Shooting a wedding
Cindy and Blake liked their engagement pics. I like them. I thought Heather and I did a good job setting up poses and nailing the technical aspects of the photography. In hindsight, we did so with very little equipment compared to most photographers. I have a single flash, the kit lens, the lowest end DSLR sold by Nikon, a cheap VR Zoom lens, and now a stand and some umbrellas with cheap ebay radio triggers.
Now they want us, and I mean Heather and I, to shoot their wedding. Not to air the personal dealings amongst family here on the website, but I have to share my own personal thoughts. People shouldn't photograph weddings for their family. I'll list a reason. If you shoot for other people you get to shoot, post process, deliver and pick out some of the best ones for your portfolio. In a normal situation you don't have to analyze those pics again after they've been shot and delivered to the client. If you shoot for family, the wedding album they make out of your photos and the digital prints you deliver them will be there every time you visit. I'll be a better photographer in 2 years than I am now. Knowing those limitation I have about a month to prepare and work harder in a single day than I will work in any other time in my life... because it's family.
Because of this I have to go all out. There's equipment I need to get shots to create those moments in time that will be remembered by Cindy, Blake, their children, their grandchildren, and since she's family, probably my children, grandchildren, etc...
To put this in perspective, just my post processing style has changed at least 5 times since I bought that little camera 5 months ago. I've only recently begun to start framing shots outside of the subject-center snapshot style that everyone who pics up a camera does.
So here's what's happening. I'm going to document what I'm doing to prepare for the most important shoot I'll probably ever do.
Immediately after I agreed to shoot their wedding I ordered another ebay trigger and receiver, along with 3 more receivers. This gives me 2 transmitters and 5 receivers. Yes that gives me an extra transmitter and 2 receivers but with those little eBay pieces of comparative junk you can't be too secure in your need to have backups. I had to order them now because the shipping from hong kong will probably take about 3 weeks. The alternative costs 180 bucks a pop. I'm not there yet.
I e-mailed Shig immediately to see what equipment I could borrow from him. He's got at least a lens that will really help, and if he's not shooting that weekend he'll be able to spare a few more items: Wide angle zoom, flash, and the 50mm 1.4 prime. Awesome.
Today I reserved rental equipment. The 60 mm 2.8 af-s Micro, Sigma 10-20 HSM wide angle zoom, and an extra battery for the d50 which I'll be borrowing from my father in order to have a second camera and backup at the Wedding.
After our credit card payment goes through I'll be sending another one in, cause BH is getting a decent sized order. 2 impact stands, 2 more umbrellas, 2 sunpak 383s, and a Tamron 28-75 2.8.
Finally comes study time. I need to learn from people who do this for a living. Not just wedding photographers, but wedding photographers who capture the feelings and emotion in such an event. Heather will be my idea person and shoot director during the wedding, so together we'll be taking long hard looks at two photographers I think are really amazing.
Ed Pingol
JWLphotography
Both photographers capture the fun that a wedding day should be, but also seem to exhibit a calm harmony in one of the greatest days in peoples lives.
Now they want us, and I mean Heather and I, to shoot their wedding. Not to air the personal dealings amongst family here on the website, but I have to share my own personal thoughts. People shouldn't photograph weddings for their family. I'll list a reason. If you shoot for other people you get to shoot, post process, deliver and pick out some of the best ones for your portfolio. In a normal situation you don't have to analyze those pics again after they've been shot and delivered to the client. If you shoot for family, the wedding album they make out of your photos and the digital prints you deliver them will be there every time you visit. I'll be a better photographer in 2 years than I am now. Knowing those limitation I have about a month to prepare and work harder in a single day than I will work in any other time in my life... because it's family.
Because of this I have to go all out. There's equipment I need to get shots to create those moments in time that will be remembered by Cindy, Blake, their children, their grandchildren, and since she's family, probably my children, grandchildren, etc...
To put this in perspective, just my post processing style has changed at least 5 times since I bought that little camera 5 months ago. I've only recently begun to start framing shots outside of the subject-center snapshot style that everyone who pics up a camera does.
So here's what's happening. I'm going to document what I'm doing to prepare for the most important shoot I'll probably ever do.
Immediately after I agreed to shoot their wedding I ordered another ebay trigger and receiver, along with 3 more receivers. This gives me 2 transmitters and 5 receivers. Yes that gives me an extra transmitter and 2 receivers but with those little eBay pieces of comparative junk you can't be too secure in your need to have backups. I had to order them now because the shipping from hong kong will probably take about 3 weeks. The alternative costs 180 bucks a pop. I'm not there yet.
I e-mailed Shig immediately to see what equipment I could borrow from him. He's got at least a lens that will really help, and if he's not shooting that weekend he'll be able to spare a few more items: Wide angle zoom, flash, and the 50mm 1.4 prime. Awesome.
Today I reserved rental equipment. The 60 mm 2.8 af-s Micro, Sigma 10-20 HSM wide angle zoom, and an extra battery for the d50 which I'll be borrowing from my father in order to have a second camera and backup at the Wedding.
After our credit card payment goes through I'll be sending another one in, cause BH is getting a decent sized order. 2 impact stands, 2 more umbrellas, 2 sunpak 383s, and a Tamron 28-75 2.8.
Finally comes study time. I need to learn from people who do this for a living. Not just wedding photographers, but wedding photographers who capture the feelings and emotion in such an event. Heather will be my idea person and shoot director during the wedding, so together we'll be taking long hard looks at two photographers I think are really amazing.
Ed Pingol
JWLphotography
Both photographers capture the fun that a wedding day should be, but also seem to exhibit a calm harmony in one of the greatest days in peoples lives.
Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteOne small caution about an error that I have seen many wedding photographers fall prey to. Make the pictures and the staging look like the people your shooting. A person taking a picture of our families together might have a wonderful shot of us playing jai lai it might be superb, but every time we look at it we would remember not the event but how weird it is that the photographer is forcing us into the awkward poses. Don't be afraid to ask Cindy (cause she is the one that will look at them later mostly) what she is hoping the pictures will convey. Does she want to be a princess, a movie star? Does she want it to look like the party of the century? Does she want you to photoshop in the cool clouds from Hawaii? I think you'll save yourself a lot of frustration if you have a clear map of what she wants and she has a clear map of what you can do.
ReplyDeleteAlso you can offer to take pics at their 1, 2 or 5 year anniversary to offset any lack of experience you have now.
And after that unsolicited and probably unnecessary advice, You're photo's for Joellen's open house thing look great, and that was without a chance to scope out the venue very much before you had to shoot.
You'll do great.
That and you'll probably be asked to shoot at Catey's wedding as well
ReplyDeleteI'm not super worried about Cindy being happy. She seems like an easy "client" to please with the photographs. I'm worried about myself feeling like I've given them something unique and priceless. In that sense I figure quantity can overcome any problems or limitations I have with the art or style of photography, specifically wedding photography.
ReplyDeleteI'm expecting to take a couple thousand pictures at the wedding. If 5 of them are amazing, 50 are good, and another 50 help them remember the emotion of the day I'll be ecstatic.
So you are going to run through the remaining clicks of your poor shutter's life at the wedding?
ReplyDeleteAlas poor cheap Nikon, you are dead, but now I get a better one :)
I misunderstood your anxiety. I totally feel that same anxiety every time I cook an elaborate dinner for people who've never eaten with my before. Adrian always tells me if I would just calm down I'd do fine, it is often the anxiety about doing well, that make me do less than perfect.
so relax and enjoy your first "pro" shoot.