Brothers wedding in 2 DAYS!!!

[PIXI_666]

Well....i am almost ready to shoot my 2nd wedding this weekend, the first i did was near on 2 yrs ago, so im taking it seriously this year and have 6 booked already, but it feels like this is my first so im a tad nervous!

I have had nightmares all week, and it's worse than when I GOT married!! I know i will be FINE, but then i think "What if equipment AND backups fail me!" lol so i have a film camera with plenty of film off side to use JUST INCASE!

Is there any extra tips you guys can tell me about? This is my brother's wedding, so very laid back, but at the same time, i really don't want to do anything wrong still, i treat them like clients, and even though i am giving this to them as a gift, i still want my shots to be almost perfect if not perfect!!!

We are photographing on the wharf, it is looking overcast today but hopefully will clear up by Saturday (2 days away!), i only got my flash 3 weeks ago and i think i have it down pact but any other advice on that?

I am buying a car shade to bounce light off, because i find that is a nicer lighting effect rather than straight on light.

Any other tips would be excellent, as i feel a bit stressed LOL and reading this forum just get's me scared...lol!!!

Del

[tim]

I've done something like a dozen weddings, at the end of a wedding I still think "OMG what if I didn't get any good shots at all?!". I always manage to do a reasonable job though.

Best tips:
- Check the histogram after EVERY SETTINGS CHANGE. Seriously. Keep an eye on your ISO and keep it as low as possible.
- Get up high and shoot from up there. Avoid going down low without a good reason as it makes people look fat, though it can improve the background in crowded areas.
- Wear comfortable shoes, take water/drinks and snacks.
- Smile, relax, and have some fun :)

Plus everything in my "lessons learned" thread :)

[BLINN]

godd luck and have fun

[supplier]

Del,

it's funny, but I had nightmares too before shooting last week wedding even though I new I "backed up" by hired pro's. Just try to concentrate on the wedding and not on pictures and you'll see a lot of opportunities out there. From my experience shoot few shoots for every scene, even if you think you lost the moment. I'm in process of going through 518 shoots I made and I’ll come up only with 50 final pictures. double-triple shots helping me to get "good" parts for cloning out (or in) some background that is needed. Digital is great thing!. And of cause shoot RAW only.

Have a nice dream,
Vlad

[mizuno]

Overcast is good. :)

[CyberPet]

Yeah, overcast is good... no strong shadows in strong sunlight... good! :D

Just check your gear just one more time the night before. The nervousness will go away once you're there. That's a promise! I was a wreck last friday and as soon as I started to unpack my gear, I was "in the zone".

*kicks Pixi in the rear for good luck*

[supplier]

*kicks Pixi in the rear for good luck*

i'd love to "bring you some luck too...:lol: . Just kidding. I agree with Petra -- you will be just fine, do not forget it's not brother you have to please anyway, but his wife:(

[PIXI_666]

Thanks guys, today is the day so i am a bit nervous but i have everything sorted as far as i can see :) It's not overcast either (the first wedding i shot was overcast and they all looked kinda grey, the backgrounds were crappy because there was only big grey clouds, and the wind was blowing through their hair hahaha it wasn't GREAT! but it turned out OK!)
So i even thought overcast was good, but after that experience im not so sure...

Anyway...im off to check out the venue...so hopefully it turns out awesomely! Ill post some fave shots when i get home and have done some processing.....i decided jpg & raw shots, because im still not 100% on the raw processing...i hate having to open up EVERY single raw shot...is there a way i can just view them without them opening up in that seperate program?

Thanks for the good luck :)

Del

[CyberPet]

if you use Photoshop CS2 you can open several images at the time and either just view them or work with them. I for one often do small adjustments (like tune the WB a tad - without opening them in Photoshop later). The advantage is too that if you have the same type of lighting in many images in a row, you can just select all and do the same adjustments to all images at once, without having to open them in Photoshop. Camera Raw saves the settings if you click the "Done" button afterwards, so you can later do the "real" post processing and have a head start.

[supplier]

Petra,

she's in a better place now.... but she will need these tips after coming back from brother’s wedding :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[PIXI_666]

I finished up last night from the wedding at about 10pm, i was still snapping away but was TOLD to put the camera away hahaha but it finished up early because they all wanted to go "Pub it up!"
It was in a small room with glass windows all around, the sun was right in the glass windows, it was 4pm so really bad sun, there was no way to hide from the sun either so i had to fight around the place getting people out of my way. The ceremony took NO JOKE 5 minutes....it was over and done with by the word GO!
Then i did the pro shoot and had lots of people to fight with (It was all in the same place so a lot of guests were on looking and annoying me!!!!!!!)
Sunset came at about 7pm for some more photo's then i let them be, it was also very dark that night in the room...so light really wasn't on my side....i tried my best, but im still in the city so i cant ownload any photo's yet, i hope they worked out as good as they look on my camera!!!! I have a lot of processing to do though i think...i shot JPG & RAW in the end, i was very nervous and i think i can improve a HELL OF A LOT!!!!!!

Ill post some shots later on this week, thanks for all the advice :)

Del

[CyberPet]

I also always shoot RAW+JPEG, I think its a safe bet, you can throw out some fast ones and then do the tinkering with the RAW images. :D

I'm 100% sure things did turn out good, can't wait to see some pics this week!!

[jenniferdcp23]

We just did our 3rd wedding! I switched to Lithium batteries this time and boy did it ever help. We were getting by on cheap Alkaline batteries with the other 2. I only had to switch batteries in my flash once this time and that was well into the reception!

I have a question, fess up, how many of you shoot in auto? I am swithing between P and Auto... adjusting my compensation.... Finding its working fine.

Next.... we really had ALOT of problems with the wedding party... they FUSSED non-stop about pix. They didn't give us enough time to really do anything beyond posed. We are a mix of posed and "different/artistic" stuff. Those pix are the reason our brides are calling (word of mouth); we have booked 3 weddings for next year already. But they just really cut us short on time and then fussed with the little time we did have about hurrying up! UGH!!!!!

[Valjoy]

I hope they turn out well for you....I look forward to your pics.

[Mike]

I have a question, fess up, how many of you shoot in auto? I am swithing between P and Auto... adjusting my compensation.... Finding its working fine.


:confused: By auto do you mean the Green Box mode??? Me, I shoot Manual with RAW.

[egordon99]

Manual for indoor flash shots, Av for outdoor, outdoor with flash, and indoor with no flash. 100% RAW. Why would you shoot Auto or P? Wouldn't you want to be in control of the DOF? Ensure that you have a fast enough shutter speed? The pictures may have come out good, but that's probably because you have a good eye, and the lighting conditions weren't very challenging. So you got lucky ;)

[jenniferdcp23]

Well I am doing more of the 'in the moment' shots vs posed. So being a newbie, I get freaked out that I am going to get some really blurry shots.... when I have time and no pressure, sure, I shoot manual and try all kind of stuff, got some amazing shots in pitch dark while my husband was fishing! But it's the fast paced, higher pressure stuff that I rely on the P and auto for fear of royally screwing up!!!!

I am not going to lie and say I have the high end equipment...don't. Or the schooling...nope. Just a love of photography and the desire to make people happy with the results!

So, it's ok, I think you are right.... lucky. I'll take it! I have approached a couple local photographers to seek mentoring, but find that they see me as a competitor and don't want to improve my game. Don't blame them, but I am in need of some good mentoring

[Valjoy]

Well I am doing more of the 'in the moment' shots vs posed. So being a newbie, I get freaked out that I am going to get some really blurry shots.... when I have time and no pressure, sure, I shoot manual and try all kind of stuff, got some amazing shots in pitch dark while my husband was fishing! But it's the fast paced, higher pressure stuff that I rely on the P and auto for fear of royally screwing up!!!!

I am not going to lie and say I have the high end equipment...don't. Or the schooling...nope. Just a love of photography and the desire to make people happy with the results!

So, it's ok, I think you are right.... lucky. I'll take it! I have approached a couple local photographers to seek mentoring, but find that they see me as a competitor and don't want to improve my game. Don't blame them, but I am in need of some good mentoring

I have just visited your website....whatever settings you are using are certainly working for you and I am sure your clients are very happy with the results. Keep experimenting, when time permits and most of all have confidence in yourself. You have a good eye for photography.
cheers Val