im in trouble...

Hi guys im in trouble ,because once i went to my colleage church (they are black pepole only) on my own ,to practis little bit indor photography ,even i didn't have flash at this time i just set ISO to 400-800 ...the problem was dath the people like the pictures and now one cople(of the same group) are getting married and they would like me to do the pictures of ther wedding.
The other problem is that i am not that confident for this job ,because haven't even used the flash before (any way i orderd it already) and i started with photograhy less than a year ago. My request is if you can please give me some advice about the fee what can i ask them and about the flash use.
here i am placing a link http://www.flickr.com/​photos/menandar/ to my photos to have an idea up to what level i am at
the photography...thanks guys

you have some nice images, but a wedding is a bad place to go to for practice. I'd politely decline. Find someone to shoot with as a 2nd if you are actually intrested.

Simple.... Don't do it!

Decline (politely) the request. As the previous poster rightly says, a wedding is NOT the place to practice. Weddings are particularly difficult and you cannot afford to get it wrong on the day - especially if you are charging for your services!

yup, as everyone suggestedm, go as a 2nd.

a friend of mine asked me to shoot their engagement photos and I declined, but htey insisted so I did it and they are happy with the results, but a wedding I would not touch with an 80FT clown pole

say no.

just say no to drugs....mmmmm kay?

you have wonderful work. If your not comfortable with flash, or even wedding photography...as others say.. decline. BUT, I think you could do an excellent job on bridals and egagements. You have a really unique style. And I would do them for free or cheap if you still feel amature level for those. Again, I think you have great work and think you should jump at the chance to do bridals without the stress of a wedding!

kathy

and I personally think you could charge for bridals or engagement.

welcome to the forum!

You have some great images in your gallery, however as you've realised, there's a big difference between going out for an afternoon and shooting a hundred images and shooting a wedding.
If you can get a couple of shots in an afternoons shooting that'll process to something stunning you have a result.
However at a wedding you're expected to come out with hundreds of good images, hopefully 20 great ones and a couple of stunners.

If only more beginners realised this difference
Turn down the job, and if you're interested in shooting weddings in the future, ask if you can 2nd shoot either for the pro or for the couple as a supplementary set.

i can tell you from experience, its horrible doing a wedding before you are ready and i mean really ready. The pressure was for me intense and you dont have " time " , dont have reshoots and are dealing with nervous and highly charged people. I have been asked to do another one on the basis of my first , but in the end accpeted on the basis i was the second. I helped find the first within the couples budget. Now i get to do what i want ( take photos ) but am not primarily responsible for the results. Nice work on your gallery images .

You know the couple, we don't. If they're the sort of people who wouldn't bother with a photographer except that they know you... maybe it'd be okay to take it on and promise nothing. But if they're really keen for results, I'd be pretty worried about taking it on alone.

I would politely decline and try to shoot as a second for more experiance.

I am going to give you a different slant. Tell them this is your first adventure in doing this and you can't assure the outcome. If they insist, Go for it :
shoot the green square (auto) with your new flash.
Have fresh batterys and at least a gig of memory.
Get there early and start taking shots of the church and people as they show up.
this will loosen you up and give you some confidence.
Take 700 or 800 shots and I personally guarantee you will have loads of great shots that all will be happy with.
Now, having said that, your next step is to learn how to read the exif and see what settings Canon chose for your shots under the different conditions. Start taking pictures using AV setting and gradually work your way to shooting M.
Be sure to let us know how you came out.

Jack

it's their wedding..a supposedly once-in-a-lifetime event.
If you're not confident, please don't.

Papaw wrote in post #2139526
Have fresh batterys and at least a gig of memory.

Having more memory with you is even better. Shooting Raw with an 8 MPixel camera is about 100 images / Gig. I would never shoot a wedding in JPeg, unless fine conditions outside, but never inside a dark church.

Spare batteries are a must, especially for flash, the battery of the camera lasts longer, unless internal flash. IS can be power demanding too.

If you don't feel confident, decline it.

Weddings can't be repeated, what you miss, that's gone.

You must know and rely on your gear, therefore backup gear, even a small one, is essential.

As already mentioned, a wedding is the worst to start with, try to shoot as second shooter and get experience first.

Do not, under any circumstances, take this on. You have no experience and inadequate equipment for the job. It would be a disaster for both you and the couple.