hjd

<p><em>you blew it.</em></p>

<p ><em>incurable people pleaser </em></p>

<p ><em>Good luck. You are certainly going to need it</em></p>

<p ><em>very poor Business decision</em></p>

<p ><em>unethical</em></p>

<p ><em>unwise</em></p>

<p ><em>my main thoughts were to get you back to your family and rid of this turmoil…</em></p>

<p ><em><br /> </em></p>

<p >So that’s what I’m going to do. I am not going to keep this thread going trying to prove and defend myself, no matter how much you pick my words apart. I have better things to do with my time than to keep this up.</p>

<p >Ciao!</p>

<p>Hi William<br /> To answer as bluntly as I can:<br /> <br /> <em><strong>“finish the deal”</strong> </em> – I did just this by giving her a final deadline to either accept my offer I had initially on the table prior to posting here, giving no further opportunities to discuss changes to the deal.<br /> <em><strong>"[ensure that] this is final and you will not entertain any further negotiation"</strong> </em> - this has been stressed in both email and phone conversations with her since posting in this thread as well as it is included in the Addendum.<br /> <em><strong>"get a signed agreement from the bride saying the contract is complete and whole."</strong> </em> – this is in the Addendum I drew up stating she agrees to the offer of the disk, the albums are out, there will be no further negotiations and the contract is fulfilled. Done.<br /> <br /> <em>“Why then would one even consider adding an annexure to the contract and thus inviting more dealings down the track?”</em> <br /> <br /> 1) In the Addendum, there is nothing ‘inviting’ her to come back to me. It states quite bluntly that the albums are removed, and they cannot be requested under the original contract. The Addendum sticks very firmly to what I will be providing (the disc) and that the contract will be closed, all deliverables are accepted, I am released from any and all dealings with her and no further amendments or modifications will be permitted.<br /> 2) In an email to her, it is mentioned that my company and my second shooter will maintain archival of her images as we see fit and will only grant prints/albums in the future if we have the time, resources, and still have her images.<br /> 3) I won’t have the time, resources or her images.<br /> <br /> <em>“Why?”</em> - because before ever posting this thread, I had already offered it. I couldn’t flip it because I would have felt foolish telling her, no wait, now I can’t offer it to you because I was advised against dealing with you. I had to figure out what to do after the fact and drew up the addendum as suggested here and became very cut and dry in my phone conversations and my email correspondence refusing to budge any further.<br /> <br /> To answer anyone else as to why I didn’t just give her the albums and shut the door, because a) Album design takes time and further correspondence. Neither do I have the time for. b) Outsource it? I’ve already spent enough on her. c) Do it in the future? Because I wanted to be done with her NOW.<br /> <br /> I think the advice in this thread came in very handy for me despite that you might think my actions <em>“as a slap in the face”</em> to any or all of you that had advise to give. I DID follow much of what was said, took each piece of advice, figured out how it applied to me, what I could do to make it work and put it into practice.<br /> <br /> I think the pure fact that I AM done with her, she’s agreed to the deal and the Addendum, is evidence in itself that I did something right.<br /> <br /> <em>“IMO, when people take time to offer advice, there is a point where the novice's RE-actions are judged and as such, future advice or comment might be constrained accordingly.”</em> <br /> <br /> IMO, when people take time to offer advice, it is up to the novice to either decide whether that advice is suitable, whether it will work, and whether or not they are confident in following that particular advice. If future advice is constrained simply because a novice asked, followed the best they could and was judged<em> “closely and critically” </em> then the novice might soon learn where to turn for advice and where to avoid. Advice is just that. Advice. Not the letter of the law. IMO, I also feel it’s a bit sad that a novice can be judged so harshly, so quickly. Everyone has to learn and if anything education and knowledge comes a lot from failure. If I can’t fail, get up and dust myself off without someone rolling his or her eyes at me, they just show narcissism, something that I don’t hold much value for and the advice they give, even though it may be spot on, probably won’t hold value either.<br /> <br /> I stand by the fact that I am indeed grateful of the people that took the time to post in the thread. Many held the same opinion and because many posted this same opinion within such a short timeframe it certainly does not mean I wasn’t taking heed, ignoring it, or not being open minded. They all <em>“call a spade a spade”</em> but when it all comes within a few hours or minutes of each other, I think it only fair that I be given the opportunity to put in the work. And once again, if the contract is done, I am done dealing with her, I am HAPPY with the outcome, and I gave my thanks…<br /> <br /> What <em>are</em> you actually judging??</p>

<p>lol. Thanks Ben. ;0)</p>

<p>Well, I just got off the phone with her and she is going to take the offer of the High-Res disk, with a Print Release (not a Copyright) at the quoted cost in lieu of her albums. She also removed the FB image and put in it’s place the Watermarked version. If she wants to purchase the albums at a later date, she is welcome to do so. I will be drawing up an addendum to the contract as well.<br /> <br /> I actually do consider a cropped watermark to be an infringement and so does Canadian Law. Under the Canadian Copyright Law you are given what is considered ‘Moral Rights”.</p>

<ul>

<li><em>14.1 (1) The author of a work has, subject to section 28.2, the right to the integrity of the work and, in connection with an act mentioned in section 3, the right, where reasonable in the circumstances, to be associated with the work as its author by name or under a pseudonym and the right to remain anonymous.</em> </li>

</ul>

<p><br /> It is my right to be associated with the work and it is considered an infringement if I am not. I can choose to not have my name associated with it (remain anonymous) or waive these rights altogether, but for the most part, just as Ken mentioned, I do care about having my name on my work. Also as far as Facebook goes, I think it is one of the worse places to have images posted without an associated mark. Not only by Facebook’s own Terms and Conditions that they can use images however they would like, but images get stolen from there everyday. I have had colleagues wind up in court because their image got used for an Ad that they don’t endorse. <br /> <br /> As far as having larger WM’s, mine actually has gotten larger, but it was an image from my second shooter and her WM is placed off to the side.<br /> <br /> But this thread isn’t about Copyright or watermarks, so I digress.<br /> <br /> The point is that my Bride has agreed to the offer. In my phone conversation with her it was quite apparent that she didn’t like my ‘Cut-n-dry’ attitude in my last few emails, felt she was <em>owed </em> all the images, and was annoyed that she had actually paid me before the wedding. I had to keep reiterating that what she was ‘<em>owed</em> ’ was in the contract and that was her albums & prints. Nothing more. She could still have those if she so choose but where she wanted all images, she could take the deal and we’ll make an addendum to the contract giving her the images but taking away the albums.<br /> <br /> I think had I not gotten the advice I was given here in the past while, I wouldn’t have known how to deal with it all but because of all the great advice, once she signs the addendum, I have the $$ in hand for the disc… case closed!<br /> <br /> Thank you!!!</p>

<p>A ton of great advice! Thank you very much. I’ve read all of your responses and think most of them are right on the mark. She has a deadline as of the end of this week to respond to the offer that is on the table, otherwise it’s back to the original contract and I’ll do up her album with her choices she did send the day of my Leave and send her on her merry way.<br /> <br /> As far as her owning the copyright, getting referrals from her, or trying to get prints purchased by her, none of those are important to me anymore. She’ll never purchase enough prints to make up for the extra $$ that went into her wedding or for my time spent on her, and I’m not thinking that I would really cherish her referrals either. I can imagine what she’d say. “Go to this photographer. You can get everything for $cheap$!” No. Thank. You.<br /> <br /> I really like the idea of withholding on responding to emails/phone calls, especially in situations like this. I always wanted to be prompt but I can see how holding off in some cases would have helped. Just for ‘fun’, I counted no less than 26 emails and 6 phone calls from my Bride in the last 3 ½ weeks. I didn’t reply to each & every one as I would combine them after waking and finding another 3 more. Walking all over? Yeah, I’ve been a doormat.<br /> <br /> All the legal advice has been fantastic as well as what to do with client consultations in the future. I need to be clearer about what the B&G will be getting BEFORE they sign and figure out then if they are the right client for me. Not post-wedding. I like the idea of a prepared addendum to the contract because I don’t doubt that she’d be the kind of Bride to come back and try to find a reason to sue. I want this closed, but I need to do it right.<br /> <br /> I’ll keep reviewing all of your responses so I don’t miss anything but I want to thank each of you for your time. It’s been a learning curve and will continue to be but it’s nice to know there’s support when you need it. Thanks again.<br /> <br /> Now to go and enjoy this crazy -33C (-27.4F) Canadian weather. Brrr.<br /></p>

<p>Thank you Daniel. I really like such a concret answer and I will do just that. This Mat leave will be spent not only bringing a baby into my family but I will be concentrating hard on making adjustments to my packages, pricing, business structure and most importantly, my contract. Thank you for your time in answering me.</p>

<p>My apologies for being long-winded. I'm a habitual writer but I digress. Therefore:</p>

<ul>

<li>I wanted to know if I was on the right path with my final offer and it appears that I am.</li>

<li>I wanted to know how to say "Enough" even after giving a FINAL OFFER.<em></em> </li>

<li>I wanted to ensure I was still fulfilling my OWN side of the contract by changing it now.</li>

<li>I wanted to know how to prevent this kind of post-wedding drama.</li>

</ul>

<p>This may be a <em>no brainer</em> for most but I've only done a handful of weddings and dealt with a handful of Brides. In the future, I doubt I can inflate my wedding prices based on my own experience and skill, however, I'll figure something out to put in my contract and keep trying to figure things out as I meet up with new challenges.<br>

Thanks for your time. Enjoy your holidays!</p>

<p>So I stick with the offer and say 'it's final' but still if she says no then I am still obligated to the album design. Or is there any way for me to say, "No. That's the deal and the end of it."?<br>

What's my prevention of dealing with this in the future? Is there something I should instill in my contract or emphasize? and as an added people skill, how do you know when a Bride honestly only wants just <em>one or two</em> requests vs the Bride that has <em>one </em> and then <em>one</em> more plus the extra's?</p>

 

<p>Sorry, I should add 'phone conversations' as I <em>have</em> had countless ones of those too. The last call was almost an hour long as she tried very heavily to get me to commit to price quotes on albums with XX number of pages, or albums with XX upgrade/downgrade or a disc with XX number or images vs XX number. It was a ton of back and forth.</p>

<p>Yes, it's dragged out. She didn't actually send me any of her image selections for her album until the actual deadline I gave her as to when I would be on Mat leave. That's when I called her (again) and told her this wasn't going to work now and we'd have to come up with something else so she'd be happy. Next came the "I'll see what option I can give you" and then I put that one on the table.</p>

<p>Honestly, I did the best I could in dealing with her, always thinking that "this time, she'll be content" but she never was. Some people just know how to manipulate conversations and emails and she's good at it. I'll give her that. Believe me, where I'm sitting right now is not where I had intended to be. So that's why I'm now asking for some advice on how to bring down the axe without chopping off my own head.</p>

<p>I do have a signed contract and in it states the package contents of the albums and not the disk. It all started with one request that turned into one more, which became one more and so forth. Everytime she sent an email and I sent one back explaining what I could do for her, out would come another email picking at mine. She does have a way of dragging things out, even when I've been pretty firm with her.<br /> <br /> My last few emails gave her a final offer (the disc vs the albums), stated that if she accepts, the contract will be considered fulfilled and an amendment would be drawn up, a deadline was given for her to accept and she was given the offer to purchase the albums at a later date as she can afford. If she chooses not to take the disc at it's discounted price, the package will remain as it and she'll get her albums next year when I'm more available. I would much rather her take the deal as I just know that the album design will be more, “change this, substitute that, etc. etc.” as it was a painful task just trying to get some album image selections from her; hence the reason of discounting the disc so heavily to increase the appeal.<br /> <br /> The watermark issue is not the biggest deal, however, it’s just one of those ‘things’ that continues to show what type of person she is and makes me think the deal I offered is doing exactly what Thomas said “<em>They will wheel and deal, stall, drag things out, until they get what they want. They don't care how long it takes. They expect you to give up”</em> <br /> <br /> Quite honestly, I was very firm in my email to her and was very careful not to put in emotion and was point blank in the offer. It was the returned email that almost had this ‘snarky’ type attitude with the CAPS lock emphasizing certain words and phrases almost making it feel like she was <em>owed</em> this deal in the first place, and the discovered FB photo that made me want to say “I’ve had it.”<br /> <br /> As far as it being <em>a personal issue between you and the bride</em> ; it never was. In all my emails to her I have been very professional and courteous explaining what I was and was not willing to do. Yes, I compromised on a few things but because I had initially wanted to have a happy client but when I have tried to be very “point blank” with her, she still found a way to quibble.<br /> <br /> My concern is that I want to deliver her products and be done with her and not have her come back in some way, shape, or form stating that I either took too long on the albums and hence wants a refund, or that I didn’t deliver the package fully, or heck knows what else she can come up with. I want to make sure my butt is covered and be able to walk away knowing that she can’t come back at me. But I don't think I can do that, if she doesn't agree to the deal and won't sign the amendment. <br /> <br /> So I want to know when and how to say “Enough”, this is what you get, take it or leave it without being in jeopardy of not fulfilling my contracted obligations. Is there some sort of clause I should have or should put in in the future so that this ‘wheeling and dealing’ won’t occur and if it does, can I ever put my foot down and be able to walk away cleanly?</p>

<p>And on another note, if she doesn't take the offer and wants the albums, can I just do them up <em>without</em> her input so I don't have to deal with more of this next year?</p>

<p>I had a post on here a while ago with some of the situation I am about to describe posted but had it closed down as it was running off point and I had made some judgment errors in my initial post. Some of you may recall it. Anyway, I am still dealing with this same Bride and I do need advice. I will try to leave emotional aspects out of it all but after months of emails, I cannot guarantee that I won’t express my frustration.<br /> <br /> A bride booked with me a large package at a discounted price. Throughout the year, my costs change and in effect, gave her a larger package and a better deal. Never was she asked to pay any increase in fee as the contract will be held up even though my albums are costing more and so is the new second shooter. Wedding came and went, bride received image gallery in a timely fashion; stated she was happy BUT….<br /> <br /> To make many, many, many emails as short as I can, she has either insisted or demanded a) that I make changes to my packages to accommodate her wants b) reduce or waive my fees for extra’s (albums, prints, disc, my time) for each of her requests due to B&G having financial difficulties c) extend any deadlines I have given her by constantly emailing me up and until the deadline expires with questions and concerns and d) that I have agreed on something or should agree to something by making attempts to somehow decode my carefully worded emails to suit what she thinks is possible. Everything from wanting more images to retouching to amount of images in her albums to swapping out product for product. No stone was left unturned.<br /> <br /> From what I can gather, she is ideally after, in her own words, “the most bang for [my] buck”. She wants all the big stuff and cannot afford it. Instead, she’ll email me ‘options’ and ‘trade this for that’ scenarios. I finally put one final offer on the table as I have had enough dealings with her, know I need to finalize her product delivery, and want to officially go on my Mat Leave (due in very few weeks/days). <br /> <br /> The offer was in lieu of her albums (main & two parent), she could have the High-Res disk at her budgeted cost (vs the full amount), and the prints included in her package in turn fulfilling the contract. The disc was truly a main goal of hers as was her albums but she couldn’t settle on album image selections, upgrades, downgrades, etc, etc. This way she could have all images, at her cost. I was very willing at this point to take the loss I have incurred and will further incur to end all of the debate between her and I, reduce the cost of the disc and wish her a Merry Christmas.<br /> <br /> The latest debacle is she now thinks she is getting Copyright because I told her a Print Release form would accompany the disc. (just to note, Canadian Copyright Law is different than the US but there are similarities). After I emailed explaining what her limited license will grant her, what she can and cannot do, I discovered that she had posted on her FB an image from her wedding, by my second shooter, taken from her blog, with the watermark cropped off. This is the second time she has cropped off a watermark even though she has been given Web-sized images to be used and all the reasons why in the copyright that accompanies the Web-sized image disc. The first time was in her Wedding Slideshow. She used an image I took during their e-session. I overlooked it the first time (as I never predicted the outcome I am in now) but now I am just ticked. My thin piece of thread broke.<br /> <br /> Here’s my frustration. I feel completely disrespected as her photographer as she hasn’t shown an ounce of appreciation for the time I have given her, the courtesy I have shown her, or the work I have done over and above for her(constantly in my mind thinking “Okay, now she should be happy”). With her last email she worded and emphasized many things in CAPS lock in an attempt to paraphrase this new deal and her newly acquired ‘Copyright’ rights in what I felt was almost an attempt to make sure ‘I’ understood what I was agreeing too. Then I discovered the photo with a cropped watermark.<br /> <br /> She is a woman who is use to getting what she wants. And here I am, offering a High-Res disc at a discount she asked for when I really want to say, “No. You violated the rules. No more deal.” "If I give you a disc, I’m almost guaranteed you’ll break them again." But then I’m stuck with dealing with her album design again, and the problems I initially had with all of that and dealing with her again next year when I come off of Mat Leave. <br /> <br /> I just want to say “Enough.” Can I ideally remove the offer on the table as she has violated Copyright already, stick to the original albums, design them without her input, send them to her and say, WYSIWYG? Or keep the deal, mention the watermark issue, hand her the disc and be done with it? ~sigh~ Honestly, my primary goal right now is to end this the best & most professional way and go and have my baby and Christmas with my kids.<br /> <br /> Sorry. I knew this would get long. But when can you tell a Bride, 'Enough!"?</p>

<p>I think I get what Jason is getting at. It is one 'small' reason that I had a tendency to stay away from posting on forums until I could really get a feel for the particular site. There are a lot of forums/photogs out there that do tell beginners and amatures that they need to step up or step out which can be awfully discouraging especially when you're smack in the middle of the learning curve.</p>

<p>There is a lot to training your eye to 'see' better, lighting, composition, etc, and as your eye improves so does your own critiquing. I look at some of my past work, even more current things, and think, "Lord, what was I thinking?", "How I could I miss that?" but my clients were thrilled. Does that mean I'll replicate it? Probably not intentionally but does that also mean that I should not have been paid for that work? It was the best I could give at that time, plus starting out in photography can be an expensive venture. There are only so many freebies you can dole out or cheap gigs before you start realizing that you need to make a change. If you only work at it part-time as I do, it can be an even longer process to getting to the Pro level that I want to be at. It's constant improvement as I go. Perhaps some of those photographers that produce professionally sub-standard, dull work, actually think their work is quite a lot better than what they use to produce and are actually on their way to producing something better as they learn more. I'm sure the bad apples are out there doing it because "they can" and don't ever want to improve but not everyone is doing that. You can only produce what you know to be good and what makes you happy. If your clients are happy too then bonus. If you never learn and are shot down before being guided then that's where you'll stay; not improving anything. However, if you are actually helped out with some positive advice & criticism then you'll improve. Know better and you do better.</p>

<p>So when a beginner, either by a month or by two years, post a question on a forum or needs some guidance, I think it can be so easy to roll eyes, scoff, or even think "What? Seriously?", and the 'helpful' advice can actually come across as being a bit harder than it ought to be. Not every beginner is posting images to be critiqued but are posting questions about all aspects of photography and the business. Being told that your equipment is substandard or that your business model is ridiculous all plays a part. Perhaps that's a part of the learning curve too. Learning what to listen to, what to ignore and begin finding your own way along.</p>

<p>I dunno, it's just my take on it so far but I still consider myself a beginner too, so I might be wrong. ;0)</p>

<p>Yes. I'm leaving the whaletail behind. ;0) It has its uses but I agree that tomorrow it won't do me any favors. Thanks again! I'll let you know how it all turns out!</p>

<p>Thanks so much. I think in the future a bracket will be on my list of supplies but for now, no, I don't think I'll be trying too much in the way of new equipment especially for tomorrow. As Bob stated, it's an important event, and I don't want a sudden paniac attack either from me or the Bride, lol! I'm thinking that I may use one camera for my primes and use it for natural light and the other camera to sit with a zoom/slower lens, and the flash. That way I can easily switch from one to the other as the conditions call for it.</p>

<p>I do have this: http://www.honlphoto.com/servlet/the-10/strobist-speedlight-strobe-flash/Detail that may help me achieve the bounce you suggested but I think I'll give that Demb Diffuser a closer look. Also I'll be sure to check out their site more too. I also possess the Gary Fong Whaletail but I don't know if it'll give me what I need in this situation plus I find it a bit cumbersome to use and as such would rather not be fumbling with my equipment. I also may be taking my monopod with me as I really don't know if I'd have to room to comfortably manuver the tripod (it really is that cramped!) and it's a little quicker too.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for all your help. I think I really needed a boost of confidence and a few good stepping stones to jump on and you really helped me. I think I was in a bit of shock when they mentioned the changes to me and slight panic settled in. I will have about 4-5 hours prior to my contracted time to fiddle around with some test shots and the rest of tonight to refresh my memory of the functions of my flash so that should give me plenty of time to do some good trial and error. If all else fails, I'll be doing what I know best and turning that flash off, lol, after all, I do know where the 'off' button is! Role with the punches, that's all I can do and of course try to learn what I can along the way. Thanks again!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Thanks Nadine. Yes, flash is allowed. There are no restrictions other than movement because of a lack of space. It will be a very cramped location once all the chairs and people get in there. I'll basically be stuck to the outside of one set of chairs with the odd occasion of being able to sneak into the very short aisle way when the ceremony is in progress.<br>

Ben, I really don't have a wall to bounce off of as one side of the location is completely open to the other side of the room and the other side is floor to ceiling windows. Not bad, execpt the processional & recessional are running parallel to the windows therefore everything will be side-lit by that natural light. There won't be any tungsten lighting as I actually requested that they be off (there's enough light for the guests to see) as they are more spot-lights than anything. Sun sets here around 9pm, but there are several trees and they are expecting cloud cover so I really don't know what to expect when it comes to the amount of light coming in.<br>

I am worried that half of the ceremony will be lit with the window light and the other half all in shadow so that's why I was thinking about using the flash as my primary source and just adjusting the dlash compensation as needed.<br>

The Groom said he wouldn't mind in the least if the flash was going off (make him feel famous for his 15 mins or so, lol) but I've heard a few horror stories of photog's lighting up the room; flash happy.<br>

If I use a diffuser and bounce the flash, seems the ceilings are fairly low, would that help at all? Or would it just cut down too much on the flash output leaving a straight bounce as sufficient enough? And if I'm understanding right, you mentioned that if I use the flash as primary, to hold off on the gel and use off-camera flashes? Is that correct? I only have the one flash but even if I rented others I don't think I'd feel expereinced enough to set up addional lighting. I have only ever done that once before and it took me <em>forever</em> to get the look I wanted. Lots of trial and error. That's why I was was wondering if I keep the flash mounted on one camera, if I should add a gel (I unfort don't own a bracket either). I <em>really</em> don't want to PP a gazillion images because of a horrible yellow color and believe me when I say that the painted yellow is horrible! Not to mention to the ghastly curtains!<br>

I could soften the flash with a diffuser I suppose and shoot straight on or angled to try and avoid the colored ceilings all together but I don't know (lack of experience here) if I'd get ugly flash shadows or not. When you mention bouncing with a white card, straight up, can you explain that just a tad farther? How large of a white card do you use?</p>

<p>Yeah, tomorrow unfort. It was a sudden change that I did not expect but there's not much I can do about it now other than go with the flow. When I showed up at the rehearsal yesterday I had to phone the bride to find out where she was and that's when I found out they had moved locations. It wasn't even mentioned prior to that at any of my consultations with them. ~sigh~</p>

<p>I'm not totally foreign to shooting with a flash but my confidence isn't really there. I think I'd feel more unsure about a straight on flash shooting in P. I don't want to relinquish all my control. ;0) The ceremony isn't until 4 pm so I can always head in as early as I can to shoot some test images if I need. The formals will be prior to the ceremony at 2 and there won't be any reception or getting ready shots that I have to concern myself with as it's a fairly small, informal wedding. So I do have 'some' time to learn what I can. At least feel a little more confident anyway.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>My Disclaimer* This is my first time posting so forgive any indiscretions. I have followed many posts and threads on this site which have been a tremendous help in growing my photography but now I think it's time that I ask some questions of my own. I have mostly been a baby/family/couple photographer and have a few weddings under my belt so I do have a lack of experience but I am willing to do what I can to learn and upgrade my techniques and photography as a whole.</p>

<p>I have a wedding that is booked for tomorrow. It was originally scheduled as an outdoor event but yesterday it was switched to indoors. I prefer to use natural light as much as possible and am not 100% confident in flash photography although I have used it on the occasion. But tomorrow I don't think I have much choice.</p>

<p>The room for the ceremony is set up as follows: Approx 50x100 ft, half of that is to be used for the ceremony (50x50) where the rest of the room will begin to be transformed for the reception. There is no division between the sides of the room other than the way the chairs will be positioned. Windows surround the parameter of the room as a whole however well over half won't provide enough light for the ceremony as they are performing the ceremony width wise across one section of the room. Yellow curtains will be drawn at the head of the aisle so the B&G won't be back lit but the entire left side will remain open. This provides natural light but only half the guests will be lit, the Bride will in shadow when she is standing, and the Groom will be lit. Ceilings are approx 10 ft and painted yellow as well.</p>

<p>My gear: Nikon D300 (D200 backup), 18-105 f3.5/5.6, 28-75 f2.8, 70-300 f4-5.6 (too slow), 85 f1.8, 50 f1.8, SB800.</p>

<p>I have read several posts now on using the flash but I'm getting overwhelmed/confused/freaking out...</p>

<p>I have thought that maybe I should use the flash on one camera with the 28-75 and use my 'backup' with one of the primes so I can still get some natural light shots without switching lenses and fiddling with the flash more than I need but where the room is very cramped, about 70 guests and others (violinist, small bridal party, JP, DJ in the corner, etc) I'm afraid I won't be really movable with two camera bodies strapped to me.</p>

<p>Also, I've been reading about and now debating whether or not to put the flash in TTL-B mode vs TTL mode, whether I should just bounce off the ceiling (can't use any side walls as there are none) with or without a diffuser dome, whether I should drag the shutter or just using the flash as the main source and not worry about the window light creating ambient lighting, or whether or not I should use gels to compensate for the yellow curtains and the yellow ceiling. I'm worried about too much of a yellow cast, particularly on the brides dress but I don't know if this is going to be a main concern or not.</p>

<p>Also, another question is what is considered appropriate use of the flash during the ceremony? I don't want them to feel like they are at a disco but I don't know if I can get away without using it as I would LOVE to be able to do but I doubt that I have enough fast lenses to pull it off.</p>

<p>What's a girl to do?</p>