lukesmith

<p>I only do weddings on Saturdays. If an engagement shoot can't be during the week, then I do them on Sundays as they fit into the rest of my schedule.</p>

<p>Ha! I laughed my rear end off reading these responses. You guys are great.</p>

<p>$100 spent on sandbags is the best investment you can make for onlocation photography. You'll save that money back in a month in saved umbrellas and flashes/brackets...</p>

<p>Cool. I hope you enjoy the experience!</p>

<p>Okay, so you want to make sure that your images don't completely suck. First thing, sell the Nikon and buy Canon gear. Just kidding. When you walk into the room, open the windows turn on the lights, and get as much light as you can in there. You can shoot on camera flash, just bounce it off the ceiling, and as a measure of safety, I'd shoot a stop brighter because it's always easier to back off the inside shots.</p>

<p>Most of all, have fun!</p>

<p>I live in Savannah, GA and have booked a wedding in San Francisco and a 50th anniversary party in NYC. It's all about how you market yourself and if you can provide more value than the local talent.</p>

<p>Many of the weddings I shoot in Savannah are destination weddings, but they have hired me as a local and they are the ones doing the travelling. It's no different when it comes to booking.</p>

<p>Well, you would be shooting on his cards, so you won't need memory, but you would need a 24-70/f2.8 and a 70-200/f2.8. You would also need a decent flash (SB-800 maybe?) to use for bouncing.<br>

I generally use my second shooters (if the client requests, and pays, me to have one) to be in the places I can't be or to get a different perspective on the must have shots. In a tighter schedule, I'll also have them do some of the stills just in case I can't get to them before the crush of the reception. You're basically there as insurance otherwise, and maybe to help load and unload gear.</p>

<p>Any time there is the opportunity to be sued, you need to have insurance first.<br>

Bumping into grandma and breaking her hip because you're focused on getting the shot is always a possibility. If you want to shoot the wedding, then tell your boss your gonna do it for free as a guest and tell her to pay you what she thinks it was worth later. That way you're covered from a liability standpoint.</p>

<p>I'll second shoot for people willing to second shoot for me. I don't care what they pay me or vice versa and as long as it's mutual, no one really cares. I'd much rather have a pro working with me than a rank amateur or mildly experienced photographer because there will be less mistakes.<br>

If I second for someone else, I give them my cards at the end of the event and get them back a few days later. I don't process anything as a second shooter, or expect the pros that second for me to do that either. Not only that, but I get a handful of their cards before the event and when I'm asked for a card, I give one of theirs, and expect the same at one of my events. Using a "hungry" photographer trying to break into the business can be a liability sometimes in that regard.<br>

Having said this, if someone is flying in for a destination wedding and bringing their own photographer that I am to shoot second for, I'll shoot on their cards and turn them over at the end of the event, but I'm charging $500 because there is no opportunity for a return on the favor.</p>

<p>I use manual 100%.<br>

Before each sitting or after any change, I'll check my meter, adjust, shoot, check the histogram, then adjust if necessary before continuing.<br>

I just want as much control as possible. If the camera is making the decisions, all I'm doing is composing the shot and that's not all I'm being paid to do. I know Joe McNally and a lot of other big name guys are having the camera make shutter speed decisions, or aperture width decisions, but they can afford to. I wanna be able to take full credit for my images however humble they may be.</p>

<p>This has happened with my 5d2 as well, but after I shoot, the mirror locks up, and the red indicator light next to the lcd screen stays on. It's not a battery function because the LCD remains on. I assumed it had something to do with using a CF card with a slow write speed.</p>

<p>To correct, I unscrewed the battery grip to break contact for a few seconds, then looped everything back in and it was business as usual. I'm gonna have it checked out, but I need to buy a better backup camera first.</p>

<p>The only disgruntled "customer" I ever had was the result of agreeing to do a free wedding after I was established. They just don't value your time the same way as a paying client. You would be better off using your knowledge to refer them to another photographer you admire. If you want to do something for them, offer to shoot second for free (under the lead's guidance).</p>

<p>For me it's all about the emotion captured and the story it tells, and I would guess this is the case with most wedding photographers. I've had images that have broken rules that I just loved because they were just so pregnant with emotion.</p><div></div>

<p>I'm 6'9" and 300+ lbs, and I use both the R-5 and a Slingshot in conjunction on different shoulders, but around hour 2 they begin to get pretty heavy. I'd go with one or the other if I were you.</p>