FIRST WEDDING!!

[williamsquire]

<p>I am photographing my first wedding tomorrw! YAY ME! So excited and terribly nervous as well. I have done tons of research and read the following: <a href="http://www.rokkorfiles.com/Wedding101-page1.html">http://www.rokkorfiles.com/Wedding101-page1.html</a> a few times!</p>

<p>I have my gear all prepped:<br>

‎5d Mark II with 3 batteries and 48BG of Memory.<br>

T1i with 3 batteries and 32 BG of memory.<br>

Card reader.<br>

16 eneloop rechargeable batteries with charger.<br>

Charger for both cameras.<br>

2x flash diffusers.<br>

Off camera flash shoot.<br>

Flash gun.<br>

Tripod.<br>

Lenshoods.<br>

Light bouncer.<br>

Notebook + pen (pose checlists).<br>

necessary cable for cameras.<br>

Laptop for dock station.</p>

<p>I am sure I am missing a few things but this is all I have and can afford. My wife told me that I can't buy any more stuff till I make some money!</p>

<p>Anyhoot....</p>

<p>Any last tips, some do and do nots are greatly appreciated!!!!!!</p>

[richardsnow]

<p>Congrats on your first wedding!</p>

<p>I am assuming you've shot as a second so you know the ins and outs of wedding photography.</p>

<p>Here's the best advise I have:</p>

<p>Keep smiling and have fun, BUT be firm, (but not rude), with guests when giving direction.<br>

Don't over-think shots...you only get one chance with fleeting moments so try to see the moment before it happens.</p>

<p>RS</p>

[bobcossar]

<p>Go to the rehearsal..........meet and greet all the people you'll see tomorrow......and remember all their names....later, try to visualise a walk through the coming events in as much detail as you can. Post some photos later for us to see! Best of luck...Robert</p>

[cliff_nj]

<p>like chess, always be thinking a few steps ahead. Bring extra everything, including clothes. I hope you are not charging money.</p>

[Marcus Ian]

<p>Go to the rehearsal, go to the rehearsal, go to the rehearsal, go to the rehearsal.... develop a plan for getting the shots you want --at the rehearsal! Don't expect groundbreaking work, just work on getting all the essentials covered adequately, and never stop shooting!</p>

[richardsnow]

<blockquote>

<p>I hope you are not charging money.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Why not? We don't know William's ability or experience. Who knows, maybe he's been a second shooter at several weddings and only now is ready to do this on his own. He's got the gear, (mostly), and if he's got the skills, why not charge for it.</p>

<p>I charged for my first wedding and recently I re-printed some of those wedding images for the couple's 5th anniversary. If I hadn't charged do you think they would have called for re-prints/enlargements? Probably not.<br>

<br />RS</p>

[naomi_johnson]

<p>Have fun! Weddings are the most thing ever, along with being a TON of work. Ah, but it's all worth it to help two people remember their wedding day. :-) And I also hope you charged money (although let the couple know you are still starting out) - people as a general rule think more highly of something that pay a little money for, so it'll make them happier about the photos long-term. I don't think I made more than $100 on my first wedding, but I got free plane tickets to CO and had a lot of fun....win/win... :-)</p>

[Marcus Ian]

<blockquote>

<p>Why not? We don't know William's ability or experience.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>We know it's his first wedding.... Somehow I think if he spent years seconding, he would mention that...</p>

<p>OTOH, I agree that he should charge for it, even though it's his first ;-)</p>

[cliff_nj]

<p>Not charging= less pressure<br>

Not charging= no liability<br>

Not charging= Good chance for a $$tip$$<br>

Not charging= Easy out if he REALLY messes up!<br>

Charging= a measly amount of $$ in exchange for representing himself as a professional when he really has ZERO experience at wedding photography (unless OP disagrees).</p>

[williamsquire]

<p>Hellooooooooo!</p>

<p>And thanks for the tips so far! Me charging the customers seems to be a hot topic and is irrelevant to my question. But yes I have charged for this wedding. No I have not presented myself as a professional but as a competent photographer building my skills. My clients understand this as they are looking for a budget photographer. But yes I agree with you Chin and if my skills does not exceed my confidence I will not ask my clients to pay in the end. But I agree with Naomi added $$ adds value. Plus it's nice to get paid even though all the money has gone towards new equipment.</p>

<p>No I have not shot as a second. Yes I know that this will follow with a few posts from some/all stating that "what the hell are you thinking?" I tried to shoot second but photographers in my area didn't care for it (or even ask to see my portfolio).</p>

<p>Fact is I am shooting this wedding tomorrow. I am confident in my skills and my knowledge of my equipment. I would also greatly appreciate anymore info on what you have learned on the job and thank you all in advance for it!!</p>

[green_photog]

<p>Hi William, good luck with your shot. I too never second shot and jumped right in. </p>

<p>My advice is to always think ahead. When the B&G ask you what to do next, have an answer ready. Most couples don't have that high an expectation when they hire newbies so don't put too much pressure on yourself. Please report back to the group after the job and let us know how you feel.</p>

[markonestudios]

<p>Two more key elements to good wedding photography are flexibility and, surprise surprise, personal enjoyment! Don't get so caught up in the technicalities that you forget to just be there, savouring the moments and the capture of them...</p>

[john_h.1]

<blockquote>

<p>Not charging= less pressure</p>

</blockquote>

<p>We have heard lots of stories featuring pressure/anxiety despite no pay.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Not charging= no liability</p>

</blockquote>

<p>No fee doesn't amount to a get out of liability free card. Depending on the circumstances, it can happen.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Not charging= Good chance for a $$tip$$</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Fair chance .</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Not charging= Easy out if he REALLY messes up!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not necessarily but odds are better.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Charging= a measly amount of $$ in exchange for representing himself as a professional when he really has ZERO experience at wedding photography (unless OP disagrees).</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Speculative.</p>

<p>Reality: charging vs. non charging = doesn't matter.</p>

<p>As long as there is no misrepresentation about the nature of the services or other misdeed, William isn't doing anything wrong.</p>

 

[randallfarhy]

<p>It's probably going to be warm, bring alcohol or similar wipes for the wedding party and guests to wipe sweat off before the pictures are taken. Best of luck to ya!</p>

[williamsquire]

<p>UPDATE: Today is the day! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NERVOUS!!! A couple things I didn't mention.</p>

<p>1) I have 2 hours before the wedding (1-3 wedding at 3:30) to take the photos.<br>

2) I have 20 minutes during the cocktail hour to take any additional photos.<br>

3) I have 1/2 hour to take even more photos at the reception before the guests arrive.<br>

4) Couple does not want any getting ready photos.</p>

<p>Ontop of that it is a overcast (not overly overcast) day. So unless this changes I wont be dealing with any harsh light as the ceremony is outside. Going to be leaving to get there for 12 to talk to people and help get things going for the 1pm shoot!<br>

Thanks for all your tips and positive responses. Wish me luck and I will post back at end of day to let you know how it went!!!</p>

<p>Billy</p>

[richardsnow]

<p>Good Luck. Can't wait to hear a full recap of the day.</p>

<p>RS</p>

[stephen_kinosh]

<p>Only 1 body? Not a good idea!</p>

[richardsnow]

<p>@Stephen Kinosh</p>

<blockquote>Only 1 body? Not a good idea!</blockquote>

<p>Please re-read the original post.<br>

5d Mark II with 3 batteries and 48 GB of Memory.<br>

T1i with 3 batteries and 32 GB of memory.</p>

<p>When you posted did you read the whole thread? The OP was likely already finished with the wedding!</p>

<p>I hate to be the one to say this, but if you haven't anything constructive to post to someone that clearly understands what a first wedding is and seems to be on the right path, just don't post.<br>

RS</p>

[jonathan_davila]

<p>congrats on your first wedding. aside from not knowing your lens line up, the rest of the equipment seems par for the course. if you're competent and confident in your skills for getting a great exposure regardless of terribly stressing situations, low light, etc then I'm sure you'll do just fine. No wedding experience or not. People tend to overreact and over emphasis missing things, though rightly so. they are important moments. The only really fast pace of the day is most likely going to be the half hour or so previous to the ceremony and the hour following the ceremony. Everything else is (usually) pretty straightforward. You, with your camera. Looking for great emotions and thinking of the best way to frame them.</p>

<p>If you have a 70-200 lens in your bag. You're really going to learn to love that bad boy. It's so easy to capture great moments when you're 20-30 yards away from what you're photographing and they have no idea you're zoomed up on their hug.</p>

<p>Remember. Follow the bride and groom around like white on rice. You're there to document their day. Not cousin vinny with the two adorable twin daughters, etc. Learn the B&G's parents names and faces and memorize them. One of the biggest mistakes of a starting wedding photographer is not getting adequate photos of either of the spouses parents because they don't really know who they are until it's too late in the day.</p>

<p>If the stress starts getting to you and you start panicking in manual mode trying to switch between settings and you feel you're missing too many things, remember, you can always just switch to AV mode or TV mode, let the camera get the exposure 90% of the way there, shoot in RAW format, and spend extra time in post processing. Don't lose great shots to slow response time on your part. Get the shot period as opposed to missing the shot all together because you were worried about that extra bump up in exposure compensation.</p>

<p>That's all the advice I have, the rest is all technical mumbo jumbo or shot lists. Remember to have fun with it. The adrenaline you get your first few weddings is amazing. Makes me sad that it doesn't come to me anymore :(</p>

<p>edit: looks like im a bit late to the party. the day's probably over and done with by now. hope things went well for you. look forward to seeing a post with some photos.</p>

[pauldmurphy]

<p>William,<br>

I hope all went well. From what I've read from you, all you've done is proper in preparation for what's ahead according what you know and what you have.<br>

I've watched this section of the forum for some time and my conclusion is, there are people here that feel if you haven't paid some price, there is a good chance you'll fail. Odds are according to them, you will.<br>

If this had been the prominent feeling during the expansion West in U.S. history, odds are we'd be all jammed up on the East Coast and the Native Americans would be much happier...<br>

I'm a marine mechanic by trade. There is as much posturing there as there is in photography, engineering, cooking or any other business. <br>

I shoot photographs for pleasure. I've thought about venturing out into professional photography. Maybe even shooting a friends wedding. I would have to think twice or more before posting a comment here just for the incomplete responses one will receive.<br>

Fortunately, there are many posters here that are hoping for the best: Naomi, Richard and such....<br>

Count me as one.<br>

P </p>

[williamsquire]

<p>Hey everyone. I started a new thread about the actual wedding day for a new discussion. Thanks for all the comments and support to those who constructivly took the time to read and reply with knowedge and a positive outlook! You know who you are!<br>

Billy Squire</p>