I've been hired to shoot a wedding.

[dsze]

Advice needed. Someone who saw some of my portaits and abstractions has called me to do their wedding. I am very excited about doing it but...

1. I have no idea what to charge. I don't want to over charge especially since this is my first wedding.
-she wants the typical bridal party & bride/groom shots beforehand, the ceremony, and group & couple shots afterwards also with formal cake shots, reception entry shots and a few candid shots throughout the evening.

-what might be a fair price? Considering this is also a good way to get my foot in the door for more weddings to come. In other words, I don't want to take any chance on her saying, "no we can't afford that."

Processing will consist of the typical sharpening, saturation, levels adjustments and conversion to B&W/Sepia for some. I will then send the images away to my usual printing service.


2. I will need at least one more lens...a wider angle. I'd like to try and get by with just two lenses, a wide zoom and a mod. zoom. I have the 70-200 f/4L. I am thinking about the 17-40 to accompany it, but it's not cheap. I'll spend more on it than I'll make, I think. Any suggestions?

3. What to do about memory? I've got three 256 cards, one 128 card and a little 64 card. Shooting RAW, this will give me about 141 shots.

Buy more cards or invest in some sort of portable drive?


Thanks for the advice!

-daniel

[Lamplight]

I don't know about wedding photography specifically, but judging by what I've read from others here you may want more memory. This past Saturday I shot some photos for a friend who was videotaping a wedding. He simply wanted some still shots that he could use in the video and I ended up shooting a couple hundred shots! :lol: I think he now wants to burn them all on a CD and give them to the couple as a "bonus".

[dsze]

Yes, I will definitely need more memory, but I'm not sure if its better for me to buy yet more cards or invest in some sort of drive that I can dump my current cards onto.

Are you going to charge for him using your photo-CD as a bonus?

-daniel

[MooseDawg1970]

Hello,

From some experience, you should buy some more memory. I have 4 512 cards. I also take my laptop to download photos and free up the cards. This process takes time and a safe place to do it. I have found that just changing cards is easier,(I didn't even use my laptop at my last wedding) plus I am always leary of deleting the images from the card until I have made at least 2 back-ups. This is just my opinion.

Hope this helps,
Dave

[dsze]

Dave,

What might I charge? Since it sounds like you have experience.

thank you,
daniel

[MRCPhoto]

that since this is your first wedding, you charge slightly above your cost...ie materials, milage, ect. ALSO....have a contract signed. I know there are those who do not believe they should be needed, but think of it this way....you will be paid to record the most important moment of a man and woman....AND the parents (especially mothers) of that man and woman WILL want perfection. I'm not saying you won't obtain perfection, infact, you're showing me by asking that you will strive and acheive it...BUT there are those out there who are impossible to please. You must protect yourself and your good name.
E-mail me if you would like.
MRCPhoto@Hotmail.com
Meesha

[ijohnson]

Be sure to read the previous threads in this forum about the pitfalls of wedding photography. There are many of them to read.

Personally, I won't touch a wedding with a ten foot tripod. Too much emotion and too little time to do the perfect work that a bride requires.

Respect goes out to all those seasoned wedding photographers. In my mind it is the hardest possible job in photography. I would be much more at ease taking pictures of Lions with steaks wrapped around my neck.

[dsze]

lol.... well great! That makes me feel more confident! :) Lions & a steak necklace huh? wow.

-daniel

[MrKickalot]

First... I'm no expert but this just happened to me!!

You probably don't have enough memory. I have 2-256MB and 1-512MB. I was at an advantage... it was a small wedding and was outside. I shot JPG for all the "friends and family before the wedding" pictures and the whole wedding. Burnt up on 256 card (70 shots). Then the formal pictures, shot RAW, there went the 512(75 shots). Shot RAW at the reception on the last card(37 shots) and had 2 pictures left. They didn't want that many formal shots or I would have been screwed!! I'll have a 1GB card before I shoot another wedding!!

How much to charge?? Well whatever you think you should double it!! My friend called me on the Day before her friends wedding and said the relative that was going to take pictures can't come and they are in a pinch. So when I found out how little they spent on the whole wedding I gave them a price twice what I thought I'd have in it. I figured $25 in gas and $25 in pictures (Yorkphoto.com has 4X6's for $.12, makes good proofs!!). So I was being nice and said $100. Ended up they told me wrong about where it was and gas was $30.00 and after shipping the pictures were $30.00 (109 4X6 proofs, 2 8X10's, 4 5X7's and 16 wallets)(I am good friends with the grooms sister so I got a few more pictures than I had planned) leaving me with a wopping $40.00. That is only $10 less than I thought BUT.... I ended up having 10 hours in it, $4.00/hr. Would have been nice if I would have at least made minimum wage!!

One thing that may make it better... I didn't give them any digital files. I am hearing from them that the parents want more pictures and with my mark-up on them I might make a little!! If I were you I would do the same. Every other photographer keeps rights to their pictures, why shouldn't you!

[Dans_D60]

Good luck on your assignment! I know many don’t like doing weddings, but we think there kinda of fun! More memory the better. We typically shoot 8 – 12 gigs per wedding. That’s about 1,200 RAW images on the 1Ds and 1D MKII. Always have two cameras going as a backup … nothing will go wrong … nothing will go wrong …. I keep telling myself … but better safe then …..

I haven’t gone above 1G CF cards because of cost. But we do have 10 one-gig cards and they always fill up. Dump them into a storage tank, verify and reuse.

Have fun!

Dan

[ijohnson]

Well, sounds like you need a couple $1000 lenses, A new $1500 camera, $1000 in CF cards, $2000 in lighting equipment, and a lackey to carry it all around for you.

[WestFalcon]

I do about 20 weddings/year. I shoot large jpegs and carry 3-10d's , 4- 512 cards and 6 -256 cards. I use the 17-40 for group shots. You need this for your groups. I have a 20-35 too and it works well for groups. I use White Lightnings for groups and I have 3-550EX for candids. I still keep a 1n in the car with enough film to shoot the whole wedding. I take at least 6 shots of key groups...3 with two different cameras. Am I overly cautious?...I don't think so....I would always rather have too many backups than not enough. I would tell this couple that you are not an experienced wedding photographer but will do your best. Don't give her any illusions if you are inexperienced. Check your histograms regularly and burn copies of everything when you get home. Your list of equipment seems a little slim to me. Bring a 35 mm backup or digital if you can. Your main goal is to give the bride and groom good pictures and profit is a secondary consideration. After all, it sounds like you are in a sense practicing on them. Sorry if I sound negative but weddings need to be taken very seriously and only do it if you can do a professional job. If the bride and groom are short of cash and can't afford a more seasoned photographer, go for it. Good luck Brian

[DS]

Hi Daniel. I did a few wedding bofore, but they were for my friends or co-workers. How much time do you have for prepare? You can go to a local bigger book store, find some book relate to wedding at photography section. Some book tech you all the technique how to shoot wedding, what is the "must have" shoot, how to generate contract, ect. Ask your client how much they are expect from your work. Do they perfer digital or film, blow up(20X30), fancy wedding albums (one set for each parents). For the equipment, you will need everything double (spare), a good powerful flash, external battery pak like Quantum Turbo Battery(you can shoot all day without worry change battery and wait for recycle). A must "flash bracket" with the flash remote cord. Some special effect filter like "soft foces" filter or "stars" filter ect. Try check with you local camara shop do they have "memory card rental", so you dont have to buy lotta card. When I shoot wedding, I usually carry around 50 rolls film(I never did shoot wedding w/digital camara before, cause I just got my mark II).
I charged my client around 150 - 300 above the cost ( b/c I'm not a pro. and I'm still learning). It depend how much time you have to spend on the day, how much work you have to do (all the run around after the wedding).
I enjoy shooting wedding b/c everybody is all dress up and ready for you to take a shot. But it also have a lot pressure (to me), b/c I don't know how is the result come out.

[dsze]

ha....yeah.

I'll get some more memory, probably not enough to shoot 1200 RAW files though.

Here's what I'm thinking on the new lens:

17-40 f/4L
Tamron AF 28-75mm F2.8 XR Di
28-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM

this new would serve in a duo with my 70-200. Any opinions?

-daniel

[danphoto1]

Weddings are difficult but fun as well andther thing to keep in mind is the white balance of your camera it wil change depending upon the room or rooms that you shoot in. I am assuming that there will be a rehersal yo might want to take a few shots there. I have shot a half dozen this year and there are always differnent lighting problems. some churches will not allow you to use flash during the ceremony only before and after. Some don't care. I have a 20mm 1.8 and a 16-35 f2.8 and 24-70 f2.8 as well as a 70-200 f2.8 there always seem to be a new and differnt problem for each wedding. so good luck 8)

[dsze]

Thats a good idea...I'll try to get into town early so that I can shoot the rehersal. Do you worry about white balance during the shoot, or might it be better to leave it on auto or set it to a specific Kelvin temp (depending on the rehersal shots) and then adjust white balance on the RAW files in post?

-daniel

[robertwgross]

I'll get some more memory, probably not enough to shoot 1200 RAW files though.

When my partner and I shoot a typical wedding, he shoots about 200 frames on medium format film, and I shoot about 200+ in digital. RAW, of course.

---Bob Gross---

[DocFrankenstein]

I am DEAD scared of weddings... I've read so much neg stuff about shooting them...

Maybe if they sign a form like you do in an entertainment park:

"The photographer is in no way shall be held responsible for deaths, physical or moral injuries, the quality of the photographs and the emotional instability of the mothers-in-law" :twisted:

Even if those are directly caused by the photographer himself. :wink:

[dsze]

Well, I'm hoping to have enough memory to shoot a combination of RAW & JPG for a total of somewhere between 400-600 frames.

Still deciding on the lens purchase...hate to rush a decision like this, but I want to have it in time to play with it and get acustomed to it before the wedding.

-daniel

[psk4363]

Hi Daniel,

Just done a wedding (Saturday 10th July) after a break of some 12 months. My kit?

Two 1 Gb Microdrives
10D (& cable release)
17-40L
50mm f1.8
70-200L
550EX Flash
Manfrotto tripod
Lowepro bag (on hip)

In the car I had my EOS 5 and 3 rolls of 36 exp Fuji Reala as a back-up system.

The two drives were well sufficient. The 17-40 was used for the group shots. The 70-200 for some close-ups with the background well diffused. The 50mm for indoor shots (signing the register, cutting the cake, etc), assisted by the flash. All outdoor shots done with the camera tripod mounted fired by a cable release.

Cost? That depends on who you're doing it for, what they want, how much work is entailed, and the cost of the Vallium tranquilisers to keep you calm during the day as you work our nuts off!!

Barry

[dsze]

haha....well, I can honestly say that I'm used to working my boyz off....I'm a teacher.... rarely do I get a chance to sit down or even more than 2 minutes for lunch.....this will be a slightly different kind of stress though. I am very much looking forward to it. I know that I won't have ALL the equipment that I want, but I really think I can do a pretty good job with what I will have.

Thanks for your kit list Barry...that is very helpful. I have a couple questions for you:

Did you have any problems with the 50mm?
Do you think the cable release is necessary? How did it help?
How did you use the 550 with the 50mm indoors? Did you bounce it, etc?

thanks,
daniel

[psk4363]

Hi Daniel,

So you're a teacher! Great respect to you - I was for 6 years and got fast-tracked to Head of Department, then got sick of the lack of respect and discipline from the kids so left the profession for one where we win and they lose (the cops!).

Anyway, back to your questions: -

a) Problems with the 50mm? Not one. Stopped down a bit, that lens is very, very sharp.
b) Cable release necessary? If your going to the trouble of using a tripod to ensure sharp images then the cable release complements the set-up very well by eliminating the smallest amount of camera shake by pressing the shutter button. It also allows you to have continuous eye-to-eye contact with the subjects (the guests).
c) Flash with the 50mm? Where the ceiling was low enough then I bounced it; if not I used the wide-angle diffuser to spread the beam.

Before I went totally digital (using a 645 system) a pro-photographer friend of mine said that if you can't do a whole wedding with just a standard lens then you are doing something wrong - I don't fully agree but most could be shot on a 50mm, it just means far more leg-work going backwards and forwards to get the composition right.

Hope this helps,
Good luck - just remember to count to 10 when the Muppet guests get in the way, don't do as they're told, and generally become idiots, before you press the shutter.

Barry 8)

[Vegas Poboy]

The best way to start pricing is look @ what local photographers is charging & adjust from there. Most likely you'll pick up more work and it's good to have a price sheet started.
The three lense that you're looking @ should cover everything & I carry 2 gigs worth of cards with me and it covers everything with plenty to spare. I would limit my shots around 250 max. Remember you must edit each file that you plan on showing, That takes alot of time. Make sure you have the extra batteries for the flash. :D


Good Luck

[Lincoln_Mennuti]

As far as price goes...Being a photo enthusiast myself, I couldn't accept paying thousands of dollars to hire a Photographer for my wedding. We finally ended up hiring a college girl for $500. All she had was a plain-jane no-frills film camera with a flash bracket and 1 lens. I wasn't at all impressed with the proofs, and come to think of it, we STILL don't have our pictures (it's been over a year)!!!

Anyway, if some so-so College chick can make $500...I'd say you should be able to do at least that or better.

Also, I suggest a great (and FREE) utility to 'cull' all the pictures you're going to take. It's called Pixort:
http://www.jotto.no/pixort/

Wife and I recently came back from a trip to Kaua'i (for our 1st Anniversary) and had over 930 pictures to go through...Pixort helped TREMENDOUSLY.

[vfilby]

Yes definitely try Pixort. I downloaded it out of idle curiosity after reading the last post (Actually I thought it automatically culled images... alas it does not) and it is a fantastic program to start the workflow off with.

A great free product!

Vince

[Steveo31]

My stepdad just did his first wedding, and has been hired for a quinceniera. Pick up a book on the different poses, but be sure you are able to. My mom and dad's wedding was blown cause the photographer showed up drunk (:lol:) so make sure you are ready to take on the responsibility.

Good luck man :)

[Tim A]

Well I've been into this photography thing for 4 months, and 10 days ago I shot my first wedding. The sister of a guy I graduated with was getting married and my friend told her I was "good"...the jerk :twisted: . So I said "No" and then she dropped the bomb..."Well it's your photos or no photos :cry: ." What could I do? I made it absolutlely clear to the bride and groom and families that I was the furthest thing from a pro. I only had a good quality camera that could produce good quality shots and that I knew little more than how to push the shutter button.

Next was to do some research. I found a site called something along the lines of "The Amateur's Guide to Photographing a Wedding". First line: "...run, don't walk, RUN to the nearest exit!" IOW I was being strongly advised to gracefully back-out and turn tail and skeedaddle. Not an option and not wanting to get scared/intimidated/discouraged I cancelled all further research and decided to shoot green.

So in the days leading up to the wedding I spent prolly over $1000 getting ready. Bought 2 lenses, well converters (I must remember I'm posting in "The Big Boys" forum here), another 256 card to make 2, and an external flash. I ordered 2 batteries too but they didn't show on time. My setup before this was my G3 and a couple of filters. The purchases saved/made the day for me.

I had her brother's Mac iBook setup in the house, oh yeah, it was an outdoor wedding --> my saving grace...anyhow I had a laptob in the house w/ a card reader and while one card was downloading I was filling the other. I ran out of room on a card right before the couple walked down the aisle as husband and wife so I missed that but what can you do? I only had one battery which lasted through the formals and ceremony and which I charged during lunch.

So 550 photo's later (all L SF JPG) and with my bank account $1000 lighter I had pulled through. How'd it go? Well they couldn't have been happier, they loved the photos and I, knowing a little more than they as to what makes a photo and what doesn't, was also pleased with the result. I burned the pics onto a disk and gave them the digital files for them to deal with. What they got came straight from the camera.

I charged them nothing. Zippo. I can't imagine the stress of having to provide a product of monetary value with absolutly no experience. They couldn't afford to anyway. I took money from my school fund to pay for the equipment b/c I figured if I was going to do this I was going to do it right, to the best of my ability. And that's what I did. Besides I was going to buy the stuff eventually, the wedding just forced the issue.

All in all I couldn't have had a better ice breaking when it comes to wedding photography. They were friends and treated me great. The photos were better than they expected, than I expected, and everything went smoothly and w/o a hitch.

Hope my experience will be able to help you some. I'll post here when I've got some pictures from said wedding in the "Share Photos" forum. They aren't there yet but hopefully I'll get some time soon.

Thanks for reading and good luck,

Tim

[dsze]

Wow....thanks for all the advice everyone, it is honestly more than I expected and has been a great help! What a great Forum!

So, here's what I've done. I tried both the 50mm 1.8 and the tamron 28-75Di today at a camera shop. I was quite impressed with both lenses. Even at 1.8 I thought the 50mm was quite acceptable for the $80 it costs. And even $329 for the tamron is very reasonable. So, I'm ready to hit the submit button on this lens order. Any swaying advice before I do?

So, my purchases will included:

Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 XR Di w/UV filter
Canon 50mm 1.8 w/UV filter
2 more 512 CF cards bringing me to a total of just over 1.5 GB of memory
AT-3770 Tripod

The only other thing I can think of is my flash. I have an old vivitar flash that I have had good luck with so far...but I tend to prefer natural light, so it hasn't had a whole lot of use. I don't even know what model it is, but its head does tilt and it has several settings as well as a built-in diffuser. My question is this: how strongly should I be considering a new flash, such as the 540, 550, etc...

thanks again,
daniel

[robertwgross]

My question is this: how strongly should I be considering a new flash, such as the 540, 550, etc...


First of all, either the wedding is outside, or it's inside. If it is outside, then you need a flash for fill. You have to even up the difference between bright sky and shade. If it is inside, then you need an even better flash.

Trying to go with an uncertain flash unit is a real gamble. Take a day to decide if your existing flash will do the trick. Note that many of the older flash units will be incompatible or dangerous for your camera. If you consider a new flash unit, then there is no 540 choice at all. The only two Canon products to consider are 550EX and 420EX.

For what it's worth, I shoot weddings with a 550EX on a flash bracket. Then somewhere in my bag, I keep the 420EX there for backup purposes, along with three sets of AA batteries.

---Bob Gross---

[dsze]

Thanks...yes, I'm planning to use my flash exclusively the next few days and make a decision on it. You're right about the flash, I didn't mean to type 540...I meant 420. thanks,
daniel

[Tim A]

dsze,

I bought the 420EX the day before the wedding. I'd ho'd and hum'd for a week and finally bit the bullet and bought it. It hurt 'cause I wasn't planning on dropping nearly $400 dollars on more camera equipment any time soon (it's a lot of money for a 19 year old) but I'm convinced it made the pictures just that much better. As I mentioned up above the wedding was outside and the flash evenly lit everywhere where the sun did not. I couldn't have been happier with the purchase (unless it had been cheaper).

Tim