takoeye shot a wedding!!! My first one!!!

cabinajm wrote in post #15044786
Pics look good for the most part, but not really fond of #5, it's too distorted, you should lens correct it or at least fix the distortion. Also, the bride should have been the focal point in that shot.

Now that I look at this particular image, I feel the exact same way, that the bride should have been front and center. Funny story though, the entire day, that girl in the front kept jumping in front of me at every chance she possibly had.

tak0eye wrote in post #15046210
kept jumping in front of me at every chance she possibly had.

You'll find that alot more often than you would think. It worse when they have a camera trying to get the same shot you've set up.

When you start doing this for $$$, make sure you have a backup to everything you need to shoot. Two batteries, two flashes, two lens, two bodies, etc.

ZXDrew wrote in post #15046283
You'll find that alot more often than you would think. It worse when they have a camera trying to get the same shot you've set up.

When you start doing this for $$$, make sure you have a backup to everything you need to shoot. Two batteries, two flashes, two lens, two bodies, etc.

Hahaaha! The makeup artist was doing that. I had 2 speedlights on stands set to Slave mode and my 430ex II on camera w/ stoffen diffuser, so when he would take a shot (using his OCF), my two speedlights would fire and totally blow his images out...Hahaha!!! it was pretty funny to watch the frustraton.

Thanks for the tips and the advise..

Last two images you need to use second curtain shutter sync so your "main" images are sharp and you still get the trails.

Talley wrote in post #15046574
Last two images you need to use second curtain shutter sync so your "main" images are sharp and you still get the trails.

True!!! Although at first I was using my 50mm for these shots and figured id go w the first curtain shutter. The reasoning behind that was....I wasn't using AI Servo, and I didnt want the 7d and 50mm to grab focus --- start the shutter release process --- and by the time the flash fired, the subjects would have moved OOF..? I should have switched to second curtain when I put the 11-16mm on and used manual (infinity focus).

Its little things like these that made me offer my services for free, but when I was handed the envelope ($$$), I just couldn't resist NOT taking it. I have since handed the images over to the bride and groom and they were pretty blown away.....in other words very happy with what I had given them.

I'd still like to know if these images as well as the full blog set could be considered good enough to charge a few dollars for. I'll be purchasing a few more pieces of equipment in the near future to help improve some technical issues...(like high ISO noise, low light focus capabilities, etc.). Hopefully helping to improve my overall performance in the future.

I know, I know....The person operating the equipment plays just as big of a role if not bigger, than the equipment itself. I'm working on that also!

Thanks for the feedback everyone

I would at least charge $500 for the day rate even if you give them all of the pictures without a package. That should at least comp you for your time. The $500 rate is typically lower than most professional wedding photographers will charge, but don't be that guy saying you'll do the whole day for $200.... tons of them on craigslist, laughable at best when they can't produce a portfolio (of anything for that matter). In short, you've got some good shots and a good foundation going for you, don't sell yourself short.

Great Job, Specially with the whites!!! Thank you for living the exif data so we can learn too

cabinajm wrote in post #15047517
I would at least charge $500 for the day rate even if you give them all of the pictures without a package. That should at least comp you for your time. The $500 rate is typically lower than most professional wedding photographers will charge, but don't be that guy saying you'll do the whole day for $200.... tons of them on craigslist, laughable at best when they can't produce a portfolio (of anything for that matter). In short, you've got some good shots and a good foundation going for you, don't sell yourself short.

Thanks for the response...I'll say that I was pleasantly surprised when I got home and looked in the envelope....was a little more than $500 in there!!

I would say that's a pleasant surprise! I charged a friend of mine $400 for hers and she dropped an extra $150 in there for me. Always nice when the work is appreciated!!