully I'll have a better idea then of what I'm up against (in terms of lighting for the church and reception hall etc).

 

Any other comments would be sincerely appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[scottl1]

Besides the checklists, which are almost a must, look through a lot of photographers websites and see what they are taking pictures of. Obviously you need to capture the main moments: bride walking down the isle with escort (dad or someone else), ring exchange, first kiss, first dance, cake cutting, wedding party, etc.

 

If possible, ask the bride what pictures she wants (have her fill out the checklist). You may not be able to do that with only 48 hours.

 

I'm sure you've been to weddings before, use that experience to know roughly what's going to happen and try and be in the right spot to get the picture. Is there a rehearsal that you can attend? This will give you an idea of what's going to happen and where to be.

[tsturm]

If you are going to go through with it, be prepared. Learn everything about your gear

and know everything thats happening. You should have a schedule that tells you when

everything is happening. Find out where the bride and bride maids are getting ready and

try to get access to it. Make sure you know how to use a flash. With the exception of the

actual ceremony itself, you will most likely need a flash for any indoor shooting. Find out

anything you can about anything. Learn important peoples names, find out where things

will take place, and know where you can use a flash.

As for actual shots, use all of your knowledge of photography. Closer is more often

than not better, avoid any mess in the background, and make sure the shot is not blurry.

On a tiny lcd screen it is sometimes hard to tell if a shot is blurry. If in doubt, use a higher

ISO. If you do not have good lighting durring the ceremony, i recomend a monopod. A

tripod is too bulky to move around, and you will have to move around.

Good luck

[susanne_beerli]

BAIL NOW!

 

say no.

 

call the B&G and ask them to pressure the other photographer. If you screw up you'll be doing a huge disservice to the B&G (and might be pulled into some legal issues to boot).

[davidnoblephotography]

Well, in the ten years I've been doing photography as a serious hobby, I've only ever done two weddings, and both have been friends' weddings. weddings are not so much difficult to shoot, but because it is thier "special day", the pressure is very much on the photographer to get it right.

 

There are a few simple shots that I would recommend:

 

1. Get a few shots of the wedding party arriving at church - the cars, etc.

 

2. If you're allowed in church, get at least one good one of the bride walking down the aisle.

 

3. Signing the register.

 

4. Bride & Groom outside church (preferably on church steps) after ceremony. Get a few of the family and friends with the happy couple outside church, too.

 

5. If there's a park near to the church, why not take the wedding party, ie Bride, Groom, Best Man, bridesmaids, parents, ushers, etc, to the park, and pick a nice spot to have some photos done. group the people however you like.

 

6. Make sure you get some good informal shots throughout the day as well. It may be an idea to present the Bride & Groom with TWO albums: one formal wedding album in colour, and an informal black & white presentation. I did this for both weddings I photographed, and the idea seemed to go down well.

 

I hope I've been of some assistance here. You must post the results and tell us all how it went.

[davidnoblephotography]

AND ABOVE ALL... Appear confident. If the wedding party get a whiff of your nervousness, eyebrows will be raised.

[danielserrano]

good luck... you'll need it...

[twatkinson]

Yikes! I wouldn't suggest backing out. The B&G don't have enough time to find a

replacement. I do think you should be honest with them though. If they have lower

expectations, they won't be disapointed if they don't get what they were expecting from the

original guy. It sounds to me, like they hired photoguy1 and now they're getting you. So

they're expecting what HE can deliver.

 

Maybe offer to do it at cost (your travel expenses, etc.) instead of getting paid for your time

(they can always tip you afterwards if they're happy with your work). They're happy, you're

happy (and a little more relaxed). Also, I agree with Dave, confidence is #1

[conraderb]

parasko - if you really don't want to do this, then remember it is NOT your responsibility to cover the photographer's goof. just say NO.

 

remember that just having the equipment doesn't mean that you are prepared to shoot a wedding - the pace can be very fast - you have little time to get the right shots...you need to know the gear VERY well...

 

i would bring at least 15 gigs to shoot RAW. you want to overshoot and hope that you get some good stuff.

 

in terms of style, shoot very conservatively. keep it simple and uncomplicated with the lighting.

[picturesque]

Use Program mode. Do not use AV mode. Use One Shot mode. Use ISO 100 outside and ISO 400 or 800 inside. Know how to compensate your flash so that if you notice you are overexposing or underexposing, you can adjust it. I would bring a tripod because you aren't sure whether you will get a 70-200mm f2.8 IS and you may have to photograph a ceremony in a church without flash. You may also have to photograph formals inside a dim church. Winging it and getting blurry shots is not a good idea. Ask the photographer whether you are supposed to shoot RAW. Some photographers don't even deal with RAW files. If shooting RAW, figure you need enough card space to take at least 500-800 shots, maybe more.

[KenPapai]

P.P., Don't do it -- you don't even know what you don't know (as far as digital photography is concerned).

 

If you did you would help us out with obvious holes in your questions:

 

Which camera bodies? It also sounds like you might be doing the software postprocessing... do you know how to process RAWs -- how many books are in your library, or, do you have EXPERT assistance?

[paul_sokal___dallas__tx]

Is it April 1st already?

[davidnoblephotography]

if you take a look in the "PEOPLE" folder in my PN portfolio, all the shots there were taken at weddings. I wasn't the official snapper, I was DJing at the night-time party. So it may be a good idea to hang around, because most of the best informal shots can be captured when everyone has had a drink! ;-)

[kevan_goddard]

Another perspective:

Some Bride and Groom somewhere have paid good money expecting to get a professional service. You have never shot a wedding before; do not have your own gear; haven't a clue as to what shots to take or what you will need; and finally, you're willing to "wing it".

 

If it all goes pear shaped (which I hope it doesn't) that's one more couple who will be berating "professional" photographers to anyone who will listen.

 

The photographer who has put you in this position clearly shows a lack of regard for the profession, his clients and least of all you (putting you under so much stress).

 

If you see this as a way of getting into the business - beware. The experience could scar you for life!

[karenco]

Walk away now. That's my best advice to you.

[KenPapai]

DJ Dave -- your advice is rather simplistic, or even obvious to anyone who has attended more than two weddings. It's a piece of cake to be a snap shooter and get a few good candids; it's a whole 'nuther ballgame when you are the hired pro (The Leader) and without experience (the OP is extremely inexperienced completed -- technical and wedding event) asking elementary level questions.

 

Don't. Do. It.

[mark_turner4]

Like Karen said, walk away now. Now. You are about to have a catastrophe. Do not go try to learn your craft on someone's wedding day. That is not fair to them. Ruin their wedding photography, and they can never get it back. But you can be sued. It happens a lot. And if you shoot this wedding you are asking to be sued.

 

Oh one more thing, go beat the crap out of the idi0t that asked you to do this.

[sandra_lemin]

Don't do this no matter how much the money. Thee are so many things that can go qrong.

sandra