Destination Wedding for a first timer - Any Advice?

Pilznr · January 29, 2011

I've been slowly getting more experience in photography over the last 6 years, but I have yet to do a wedding, and quite frankly, I'm scared of them.

I was just offered an opportunity that seems too good to turn down. Some friends of mine have asked me to shoot their son's wedding in June, in HAWAII !

Basically, I'm looking for any advice about shooting a wedding on the beach, as well as any advice for shooting a destination wedding. I would probably rent a few items (that would have to go on the plane with me), and your recommendations would be appreciated.

This past New Year's Eve, I shot a wedding reception and here are the photos. Unfortunately, it was a very dark venue, so I'm looking forward to shooting something outside.

Thanks in advance.

Surfdog · January 30, 2011

Take AT LEAST 3 of everything with you, and take a second shooter. Practice shooting as much as you can before June in difficult outdoor conditions - wind, harsh sun, etc. Looking at the "Barnes Family" portrait series on your website, you can see the difficulty in shooting in harsh sunlight and the dark shadows caused by sun/shade. Practice using a fill flash to help with shadows. The stark contrasts of white bridal dresses, dark suits, etc makes shooting in bright sun and strong shadows extremely challenging. You will only get one chance at this. Be prepared for anything.

You have 5 months - practice, practice, practice.

Oh yeah, and pray.

Pilznr · January 30, 2011

Surfdog wrote: »

Take AT LEAST 3 of everything with you, and take a second shooter. Practice shooting as much as you can before June in difficult outdoor conditions - wind, harsh sun, etc. Looking at the "Barnes Family" portrait series on your website, you can see the difficulty in shooting in harsh sunlight and the dark shadows caused by sun/shade. Practice using a fill flash to help with shadows. The stark contrasts of white bridal dresses, dark suits, etc makes shooting in bright sun and strong shadows extremely challenging. You will only get one chance at this. Be prepared for anything.

You have 5 months - practice, practice, practice.

Oh yeah, and pray.

Thanks Surfdog. A second shooter is a possibility and it's in the works.
It was helpful for you to point out my problems with the Barnes photos. I knew about those problems after that shoot, and I have done a little practice with fill flash since then. But now I have a reason to practice harder.
Do you recommend using any of those foldable reflectors? I was thinking about buying one, but I don't want to spend money on something that I'll barely use and won't be helpful to me.
Pray for me.

Surfdog · January 30, 2011

Actually, a round 5-in-1 diffuser/reflector can be your best friend for outdoor portrait photography. I use one ALOT for reflecting fill light and for diffusing sunlight. It probably would not do you much good during the wedding itself, but for shots of the B & G before and after the wedding it would be great. Obviously it would require an assistant to hold it.

They are really very inexpensive for the benefits they provide. You can get one through B&H for under $35.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/501357-REG/Westcott_301_5_in_1_Reflector_Disc.html

Matthew Saville · January 30, 2011

"Destination" weddings require totally different preparations, precautions, and wisdom. You have to travel safe, arrive fully prepared to shoot, and get your images home safely etc. It's a little more than hopping a plane with your camera.

Bring at least three camera bodies, and travel with them in at least two separate groups, so that if something happens to one bag you can still shoot. (I even split my batteries and memory cards)

I have one bag that is small enough to go under the seat, so that I don't have to put it in the overhead bin. Because sometimes, on smaller planes or on over-booked flights, you have to check that bag and I would NEVER let 100% of my gear out of my sight, that's suicide. So under the seat, I carry one or two cameras, two or three lenses, one flash, and my laptop. yes, that all first *under* my seat. I shoot with mid-size camera bodies (D300 / D700) without a vertical grip, and mid-size lenses, (primes and crop-sensor zooms) ...so it all fits in a Tenba Messenger bag.

I have another overhead bin bag that contains a backup camera or two, plus all other acciessories. A few backup batteries and memory cards, chargers, specialty lenses like macro, cleaning supplies, etc. etc. That bag actually fits my tripod as well, I just got a new tripod that collapses down to 16" instead of 20-something, so I don't have to put it in my checked luggage anymore.

I HIGHLY recommend that this overhead bag be a rolling bag, if you travel. The weight of that bag, plus a small under-seat bag like the Tenba Messenger, can literally make you nearly pass out if you're not in shape. I made that mistake before, lol.

Then when you're on the shoot, download and backup everything right away. Keep your memory cards on you at all times, and never use the same card twice for the entire job, so that you can always have a copy of all your images in your pocket. Then you also have a downloaded copy on your laptop, as well as a small pocket hard drive or an old iPod or something. I take that small pocket HD and drop it in the mail before I get on my flight home, so that I'm not traveling with the only copy of my images. True, if I end up dying in a plane crash then I'm not gonna care about my clients, but still, I'd like to think that if something terrible happens that my clients would eventually at least get a copy of their original images sooner or later.

You gotta think about things like these when you're traveling. The client is not JUST paying you to take pictures, they're paying you to travel safely and responsibly, arrive at full capacity, and guarantee as best you can the safety of images you capture. The same goes with any wedding, actually! Drive safely on your way to and from the wedding. (Don't cut anyone off near the wedding venue, it might be a guest, or member of the bridal party!) Don't stop for dinner with your 2nd shooter on the way home and leave all your images in your car. Don't stop for gas in the shady part of town. And don't just have a clueless 2nd shooter "tag-along", have someone who can take over and direct if you get ill or something and need to bail. Basically, this is the whole reason for a stereotypical "premium" that is charged when something has to do with a wedding- you're being paid "extra" to promise and ensure that everything goes off without a hitch!

Okay, back to travel- when renting, you'll have to pay for the gear to arrive the day or two before you fly out, and then you can't ship it back until you arrive home again. Unless you have the gear shipped to you at the destination which is risky, or you bring the packaging with you to send it back from the destination, which might cost you the price of an extra piece of luggage. I just paid a $400 rental bill for a Tahoe wedding last weekend, but it was worth it cuz I wanted to rent a bunch of the new fast primes for Nikon. :-D

Anyways, that's everything that comes to mind in relation to destination weddings in general. Legally, you're also suppose to acquire a business license for whatever state or city you'll be photographing in, but I won't even go there since I'm not a CPA or business coach. However, beware that if you travel to certain places for wedding photography, they will DEMAND to see your papers, and may even confiscate your gear if you're not legit. (Caribbean destinations are a greater risk, I hear, but I've never shot there.)

Aside from all that, I'll also quickly say that you're gonna want to practice your skills with light and posing before shooting another wedding, period. Especially when you're traveling somewhere, because you have two things to worry about: First, you need to have experience in EVERY possible type of light and situation, because what you take with you is all you've got, and it has to get the job doe no matter what you encounter. And second, you need to think a lot more about documenting the location and all it's beauty, because that's the whole reason this couple is getting married in such a place. I would highly recommend getting at least a little into landscape photography. (My hobby ;-)

I don't feel qualified to critique your work directly, since I'm always learning and improving myself, but I'm sure you'd agree that you'd like to make significant improvements WRT light and posing, before undertaking such a job. It's more than just buying a reflector or learning how to use your flash.

Look closely at light in any and every situation you find yourself, study how light hits people's faces, what is flattering and what is not, and how that flattering light is created, so you can find it again anywhere any time. Think about what looks natural and what doesn't, etc. Any time you're hanging out with friends and you see some beautiful light, grab a subject and practice! Practice posing someone in good natural light, or practice lighting them from scratch, then critique yourself, take note of mistakes or weaknesses, and work past them within the next week. Otherwise you'll forget the mistakes and make them again. That is the biggest thing for me when it comes to improving- being brutal with myself, and then getting right back out there and shooting again within a few days of critiquing myself. Otherwise I just make the same mistakes over and over again. My brain is just not that powerful!

I hope this reply wasn't to long-winded! It's a serious matter though. The couple is putting a lot of trust in you!

=Matt=

(BTW, just as a qualifier so you know I'm not just blabbing randomly haha... I photograph 2-3 weddings each year that require plane travel, usually specifically because people appreciate my ability to capture a sense of location, even in my portraits.)

Agnieszka · January 30, 2011

What he ^^^ said + I also wanted to ad that you're a brave lill fella. Gotta say. Weddings themselves are already not easy ... shooting a FIRST wedding is nerve wracking and then flying out to do your first wedding and having to possibly shoot in some extreme weather (and ground) conditions (shooting while standing on sand is a whole workout for itself) ... uhm ... ya better know what you're doing

and then ... share your photos on here

Pilznr · January 31, 2011

Thanks for all of the advice Matt. I truly appreciate it. Over the past 2 days, I've lined up a few test subjects. I also found out a little bit more about the wedding. It's a very low-key wedding. A total of 15 people, including me. And everyone is required to wear a Hawaiian shirt. In any case, I'm still nervous as hell, and I will hopefully start posting a few photos on here for critique.

Keep the advice comin'.

Sam · January 31, 2011

Matt,

Very good post with lots of information I would not of thought about. Also love the advice / attitude that wedding photography is more that just a pretty picture.

I also believe that wedding photography is trully a great responsibility. I would not consider taking on a wedding as a primary until I had experience, was very confident of all the skills needed, had (rent) all the backup gear, had equipment to (as Matt said) to store multiple copies of your images. Also have liability insurance.

To maybe sum it up I think as photographers our first responsibility is to the client. We are the ones with the photography expertise, and knowledge of everything involved. If we don't have the experience and background to cover a once in a lifetime event don't. Clients have no idea of everything involved.

I can tell you what I would do. I would contact a wedding photographer in Hawaii ( I think there are one or two here) Help my freind hire him or her and shoot second.

That would provide me with the opportunity to go and shoot and also ensure to the best of my ability my friends would have good solid images for all time.

Sam

smurfy · January 31, 2011

Best wishes to you. You will be very busy. Might want to consider taking a workshop on lighting and posing before biting this off. Also, it's very rare for the groom's parents, or even the groom himself, to choose the photographer. If the bride is aware of the request, it would be good to give her a call and start getting acquainted. If the couple live anywhere near you, do a free e-session with them to learn, and post the photos for critique. Ignore any praise, and listen to the negatives to improve skills on such a short deadline.

On a related subject, my husband and I visited Hawaii for the first time last year, and took a professional photography tour to visit about a dozen off - the - beaten - path locations guided by a professional landscape photographer. He strongly recommended a polarizer for photographing the colors and light of the islands. I have no idea how that would work on people shots, since I've never used one at a wedding. But if you try to get some gorgeous landscape shots without any people in them at the location the evening or two before the wedding, you could use them as backdrops in the album.

Matthew Saville · January 31, 2011

Pilznr wrote: »

Thanks for all of the advice Matt. I truly appreciate it. Over the past 2 days, I've lined up a few test subjects. I also found out a little bit more about the wedding. It's a very low-key wedding. A total of 15 people, including me. And everyone is required to wear a Hawaiian shirt. In any case, I'm still nervous as hell, and I will hopefully start posting a few photos on here for critique.

Keep the advice comin'.

Awesome! Two things:

1.) "A few test subjects" should be lined up every WEEK, not just over the past 2 years. At least, that's how I improve. If you wait more than a week between shoots, you forget so many things and end up making the same mistakes again and again. What really helps me is if I do a shoot, go home and critique the images right away, and then get back out there within the next 1-5 days. Trust me, this is like MAGIC for improvement. And, you also gotta be brutal on yourself. Each time you shoot, keep the previous critique in the back of your mind for at least the first few minutes. :-)

2.) It's going to be very important to overcome any nervousness. If you go into the job nervous, the pictures will disappoint. If you go into the job with confidence and certainty, the pictures will at least reflect that, and they might even ROCK depending on how much you practice. So like I said, put yourself in all sorts of different lighting conditions, and just mess around to see what works and what doesn't. If there's any good workshops on light near where you are, maybe sign up for one or two. I often do a 100% natural light workshop around Southern California, and it focuses specifically on how to deal with harsh light with confidence and consistency. But, no plans to go outside of SoCal unfortunately...

Anyways, good luck!

=Matt=

Matthew Saville · January 31, 2011

Sam wrote: »

Matt,

Very good post with lots of information I would not of thought about. Also love the advice / attitude that wedding photography is more that just a pretty picture.

I also believe that wedding photography is trully a great responsibility. I would not consider taking on a wedding as a primary until I had experience, was very confident of all the skills needed, had (rent) all the backup gear, had equipment to (as Matt said) to store multiple copies of your images. Also have liability insurance.

To maybe sum it up I think as photographers our first responsibility is to the client. We are the ones with the photography expertise, and knowledge of everything involved. If we don't have the experience and background to cover a once in a lifetime event don't. Clients have no idea of everything involved.

I can tell you what I would do. I would contact a wedding photographer in Hawaii ( I think there are one or two here) Help my freind hire him or her and shoot second.

That would provide me with the opportunity to go and shoot and also ensure to the best of my ability my friends would have good solid images for all time.

Sam

Agreed, Sam. It's not like we're airline pilots or Surgeons, but in a similar way we are not just getting paid to perform a singular task, we're getting paid to perform that task with the GUARANTEE that we won't screw up, day in and day out.

I also agree that finding a photographer within their price range in Hawaii may also be a good idea. Maybe just pay that person to 2nd shoot and you process the images, if the couple wouldn't be able to hire that pro at their full price. Or help the couple hire that photog as the main shooter, as Sam suggested. Either way, like I said it's a really good idea to secure a local, competent 2nd shooter or associate photographer, in case anything happens.

=Matt=

Matthew Saville · January 31, 2011

smurfy wrote: »

Best wishes to you. You will be very busy. Might want to consider taking a workshop on lighting and posing before biting this off. Also, it's very rare for the groom's parents, or even the groom himself, to choose the photographer. If the bride is aware of the request, it would be good to give her a call and start getting acquainted. If the couple live anywhere near you, do a free e-session with them to learn, and post the photos for critique. Ignore any praise, and listen to the negatives to improve skills on such a short deadline.

On a related subject, my husband and I visited Hawaii for the first time last year, and took a professional photography tour to visit about a dozen off - the - beaten - path locations guided by a professional landscape photographer. He strongly recommended a polarizer for photographing the colors and light of the islands. I have no idea how that would work on people shots, since I've never used one at a wedding. But if you try to get some gorgeous landscape shots without any people in them at the location the evening or two before the wedding, you could use them as backdrops in the album.

I would indeed absolutely recommend a polarizer for any job that involves sky, green grass or leaves, or water. Or all three, as the case may be. ;-)

My hobby is landscape and nature photography, so I carry a tripod and a polarizer with me everywhere, even to wedding jobs. It comes in handy like you would not believe! I think I still have a couple samples laying around, hmm...

...Believe it or not, these two images received EXACTLY the same processing! The only difference is that I increased the exposure of the polarized (2nd) image by one stop, and that's because a polarizer cuts light in general by about that much. Of course it cuts blue sky and sunlit greenery by even more, hence the dramatic difference in the appearance of the image's dynamic range. In fact the polarized image looks almost HDR-ish, which I probably would have toned down in a final print, but this was just a proof.

And hey! Palm trees! This wedding was in Southern California though... ;-)

=Matt=

WeddingShooter · February 1, 2011

If you are going to shoot on the beach, have each lens mounted to a body - don't switch lenses as you are asking for sand in your camera. Wipe everything down afterward - salt water is more or less diluted acid when it comes to metal. I would recommend not putting anything directly on the sand - use a back pack for your gear and then lay the extra gear in the pack & cover it with a hotel towel to keep it cool, dry & sand off it. Use direct flash if you have to otherwise go mostly natural light. Try for a 3-4pm wedding time - the sun will be more in the West and out of peoples eyes plus you won't have racoon eyes & then have to use flash. Shoot RAW. You won't need a mono or tri pod since you will most likely have full to partial sun. Dress is cool, light colored clothes (linen in great - breathes very well to keep you cool). Do you best to look like a pro then folks will listen to you more. Do the family stuff quick - it could be very hot & muggy. Have a back up plan if it rains. Try and keep all your gear with you. I would recommend going light and do you best at getting the basic people images and some eash details things but don't worry about going macro, etc -also remember to get some sun set images and one last thing take lots of pictures of everything, take the B&G and get lots of them in any pose you or they can think of. I would bring 40plus gig of CF card memory with, my lap top to down load & a external drive so you have multiple copies of the files in case of a problem. Most of all have fun & enjoy this awesone opportunity and the images will be speak for themselves.

Pilznr · February 2, 2011

smurfy wrote: »

Best wishes to you. You will be very busy. Might want to consider taking a workshop on lighting and posing before biting this off. Also, it's very rare for the groom's parents, or even the groom himself, to choose the photographer. If the bride is aware of the request, it would be good to give her a call and start getting acquainted. If the couple live anywhere near you, do a free e-session with them to learn, and post the photos for critique. Ignore any praise, and listen to the negatives to improve skills on such a short deadline.

On a related subject, my husband and I visited Hawaii for the first time last year, and took a professional photography tour to visit about a dozen off - the - beaten - path locations guided by a professional landscape photographer. He strongly recommended a polarizer for photographing the colors and light of the islands. I have no idea how that would work on people shots, since I've never used one at a wedding. But if you try to get some gorgeous landscape shots without any people in them at the location the evening or two before the wedding, you could use them as backdrops in the album.

I've been a friend of the groom's mother for about 10 years, and at first, I think she was the one asking me to do the photos. After I met with her, I found out that the Bride is the one who requested to have me there. I've offered to do engagement shots for them, but I haven't heard back about that yet.

Thanks for the landscape ideas for the backgrounds in an album. I planned to have some polarizers with me.

Matthew Saville · February 3, 2011

Pilznr wrote: »

I've been a friend of the groom's mother for about 10 years, and at first, I think she was the one asking me to do the photos. After I met with her, I found out that the Bride is the one who requested to have me there. I've offered to do engagement shots for them, but I haven't heard back about that yet.

Thanks for the landscape ideas for the backgrounds in an album. I planned to have some polarizers with me.

You should absolutely insist on making time with the couple BOTH for an engagement session now so they can see how you work and see how they look in front of your camera, AND then also the day or two before the wedding, get them warmed back up again in front of the camera on-location.

For me this is non-negotiable. I will get them in front of my camera at least once before the wedding day. Even if they refuse to pay for an engagement session or schedule a whole afternoon, I sit them down over lunch / coffee and snap a few casual photos of them together, just to see how things go.

=Matt=

ccraft · February 10, 2011

Good luck with your destination wedding. I'm sure it will all go great. I've done about 20 and have learned a few things along the way. Absolutely... bring extra gear. Check to make sure (triple check) that the hotel is okay with you taking photos at their venue. I had one hotel in Mexico say they wouldn't allow me on the property without a permit. I contacted the Mexico embassy and consulate and they said I didn't need one and they wouldn't issue one because I didn't need one (if you're doing the work back in Canada and the client is American and it's just a one-day job they didn't care... some countries do care thoguh... so always check). Anyway, the hotel kept insisting but the bride said she was willint to take the risk. In the end the hotel let me on their property... but I will NEVEr ever again take a wedding unless I know that the hotel is okay with an "outsider" taking photos of a wedding at their venue. I realize Hawaii is part of the US, but some venues and vendors have tight relationships and do not welcome outsiders... or those from other states. You may be asked for a permit on some of the beaches or by the venue (a permit to work in the state). This would be rare... but you never know. I've heard a lot of coordinators in Hawaii get really pissed when non-Hawaiians photograph weddings there because they want to recommend the couple only choose the coordinator-sanctioned photographer.

I've written an article for brides here: http://www.ispwp.com/brides-guide-to-destination-wedding-photography.html

And I'm hoping to create one from a photographer's side of things.

I don't take second shooters but it's to keep costs down. I do have two cameras on me - and use my telephoto a lot. I find the compression and DOF with a telephoto isolates things better, esp. in bright sun. I also use my flash a lot in bright sun. Off camera flash equipment has taken my photography to another level and I'm able to just put at least one flash on a tripod and move it around to get a cool effect, even in bright sunlight. I'd invest in something like this (along with some training) ahead of other things you might buy.

Another tip... if your camera bag doesn't have wheels... buy some wheels to wrap around your bag so you aren't breaking your back in a two-hour customs lineup.

I also pack an overnight bag with extra clothes in case I fall in mud or get dirty during portraits, a sweater and lots of water and granola bars (couples inevitably forget to feed you lunch because they don't eat... I never count on lunch supplied by the couple and I rarely get more than a three minute break until the reception starts so I always bring my own granola bars).

During preparations I'll leave a few bottles of water in the hotel room. At some point during preparations I'll skip out to photograph the reception venue and I'll bring at least two large bottles of water with me and I'll put them, along with extra AA batteries, etc., under a table so I have the water later and don't have to lug it around all day. I may also hide water at the wedding site if it isn't too busy. I'll often store my overnight bag at the reception too since I don't want to leave it in the bride's room.

I often ask the couple (ahead of time) if they would like to leave their reception for 10 minutes for a shot just after the sun sets. Everyone thinks about the sun setting as the best light... but the sky after the sun sets looks amazing just before it turns pitch black. You'll create show stopping pictures at this time of day. The sun in the tropics sets rapidly and this 10 minute window goes away rapidly so you'll need to plan in advance. You can do it with ambient light, but it's best to try with an off-camera flash. Just put it on a tripod. you don't need an assistant.

http://photos.christinacraft.com/Blog/CostaRicaWeddingPHotography3/costaricaweddingphotography4/1161406574_QDX7t-L.jpg
http://craft.smugmug.com/Blog/CostaRicawedding2/CostaRicawedding0046/1092351936_U27PJ-L.jpg
http://photos.christinacraft.com/gallery/4790506_A3abc#573799595_TpGcR-M-LB (this was ambient light)

If there isn't time for portraits, or if portrait light is poo (too bright) I'll offer to follow the couple back to their room at the end of the night. I then use the resort ambient lighting and will take some more artsy pictures of the day. Some examples:
http://photos.christinacraft.com/gallery/4790506_A3abc#573799242_KfXWc
http://photos.christinacraft.com/gallery/4790506_A3abc#916693164_jHozm
http://photos.christinacraft.com/gallery/4790506_A3abc#573799603_uWhj7 and
http://photos.christinacraft.com/SherryMatt/Sherry-Matt-Portraits/12574078_xNqF6#902615139_jryiD

I always do a bit of site scouting and I arrive a good day ahead of activities (usually, I'm invited to rehearsal dinner, wedding and often there is a trash the dress or post-wedding shoot). I check out how the light is going to hit the ceremony site and take notes of when the sun sets, etc. and from what direction via the venue.

If the couple wants to go off site, I found out what they want in their pictures (ie run-down buildings). I'll then invest in a taxi ride and will go around trying to find places that match their taste so I have a plan in mind for off-site shooting (this can take a lot of time if they want a post-wedding or trash the dress session since they will want a two- to four-hour shoot and you will often go far from the resort).

Count on having a post-wedding session even if the couple doesn't book one. They often don't realize (even when you go over it in a consultation) that they won't have much time on the wedding day itself for portraits and the portraits taken on the wedding day are often in harsh light or they are sweaty and makeup has melted... and then I'll get asked for a post-wedding session even if one wasn't booked.

Also, pad in an extra day before your shoot starts (this is the day I usually reserve for site scouting) in case a snow storm waylays you in your home destination... or your flight is grounded by fog or any other such thing...

Good luck!!!

Sam · February 10, 2011

Cristina,

Lots of good advice.

Sam

Pilznr · July 26, 2011

For anyone who's interested, here are the results:
www.mattpilsner.com/event/nadel-hale

Destination Wedding for a first timer - Any Advice?

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