1st WEDDING!!!

ksully · January 5, 2010

Hi:

I am doing my very first wedding/engagement session in July and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions or pointers for me? Any sort of feedback would be wonderful....what are some things to expect? I have a tripod and a flash... what else should I have?

Darren Troy C · January 5, 2010

ksully wrote:

Hi:

I am doing my very first wedding/engagement session in July and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions or pointers for me? Any sort of feedback would be wonderful....what are some things to expect? I have a tripod and a flash... what else should I have?

Certainly expect the unexpected and a camera and a few lenses would work wonders.

Welcome aboard. Do you have any previous "people" subjects you can offer up as examples?

ksully · January 10, 2010

Darren Troy C wrote:

Certainly expect the unexpected and a camera and a few lenses would work wonders. Welcome aboard. Do you have any previous "people" subjects you can offer up as examples?

FinerWorks · January 10, 2010

There is a lot of advice that can be given regarding shooting a wedding from the general to the more specific. I am more of a hobbiest myself but I own a wedding photography and video business on the side so my advice is probably more from an outsider looking in but it is things we have discussed at the office. When my photographer first started to do weddings I saw her make some of these mistakes or was careful to avoid these.

1. Don't beat yourself up if you are not satisfied or feel like you did not get all the shots you wanted ot did them right. Getting to the point that you "feel" confortable with your shots when you review them takes some time and experience.

2. Pretend to feel very confident with your shots even if you are not. There might be other potential clients as guests at the wedding and you want to make a good impression with everyone.

3. Take charge of your shots. If you need to get a specific shot, don't be afraid to dictate to the people you are shooting how to stand, where to stand.

4. Weddings happen fast and you have to be on your toes. With that said try not to rush. You might miss some great opportunities but if you are constantly shooting everything and afraid you will missing something the quality of your photos might suffer. Be throughful in your compostion before taking those shots.

Scott_Quier · January 11, 2010

FinerWorks wrote:

There is a lot of advice that can be given regarding shooting a wedding from the general to the more specific. I am more of a hobbiest myself but I own a wedding photography and video business on the side so my advice is probably more from an outsider looking in but it is things we have discussed at the office. When my photographer first started to do weddings I saw her make some of these mistakes or was careful to avoid these.

1. Don't beat yourself up if you are not satisfied or feel like you did not get all the shots you wanted ot did them right. Getting to the point that you "feel" confortable with your shots when you review them takes some time and experience.

2. Pretend to feel very confident with your shots even if you are not. There might be other potential clients as guests at the wedding and you want to make a good impression with everyone.

3. Take charge of your shots. If you need to get a specific shot, don't be afraid to dictate to the people you are shooting how to stand, where to stand.

4. Weddings happen fast and you have to be on your toes. With that said try not to rush. You might miss some great opportunities but if you are constantly shooting everything and afraid you will missing something the quality of your photos might suffer. Be throughful in your compostion before taking those shots.

Welcome

- James.

Very nice first post!

To the OP - take a look at the Wedding Photography Resources sticky.

There's lots and lots of good information there! If you have questions that aren't answered there - we're all here to help!

Matthew Saville · January 11, 2010

ksully wrote:

Hi:

I am doing my very first wedding/engagement session in July and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions or pointers for me? Any sort of feedback would be wonderful....what are some things to expect? I have a tripod and a flash... what else should I have?

...I firmly believe that the biggest piece of advice I can give is, well, to get some experience shooting weddings before you shoot your first wedding.

I know that sounds like a put-down, but it's ONLY a put-down if you're dumb enough to have NEVER shot a single photo at a wedding before your first *paid job* as the PRIMARY wedding photographer. THAT would be dumb.

So anyways, my advice is to do whatever it takes to get out to some weddings, pronto. Even if you're just a guest in the crowd with no camera at all, you can benefit from WATCHING the wedding, and learning about it's sequences, tough spots, lighting, etc.

Heck, just take your camera to church, and to family dinners, (I see you already have some family portraits) ...and practice. You can at LEAST become technically masterful before shootign your 1st wedding, because technical practice doesn't require the actual thing. So you have NO excuse for showing up to the wedding un-prepared for lighting scenario XYZ, etc... (Bonus points for visiting the actual venue in advance, and taking a few snap shots to test the color temperature and ambient brightness, so you can determine what lens / body / WB to use. Saves me a TON!)

But then the next step is indeed wedding day experience, and that's where being a guest, assistant, or 2nd shooter comes in. Like I said even if you don't bring your camera at all, try to attend a bunch of weddings. Hopefully you already are attending weddings here and there for friends, of course. But specifically, pay attention to the timing, the lighting, and maybe watch what the photographers do. When they use which lenses, when they use flash, how they bounce their flash or maybe use it wirelessly...

That, BY FAR, will be the biggest thing you can do to prepare yourself for the wedding day. That, and bring a backup camera. You'll have nightmares for the rest of your career if you show up with just one camera body and it fails on you mid-ceremony. Actually, that would probably *end* your career.

Other than that, just RELAX! Your sample images obviously prove that you've at least got a handle on basic portraiture and so if you just take deep breaths, you'll do fine. Find good light and then make your subjects laugh / smile genuinely, and you've got your golden ticket to some memorable wedding photos.

:-)

=Matt=

Matthew Saville · January 11, 2010

FinerWorks wrote:

2. Pretend to feel very confident with your shots even if you are not. There might be other potential clients as guests at the wedding and you want to make a good impression with everyone.

This really rings true for me as well. You gotta "bring it", you gotta act professional, you gotta have a commanding presence. Don't be an ass and dictate everything, but certainly make sure everyone realizes that you know what you're doing.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I've ever been given was from BECKER, (on the b school, link in my sig) and that was this: Make sure they REMEMBER you. If you're just "the photographer", you've failed. You might get paid for that particular job, but good luck *growing* your business.

=Matt=

ksully · January 11, 2010

Matthew Saville wrote:

This really rings true for me as well. You gotta "bring it", you gotta act professional, you gotta have a commanding presence. Don't be an ass and dictate everything, but certainly make sure everyone realizes that you know what you're doing.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I've ever been given was from BECKER, (on the b school, link in my sig) and that was this: Make sure they REMEMBER you. If you're just "the photographer", you've failed. You might get paid for that particular job, but good luck *growing* your business.

=Matt=

Thank you all very much for your advice. I was planning on going to the venue before hand to take some test shots... anything to help me feel more prepared! Thanks again... if you think of anything else I appreciate it.

Kevin Kramer · January 11, 2010

ksully wrote:

Thank you all very much for your advice. I was planning on going to the venue before hand to take some test shots... anything to help me feel more prepared! Thanks again... if you think of anything else I appreciate it.

I can remember my first wedding I did back in May, but it was as hot as July. Stay hydrated! It will be July and if you plan on doing photos outside, make sure you drink plenty of water.

The other tips have already been said, make sure you have fast glass, make sure you have a backup, etc. Also, what you might want to do is do an engagement shoot with the couple before the wedding so you can gain more confidence with them and they know what your shooting style is like. Good Luck!
-kev

Matthew Saville · January 11, 2010

Kevin Kramer wrote:

Also, what you might want to do is do an engagement shoot with the couple before the wedding so you can gain more confidence with them and they know what your shooting style is like. Good Luck!
-kev

I would change this *might* to a *MUST*, depending on what vibe you get from the couple when you sit down to talk with them about the photos. NOT shooting AT ALL with the couple before the wedding day is a sure-fire way to get bad photos, many times. In fact if the bride and groom can only schedule LESS than 1 hr for bridal portraits on their wedding day, I'd INSIST on an E-session.

Personal preference, though. I'm a slow person, I take time to warm up to people, or I feel like people take time to warm up in front of my lens. Either way, yeah... Practice, practice, practice!

=Matt=

Kevin Kramer · January 12, 2010

Matthew Saville wrote:

I would change this *might* to a *MUST*, depending on what vibe you get from the couple when you sit down to talk with them about the photos. NOT shooting AT ALL with the couple before the wedding day is a sure-fire way to get bad photos, many times. In fact if the bride and groom can only schedule LESS than 1 hr for bridal portraits on their wedding day, I'd INSIST on an E-session.

Personal preference, though. I'm a slow person, I take time to warm up to people, or I feel like people take time to warm up in front of my lens. Either way, yeah... Practice, practice, practice!

=Matt=

Matt,

You're right about changing that to a must.. And I can agree with you on the warming up aspect. I'm generally shy when it comes to this stuff and after an E-session and they warm up and keeping in contact with the couple before the wedding builds your confidence.

Art Scott · January 12, 2010

Scott Q's recommended reading is very good.....What Matthew S. said is very viable......
Be in control....keep the flow...flowing......go to weddings every weekend if you are lucky enuff to live in a market where the local paper still publishes weddings before they happen and the church and time.....go sit and watch....then go and take a few pics with out flash....use a p/s they are quiet.......make a shot list and memorize it.....do not carry it to read........have an assistant to chase people down and pose your shots for you......you want to spend 99% of you time behind the camera directing and shooting......doesn't matter how bad things seem to get....ALWAYS SMILE....smile...smile and prove you're happy to be there and that you are the B/G best friend.

I have people asking if I still do wedding photography....30 yrs after I shot their wedding to send a great neice or granddaughter my way.....I have never had a yellow page ad or anything of the sort........I am lucky enuff to be able to control and command a wedding without looking like an a** hole drill sargent.....but more like a Scorsese or Speilberg type director........most of the church wedding consultants will just sit back and watch when I am shooting and let me run the show until I turn it back over to them or the DJ at the reception........all I ever hear is how much easier their job is when I am shooting the wedding at their church and that is good for business............but I left the wedding scene due to other committment but I am coming back this year to what I really love to do...............being able to say....CAUGHTCHA .... immortalized on my memory card.....used to be Caughtcha or Gotcha on film...:D

1st WEDDING!!!

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