First time shooting a wedding

I have been shooting sports for the past seven years and I recently had an opportunity to shoot some pictures at a family wedding. I was not the paid photographer and other than my wife, no one knew I was bringing my camera. So I tried to stay out of the way of who they were paying and didn't expect any eye contact for the formals. Since reviewing the pictures I took I have been asked by two other family members if I would shoot their weddings, so I'd like some feedback. My initial response to them was no.

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A couple more pics

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Your white balance needs to be adjusted, the first two are out of focus. they are on par with a wedding guest snapping photos really, I would read around on the wedding threads for advice.

Cutting the cake.

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quick critique:
1-missed focus
2-way underexposed
3-good moment--might have nailed focus.
4-awkward, would have been better had more of her face been showing
5,6-bad vantage point--but there wasn't much you could do !

Color balance is significantly off for all images.

Thanks for the comments. Yea, my positioning was not always the best but I made sure I stayed out of the way of the paid photographer. I'll try playing around with the color balance to see if I can improve them.

Skrim17, I've been reading posts on this forum for quite some time, that's why I knew enough to say no to the other family members.

Your initial response was correct. While your photos are fine, they are not what I would consider "professional" and I think you would be doing them (and yourself) a disservice by saying yes. Now, I'm not trying to be offensive, that is simply what I think...

collierportraits, no offense taken. I posted here because I wanted to know what people thought. I took it on the chin the first couple of years that I got into sports photography. That's how I got better and eventually was able to start selling some of my work.

I guess with some PP you could somewhat "save" some of the pictures. But I would focus on making it work when taking pictures. I mean, for me these all look like snapshots from family members with the color balance being wayyyy off. That being said, I am sure if you practice and read alot, and practice some more... you will become better. Would I say you should weddings as a photographer ... no... they all look like shots anyone with a point and shoot could take. But maybe if you practice with a few friends and let them pose for you, you could take better pictures and learn from that. And who knows what will happen...

maybe the same thing will happen to this like the way you got into sport photography

I wouldn't really say this was your first time shooting a wedding. You really didn't shoot a wedding here...you just stood in the wings and took snap shots. I don't say this to offend you. I am just saying you really didn't get any experience in doing this. These are snapshots. They are out of place and you didn't get the subjects attention. In my opinion this was a waste of your time.

Now with that said I think your intial response to tell your family members No is the right way to go. If you really plan on taking on the weddings then find someone now to second shoot with. You will get some good experience and then get a better idea of what you should do.

Good advice here. There is a HUGE difference between snapping some shots here and there from the sidelines, second shooting, and shooting primary. Huge, vast, giant. There are lots of technical problems with these snaps so I'd be very reluctant to take on a whole wedding at this point. Believe me, even if you think you know your equipment backwards and forwards, when the responsibility for the whole day falls at your feet, everyone is running late, and things are moving 100 miles an hour, the slightest tiniest hitch with your equipment can feel like a catastrophe and you have to be able to recover in a millisecond. AND you have to direct a second shooter plus act as wedding coordinator half the time.

You're right to tell the family no for now. Try to find some opportunities to second shoot. Or even third shoot/tag-a-long. That really takes the pressure off but you can still get the feel of a wedding day.

Title is misleading...No offense but the pics look (SOOC) like you're a guest taking snapshots at a wedding.

Great advice above.

Do you have RAW images? If so you can probably fix a lot of the wb issues. Try the presets first to jump through the balances and see if any temps jump out as being better than others or closer to natural tones. I'm looking on an iPad and it looks pretty funky (not in a great way).

What a shame none of her friends, family, or dress vendors mentioned that a pair of straps would have helped prevent the nearly lewd style of boobs falling out when leaning forward in the slightest (ie cutting the cake). Yikes.