<wedding>my first wedding: horror story

[shawnxstl]

So, my cousin Danny invites me with him to shoot this wedding for his two friends who are getting married. We get there a few hours early and take about 200 pictures between us before the wedding even starts. so, before the wedding starts, i dump all of the pictures i had taken on my laptop (about 120 of them). So, the wedding begins and im shooting away, doing my best to keep my ground. This is my first time doing something like this and it was pretty overwhelming. The wedding is at a golf course and after they get married, the wedding party comes with us to a green thats on top of a hill with a really nice background. The sun had just went behind a big hill and lighting could NOT have been better. I was really excited about how the pictures turned out there. Anyway, we get back to the lodge and the reception starts. Again, im shooting away doing my best and i looked at the screen on my camera. I had about 20 pictures left. I switched that card out for the one in my pocket and then before the dances started, i thought, "i better put the old card in my case." So i did. I walked over to my case, opened it, put the card in there, closed it. About an hour later, i gathered my things and shook hands with the groom and hugged the bride, they said thanks a ton and that they really appreciate it (the photos were my cousins wedding gift to them). After I leave, i decide to go to my cousins house. I was thinking "wow, that turned out a lot better than i had expected it would." So when i get to my cousins house, i take out my camera case and bring it in the house so i can look at some of the ones i took. I get inside, open case....MEMORY CARD IS GONE.

Words cannot describe how mad i was. I looked everywhere where i was sitting. I looked everywhere in my case. I looked everywhere in my car. I went back to the wedding and looked everywhere there. The only logical thing i can come up with is that someone stole it. No more of having a case without a lock. I feel so bad about this that its not even funny. Thankfully, my cousin was taking pictures too...but...idk. He noticed his pictures were turning out a little dark in like the first 20 minutes we were there...so to solve this, he turned his LCD brightness up. I explained that that wasn't helping the pictures, it was just making them brighter on the screen. He doesn't understand anything about iso/aperture/shutter speed. (just goes to show he's not the best with his camera...)

So, I decided I'm never doing a wedding again. Im getting a lock with a case on it. Im getting more cf cards and never keeping too many on one, or atleast back up every now and then to my laptop throughout the day.

*sigh*

[gjl711]

Ouch!!! Sorry about your bad luck. Kind of weird that someone would steal a CF card though, no?

[Bobster]

thats a real arg moment there! can really understand what you must be feeling right now...

my memory cards don't go anywhere but my card wallet when i take them out, and then into my trouser leg pocket (which is sealed)

[Sussi]

That is a true horrorstory! I can't believe someone stole your memory card out of your case. When I shoot weddings I always keep the cards on me. When I leave the wedding I take the last card out of the camera to keep it with the other cards on me. That way, if anything should happen on the way home I will still have the cards as long as I get out of the car alright. To loose the cards would be just about the biggest nightmare I can imagine.

[shawnxstl]

Ouch!!! Sorry about your bad luck. Kind of weird that someone would steal a CF card though, no?


Idk. I would think yeah...but these people weren't the most uh...sober or drug free people you would meet.

[gjl711]

Idk. I would think yeah...but these people weren't the most uh...sober or drug free people you would meet. Yea.. It sucks, but look at the bright side... At least they didn't take the whole case...:confused:

[Ultimate CC]

man that really blows...hopefully it turns up somewhere...

[fadetoblack22]

Is it possible for the bride or groom to send an email to everyone asking if they have seen the card?

[shawnxstl]

eh. maybe. my cousin called the place today to see if they have cameras in that room just in case.

man this is messed up.

[Calicajun]

Sorry to hear about the first half of your bad luck. Second half being when you tell the bride and groom about the lost pictures. Loosing pictures was always my worst fear when I did weddings.

[Eliza_Day]

good luck with finding the card, sure it must've just fallen out somewhere!

[Denise Z]

If you have any foam, velcro, or hard bottom that can be lifted up, or hole in the lining of a silk zippered partition in your case check there. It amazing how things can get stuck or lost in the strangest places.

[Microcosm]

Maybe offer that they return it and you don't press charges or anything? If it's a guest of their I mean. The images are more important than the relatively inexpensive price of cards.

[_aravena]

Stole? Come on? I'm sure there was more they could have stolen than taking the time to open the case and take out a card. Never the less, that sucks.

I put mine in my pocket, why walk back and forth?

[Dermit]

Full cards never leave my pocket until I get home and dump them on the computer. Always. Especially for a client and double so for a wedding. A card with client pictures on it, pictures that can not be re-created, become the most valuable item I have when i fill them up and before I back them up. All my gear could be stolen and insurance can replace it. But I lose a card with images like these on it and there is no replacing it. Therefore I never treat a full card lightly. I absolutely retain control of that card at all times. Pockets are big, cards are small. I have never lost even one image of the 20,000 to 30,000 I shoot per year.

[DStanic]

Wow, that's a crazy story. I hope that they find it!!

When I shot my first (and only so far) wedding this year, I used a 4gig and 2gig card. When the 4gig was full I think I put it back in my bag, in a zipper pouch so it couldn't easliy fall out or anytihng. I think I must have tripld checked that it didn't disapear that night! Luclky everything went fine.

I think next time I will shoot with an 8gb card. I only used 6gb last time (600 RAW shots on my XTi) and I will use 2 camera bodies next time as well.. so 2x8gb cards will definatly be enough, and I woun't worry about the possiblility of losing them.

[tim]

I hope it turns up for ya. I solved the problem by buying an 8GB memory card for my main camera, and 4GB for my other cameras. I rarely change cards, when I do they go into a cardsafe, which lives in my pocket (not secured).

[JeffreyG]

As bad as this story is, I read one that was actually worse. The photog shot all the ceremony and formals on one card, swapped to a second and shot the reception. He then swapped in a 3rd card (except it was actually the 1st one again), formatted it and then filled it.

Yup - he wrote reception candids over the ceremony and formals.

A good lesson there is to never, ever format a card in the middle of a shoot. If it is full, it's telling you something.

[goforphoto]

Full cards go in my left pocket, blank cards go in my right pocket.
I always check the card when I put it in for images.
And I never ever leave bag or gear unattended.

Lessons learned can never be forgotten.

[PhotosGuy]

Full cards go in my left pocket, blank cards go in my right pocket.
I always check the card when I put it in for images.
And I never ever leave bag or gear unattended. Too late to help now, but that's my method, too.

[shawnxstl]

GOOD NEWS!

The card was found today. I had the camera and i was doing some school assignment...When i went to take the lens cap off the camera, the card fell out. The card SOMEHOW got in between the lens and the lens cap. Im not sure how in the hell that happened, or how the lens cap even fit right. Talk about a luckkkkkky find.

Still clueless has to how it got there. the camera never left my hand that night until it went in the case.

[Mike]

Wow! Glad you found the card!

I have my cards numbered 1-6. I start with numbers 1 & 2 in my cameras and the other 4 cards are in my card case with the number showing up. Once I have filled a card the next number in line is used and the full card goes in the card case flipped the other way round so that I know it is full. Quite a simple system which works very well. And the cards always stay with me.

[gjl711]

GOOD NEWS!

The card was found today. I had the camera and i was doing some school assignment...When i went to take the lens cap off the camera, the card fell out. The card SOMEHOW got in between the lens and the lens cap. Im not sure how in the hell that happened, or how the lens cap even fit right. Talk about a luckkkkkky find.

Still clueless has to how it got there. the camera never left my hand that night until it went in the case. Tht's great new.. :):) But I got to ask, what card wallet did you end up getting. ;)

[tim]

That's the weirdest place i've ever heard to lose a card.

[goforphoto]

How is the lens?

[shawnxstl]

lens is fine.

weirdest place to loose a card is right.

do you guys really blame me for loosing it there though? i mean seriously....who thinks to look behind the lens cap for a missing cf card?

[tim]

Yep, anyone you lose a card is a bad sign, you're just lucky this time.

[DStanic]

Glad you found the card!! Now post some pics!! :)

[angryhampster]

lens is fine.

weirdest place to loose a card is right.

do you guys really blame me for loosing it there though? i mean seriously....who thinks to look behind the lens cap for a missing cf card?


It's great that you found it, but the fact that it went missing is still problematic. Cards should never leave your person when you're shooting an event. I'm a hound about my memory cards at work.

[lightsmith101]

Your decision to not photograph any more weddings is a sound one. There are no retakes and I find it unprofessional to practice on clients on one of the most important days of their lives. Not cool.

[Andrushka]

what were you saying about the folks at the wedding not being the most sober?? :-) hahahaha - glad you found your card!

[JeffreyG]

Your decision to not photograph any more weddings is a sound one. There are no retakes and I find it unprofessional to practice on clients on one of the most important days of their lives. Not cool.

Relax, OP was a second shooter. That is the way to learn how to do it right.

[Chris]

I knew it! As I was reading all the posts I kept thinking. It has to be in the bag somewhere. Who steals just a memory card. I bought one of these to help me keep things organized
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/240325-REG/Hakuba_DMSPCF4_DMSP_CF4_CF_Card_Case.html