First wedding

[DucoNihilum]

I'm shooting my first wedding this weekend as a favor to a friend. He already hired another photographer, I'm kind of just there as a second shooter unrelated to the first. They cleared this out with him so we're in the clear there. I made absolute sure of that.

I'm just wondering if there's anything I should know before going out there. I already upgraded some of my equipment, in part for the wedding. My batteries last on average 30 minutes (old) so I bought two new ones, my opteka grip was unreliable so I bought a canon one, and 2GB CF card just wouldn't cut it. I bought the canon one.

I primarily do PJ type work, that's where I excel, so set up shots- not so much. Since I do PJ work I hardly ever edit my photos (Not like some people on this board, at least). What should I be prepared for? Are there any secret wedding rules I should follow? I'm not worried too much about money, he said he'll slip me a few extra dollars (which will probably pay for part of the new gear I just bought) but I'm really just looking for a new experience and some fun.

I'm thinking of bringing my laptop in case I shoot more than 8 gigs, and an extra battery charger and my old set of batteries so I can keep a rotation going. Anything else?

[DucoNihilum]

Also, I will be primary shooting the reception.

[Lonnie]

You can't overestimate how many AA's you will burn through during that reception. I wouldn't feel comfortable with fewer than 4 sets of charged AA's and I would start charging the depleted ones on site the first time I swapped.

The weddings I have shot (second shooter) - we put a photo of the bride/groom that had a web link where the wedding photos would be online on the reception tables.

[DucoNihilum]

AA's for my strobe?

[dbvirago]

I just shot my first wedding last weekend, only I was the only shooter. Based on my expierience, if you are shooting a wedding and there is another shooter, I would approach them about being a 2nd shooter for them. You will get at least the same shots, and you will learn a lot more.

I would love to have had someone to ask or follow, i.e. 7:30 at night, ceremony outside full dark with guests, aisle and ceremony blasted by a spotlgiht on the roof of the reception hall. Fortunately, I was able to get some shots before the ceremony and inside, but it would have been worth it to work with a pro. Even the recption presented some problems. I was able to bounce the flash, but walls and ceiling were dark brown?!? Also, agree with the extra batteries. I went through 4 changes

Anyway, good luck.

http://darrylbrooks.smugmug.com/photos/683884299_EDsxK-M.jpg

[footballdude2k3]

on a 20d if you shoot raw, the 8 gb card will hold around 800 pics, if you think you are going to go crazy then bring something just in case, if you still have the 2gb card just bring that, its a pain waiting for an 8 gig card to load on a computer while you might be missing things.

[dbvirago]

I shot for 7 hours and pretty much did go crazy, although I didn't shoot as much during the actual ceremony as I would have liked. Ended up with about 800 images. You should have plenty, but buy more when you get a chance. As cheap as cards are, I hate worrying about if I have enough memory.

[Lonnie]

AA's for my strobe?

Sorry, never specified. Yes.