Asked to shoot 1st paid E-Session

Just got asked to shoot my 1st paid E-Session for a coworkers family member. The couple wants some shots at the beach around 5pm, I tried to push for 630 to 7pm but they said they are limited on time and actually want some brighter shots with more color. Currently have a 5D Mark II, 24-105 f4 lens and a 70-200 f2.8 lens, 580 ex II flash and a 5 in 1 42 inch reflector, will this suffice? I'm confident in my abilities to get some great shots, but now the bride tells me that they want some absolutely great great shots, should I be worried, should I run for the hills, any tips, is this how it goes for most 1st time paid gigs?

No pressure there. Hiring a novice, and expecting the world. Look at it this way, you can only shoot to your skill level. Your gear is fine. You might tell them that you actually get brighter color when you have less light when it comes to saturating daylight.

Your lenses should be fine. I would bring both.

As for lighting, it really depends on how much light you need to overpower.
For example, 5pm during the middle of summer may be a lot to ask of a 580EX2 to overpower.

nicksan wrote in post #14602398
Your lenses should be fine. I would bring both.

As for lighting, it really depends on how much light you need to overpower.
For example, 5pm during the middle of summer may be a lot to ask of a 580EX2 to overpower.

Yes, might want to rely on the reflector as much as you can.

2 weeks ago I was there and it was a slightly over cast evening unfortunately I wasn't there to photography anyone... Hopefully it will be an overcast day...

Being your first, it's best to avoid lighting and reflectors if you can; each which is done more effectively with the help of an assistant. Try to schedule the shoot so that your working in good conditions and forgo the lights and reflectors leaving you more free to focus on the couple, getting good interaction from them, elements of composition, etc.

Focus on posing.. use your 70 to 200 and look for good lighting. Do not try to create it.
Your 580 can provide some nice flash fill if you need it.
Good luck

Well, if they want beach shots at 5pm during a sunny summer day, we can all pretty much imagine what he'll be facing, so "look for good lighting" is kind of like a moot point.

As mentioned above, 5 PM will give worse shots with more boring colors, compared to the "golden hour" before sunset. Push back a little bit if you can.. if they absolutely cannot be available after 6, then that's their choice, but you'll get better photos with better colors around sunset. Make sure they know that more light doesn't necessarily mean better photos.

Take a friend out for a couple hours to the location, and do some test shots. Scout locations, test out different balances of flash and ambient. See how fast the light goes away once the sun hits the horizon! The 580EXII for a little fill light will be nice, but I wouldn't try to use it as the main light, not for your first time anyway.

nathancarter wrote in post #14605826
As mentioned above, 5 PM will give worse shots with more boring colors, compared to the "golden hour" before sunset. Push back a little bit if you can.. if they absolutely cannot be available after 6, then that's their choice, but you'll get better photos with better colors around sunset. Make sure they know that more light doesn't necessarily mean better photos.

Take a friend out for a couple hours to the location, and do some test shots. Scout locations, test out different balances of flash and ambient. See how fast the light goes away once the sun hits the horizon! The 580EXII for a little fill light will be nice, but I wouldn't try to use it as the main light, not for your first time anyway.

Well, it really depends on the location. 5pm doesn't have to be bad for photos. But when you are at a beach, which is pretty much an open area, and when they want beach photos with water in the background at 5pm (this is just an assumption), you are pretty much stuck with whatever lighting nature gives you, whether it's sunny or overcast. You just have to deal with it. If the sun is still blazing, then you will need supplemental lighting.

I agree that scouting the location, perhaps for the worse case scenario, which is when the sun is blazing at 5pm close to the day of the shoot, and figuring things out with regards to flash, etc, will be helpful. If it happens to be overcast on the day of the shoot, well then, there's less to worry about.

Well, of course they want great shots, I have yet to have a client tell me they're only expecting alright photographs. Don't let your clients control the time of the shoot because they think they know lighting. Explain magic hour to them if you have to, but try to get them closer to 6 or 7. They may think the colors will be brighter at 5, but they will actual be more so later in the day. Use the 70-200 and really focus on posing. If you put the sun behind them, with the Mark2 and the 70-200 you will be able to get pretty good light on their faces.

nathancarter wrote in post #14605826
...Take a friend out for a couple hours to the location, and do some test shots. Scout locations, test out different balances of flash and ambient. See how fast the light goes away once the sun hits the horizon!...

As a novice myself, all of the above points are great, but practicing with a friend as noted here will really help you prepare as best you can. Doing this literally prevents the paid session from being your first, and thats a huge help.

Peacefield wrote in post #14605098
Being your first, it's best to avoid lighting and reflectors if you can; each which is done more effectively with the help of an assistant. Try to schedule the shoot so that your working in good conditions and forgo the lights and reflectors leaving you more free to focus on the couple, getting good interaction from them, elements of composition, etc.

+1 on what Peacefield said.

Your gear is just fine. Just make sure you bring more than one card and charge your batter(ies), and shoot in RAW/sRAW1 so that you have more flexibility to make adjustments in post.

Biggest thing I would add is to focus on capturing your client looking good. They will not care how awesome the background is if they don't like how they look. Remember, good lighting trumps good background, so do your best to find flattering light (as best as you can) and capture the couple enjoying one another and expressing emotion.

Most of all just have fun. Easy for me to say, but if you are having fun then your attitude will carry over to the couple. Good luck!

Great tips guys, I actually will have my brother with me just I case we want to try and use the reflectors. I actually am planning to go to that beach on Friday around 5pm just to see how bad the light is...

Your gear is fine. Bring the 580EXII for sure to use for fill flash as needed. Forget the reflector unless you have an assistant. Try to pose their backs to the sun if possible (depending on the beach orientation) and use fill flash. Keep it simple.