First Wedding

Alrighty everyone! I have done some major events as well as small events and I finally have my first wedding this summer! Any advice?

Make certain you have a secomd camera and flash available as backups.

As long as your client understands and accepts your inexperience in this area, you should be fine. Consider hiring a seasoned second shooter. You'll make less money, but you may learn a lot. That could be a good tradeoff.

my comments below are not technical, gear related, or usual photog stuff but more about the day

- have you ever posed a bride, the bride with her girls, the bride with her mother, her sister her grandmother? obviously no
- are you very comfortable posing female models - do you know what looks good?
- have you been in an all female environment with a camera and will you be comfortable?
- do you know the best angles during the ceremony
- do you know the dos and don't during a ceremony (they may or may not exist)
- if the time you are told you have to get it done gets halved what is your plan - what are the must gets
- this will be the huge difference - and event is an event - when someone gets married, there are nervous people everywhere, there is stress, there are guests that aren't on time that might change schedules, etc, etc, etc - shyt happens at weddings so just expect it and deal with it

let assume you have the camera stuff down, the lighting down, the high paced environment down, so my 2 cents is to start to think about weddings / weddings / weddings - if you do this for a few months in the background of your mind, by the time you get there it will help tremendously

there are times at a wedding when you are in charge (they need you and want you to be in charge) - what you say goes - you have to make it happen - in other parts of the wedding, get out of the way and document what is happening (you are not the show, it isn't about you remotely, don't get in the way - but get in the way when it is your job to get in the way)

at certain events, you basically know what your can do, where you can go, what the rules are - this is also true of a wedding, except you are 'the wedding photog' - as long as you are respectful, it is your job to get it done (but you are NOT the show, it isn't about YOU, there are two families who are WAY more important than you - but they know when it is your time to do what you need to do, and when it is, they will let you be in charge)

spend your mental cpu time for the next period thinking about the flow of a wedding

an event is an event so:
- know your location and space and pick your equipment appropriately (zooms, primes, lighting) - KISS principle
- my opinion, it is completely unacceptable to have one camera, no backup, and one memory slot in that 1 camera
- get the schedule of the day and write your plan

finally
- if the only thing you are thinking about on this busy day is 'take pictures' you are going to miss out the chance to create images
- 80/20 rule - 80 = take the pictures that need to be taken, 20 rule is once that is done, try to capture some great images (this is important - but for your 1st wedding concentrate on the 80 but try and remember you are trying to give them images which they themselves did not experience and will be happy to see)

Check out icesociety.com

Shooting is the easy part of weddings.

Crowd control, time management, crisis intervention are where you find out if this is your thing.

Good luck!

A second shooter is important. Backup equipment a must. My main body (a rented 5DMIII) failed on me on my first wedding!

Eat a big healthy breakfast that can keep you going through the entire day. Vegetables, grains, nuts. Skip the coffee.

Be in the present 100% of the time. All your attention should be on your job.

frugivore wrote in post #17928456
Skip the coffee.
.

Sacrilegious

Second shooter isn't important and certainly not a requirement.

My 2c, hopefully it helps.

Provide input into the timing/plan of the day early on (like weeks/months before the wedding), so you maximise your time with the bridal party and couple. I usually ask for about 1.5 hours of photography time between the ceremony ending and the reception starting.

On the day or at the rehearsal (if you attend) speak to the celebrant/minister - understand the sequence of the ceremony (this varies), so knowing when the rings will be exchanged and when the first kiss happens is good, otherwise you might find yourself in the wrong position.

All the best!

batteries batteries batteries! and backups of everything! Multiple lenses - not the same lenses but at least have two lenses that you would be comfortable with as your main lens, in case one gets dropped or w/e

You canNOT over-prepare

HAVE FUN and be confident and take charge!

I have a lot of other advice but too much typing...

I think at this point the best thing you can do is to contact some local Wedding Photographers and ask them if you can tag along on a Wedding day as either an assistant or a second shooter, don't expect any pay for this but the experience will be invaluable. A huge part of Wedding photography is anticipating where you should be, what direction you should shoot, and what and where it's about to happen. Being familiar with the order of the day and what's expected of you is half the battle and will ease a lot of stress. You'll be focusing on moving subjects all day long so make sure not to stop your aperture down too far (I usually don't go lower than f4). It might also be a good idea to practice a bit on sports and bird photography, If you can get consistent focus on a flying bird or a sports player running or skating than you'll have no problem on the Wedding day. And don't forget to bring an AF assist light because camera's won't focus in the dark. Most importantly make sure you look more relaxed than you are, you will have the hardest and most stressful job of the day but you must remain calm in order for your subjects to be calm.

I, too, am booked for my first wedding this summer. Fortunately it's a lower-key affair. They don't even have a wedding party (bride just wants some family shots).

I am with Brad above--find a good local wedding pro and ask if you can tag along once or twice. I lucked out in that I'm getting married next month, and my wedding photographer is awesome and is going to let me second shoot on at least a couple of her other weddings. She also wants to make sure I'm not preoccupied with the photography during my own wedding

I'm planning to rent a second body to keep with me while I'm shooting. I'll have a wide angle lens on one body (16-35), a tighter one on another (85 probably) and keep one or two additional lenses in a holster. I'll have a couple flashes on stands for the reception.

Also, I imagine scoping the wedding venue once or twice (if possible) in the days before the event will be very helpful. Figure out what the lighting will be like.

Otherwise I'm subbing to this thread to get more good info best of luck!

Don't drink at the wedding.
Do not leave your media cards in you car unattended after the wedding.
Get lots of batteries