My First Wedding Shoot & The Stress That Gripped Me

brianward81

The bride received the shots yesterday and emailed me this morning saying how much she loved the shots - so first off, PHEW!

431 of them widdled down from 950 odd. I hadn't done a shoot with uncontrolled lighting before (on camera flash, trying to bounce while moving around and trying not to miss key moments) so I spent the week before completely worried about my ability. I read countless websites, few books, and asked opinions about the best flash techniques and all I got was 700 different ways to do it. So I went in shooting Aperture priority mode when I normally shoot manual - my reasoning being that I needed to be ready at all times and changing settings on my camera AND flash might lead to me not keeping up. The down side was the high ISO that I needed and low shutterspeed that the Av mode wanted to capture the ambient light. So there was a lot of grain that Lightroom did its best with and some shots that weren't as sharp as I would've liked but I think overall it went well. I learned many things including the big one; go with what you know! Don't change your whole shooting style before a shoot. Idiot.
Anyhoo - the whole researching beforehand got me really excited about getting a much better grasp of my flash and I can't wait to start shooting some more. Another wedding isn't in my To Do list and won't be till I am much more comfortable.

Hope you like them!

EDIT: Sorry! Linked from another forum, forgot about having to be signed in to see them.

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Agnieszka

brianward81 wrote: »

The bride received the shots yesterday and emailed me this morning saying how much she loved the shots - so first off, PHEW!

431 of them widdled down from 950 odd. I hadn't done a shoot with uncontrolled lighting before (on camera flash, trying to bounce while moving around and trying not to miss key moments) so I spent the week before completely worried about my ability. I read countless websites, few books, and asked opinions about the best flash techniques and all I got was 700 different ways to do it. So I went in shooting Aperture priority mode when I normally shoot manual - my reasoning being that I needed to be ready at all times and changing settings on my camera AND flash might lead to me not keeping up. The down side was the high ISO that I needed and low shutterspeed that the Av mode wanted to capture the ambient light. So there was a lot of grain that Lightroom did its best with and some shots that weren't as sharp as I would've liked but I think overall it went well. I learned many things including the big one; go with what you know! Don't change your whole shooting style before a shoot. Idiot.
Anyhoo - the whole researching beforehand got me really excited about getting a much better grasp of my flash and I can't wait to start shooting some more. Another wedding isn't in my To Do list and won't be till I am much more comfortable.

Hope you like them!

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Hi & welcome

Glad to hear you survived your first wedding, and the bride was happy with the photos (there aren't many things better than a sweet email from a happy client).

Really curious to see your pics, but they aren't showing up. Not sure what happened, check the link in my signature ... might help posting

VayCayMom

Your pictures are up!! Welcome!! Gee, I totally understand what you went through! I just did my 1st wedding in late July and I was sick on that day. I did not use my flash at all. I did what you did other wise. Stayed in Aperture priority. Read books, asked for advice. and then when I got there I forgot it all. I don't think the best on my feet, but then being nervous it was hard to remember all the mental notes I had.

Your photos are pretty good,in my humble opinion, and you tackled a real tough one on the staircase! That was a challenge I don't think I would have been up to. It looks like a pretty good sized wedding.

I just love the first one, just lovely. And then the big challenge #2!
#3 is nice. The groom's face seems bit soft, I wish it were a bit sharper since we can't really see the brides face. s goes. #4 I LOVE the colors of the bridesmaid's gowns, but with this desaturation post process you don't get to see it, and the background landscape reminds me of winter.
#5 is a clever way to showcase the bride and the unique hairstyl she chose for her wedding party! Lovely.
I like them but the most important part of the day is that the bride liked them! To me that is a success. Congratulations!

I did not plan to do a wedding but one came up that was well suited to my immature talents and my low fee was great for the bride and she has been pretty happy, she was very low key and did not have expectations beyond the reality of the day.

Then I got a call from someone getting married in 2 weeks and she went from referral to referral till she got to me and I was available. She got engaged one week before she called be and was to be married 2 weeks after that. So this Saturday I shoot my second wedding, a very tiny wedding and they aren't really having a reception, just dinner, so I am not needed for that part.

I'd love to see you post a few more from the big day!

brianward81

Thanks a lot! I definitely won't be doing a wedding again unless it is for a friend and I have the time to do it - this was a great experience but too much stress when this is only a hobby. The staircase shot with EVERYONE was sprung on me so I did the best I could with the time I had and lenses I own (only 30 minutes from when ceremony finished till the reception started to get the everybody shots then all the bride, groom and bridal party shots). Then they wanted around 60 shots with them and all their guests individually (couples, cousins, etc...) - it was exhausting but I learned a lot.

The next wedding I shoot I want to be comfortable with posing, using on camera flash and making sure I have enough time. I normally shoot controlled lighting portraits and band photography so this was a big learning exercise for me and the couple knew this and were just happy to be able to get someone with something better than a point and shoot to take some shots for them.

Best of luck on your wedding this weekend, I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Here's a couple more;

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