Wedding Photo's of Mature People

[dioptic]

Howdy,

A relative has asked me (at no charge) to take photos of his wedding. I'll be "the photographer". YIKES! I've never done a wedding before. The bride and groom are in their 40's. The wedding is the second one for each of them. The wedding will be in this place http://www.thewoodward.com/images/chapel2.jpg (http://www.thewoodward.com/images/chapel2.jpg) The owner of the place says the lighting is "intimate" which I translate as "dark". I shoot with a 20D and 420EX Speedlite. I have a Canon 50mm 1.8 lens, Canon 18-55mm 3.5 lens, and a Quantary 70-300mm 4.0 lens. I'm considering getting a Sigma 28-70mm 2.8 lens.

I've asked the groom to supply me with answers to questions about what they expect, what color is the bride wearing, does the pastor allow flash, what time is the wedding, may I be on the altar, what specific shots do they want, may the photographer drink at the reception, etc.

How does a photographer take meaningful photographs of the ceremony without getting in front of people and just generally not being in the way?

I'll take any tips you care to provide.

Thanks.

dioptic

[GPR1]

I'm not a pro, and I don't do wedding photography. However, I once did my uncle's wedding for free, and I've been in quite a few weddings (only one where I was the groom). A few thoughts:

- Most photographers take the formal portraits, etc. before or after the ceremony. Most prefer before, as things getting hopping after the wedding (reception, etc.).

- How you can take photos during the wedding depends a lot on both the location and person doing the ceremony. In some places (and with some officiants), no flash photography of any kind is allowed and there are limits where you can stand. You might only be allowed to shoot from the back of the room. I'd plan on bumping my ISO and using a monopod or tripod, waiting for breaks in the action.

Just my thoughts.

Greg

[clipper_from_oz]

hand out disposables to all the guests (also to Bride and Groom) and tell them to have fun and click..collect the disposables and develop :)

Probably be the best pics of the day as they are not contrived.

[Steve Parr]

hand out disposables to all the guests (also to Bride and Groom) and tell them to have fun and click..collect the disposables and develop :)

Probably be the best pics of the day as they are not contrived.

My wife's brother and his wife did that at their wedding. Sure, they hired a great pro to come in and do pro shots, but the ones that came out of the disposable cameras were priceless...

Steve