First Wedding - What went WRONG...

[SoccerRef]

I did my first wedding as primary photog this past weekend. I have shot two others as "Second Photog" and I was lucky enough to have the Primary from those as my "second" on Saturday.

The bride and groom and I had met several times to plan the day. About the only thing that happened according to plan was that they said "I will" and were pronounced man and wife!

We had decided to shoot the Bridal Party and the Groom's Party BEFORE the wedding in a very nice little town that has a beautiful Gazebo and 1920's style architecture, etc. I had about a dozen shots planned, I was TOTALLY prepared for the "town Photos". The little town is 2 miles north of the church, so we only needed 5 minutes to get back and forth... Or so we thought!

On wedding day, a train broke down and blocked the road. The only way to that town was to walk around the train (which the authorities would not let us do) or drive about 15 minutes out of the way. Well, we did not have time to make the drive, so we made due with a small field and a white fence. The B&G were very understanding, but we wound up doing photos on the side of the road, and then we shot some more in front of the church.

While preparing to shoot the wedding ceremony, I was told "five minutes to music". I was in position about 1 minute later changing my settings (and NEEDING to replace my CF card) when the music started!! I looked up and the first couple was coming down the aisle! So, I started shooting, and sure enough, by the time the third couple was coming my CF was full. SO I quickly changed it and managed to get off a shot of couple #3 before they slipped by.

The cermony went pretty much according to plan, except the lighting was changed right before the ceremony, and there were suddenly light spots and dark spots that were not there during rehearsal... (and I specifically asked if the lighting would be the same, and was told, "Absolutely, what you see now is what we'll have tomorrow.") Adjusting for that wasn't too bad, just frustrating...

After the ceremony, we set up lighting to do family group shots, etc. clicked off a test shot, changed settings again. I had my son run up on stage and snapped a few photos of him to verify that everything looked good and that all equipment was operating properly. And it did.

So I proceeded to start through the list and got the first group of 40+ people all set, I was able to see everyone, everyone was looking toward me, smiling... "1, 2, 3" (click). Unfortunately, All I got was a 'click'... it wasn't accompanied by a flash! I laughed, mumbled something about equipment, got a chuckle out of everyone, and tried again.... 'CLICK' still no flash. For the next 5 minutes we scrambled to figure out what was going on, all the while trying to keep the subjects of the upcoming photo entertained enough to stay put and be patient. Ultimately, we decided to abandon the umbrella flash and go to an on camera flash.

We got all of the photos done, and all is "ok", but the BEST piece of advice I got from photogs here on POTN was BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP. Not just equipment, but ideas. "Have a backup plan for EVERYTHING", was the most important advice received... "Wear a LOT of deodorant" was the second most important!

What a Day! I had a blast... But I have to say, "Thanks" to all of you who gave advice. I was prepared for the worst, and I am darn glad I was. Had I not been, I'd have been losing my mind before the ceremony even began!

Photos coming in Photo Sharing Section soon...

[Keithaba]

sounds like a hell of a day for everyone involved!

[OdiN1701]

1 - If I ever shoot a wedding that goes 100% as planned, I'll be sure to let you know. It hasn't happened yet.

2 - Plan alternate locations in case something happens and you can't get where you wanted to go in the first place. Make sure you have a contract that would release liability in case something like what happened did happen - you can't help that a train broke down and you couldn't get in. Could you have gone out after the ceremony?

3 - If adjusting for changing lighting bothers you, don't do weddings. I did one in the middle of July in CA and literally 2 minutes before it started, all the power went out. Along with the lighting and the A/C. Shot the whole wedding with only what was coming in through windows at mid-day.

4 - Be ready to shoot the ceremony well before the ceremony begins - and I don't mean 5 minutes. You should have had a fresh CF card in there. I always swap, even if a card is only 1/4 full of posed shots or whatever. Besides, that also spreads your photos out over more cards, so should one go bad you have at least something. Never get a single card like a 16GB or something and shoot an entire event on it.

5 - Equipment failure? Have backup equipment. If I have to spend more than a minute to fix something, I'll just change to something else.

But yeah you got it - Backup :)

[spxxxx]

Welcome to the fun world of wedding photography

[cdifoto]

Sounds pretty normal actually. :D

[SoccerRef]

OdiN1701 -

Agree 100% with everything you said...

Unfortunately, we couldn't shoot after the wedding. The wedding was at 7:00 PM and ended at 7:50. Sunset was at about 7:40. In fact, this is why we planned to shoot photos before the wedding. Girls at 5 PM, Guys at 6 PM. Our backup location was the church itself, but the bride saw the field the white fence, and the trees, and wanted to do them right there, so we did. (Since I had another photog, I had him go back to the church, while I stayed roadside, so we actually got both!)

Never again will I agree to shoot photos before the wedding and then do so right up to 10 minutes before start time. While we got some good shots, it really gave me no time to "decompress" and "regain my composure" before the ceremony. I was frankly glad that changing the CF card was the only thing I forgot to do before the ceremony started. From now on, 30 minutes minimum. I think I'll even modify my contract to reflect that.

We had the backup equipment we needed... We set up our primary equipment, tested it, and it worked. The only reason I had a group of 40 standing there waiting is because the darn thing tested fine and then failed on the first "real" photo. The shot of my son (my test subject) was great!

We tried to "fix the issue" because it had just worked 3 minutes before that! In fact, that is what was frustrating. If the failure had occurred when I first set it up, we would have switched to backup long before I had a whole family posed and ready for a photo and there would have been no stress.

Changing lighting conditions don't scare me. I'll be the first to admit that I am not yet experienced enough to say it doesn't affect me. I'd much prefer to have the lighting consistent, but it is a challenge I willingly accept, and am getting better at handling.

What I didn't say is that while things got a little crazy a few times, I still had a GREAT time. I can say I thoroughly enjoy the whole "wedding scene". When I was considering getting into weddings, a photographer friend told me that if he had to choose between a studio portrait photographer and a sports photographer to shoot his wedding, he'd choose the sports photographer in a second.

Changing conditions, unexpected, surprise moments, a plan that does or doesn't go according to plan are all things that a sports photographer deals with everytime he shoots. Kind of like a wedding...

spxxxx - Thanks for the welcome. I feel right at home.

and cdifoto - Yeah, it probably does, but since it was my first, it seemed a lot worse than it actually was. I am sure that in 2 years, I'll look back at this and wish they had all gone as smoothly as this one did...

[cdifoto]

Yep. I find it a lot less stressful to just wing it though rather than try to have backup plans for ideas since they never go the way you play them in your head...and if the backup ideas aren't do-able you're winging it anyway! :)

[OdiN1701]

Oh and by the way - first wedding....

The ceremony probably lasted about 1 minute for you :P

Even though it was definitely longer.

[picturecrazy]

yup, sounds like a pretty normal wedding.

the biggest thing is you have to be able to think on your feet and think FAST because you get the rug pulled out from under you constantly. Like cdifoto said, just wing it. You can't plan for everything or have a backup plan for everything. If something falls through have something else set up asap and remain calm the whole time. (Even if you're experiencing pure terror inside)

So yeah, just get used to it. And have reliable equipment.

[NathanJK]

That sounds about par for the course! I LOVE when brides and grooms have everything planned out and keep it relatively on track, but I plan for it to not occur like that at all. I'm curious, did you ever track down the source of your problem with the lighting? Was it bad cables, a problematic radio trigger etc? I had something like that happen to me recently and discovered one of my pocket wizard plus II's would not transmit, it would only receive. I had spares and threw another on and went on down the road but it was a definitely an "oh ****" moment for a second. Turns out that PW works just fine as a receiver but absolutely not as a transmitter. It will be sent in when the schedule allows but right now I can't live without the backup that it mostly offers...

[C.Steele]

The only thing you can count on at a wedding, is that you can't count on anything. That's what separates the pros from the Joe's. The ability to adapt, overcome, and all the while maintain control, poise, and a smile on your face is what enables us to command the $$.

If things were always predictable and perfect, anyone with a digital camera could set it on the green square of awesomeness and produce images like a pro.

Chris

[stathunter]

I have to agree, welcome to wedding photography. I find many couples want to meet and plan out things, I always push them off. Nothing ever goes according to plan. You always have to expect the unexpected. Always be flexible, be prepared to change your settings frequently, relax, work hard, sweat a lot, anticipate shots, carry two bodies with lenses attached and never make plans for anything.
I have found that when walking into a church or location I look around for a wall or location because sometimes that is the only spot you get to stage the couple for a few quick romantic posed moments.
Make sure no matter who gives you orders that the people in charge, bride & groom, are the ones who make the decisions.
Relax as much as you can and enjoy your time.
I tend to work hard, take more photos than I should, sweat like crazy (but always have an extra change of clothes) and take a moment or two in between things to refresh a little -- but in the end the customer is thrilled with the results. I am like many of us in the wedding business, we are the hardest working ones at the wedding and sometimes we have to act as the wedding planner - but that is why we get paid the big bucks!

[MarkAnthonyPhotography]

Lol. That is pure wedding photography at it's best. Happens to everyone, and more times than not!
I'm agreeing with most on here with just winging it. My first couple of weddings where big weddings and things like that kept happening. I got so flustered and mad that it ended up showing in my shots. Now I just shoot from the hip. If something doesn't work, I move on. My mind is constantly working, but in a good way. Always looking for an opportunity.

[tim]

I've never had a wedding that went THAT badly wrong. Most of my weddings do run more or less as planned, which while handy isn't very exciting and doesn't help me tell stories. I would say most of my weddings run pretty much to plan, but i'm a fairly careful planner. I can't plan for broken down trains though. One of the skills you learn is to be prepared, sounds like you're well on the way :)

[myjunk]

hehe.. don't even have enough dough to get additional cards. I shoot everything on my 8GB Adata. (then again, I'm never the Official Photographer)

Fun in some ways, but tiring in others

[NYC2BGI]

Sounds pretty normal actually. :DThat is what I was thinking.