First Wedding on Saturday

[ryant35]

I'm about to shoot my first wedding on Saturday. It's my wife's best friend and she's broke, so I'm all they can afford. I've read all the posts here over the years about never shooting a friend's wedding, but they don't really have any other options. I'm pretty confident I can do a good job.

So here is what I have been doing to prepare:

Visted the wedding location and took test shots, will visit again in 2 days to perfect my settings with the same light as Saturday. The wedding is in an enclosed front yard at a house at around 4pm. There is a large tree that shades most of the yard but I get the little bits of sunlight peaking through so I'm stuck with under exposing and using fill flash to keep from getting little bits of overexposed light.

I will also scout the brides selected shooting location for her portraits with the brides maids, it's an apartment complex with a very beautiful garden with waterfalls. I'll check out lighting and find some portrait locations.

I am renting:
- Another 40D with a grip. I thought about a 5D but I know my 40D too well to try and learn a new camera the day before a wedding. I'm happy with it's performance so I was just looking for a back-up and to keep from switching lenses.
- Another 580EXii for the rented 40D. Again same settings, easy to change, no learning curve.

I currently have:
17-40 f/4 - on one body
70-200 f/2.8 - on the other body
50 f/1.8 - switch with the 17-40 (since it will fit in a pouch better) for some portraits or creative shots of the bouquet, rings, tables, etc.

Memory:
I had a couple of 4gb cards go bad on me last weekend so I may get a new 8gb card to be safe, but I do have an additional 10gb of cards.

Batteries:
AA for 2 flashes... & have 3 sets of rechargeable for each flash, I might get another pack of 12 when I pick up my rental gear.
Camera batteries:
I have 2 for my 40D in the grip, and the rental 40D & grip come with 2. I've shot 4k at a race with 1 body and never went through 2 batteries, so I'm not worried.

Lists:
I am working on lists of the shots I want to get, including the ones the bride wants. I will meet with her again in 2 days to put together a list of exactly who she wants to pose with outside the wedding party. I also have the list of the typical shots, getting ready, dress hanging, bouquets by the dress, etc.

The the list of the shots at the wedding location where the groom & groomsmen are getting ready. (less than 10 minutes from the girl's hotel)

Then the list has each event in the wedding, father of the bride's first reaction, then the groom's reaction. The each person walking down the aisle.

Other than listing each individual item so I don't forget, and checking out some pose ideas on here for the group shots, I can't really think of anything else... can you?

Of and for those who know me on this forum, a ducky will be making an appearance (at an appropriate time) at this wedding.

[dngrCharlie]

I have recently started shooting weddings (like you for people I know or am acquainted with who are broke) and here is my advice (for what it's worth):

You seem to be okay with equipment and have backups just in case, that's good.
You are working on your list of shots so that's good.
Don't be too intrusive, however, DO NOT BE AFRAID to "get the shot". That is what you are there for. You would be amazed at how many times people have commented to me (at the wedding) how "professional" my partner and I are and what a great job we are doing because we insert ourselves into situations to "get the shots". Like I said, don't be a jerk but do what you need to do. I do think it's funny that people say we are doing a great job without ever seeing any pictures!
Don't be in a hurry. Many people, when they feel like they are under pressure, work (talk, move, gesture, etc..) too fast. Take a breath and calm down. Be cognizant of your camera settings before each shot (or before each "change" in setting). Be especially cognizant of your ISO. One trick is to treat each separate area of the wedding as a different "set" and when you walk from one to the other use the transition as a mental trigger to check your camera settings.
Get there early and get all the detail shots you can before people arrive.
Have a good idea of the poses you want the wedding party to be in for the formals. You might even want to mentally practice directing people into the poses (this is the hardest thing for me). Make sure people are evenly spaced and that they are all looking at the camera (or where you tell them to look) and that their hands are where you want them to be. Make sure the bride's dress is arranged nicely. Make sure the groom's pants are riding up showing his socks, etc...
Double check your camera settings (I know I've already said this!) and be sure that your focus is correct, especially for the formals.
Be careful of composition, especially for the formals (i.e don't be so much in a hurry that your pictures end up crooked).
Shoot RAW if you are comfortable with that (i.e. you have done it before and have a workflow).
Don't forget to eat before you go.
Have some sort of small bag that you can use to carry your spare lens, batteries and CF cards in. I use a small camera bag from my first camera (but I've used a sling backback before)
Be aware of backgrounds when you shoot. This is not so important with candids (you get what you get) but it is VERY important with formals that the background is nice and that elements in the background are straight and centered. This goes back to being methodical, but confident, when organizing, directing and taking these pictures.
If you miss a shot (i.e. the groomsmen are already dressed or the boutineers are already on) fake them. Get the best man to act like he's pinning the thing on. Get the Groom to take off and put his jacket back on. No shame in this!
Make sure you know the wedding sequence (you may have to actually direct people - not your "job" per se but sometimes "someone" has to take control). This is especially true for "friend's" weddings that are done on really tight budgets. Probably not so important for "paid" gigs.
Know how to pin boutineers on groomsmen. You'd be surprised...
Figure out a system of swapping out CF cards and batteries so you don't get used cards confused with new cards. For example, when a card is full put it into a special pouch or pocket. Also, MAKE SURE YOU FORMAT YOUR CARDS FIRST! Don't start taking photos with a new card, get about 25 or so pictures done only to find out you are out of space because the rest of the card is full of pictures of your dog.


I know a lot of wedding professionals here will probably think the OP list and mine are weak and that you shouldn't even attempt a wedding if you have to have "check your focus" on a list of things to watch out for but as a person getting into this field of work (like the OP - by accident!) these are some of the things that I've learned.

Good luck and have fun!

[sctbiggs]

Sounds to me like you'll be fine.

As for the memory cards. You said you had some go bad but mentioned you want a new 8 as a backup...

we use only 4 gb cards. The reason? We change them out often. It is a pain but it is a very helpful as an extra precaution. If one goes bad we don't lose to many photos. If you have the majority of pictures on one card and that card goes bad and can't be recovered... what do you do... say sorry? Sorry, doesn't make a new bride happy. :)

A tip... change the cards in the middle of sets. ie, don't use one card for the ceremony. Change cards halfway through. So if one failed, you'd at least have half the ceremony covered.

Our typical day, start with card. use half of card for half of getting ready shots. insert new card, finish getting ready shots and do half of detail shots. insert new card, finish detail shots and do half of .... shots.

We've never lost anything due to corrupt card but if we ever did, we wouldn't lose much and the bride would probably never know any difference.

[ryant35]

I have recently started shooting weddings (like you for people I know or am acquainted with who are broke) and here is my advice (for what it's worth):
You seem to be okay with equipment and have backups just in case, that's good.
You are working on your list of shots so that's good.
Don't be too intrusive, however, DO NOT BE AFRAID to "get the shot". That is what you are there for. You would be amazed at how many times people have commented to me (at the wedding) how "professional" my partner and I are and what a great job we are doing because we insert ourselves into situations to "get the shots". Like I said, don't be a jerk but do what you need to do. I do think it's funny that people say we are doing a great job without ever seeing any pictures!
Don't be in a hurry. Many people, when they feel like they are under pressure, work (talk, move, gesture, etc..) too fast. Take a breath and calm down. Be cognizant of your camera settings before each shot (or before each "change" in setting). Be especially cognizant of your ISO. One trick is to treat each separate area of the wedding as a different "set" and when you walk from one to the other use the transition as a mental trigger to check your camera settings.
Get there early and get all the detail shots you can before people arrive.
Have a good idea of the poses you want the wedding party to be in for the formals. You might even want to mentally practice directing people into the poses (this is the hardest thing for me). Make sure people are evenly spaced and that they are all looking at the camera (or where you tell them to look) and that their hands are where you want them to be. Make sure the bride's dress is arranged nicely. Make sure the groom's pants are riding up showing his socks, etc...
Double check your camera settings (I know I've already said this!) and be sure that your focus is correct, especially for the formals.
Be careful of composition, especially for the formals (i.e don't be so much in a hurry that your pictures end up crooked).
Shoot RAW if you are comfortable with that (i.e. you have done it before and have a workflow).
Don't forget to eat before you go.
Have some sort of small bag that you can use to carry your spare lens, batteries and CF cards in. I use a small camera bag from my first camera (but I've used a sling backback before)
Be aware of backgrounds when you shoot. This is not so important with candids (you get what you get) but it is VERY important with formals that the background is nice and that elements in the background are straight and centered. This goes back to being methodical, but confident, when organizing, directing and taking these pictures.
If you miss a shot (i.e. the groomsmen are already dressed or the boutineers are already on) fake them. Get the best man to act like he's pinning the thing on. Get the Groom to take off and put his jacket back on. No shame in this!
Make sure you know the wedding sequence (you may have to actually direct people - not your "job" per se but sometimes "someone" has to take control). This is especially true for "friend's" weddings that are done on really tight budgets. Probably not so important for "paid" gigs.
Know how to pin boutineers on groomsmen. You'd be surprised...
Figure out a system of swapping out CF cards and batteries so you don't get used cards confused with new cards. For example, when a card is full put it into a special pouch or pocket. Also, MAKE SURE YOU FORMAT YOUR CARDS FIRST! Don't start taking photos with a new card, get about 25 or so pictures done only to find out you are out of space because the rest of the card is full of pictures of your dog.
I know a lot of wedding professionals here will probably think the OP list and mine are weak and that you shouldn't even attempt a wedding if you have to have "check your focus" on a list of things to watch out for but as a person getting into this field of work (like the OP - by accident!) these are some of the things that I've learned.

Good luck and have fun!

DO NOT BE AFRAID to "get the shot"
SURE YOU FORMAT YOUR CARDS FIRST!
These are two things I'm not good at remembering, thanks for your list there is a lot of good info there.

[ryant35]

Sounds to me like you'll be fine.

As for the memory cards. You said you had some go bad but mentioned you want a new 8 as a backup...

we use only 4 gb cards. The reason? We change them out often. It is a pain but it is a very helpful as an extra precaution. If one goes bad we don't lose to many photos. If you have the majority of pictures on one card and that card goes bad and can't be recovered... what do you do... say sorry? Sorry, doesn't make a new bride happy. :)

A tip... change the cards in the middle of sets. ie, don't use one card for the ceremony. Change cards halfway through. So if one failed, you'd at least have half the ceremony covered.

Our typical day, start with card. use half of card for half of getting ready shots. insert new card, finish getting ready shots and do half of detail shots. insert new card, finish detail shots and do half of .... shots.

We've never lost anything due to corrupt card but if we ever did, we wouldn't lose much and the bride would probably never know any difference.

I always have used 2 & 4gb cards, I'll just get 2 more 4gb cards to be safe. I have finally experienced corrupt cards and man it's a pain waiting 6 hours for recovery software hoping it works. I don't want to do this again with wedding photos.

[tim]

Check out the Wedding FAQ (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=255604) (which for some reason the moderators don't want to be in the wedding forum), and read the linked threads like my first wedding lessons learned - which was a long time ago now!

[joshr03]

I have recently started shooting weddings (like you for people I know or am acquainted with who are broke) and here is my advice (for what it's worth):
You seem to be okay with equipment and have backups just in case, that's good.
You are working on your list of shots so that's good.
Don't be too intrusive, however, DO NOT BE AFRAID to "get the shot". That is what you are there for. You would be amazed at how many times people have commented to me (at the wedding) how "professional" my partner and I are and what a great job we are doing because we insert ourselves into situations to "get the shots". Like I said, don't be a jerk but do what you need to do. I do think it's funny that people say we are doing a great job without ever seeing any pictures!
Don't be in a hurry. Many people, when they feel like they are under pressure, work (talk, move, gesture, etc..) too fast. Take a breath and calm down. Be cognizant of your camera settings before each shot (or before each "change" in setting). Be especially cognizant of your ISO. One trick is to treat each separate area of the wedding as a different "set" and when you walk from one to the other use the transition as a mental trigger to check your camera settings.
Get there early and get all the detail shots you can before people arrive.
Have a good idea of the poses you want the wedding party to be in for the formals. You might even want to mentally practice directing people into the poses (this is the hardest thing for me). Make sure people are evenly spaced and that they are all looking at the camera (or where you tell them to look) and that their hands are where you want them to be. Make sure the bride's dress is arranged nicely. Make sure the groom's pants are riding up showing his socks, etc...
Double check your camera settings (I know I've already said this!) and be sure that your focus is correct, especially for the formals.
Be careful of composition, especially for the formals (i.e don't be so much in a hurry that your pictures end up crooked).
Shoot RAW if you are comfortable with that (i.e. you have done it before and have a workflow).
Don't forget to eat before you go.
Have some sort of small bag that you can use to carry your spare lens, batteries and CF cards in. I use a small camera bag from my first camera (but I've used a sling backback before)
Be aware of backgrounds when you shoot. This is not so important with candids (you get what you get) but it is VERY important with formals that the background is nice and that elements in the background are straight and centered. This goes back to being methodical, but confident, when organizing, directing and taking these pictures.
If you miss a shot (i.e. the groomsmen are already dressed or the boutineers are already on) fake them. Get the best man to act like he's pinning the thing on. Get the Groom to take off and put his jacket back on. No shame in this!
Make sure you know the wedding sequence (you may have to actually direct people - not your "job" per se but sometimes "someone" has to take control). This is especially true for "friend's" weddings that are done on really tight budgets. Probably not so important for "paid" gigs.
Know how to pin boutineers on groomsmen. You'd be surprised...
Figure out a system of swapping out CF cards and batteries so you don't get used cards confused with new cards. For example, when a card is full put it into a special pouch or pocket. Also, MAKE SURE YOU FORMAT YOUR CARDS FIRST! Don't start taking photos with a new card, get about 25 or so pictures done only to find out you are out of space because the rest of the card is full of pictures of your dog.
I know a lot of wedding professionals here will probably think the OP list and mine are weak and that you shouldn't even attempt a wedding if you have to have "check your focus" on a list of things to watch out for but as a person getting into this field of work (like the OP - by accident!) these are some of the things that I've learned.

Good luck and have fun!

All of this information is worth it's characters in gold! Every single point here applied to me when I shot my first wedding this past weekend and reading it now makes me wish I would have had these on a piece of paper with me. Even pinning on the boutineers, only one person there knew how and it wasn't me! Luckily I followed tim's pre wedding faq and was ok as far as memory and batteries. Otherwise these are the exact bits of advice I would give to anyone shooting their first wedding.

[mjadse]

A couple little things-

Lithium batteries for flash- they last longer and the recycle time stays short even up to end of battery life.

Bounce flash- attach a bounce card or use the attached flip up bounce card on your flash and practice with it. Since you will be outside for much of the time, it will be harder to find objects to use for bouncing. Some here say direct flash outside is fine but if the weather is warm, shiny faces look even shinier with a direct flash.

Good luck!

[ryant35]

A couple little things-

Lithium batteries for flash- they last longer and the recycle time stays short even up to end of battery life.

Bounce flash- attach a bounce card or use the attached flip up bounce card on your flash and practice with it. Since you will be outside for much of the time, it will be harder to find objects to use for bouncing. Some here say direct flash outside is fine but if the weather is warm, shiny faces look even shinier with a direct flash.

Good luck!

I have 6 sets of rechargeable Ni-MH batteries and a stofen omni bounce. I never use direct flash.

[ryant35]

It was a success.

Here are some of the photos.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=8688534#post8688534

[dngrCharlie]

I think those look great!