My First Wedding - Advice Please!

CTM

I will be shoting my first wedding this week-end and if anyone has any advice to offer, I would really appreciate it. The wedding I am doing is a friend of a friend and she knows I am not a WEDDING photographer, but obviously I want to do a great job in order to get more gigs.

I have a Canon 30D and 580EX flash.

My lenses are the 70-200 IS 2.8 and EF 28-135mm
f/3.5-5.6 IS USM.

If anyone has any advice to offer me about what settings to use (please be specific), I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!

CTM

Shay Stephens

This short a time before the wedding, the best advice I can think of to give would be to relax. You need an unstressed mind to see the shots. Like they say in the book Dune, "fear is the mind killer", and it's the mind that controls composition and timing. Also stay hydrated, dehydration is also a mind killer.

You are not a participant of the wedding, you are instead an observer. Keep the camera at the ready and poised to take a shot. It is mentally and physically draining being "on" for so long a time without relief, so when you get a break, use it, eat, drink, recharge mentally, even if it is only for a few scant minutes. Use it.

Be courteous, smile, follow the interactions and patterns of the people around you. Learn the patterns and then use them to your advantage. It's like knowing what is going to happen before it happens.

Don't experiment with the camera and equipment on the day of the wedding. Instead use it in the most reliable way you know how. Try to reduce risk of image loss and equipment loss. What you bring in, bring out. Take all you have learned up to this point and apply it to the best of your ability.

Get enough sleep.

Charge the batteries.

Have a good time :-)

digitalpins

I just did my first wedding this past weekend, I kept my canon 50mm 1.8 on my camera all night along with my flash. Bring plenty of batteries for your flash, I just kept relaxed and took pictures of all the fun moments and important ones as well. I mainly used the 50mm 1.8 lens cause the lighting was kind of low and that lens worked out well. I took pictures of the bride and groom getting ready before the wedding then from their it was and all day thing of taking pictures from the I do's to the dinner and party. Everything worked out to be perfect, still correcting some photos just about to get the photo album ready.

dancinkate

Shay gave great advice.

Just keep an eye out for emotions.....every bride loves pictures of laughter, tears, etc. And she probably spent a LOT of time and effort picking out items for the wedding (dress, shoes, jewelry, centerpieces, flowers, on and on) so try to get those as well. If you haven't yet, at least LOOK at a shot sheet to give you ideas of the general shots that people take.

I can't give advice about specific settings.....I use almost all of them during weddings, just depends on your conditions.

I'm sure you'll do great! Can't wait to see them!

steelephotography.com

One other thing...
All of the advice thus far is good, one thing I learned from an excellent wedding shooter -- details...

Brides and mothers of brides spend a lot of time on the details of the wedding -- flowers, place settings, etc. Look for the small things in addition to the more typical shots. They are always a big hit...

DS

CTM

Thank you everyone!

Another question...should I just go with the Auto Setting or use AV or TV? I know I will have to change the ISO at times b/c it will be dark in the Church.

Any other advice?

Shay Stephens

CTM wrote:

Thank you everyone!

Another question...should I just go with the Auto Setting or use AV or TV? I know I will have to change the ISO at times b/c it will be dark in the Church.

Any other advice?

There is no right answer here, you just have to do what you know best. What mode are you most comfortable using? Whatever the answer is, do that. You don't have time to learn something new, just practice and reinforce what you already know up until the time of the wedding.

gluwater

CTM wrote:

Thank you everyone!

Another question...should I just go with the Auto Setting or use AV or TV? I know I will have to change the ISO at times b/c it will be dark in the Church.

Any other advice?

Like Shay said, use what you know. Have you ever used AV or TV before? If not than I would suggest not using them now. Use settings that you have used before and are comfortable with. A big event is not a place to start trying new settings that you are not familiar with.

CTM

I have used TV AV, but I will take your advice and go with what I am comfortable with, which is not TV AV. THANKS!

CTM

Paulino

Same situation here...

CTM wrote:

I have used TV AV, but I will take your advice and go with what I am comfortable with, which is not TV AV. THANKS!

CTM

I will also be shooting my first wedding this weekend, but I will not be the official photographer on that event, the one that is getting married is a friend of mine and she asked me to shoot candid shots on their wedding day, photography is sort of my hobby and I wish to be a pro someday, I am still very young in the field, the only camera I own is a Canon Powershot A540, I was able to borrow an Olympus E-10 from my cousin and I have been practicing shooting with it for a week, I feel comfortable using the "P" mode and I refrain from using the "M", "A" and "S" mode due to lack of time to practice.
I will surely follow all the advice given in this thread. My question is, because I am not the official photographer, I don't want to step on the shoe of the official photographer on that day, but I really want to get great shots, I am thinking of not using the flash as much as I could in order not to draw attention on anyone while taking my shots.
Anymore advice you could give me will surely help.
Thanks.

Shay Stephens

Paulino wrote:

My question is, because I am not the official photographer, I don't want to step on the shoe of the official photographer on that day, but I really want to get great shots, I am thinking of not using the flash as much as I could in order not to draw attention on anyone while taking my shots.
Anymore advice you could give me will surely help.
Thanks.

You could be of the most help to the bride and groom if you shoot where the pro is not shooting. Instead of a ton of duplicate shots, you could show the bride and groom fresh material by shooting what the pro is not shooting. A plus for both you and the pro is you won't be stepping on each others toes too ;-)

Paulino

Shay Stephens wrote:

You could be of the most help to the bride and groom if you shoot where the pro is not shooting. Instead of a ton of duplicate shots, you could show the bride and groom fresh material by shooting what the pro is not shooting. A plus for both you and the pro is you won't be stepping on each others toes too ;-)

Thanks for the advice, will it not be too much if I bring a tripod?

Shay Stephens

Paulino wrote:

Thanks for the advice, will it not be too much if I bring a tripod?

That depends on where you set it up. Even as the pro photographer, I find few times I can do this during an indoor reception. There is usually no room to setup a tripod, and moving around with one is hard too.

I can setup at a ceremony much easier from the back if needed. You just need to keep the walk ways clear. Don't setup if you are going to be blocking.

But all-in-all, tripods are hard to work with for weddings.

CTM

Paulino wrote:

photography is sort of my hobby and I wish to be a pro someday.
Anymore advice you could give me will surely help.
Thanks.

Paulino,
If you want to be a pro, go for it! I just signed up my own business. Although I have been taking photos for years and took photography classes in high school and college, there is always more to learn. Photogaphy is my "side job", but I love it and it brings out a whole new side in me....and some extra cash.
I wish you all the luck with your photography..follow your heat and dreams:D . Good Luck!
CTM

Shay Stephens

CTM wrote:

I will be shoting my first wedding this week-end...

So how did it go?!?!

CTM

Shay Stephens wrote:

So how did it go?!?!

It went well. I had two weddings, Sat. & Sunday, and it helped that the brides were really easy going and not stressed. It was supposed to rain both days but the rain held off until the reception. It was tough to take photos in the church though b/c I was not allowed to use a flash. Other then that, I am really happy.

Thanks for asking!

Barefoot and Natural

CTM wrote:

It was tough to take photos in the church though b/c I was not allowed to use a flash. Other then that, I am really happy.

Thanks for asking!

Was that because of the church request or is that a "general rule" for wedding photographers not to use the flash?

bham

Barefoot and Natural wrote:

Was that because of the church request or is that a "general rule" for wedding photographers not to use the flash?

Most churchs have that rule about no flash photography during the ceremony.

AntoineD

bham wrote:

Most churchs have that rule about no flash photography during the ceremony.

Sure, and whatever: I don't even care, I simply never use the flash inside the church. You know why? When being a simple guest, I always feel annoyed by all of those flashes so I don't want to be one of the annoyers