What to do when can't shoot

[vpnd]

Well yesterday's wedding was well "different" First of all I woke up sick. Not a good start. Also It was 20 degrees outside. I arrived for hair and makeup and the bride said that the groom was up all night with a stomach flu. Also one of the bridesmaids was the same. Yeeha.... Everything was going smooth. Hair and makeup, formals went well. huge wedding party, 7 groomsman and bmaids.six ushers that wrapped around the whole party for the big group shot. Now to my bread and butter, I can come up with 100000000 outside shots for the album and sales.

The bride has no coat and doesn't want to go outside cause beside the cold, In Fargo we have something called wind. I't not a nice little breeze or anything, it tends to knock you over or cut straight through you. Also the church was very dark and I had a large group so opening up the fstop only works for so many shots.

What do you do in these situations?

Thanks for listening to my rant in advance.

[auroraskye]

Bring off camera lighting. I bring it to every wedding, regardless of if I THINK I'll need it or not. Be creative.. it's all part of the challenge. Though it does really suck to be sick. It clouds your judgement and just makes your brain work slower!

[vpnd]

I did actually. I brought two lights for formals and a background. Also brought a softbox and striplight. dumb me. I thought I didn't have time because my assisstant wasn't available. you're right tho

[ImageGroupPhotography]

A-L-W-A-Y-S- bring lighting A-L-W-A-Y-S-

[SuzyView]

I moved this to TALk as you don't have an image to SHARE.

I think it was the dark church issue that caused me to keep buying the 5D series cameras for low light, high ISO capabilities, and to buy fast glass, like the 70-200 2.8 IS. There is no substitute for good lighting, but why not get a good set up to get the best shots you can. I tend to shoot in places that do not allow flash of any kind so I do my best with the gear.

[tim]

I almost never take studio lights these days, I use speedlites with battery packs, radio triggers, light stands, and umbrellas just in case I need to do studio style photos. Working while sick would be hard, and with that the cold and the wind you deserve your rant :)

[Rubi Jane]

Working while sick would be hard, and with that the cold and the wind you deserve your rant :)
I chuckled when I read this, Tim is showing his softer side ;)

Sounds like you had the lighting with you but being sick, cold, unassisted and likely not creatively inspired meant the lighting was utilized. I can empathize, sometimes it doesn't come together as well as we'd like.

I've had a couple of weddings this year where the bride wasn't really into doing photos, makes it so much harder to be inspired when the subject isn't cooperating.

[tim]

I chuckled when I read this, Tim is showing his softer side ;)

I'm quite soft, gota get back to the gym ;)

[picturecrazy]

It's our jobs to come up with awesome photos no matter what the situation is. which is why it always pays to have as many tricks up your sleeve as possible to deal with however many situations as possible. There are ALWAYS ways to make some interesting shots, and if your environment is very limited then use many different photographic techniques to bring variety into a scene. For example, shoot some super high ISO narrow DOF shots, then some well lit traditional shots, then some dramatically lit shots, use soft light, then hard light, then a combo, then shoot ultra wide, then telephoto, then play with motion and blur, create some silhouettes, use creative posing etc etc etc. The more tricks in your bag the better prepared you are. The weather up here can be brutal so dealing with this kind of stuff is very common. Definitely not a "warm all year 'round" place. hahaha.

[SuzyView]

Lloyd should know. :) Alberta. What, you get maybe 4 good months a year? J/K.

We have the opposite here in Va most of the summer. Too hot and taking outdoor shots is hard with the Bride having terrible hair issues after about 10 minutes in 105 degree sun.

[vpnd]

Today I'm pinching and kicking myself for not at least grabbing a light and softy. Oh well the shoot was actually pretty good save for the dramatic shots which were less than average in quantity. Thanks for input and listening to me pout.

[PMCphotography]

show us some photos of how you did...

[vpnd]

Im away now, I will when I get back.