Help with my 1st Wedding?

[michaelsmiller]

<p>So I am shooting my very first wedding in about 4 months and I am overwhelmed and in need of some serious help! I am not an amatuer shooter, I have been a photographer for years but never did weddings. A close friend of mine wants me to shoot their wedding and refuses to consider anyone else so I agreed. I have let them know my inexperience in this discipline as to set the expectations. They understand but are a big fan of my work so they are willing to let me learn on the fly.<br>

With this said, I need your help as far as some logistics questions....</p>

<p>1. Is it possible to get optimal performance and hit all my shots with just myself, or is it absolutely necessary for me to hire a 2nd shooter? If I need a 2nd, what is a fair price to pay them?</p>

<p>2. Is 3 4GB cards enough, if I am shooting only RAW, or should I go out and grab a few more 8GB cards?</p>

<p>3. What is the best policy about shooting the bride and groom between the wedding and the reception. Should I allot about an hour or do we need more like 2 hours to get the necessary shots?</p>

<p>4. Can I get away with using a Speedlite 430EX II Shoe Mount Flash inside the church or will I need extra lighting or does that just completely matter on the church, couple, regulations of the church?</p>

<p>5. What is the policy about return time on images from a wedding because of the large amount of images taken? Normally I tell my clients to allow 10-14 days for their images to be ready for viewing/purchasing. Will this be enough time or do I allot more like 1 month before the images are ready for the couple?</p>

<p>6. Is a FREE engagement session standard operating procedure?</p>

<p>7. Lastly, should I just provide the couple with a DVD with 50-100 Images and then let them view the others on my website and if they want to purchase additional photos then that would be extra? I am doing them a favor and charging a really great price but I don't want to screw myself either.</p>

<p>Sorry for the length of the email, but I just want to do this right and not ruin a great friendship, even though I have already set the proper expectations with the couple.<br>

Thanks so much in advance!<br>

Miller</p>

[tonybynum]

Every question you asked has an indefinite number of answers mostly all based on choice and personal experience, you have choice but little experience, that's okay because you can photograph a wedding.

 

I'd say this much about your first wedding for a friend, do it for money, if you do it for free you likely will not work as hard or make the same effort - money has as way of motivating us to work. Also, have a contract, shoot it photojournalistic, and get a shot list.

 

If there is one thing that I think is true about all weddings, is that youre a wedding planner, and you must plan less time than you thought you would have (the bride and groom is not likely to give you two hours on her wedding day, be thank full if you get them exclusive for 1/2 to 1 hour. You must be a good, willing and astute communicator, and you should have back ups of everything you plan to use, period. I'm not saying that because it's what everyone says i'm saying that because every wedding has it's own mishaps some are big some are small, but they happen. . . I've lost as much as a $5 in one mishap taking out a body, lens and flash in matter of a second or so. It happens.

 

You will do fine but just be prepared. Sit down with the couple and get a shot list and ask her about the few things that she must have. If the dress is white, it must be white and NOT blown out in your final images, if you fail either of these you fail. The wedding is about the dress. . .

 

Get yourself one person that likes to help out (you can cover the whole thing by yourself) but you will need a helper that knows the families and the names of the people. . . talk to bride about this and get her to get you a helper (unless you already know everyone) you will need a person to help with organizing and getting people together.

 

I think wedding photography has as much to do about managing the event and your time as it is anything else. The wedding seldom stops for the photographer . . .

 

Good luck.

[picturesque]

<p>1. It is possible to get everything yourself. If you hire a second, I'd say $35-50 an hour, depending upon ability and experience, if you are in the U.S. Other countries, I don't know.</p>

<p>2. This depends on your camera and the RAW file size it produces. Just figure what you would need if one card goes south, for whatever reason. CF cards are cheap, compared to everything else about a non-repeatable day.</p>

<p>3. This depends on the church rules and the patience of the couple, as well as how organized they and their families are. Again, if in the U.S., and this may vary within the U.S., half an hour is kind of a generally alloted time for after ceremony formals, which isn't a lot of time when you consider everything else that has to happen within that time frame. You need to check with the church. You may or may not be 'kicked out' if you try to stay there shooting for 2 hours. I can tell you that it is the rare couple that will stay posing for these shots for 2 hours. Even an hour is a lot. About 45 minutes, tops (pure shooting time, not including anything else) is generally what is manageable.</p>

<p>4. Yes, you can make a 430EX work. Extra lighting for the formals is up to you. Extra lighting for the ceremony is usually not even allowed. Yes, you will have to check with the church and the couple (their expectations).</p>

<p>5. There is no policy. Depends how long you take to process the images. Figure it out and you'll have your answer.</p>

<p>6. No. Do what you like.</p>

<p>7. Set this up however you want. This is a close friend. If it were me, I'd make all the images available to them as a wedding present. Online posting--up to you. If you want to derive any income from this, set up whatever is convenient. Just make it clear. And be sure your friends know what kind of dollar value your gift involves. I would also advise a contract, even if you don't charge anything. Things have turned ugly between friends in these situations before.</p>

[ben_goren]

<p>``It depends.''</p>

<p>1. There are people who shoot weddings by themselves and who do an excellent job. There are high-end pros who bring a whole production team with them. Ask the couple what level of coverage they want, and ask yourself if you can do that by yourself. Lead them through the whole day, and be specific. If they want candids of the bride getting dressed and candids of the family arriving at the same time, you'll need an assistant. If they want pictures of Aunt Maude dabbing her eyes with a hanky while the groom is slipping the ring on the finger, you might need an assistant. If they just want a standard set of the classic moments plus whatever else catches your eye, you're fine by yourself.</p>

<p>2. What camera? If a first-generation 6 MP DSLR, you're probably okay. If a latest-generation full-frame 20+ MP DSLR and you're heavy on the shutter release, even that might not be enough.</p>

<p>3. How fast do you work? How many shots of how many people are they expecting? What are their plans for the time between the ceremony and the reception? They might not want to wait more than a half-hour for you to do your bit, or they might be planning a midmorning ceremony and a dinner reception.</p>

<p>4. If it's on the stage of a megachurch that does video broadcasts and they'll have all their lighting on, you probably won't need any flash at all. If the church is lit solely by small stained glass windows and candlelight, you may be screwed.</p>

<p>6. ``FREE'' is always a marketing gimmick. You should know what you're doing and how much you need to be profitable doing that. If you want to do the whole thing for free but charge them $10,000 to transport your lens cap to and from the location, that's up to you.</p>

<p>7. This really should have been discussed at the time you agreed to do the wedding. As has been pointed out recently in another thread, the couple most likely has it in their minds that they're buying from you a photo album and some portraits to hang on their walls, while you clearly have it in your mind that you're providing a professional service to take pictures on their wedding day. Best clear this up with them right away. Ask them what they *want.* If whatever-that-is is something you don't mind doing for the price you've already agreed upon, then great. If you're uncomfortable doing it for that price, give them a dollar amount (discounted to reflect your inexperience, generosity, friendship, etc.) that won't make you uncomfortable, or find an alternative (somebody who specializes in whatever-that-is, for example) that you can confidently recommend.</p>

<p>If they're the kind of friends you describe, work with them. Tell them that part of the reason you're doing this for so cheap is that you're using this as a learning experience -- so they need to help you learn, and that means they need to give you some free business and marketing advice. So, take all your non-technical questions to them, and ask them how they *want* to resolve them.</p>

<p>And talk to them about the money part. You'd probably do well to stick with the amount you've already agreed upon, even if you wind up giving them a gold-plated photo album with fashion-magazine-quality images instead of a DVD. But find out from them what they think is a fair price for all the different things, how much they'd be willing to pay somebody other than you for that, and how much they think a rich couple should expect to pay -- all three legitimately different values, and they can give you honest opinions since you've locked in the heavily-discounted amount and they're giving you all this extra advice for free.</p>

<p>You've got four months, so you should be in good shape. There'll almost certainly be another wedding in that church at the same time of day between now and then; see if you can take some snapshots to figure out what the light is doing. If you need an assistant, maybe between the three of you you know some young kid who would do it for cheap in exchange for a bunch of mentoring. If they want the after-ceremony portraits taken super-quickly, then they can spend the afternoon at your place -- dinner included, of course -- while you practice setting up, posing, tearing down, etc., until you can do it fast enough.</p>

<p>Good luck....</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>b&</p>

[silverdae]

<blockquote>

<p>Is 3 4GB cards enough, if I am shooting only RAW, or should I go out and grab a few more 8GB cards</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I'm only touching this one... Double check that your camera will accept the larger cards. I bought some 8 GB cars and ended up not being able to use them because my camera wouldn't write to them. But yes, I would get a few more cards. You'll be nervous and most people over shoot when they are nervous.</p>

[michaelsmiller]

<p>I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has responded so far. I truly appreciate all the advice. I think that I have most of my questions answered so far so I am feeling much better.<br>

As far as what I shoot with, I use a Canon 5D and Canon 40D as a backup so they support most any card on the market. I am not an overshooter by any stretch, I tend to be very calculated in how I shoot but I want to get everything that is needed for them.<br>

In regards to the details, I have told my friends that I will shoot their wedding but we haven't gotten into specific details about the wedding yet, thus I was trying to get most of these questions out of the way before I formally sat down and talked price on Wednesday of this week. Money will not be an issue and I am charging them a very very fair rate that is significantly lower than what I would normally charge if this was my specialty, and they had an awful experience with the previous person who was originally doing the wedding so they practically begged me to shoot the wedding for them. Like I said, they are good friends and I just want to do right by them and help document a once in a lifetime day. <br>

The ceremony is in a LARGE catholic church in our area so I am fairly certain the lighting will be decent, although we are going to see it this weekend with the couple in question.<br>

Thanks again for all the great words of advice. I can't wait to hear more responses. This is such an amazing forum for photographers to help each other out and I sincerely appreciate it.<br>

Thanks<br>

Miller</p>

[pete_harlan1]

<p>There is so much information in the way of questions, so I'll try to tackle only two.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>1. Is it possible to get optimal performance and hit all my shots with just myself, or is it absolutely necessary for me to hire a 2nd shooter? If I need a 2nd, what is a fair price to pay them?</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>This is a yes/no.<br>

How proficient are you with your skills?<br>

Weddings are dynamic in the sense that lighting situations change, geography changes (Formals, reception area etc...)<br>

Tempo of the wedding changes. At times you can take your time, at other times you have to shoot NOW and you better get the shot.</p>

<p>It's great you've set expectations. Old saying, "Under promise and over deliver" and they will be thrilled.</p>

<p>My suggestion if you doubt your skills to nail every shot is to shoot a TON of images with bracketing.<br>

This is not the way a seasoned pro works, but the philosophy will work if you have a fear not all shots will be properly exposed. 1st time wedding shooters are usually so nervous, they forget things that at any other time are second nature to them. Forgetting to re-set exp comp, flash comp, TTL flash/manual flash, meter mode etc..etc... Forgetting to re-set these for a new image will kill ya!</p>

<p>The KISS method for a 1st time wedding shooter is probably the way to go. In other words, TTL flash, set it and leave it alone! Metering...Center wt and leave it alone. This is NOT the time to experiment with a new technique or lighting setup.</p>

<p>2nd shooter? No, but you better have TWO good cameras.</p>

<p>Lastly; have you thought about post processing time?<br>

This is a area many wedding shooters let down in. They take great pains to shoot it right and then scrimp on the PP because it is so laborious; and it is laborious.<br>

If you give them a DVD with images, you had best (pre-Crop) the images. 4x6 is not a problem if you shoot APS sensor size, but the 8x10's are. If you just give them exposure/color corrected images and they take them to the 1 hr to make 8x10's, they will be disappointed. Cropping to me was the single biggest time user of any of my post processing. If anyone has a method to batch crop 300 8x10's; I'd love to hear it.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>1. Is it possible to get optimal performance and hit all my shots with just myself</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Prep time is mandatory in your situation.<br>

Get a friend to show up with you 2 hrs early and practice shoot in the areas you will be in.<br>

It's a pain, but for the 1st time wedding shooter to have success, I feel it's necessary.</p>

<p>My 2 cents.</p>