Fun Reception location for First Time wedding

[kuraz]

I will be photographing my first wedding in about a month and a half and was a little nervous at first because I will not have a second shooter.

But I will be able to go to the rehersal the day before and do a complete run through . Makes me feel alot better....more about that in this post.

ANYWAY, I love off camera flash (did alot of portrait and modeling sessions) and my eyes lit up when the bride described the dream photo that he wanted.

She wants a shot with her and her new hubby on the balcony of the reception building looking out over the lake. The sun would have already set and should be that time of day where the sky is still lit and has some cool looking colors.

Was excited and thought I thought I would share that and post a link to the reception website to see if there are any problems that I might incur.

http://valencia1oncrosslake.com/About.html

I know the darkish red walls will be hard to bounce flash off of if I need to so I may have to work around that and setup OCF in two opposite corners of that area.

Anyway tell me what you guys find that could be a problem....

Thanks,
Nick

[tim]

Their website sucks. That page you linked to shows a boat, put them on that and you'll be fine.

Not sure why wall colors are relevant. OCF goes direct usually, not via a wall.

An assistant will be FAR more useful than a second shooter for your first wedding. Someone friendly and helpful that can carry bags, drive so you can think and eat, help spot things like a dress not falling properly, hold lights off camera and adjust power levels, etc, etc. Second shooters are usually out to get photos themselves, assistants are there to help you create better photos.

[kuraz]

Originally Posted by tim

Their website sucks. That page you linked to shows a boat, put them on that and you'll be fine.

Not sure why wall colors are relevant. OCF goes direct usually, not via a wall.

An assistant will be FAR more useful than a second shooter for your first wedding. Someone friendly and helpful that can carry bags, drive so you can think and eat, help spot things like a dress not falling properly, hold lights off camera and adjust power levels, etc, etc. Second shooters are usually out to get photos themselves, assistants are there to help you create better photos.

Thanks Tim. I wish I could put them on that boat lol.

I have an assistant who is a makup artist and will be doing the bridal makeup, and she is my beautiful girlfriend, who will be helping me with all of that. I asked about the wall not because of OCF but if I didnt use OCF and had to revert to bouncing off of a wall in some scenarios then that dark color could be a problem (or at least wont be the same as a whitish wall that I'm use to bouncing stuff off of).

And I agree the website sucks but I didnt make it lol. There are pictures that scroll at the bottom that's titled "Wedding & Reception" above it. Those are the pictures I was referring to. (not great photos but I didn't take them ).

[tim]

Ah I see now, it's flash and I had to activate it to see it (I block flash). Just put your flash on a stand with an umbrella, inside, and shoot through the window using a radio trigger.

[scorpio_e]

The sun would have already set and should be that time of day where the sky is still lit and has some cool looking colors.

How to you know that? It could be rainy or cloudy. All best laid plans tend to go south at weddings and it is best not to have preconceived notions.

[kuraz]

Originally Posted by scorpio_e

The sun would have already set and should be that time of day where the sky is still lit and has some cool looking colors.

How to you know that? It could be rainy or cloudy. All best laid plans tend to go south at weddings and it is best not to have preconceived notions.

I understand this but there is no reason not to give a best case scenario....Who wants to hear that its cloudy and rainy when you are planning for perfection. Sure I'm gonna be ready for backup plans but plan A is for it to be BEAUTIFUL. I have plan A-ZZ already set . I'm a very optimistic person who doesn't need coffee to start my day.

[brokensocial]

Just go into it with a good flash and a good eye and you'll be fine. The reception almost always differs in person from the pictures, and you can't control the light unless you bring tons of it with you, so just go with the flow.

[scorpio_e]

Originally Posted by kuraz

I understand this but there is no reason not to give a best case scenario....Who wants to hear that its cloudy and rainy when you are planning for perfection. Sure I'm gonna be ready for backup plans but plan A is for it to be BEAUTIFUL. I have plan A-ZZ already set . I'm a very optimistic person who doesn't need coffee to start my day.

My cup is half empty. Go grab a java *LOL* Good luck and hope plan A works for you