Greetings, ramblings and questions

Snaphaan · February 16, 2012

Hi everyone

[Please note: I like to talk about myself. Skip to the end questions if you start snoozing]

I'm a aspiring landscape photographer with a VERY tight budget. Has been like this since I picked up my first digital cam - a canon Powershot P&S 6mp back in 2006. Right now I have a 1100D - so it's still tight.

Anyway. I've been thrown in the deep end. A friend wants me to shoot his cousins wedding. I flat-out refused and then said I will think about it. That was two months ago. But just last week her mom phoned me and kind of reminded me that I'm shooting a wedding. *sigh*.

Fact is the people don't have a lot of money. It's going to be a small wedding and after a quick run-through the whole day, nothing extravagant. The only thing I am charging them for is a extra battery.

My kit includes thus far:

Canon 1100D with kit lens (18-55mm)
Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II (ordered)
320EX with diffuser (ordered)
tripod
Lots of memory cards and Batteries

I'm not a flash photographer but I will first see how my test-runs go next week before I decide to use it. I won't use it in the church even if they allow it, but I will try it with a few posed shots. I've been reading up a lot but I'm still not sure how important it is. Some of the natural outdoor light stuff here is amazing.

I don't really have a backup but I do have a E-PL1 that I want to use for wide shots because I don't want to continually change between my 1100D's kit lens and the 50mm. The E-PL1 has some pretty amazing quality shots compared to my 1100D and I think it could work. But I need some serious feedback from people here. A wedding photographer I talked to over the phone (after looking for some second hand lenses) said the camera is not the problem but I need good glass. He recommended 16-52mm 2.8 or the 18-135mm. But those are out of my budget. This wedding is starting to cost me a bit.

I've been shooting a lot in the church trying to get some idea of what it's like (I'm allowed to shoot there). Beautiful place but pretty dark and moody. I like that. But my 1100D's ISO cranks up to about 1600ISO at 4.5 1/40 and some shots even 3200ISO. Is that unacceptable? Should I rather stick the 50mm (78mm with the 1.6 crop factor) on and just shoot with that? Or not shoot at all?

My biggest grope with this whole thing is actually not the photos, it's working with the people. I shoot landscapes and I love nature because I don't walk into people the whole time. I know her family and everyone but it's still a bit difficult for me to imagine myself orchestrating group shots and poses. That could be a hindering factor when I'm trying to get some pretty pictures. Honestly, I find a lot of wedding photo's fake. I love the stuff where the bride and groom gets caught doing something stupid or candid images of people being people. But I have difficulty pretentiousness that is conveyed by a lot of wedding photos. They look like Stock Photos, you know the happy couple with their pretty children or the chiseled strong chin thirty something on his cellphone with a client. Maybe I'm just bitter.

I just had to get that off my chest. Anywayz, I've spend a bit of time here before I registered (by the way I loathe that bloody image verification thing - it's a horror). A lot of stuff here is simply amazing and most people here seem to be very considered and helpful.

Oh well, enough rambling.

Here's some of my stuff. I haven't uploaded anything since oh, I dunno. Long ago.

So my questions are:

- What lenses, extras would you recommend for me? Must haves.
- What's the most difficult part of the wedding day for you?
- What's usually the most important/tricky shot/situation for you during the day
- Do you think wedding photography today is 50% exposure and composition and 50% pp?
- What should I stay away from. Cliche's, angles, light or compositions. Dunno, anything really. Your first thought... except the wedding

Thanks for all your patience!

Matthew Saville · February 16, 2012

I can totally relate. I started as a landscape / nature photographer, and I still love that style. I got dragged into weddings "kicking and screaming" by friends who were on a really tight budget, and didn't know the difference between a landscape photographer and a wedding photographer.

Most wedding photographers are going to yell at you, "Don't do it! If you don't have the experience, refuse and tell them to hire a real pro!" ...However I don't think that is the right advice to give in this situation. The fact is, some people just don't have thousands of dollars to spend on something as frivolous as photography, and they're probably much more comfortable with friends anyways. I think your friends stand a much greater chance of "disaster" if they go with someone else they barely know, and spend money they don't have.

I'll leave most of the questions up to others to answer, but I will start off with just a few things:

1.) Based on the style of photography you LIKE, (candids, un-posed moments) ...I would say the one thing you shout start with mastering is low-light candid photography. The 50 f/1.8 is a start, but you may want to rent an 85 1.8 or 28 1.8 if you can find one locally for just a few bucks. They're great when you need a little bit more versatility in low light. Also, forget about f/4.5 or whatever it was you mentioned in your post; you're going to have to become best friends with f/1.8, f/2, and f/2.8. Shooting wide open is a critical skill for low-light photographers, unless you start to use flash. Even then, I would say that you're much better off using a faster prime lens anyways, compared to a kit 18-55 that my FORCE you to shoot at f/4.5, ...becaus the autofocus gets better and better with the more light you let into the camera. So at the very least, master the use of that 50 f/1.8. Preferably, buy / rent an 85mm or 28mm f/1.8 to go with it. The 28 1.8 could be useful for close-quarters photojournalism, AND low-light landscape photography for stars and other things. (One of my favorite hobbies lately, as a landscape photographer in my spare time)

2.) Get to know your flash, too. Take it to any and every social / work etc. event you can, and practice bouncing. Look for walls and ceilings, pay attention to how far away the wall / ceiling is, and if it's light or dark... Ideally, you should be able to pounce on any moment even if the light is too low for a fast prime and ISO 1600 or 3200. Turn your hotshoe on-camera flash completely backwards, and then angle it upward just a little bit and see how it bounces off the ceiling / wall to hit your subject. Try bouncing to the left and right a little bit too, based on what direction the subject is facing. Bottom line- You should try and get away with NEVER having to point your flash straight forward, or even straight up, if there is a decent white ceiling / wall close by to bounce off of. It helps if you can attend the rehearsal, or even go in advance of that, and scout the location with the couple / bride so that you can check the place out. Oh, and bring TONS of batteries. For every hour of indoor / nighttime shooting you have to do, bring a fresh set of batteries. Just in case.

3.) Go with confidence. Practice like there's no tomorrow, and then just show up and get the job done with confidence. Even when the lighting or something else changes dramatically, and you completely change your plans or even your shooting technique, ...just keep calm and stick with what you know. The couple will probably have some requested formal shots, the best thing you can do is to just study other people's work and see if you can find some images you DO like, and try those poses / ideas. At the very least, just get those boring shots out of the way quickly, and get back to focusing on the candid moments. If you're attempting to shoot posed portraits of the B&G and it's just not working, forget the posing, just tell them to go for a walk and be by themselves and talk about how much they love each other, ...and quietly shoot telephoto images from a distance. They'll love 'em, especially in 5-10 years. :-)

Alright I've already said more than I had time to write, so good luck from one fellow (aspiring) landscape photographer to another!
=Matt=

wave01 · February 17, 2012

Hi first thing I would do is go and look at the venue and the church at the the time of the wedding and get an idea of what light is available, i would do this a couple of times if possible with different lighting conditions. I would then talk to the couple see what they want and expect. I have just done a wedding for a relative first for many many years and after I spoke to the couple I knew what they wanted and that made my life easier. All i had to contend with was the weather so as it was january in the uk i planned for bad weather had hoped for good.
As said above next thing go and practise. As for lenses I used 2 on the day a 50 1.8 but most were taken with a 17-70 and due to the weather the flash worked overtime.
Looking back the if i could have one thing extra it would have been an extra speedlight

Good Luck and enjoy the day yourself

Snaphaan · February 17, 2012

Matthew Saville wrote: »

I can totally relate. I started as a landscape / nature photographer, and I still love that style. I got dragged into weddings "kicking and screaming" by friends who were on a really tight budget, and didn't know the difference between a landscape photographer and a wedding photographer.

Awesome! Someone who understands.

Matthew Saville wrote: »

I'll leave most of the questions up to others to answer, but I will start off with just a few things:

1.) Based on the style of photography you LIKE, (candids, un-posed moments) ...I would say the one thing you shout start with mastering is low-light candid photography. The 50 f/1.8 is a start, but you may want to rent an 85 1.8 or 28 1.8 if you can find one locally for just a few bucks. ... Preferably, buy / rent an 85mm or 28mm f/1.8 to go with it. The 28 1.8 could be useful for close-quarters photojournalism, AND low-light landscape photography for stars and other things. (One of my favorite hobbies lately, as a landscape photographer in my spare time)

Thare's a 28 2.8 for about R1777 (about $226). I can probably do it but man oh man my reserves are getting low. Looks to be popular but it also seems to have some bad chromatic 'abhoration' - can't be worse than my current kit lens. Still, the 28mm 2.8 is cheap and would be about a 44mm on my cropped sensor. That is pretty cool.

Just for interest, to get a reasonable portrait shot of someone with a 80mm how far do you need to be? That 50mm (80mm on my EOS) might be a bit hectic in close quarters. I'm gonna try and call around to see if I can rent something.

Thanks for the flash advice! I will practice until my eyes bleed but seriously if I don't feel confident enough I might just try and avoid it like the plague. From your advice though I'm actually glad I bought the swivel head 320 EX and not the 270 EX.

I'm gonna google for some ideas on poses and just mentally record them. They want to shoot at some old train station museum. Lot of old steam engines around outside and a huge warehouse museum thing where they display the old cars and stuff. I've shot there before,... interesting place, pretty photogenic but I might just scout for something else just in case.

Thanks for all the advice Matthew!

Snaphaan · February 17, 2012

Thanks wave. Yes, I better talk to them and get all my facts together. Right now I'm planning out stuff without any idea of what they are looking for.

I've already started shooting in the church which kind of got me a bit worried about my kit lens. I want to drag the couple out there but it's difficult. But I will have to. No excuses.

wave01 wrote: »

Good Luck and enjoy the day yourself

Thanks, I'll try.

wave01 · February 17, 2012

You have an 1100d so the taking in the crop factor a 50 mill lens gives you 80mil just about right for portraits. what you need to do is keep the lens changes to minimum it only adds to stress so look at a lens that will give you 24 -105 so look at something like 17-70 which gives 27-112. It all depends on location in the end I can only speak of the one I have just done and the location was very tight so my combination fitted well. As i said earlier enjoy the day yourself as its your first time make a note of the shots you want and also think about your group shots. I start large and work down

nak · February 17, 2012

First thing is managing expectations!

I've done what you're about to do, and done it with less gear. But back to expectations:

Tell them that you are giving them a hand-made wedding gift. It's a *gift*. Not a professional service. It's a hand made, hand crafted gift. It won't be perfect, it's not meant to be. It will be as good as daylight and talent allow. Hopefully the flaws will be just part of the deal. As a hand crafted gift, the maker's hand and trademark will be obvious in the work. If you don't like the maker's style, don't ask for his work.

You'll want to review that paragraph with the couple. If they are overjoyed at such a thoughtful gift, you are on. If they look worried, beg off then and there.

On to the gear and using it. For what it's worth, the two times I've done this, I had a film 35mm camera (no review!), a 50mm 1.8 manual focus, a 100mm f2.8 manual focus, and a tripod. (No flash). I have rather different gear now.

Go with what you know (for the most part). It sounds to me like the 50mm 1.8 shooting candids is where you can really deliver, possibly sans flash depending on light. No one knows when you shoot candids when you do it by available light. This means you get multiple cracks at stuff before people realize that you are shooting. When off the tripod, be aware of solid objects; a table for your elbows buys you two speeds of IS. A door frame is a heaven sent gift. Put your head against the wall and your nose is your monopod. You're fighting to get shutter speed fast enough to freeze people.

Since you are shooting people, I like the 50mm over the kit lens. That's 80mm effective, the short end of portrait range. You have to frame with your feet, but the lens will keep you from making the mistake of using a wide angle setting when shooting people, especially close to them. The f1.8 is a double edged sword; it lets you shoot and you need those stops. It makes your depth of field razor thin when you get close and problematic all the time. If you are picking people out of a crowd, you can do magic; the focal length is right and razor thin DoF is exactly what you want. Life is harder when you want to get two people talking; stepping back is the only way to increase DoF when there is not enough light to stop down or use a slower shutter speed. You can crop later; the camera has plenty of pixels. The optics of the 50mm are superior to those of the kit lens as well.

[I second the idea of renting an 85mm 1.8. I now shoot the equivalent (a 135mm f2.0L on a full frame) and you can do serious people magic with it.]

The thing you are most comfortable doing is likely to be the thing you do best.

That said, practice with all of the other stuff! There will be shots that demand a flash, so practicing with it, in the venue, with people wearing the right colored clothing, weeks beforehand will make life easier.

I hope that this, along with the other postings, are helpful to you.

Snaphaan · February 17, 2012

Nak: Wow. You throw in a lot to digest in a few paragraphs but it's great!

nak wrote: »

First thing is managing expectations!

I've done what you're about to do, and done it with less gear. But back to expectations:

Tell them that you are giving them a hand-made wedding gift. It's a *gift*. Not a professional service. It's a hand made, hand crafted gift. It won't be perfect, it's not meant to be. It will be as good as daylight and talent allow. Hopefully the flaws will be just part of the deal. As a hand crafted gift, the maker's hand and trademark will be obvious in the work. If you don't like the maker's style, don't ask for his work.

Interesting and very thoughtful approach! I think you have something there...

nak wrote: »

Since you are shooting people, I like the 50mm over the kit lens. That's 80mm effective, the short end of portrait range. You have to frame with your feet, but the lens will keep you from making the mistake of using a wide angle setting when shooting people, especially close to them. The f1.8 is a double edged sword; it lets you shoot and you need those stops. It makes your depth of field razor thin when you get close and problematic all the time. If you are picking people out of a crowd, you can do magic; the focal length is right and razor thin DoF is exactly what you want.

Okay, one thing I remembered from a Youtube video somewhere is that I need to keep my focus on the eyes as much as possible especially with hectic DOF. I mean, I am doing portrait work even if some of it is candid, right?

nak wrote: »

[I second the idea of renting an 85mm 1.8. I now shoot the equivalent (a 135mm f2.0L on a full frame) and you can do serious people magic with it.]

I'm gonna try and see what I can find but no one rents the stuff mentioned. I might even ask around town here (there are a quite number of enthusiast) - advertise if I need to.

nak wrote: »

The thing you are most comfortable doing is likely to be the thing you do best.

Like Propping the couple on a massive panoramic landscape in the Black mountain region and be done with it.

nak wrote: »

That said, practice with all of the other stuff! There will be shots that demand a flash, so practicing with it, in the venue, with people wearing the right colored clothing, weeks beforehand will make life easier.

I just went to the old Train museum today to get a feeling of what I will need to do (no flash yet, still waiting). I used my brother as a human prop for a whole range of shots to try some natural lightening between 3 and 4 in the afternoon (summer). From what I've gathered through some research is that a lot of it is dependent on utilizing shade the right way. My first bunch of shots were horrible (bland daylight snaps) and I was pretty confused. But after trying this and that and looking around for reflected light and shade I finally got some shots that actually worked and were not too bad. Evenly lit, nice colors and this is starting to get me a lot more motivated.

It's bloody tricky though. But if I plan well I might get through this reasonably unscathed.

nak wrote: »

I hope that this, along with the other postings, are helpful to you.

You have no idea how much this helps. Thank you!

Matthew Saville · February 17, 2012

Snaphaan wrote: »

Awesome! Someone who understands.

Thare's a 28 2.8 for about R1777 (about $226). I can probably do it but man oh man my reserves are getting low. Looks to be popular but it also seems to have some bad chromatic 'abhoration' - can't be worse than my current kit lens. Still, the 28mm 2.8 is cheap and would be about a 44mm on my cropped sensor. That is pretty cool.

Just for interest, to get a reasonable portrait shot of someone with a 80mm how far do you need to be? That 50mm (80mm on my EOS) might be a bit hectic in close quarters. I'm gonna try and call around to see if I can rent something.

Thanks for the flash advice! I will practice until my eyes bleed but seriously if I don't feel confident enough I might just try and avoid it like the plague. From your advice though I'm actually glad I bought the swivel head 320 EX and not the 270 EX.

I'm gonna google for some ideas on poses and just mentally record them. They want to shoot at some old train station museum. Lot of old steam engines around outside and a huge warehouse museum thing where they display the old cars and stuff. I've shot there before,... interesting place, pretty photogenic but I might just scout for something else just in case.

Thanks for all the advice Matthew!

A 28 2.8 wouldn't really be as helpful as a 28 1.8, but if it's the only f/2.8 wide angle option you've got, then yeah it's worth it. Although if you're considering f/2.8, I'd consider the 20mm or 24mm, although I guess those get expensive again...

Honestly? Just ask the client for more money. Tell them straight up that you feel like you need $X to do the best possible job. It's totally up to them whether or not they can get you the lens, but seriously you're not just shooting for free, you're SPENDING to shoot for free. If you're okay with that then that's fine, but I'd at least ASK... :-)

=Matt=

smurfy · February 17, 2012

Lots of wisdom here.
My biggest piece of advice is this: Do and engagement session with them at the same place and time of day that you'll be shooting the portraits. This should be a non negotiable requirement of your shooting the wedding, because you really will have very little chance of doing a good job your first time up to bat if they refuse.
You'll understand what I mean about how important this is after you do it.

They will get to see how good the photos of their wedding can be expected to be, and if they are not happy, they can make other arrangements. And you will
get to know them better; and practice lighting, directing, and composing before the big day.

There are three critical "poses" vital to good wedding photography: Composition, exposure, and quick but flattering posing. The more you can practice all three before the wedding, the better you will do.

nak · February 21, 2012

Snaphaan wrote: »

Nak: Wow. You throw in a lot to digest in a few paragraphs but it's great!

Okay, one thing I remembered from a Youtube video somewhere is that I need to keep my focus on the eyes as much as possible especially with hectic DOF. I mean, I am doing portrait work even if some of it is candid, right?

The near eye is a decent default focus point. You have more depth of field behind than in front, so the near eye is a great focus point because you stand a decent chance at getting most of the face. People look at the eye of the subject, so getting one in focus is natural.

The 50mm 1.8 is a decently sharp lens. If the light gives you a fast enough shutter to freeze subject and camera, you should be able to count hairs. You'll be able to use hair to judge depth of focus. If you are close and wide open, it may be in terms of eyelashes of depth of field. There is art to be done this way, the shot all but demands the viewer to look the subject in th eye.

Consider going to a single focus point for auto focus. You don't want to feel burned when you do everything right to get the shot and the camera focussed on the drink glass instead of the person holding it. Perfectly centered subjects may look like snap shots, but if you have enough pixels, you can crop to recompose (useful when you need to hurry to get the shot). Or half press to lock focus and move the camera to recompose (when you have the time and self-composure).

YES! You are doing portrait work as candids. (My favorite way of shooting people). You are balancing a lack of control against more natural subjects. You subjects probably won't have to be talked into smiling; this is a wedding after all, and natural smiles come with the turf. So you get well-dressed people smiling all of the time "for free." The payback is that you have to fight for good composition. As a landscape guy, you are already background aware. That is how you go from goood to great; you see a shot, you see the back ground, you take a few paces over to work the background and then shoot. Your shallow DoF helps isolate your subject, but it won't get rid of the person standing behind them. Changing your angles will get rid of the person standing behind them. (If you can't work the background, shoot anyway; maybe a tight crop will work but if you don't shoot you got nothing.)

Remeber that backing up buys you depth of field without changing f stop. DoF is proportional to the focus distance, so a longer focus distance gives more depth. This gets you out of being a one-trick pony; at distnace you can get more than one person (more than one eyeball) in focus, especially if their faces are nearly the same distance away.

A whole bunch of this advice starts out "Remember that..." so one of the non-technical issues is how well you keep your cool in the moment. Just as you manage client expectation, you need to manage your own frame of mind. If you get caught up in things, make a tiny cheat sheet with various one or two word reminders of these tips. On top of the list is "relax." The reception is a party, after all, so the party rule applies: if you're not having a good time, you're doing it wrong. All this technical stuff is here to better serve the joy of making your art.

mjoshi123 · February 21, 2012

matthew saville wrote: »

i can totally relate. I started as a landscape / nature photographer, and i still love that style. I got dragged into weddings "kicking and screaming" by friends who were on a really tight budget, and didn't know the difference between a landscape photographer and a wedding photographer.

Most wedding photographers are going to yell at you, "don't do it! If you don't have the experience, refuse and tell them to hire a real pro!" ...however i don't think that is the right advice to give in this situation. The fact is, some people just don't have thousands of dollars to spend on something as frivolous as photography, and they're probably much more comfortable with friends anyways. I think your friends stand a much greater chance of "disaster" if they go with someone else they barely know, and spend money they don't have.

I'll leave most of the questions up to others to answer, but i will start off with just a few things:

1.) based on the style of photography you like, (candids, un-posed moments) ...i would say the one thing you shout start with mastering is low-light candid photography. The 50 f/1.8 is a start, but you may want to rent an 85 1.8 or 28 1.8 if you can find one locally for just a few bucks. They're great when you need a little bit more versatility in low light. Also, forget about f/4.5 or whatever it was you mentioned in your post; you're going to have to become best friends with f/1.8, f/2, and f/2.8. Shooting wide open is a critical skill for low-light photographers, unless you start to use flash. Even then, i would say that you're much better off using a faster prime lens anyways, compared to a kit 18-55 that my force you to shoot at f/4.5, ...becaus the autofocus gets better and better with the more light you let into the camera. So at the very least, master the use of that 50 f/1.8. Preferably, buy / rent an 85mm or 28mm f/1.8 to go with it. The 28 1.8 could be useful for close-quarters photojournalism, and low-light landscape photography for stars and other things. (one of my favorite hobbies lately, as a landscape photographer in my spare time)

2.) get to know your flash, too. Take it to any and every social / work etc. Event you can, and practice bouncing. Look for walls and ceilings, pay attention to how far away the wall / ceiling is, and if it's light or dark... Ideally, you should be able to pounce on any moment even if the light is too low for a fast prime and iso 1600 or 3200. Turn your hotshoe on-camera flash completely backwards, and then angle it upward just a little bit and see how it bounces off the ceiling / wall to hit your subject. Try bouncing to the left and right a little bit too, based on what direction the subject is facing. Bottom line- you should try and get away with never having to point your flash straight forward, or even straight up, if there is a decent white ceiling / wall close by to bounce off of. It helps if you can attend the rehearsal, or even go in advance of that, and scout the location with the couple / bride so that you can check the place out. Oh, and bring tons of batteries. For every hour of indoor / nighttime shooting you have to do, bring a fresh set of batteries. Just in case.

3.) go with confidence. Practice like there's no tomorrow, and then just show up and get the job done with confidence. Even when the lighting or something else changes dramatically, and you completely change your plans or even your shooting technique, ...just keep calm and stick with what you know. The couple will probably have some requested formal shots, the best thing you can do is to just study other people's work and see if you can find some images you do like, and try those poses / ideas. At the very least, just get those boring shots out of the way quickly, and get back to focusing on the candid moments. If you're attempting to shoot posed portraits of the b&g and it's just not working, forget the posing, just tell them to go for a walk and be by themselves and talk about how much they love each other, ...and quietly shoot telephoto images from a distance. They'll love 'em, especially in 5-10 years. :-)

alright i've already said more than i had time to write, so good luck from one fellow (aspiring) landscape photographer to another!
=matt=

+1 for what Matt said and I'd add one more thing, dont forget to have fun and go with tons of positive attitude. I did a wedding and exactly like Matt mentioned I was literally dragged into it by a friend. I kept reading things online and kept practicing - but most importantly practicing as no matter how much you read unless you can apply it to real life situation it is of no use. Watch forum to see other people's work and take some clues, if you are not good at posing people I'd suggest copy poses that you would like to do from internet and than practice on that as well as keep them on a phone or something small that you can look at during wedding if you just want to take a clue. Also I kept few of poses on my iPhone and when I felt I was not able to exactly convey what I want I'll show them this is what we are doing on phone screen and it worked out pretty good. But I personally prefer more of candid frames.
Also start sharpening your post processing skill. Many times you will be able to save things in PP which didnot come out right out of frame.

Snaphaan · February 21, 2012

@Matt
I want to charge them especially all the stomach churning this preparation is causing me but honestly I don't think it would be right. Thanks anyway. About the 28mm 1.8: If I can't do it right now I'm rather gonna save up and get it when I can (still can't find any place or anyone hiring it). You said you use it for portraits "...AND low-light landscape photography for stars and other things. (One of my favorite hobbies lately, as a landscape photographer in my spare time)". That sounds pretty good so I'd rather make a proper investment instead of a settling for what's available now.

smurfy wrote: »

Lots of wisdom here.
My biggest piece of advice is this: Do and engagement session with them at the same place and time of day that you'll be shooting the portraits. This should be a non negotiable requirement of your shooting the wedding, because you really will have very little chance of doing a good job your first time up to bat if they refuse.
You'll understand what I mean about how important this is after you do it.

Thanks. I've organized something for this Thursday for about a hour. I made it clear that if they want some decent pictures they are gonna have to help me here. I think after working with them a while it's really gonna settle my nerves.

@Nak
Thanks Nak for another compact load of advice! I'm reasonably skilled with focusing and re-composition in my shots. I just hope I'm fast enough with people going about their business. Single focus point it is.

mjoshi123 wrote: »

... I'd suggest copy poses that you would like to do from internet and than practice on that as well as keep them on a phone or something small that you can look at during wedding if you just want to take a clue. Also I kept few of poses on my iPhone and when I felt I was not able to exactly convey what I want I'll show them this is what we are doing on phone screen and it worked out pretty good.

Thats actually a pretty cool idea.

nak wrote: »

On top of the list is "relax." The reception is a party, after all, so the party rule applies: if you're not having a good time, you're doing it wrong. All this technical stuff is here to better serve the joy of making your art.

and...

mjoshi123 wrote: »

+1 for what Matt said and I'd add one more thing, dont forget to have fun and go with tons of positive attitude. I did a wedding and exactly like Matt mentioned I was literally dragged into it by a friend.

Okay I'm taking deep breaths. I will see how things start off that Saturday and maybe I can get myself to relax. Just focus and do what I do what I can to the best of my abilities.

By the way, how well does photography and alcohol mix? Has anyone got any decent images on being tipsy? Just kidding but let's throw in the question all the same.

Also, what's with all the bloody Nikon shooters? After phoning around and trying to organize some gear I was pretty overwhelmed with all the Nikon bias. Of the three photographers I made contact with 2 of them switched from Canon to Nikon. One does weddings. The one guy said he would have loved to help me but he's made the switch last year and sold all his stuff. I know of another photographer who switched to Nikon about two years ago. Canon shooters, well... there's me and my mom. Oh, and the guy from Cape Town. Anywayz, off-topic but I just thought I'd throw in a observation. Hope I don't cause some flamewar here

And finally. That venue they want to have the formals at (the one with the old steam trains and cars)? I always thought it could be interesting but I dunno anymore. I think I should just take them to the park or to the beach. At least there I can work some of the landscape into the composition and can work with the light. I have no idea what to do inside this place. The light is freaken everywhere!. It's got these rows of massive fluorescent tubes and long sections of translucent roofing to allow in even more light. Oh man, it looks like a car expo or something.

Right. I'm starting to make this thread sound like a bloody diary.

Nonetheless, thanks for all the help and tips up to now!

Snaphaan · February 22, 2012

@Matt
I just checked this thread about using a polarizer at a wedding. Those example shots you showed really impressed me. Everyone seems to emphasize the problem that a CPL reduces the light on to your sensor by about two stops. You don't seem to find it a hassle for a wedding shoots on bright sunny days, or what?

I'm thinking about using it during some the formal shoots (if they agree on the park/garden area) when I am not shooting directly under shade.

nak · February 22, 2012

Snaphaan wrote: »

By the way, how well does photography and alcohol mix? Has anyone got any decent images on being tipsy? Just kidding but let's throw in the question all the same.

For you, you get your first drink when you finish zipping the last zipper and locking the last latch on the gear (safely locked away).

(I will admit to getting a pretty decent candid with a 5D2 and 135mm f2.0 shooting entirely one handed because I had a [non-alcoholic] drink in my left hand. The camera was already on and the modes were right. I just pulled it up to my eye and fired when the center focus point hit the face of my subject and maybe a half second before they realized that I was shooting them (self concious subject). I don't suggest making a practice of it - and I was sober!)

If you were asking how to handle interactions with others who have been drinking, now that's an interesting question!

If you mean how do you get good images of drunken subjects, that's another interesting subject.

Matthew Saville · February 22, 2012

Snaphaan wrote: »

@Matt
I just checked this thread about using a polarizer at a wedding. Those example shots you showed really impressed me. Everyone seems to emphasize the problem that a CPL reduces the light on to your sensor by about two stops. You don't seem to find it a hassle for a wedding shoots on bright sunny days, or what?

I'm thinking about using it during some the formal shoots (if they agree on the park/garden area) when I am not shooting directly under shade.

Using a polarizer is not really a problem in most situations where a polarizer has a benefit. Usually I'm either using it in bright sunlight for venue shots and the polarizer cuts down the sun, brings out greenery, and cuts water reflections, ...or I'm using it in bright sun at more telephoto focal lengths to INTENTIONALLY cut down the light by ~2 stops so I can shoot wide open at f/1.4 or something.

Yeah, if you're shooting later in the day with a polarizer for some reason, you may run into shutter speed or ISO issues. But that's what a tripod is for.

All in all, I bought one because I was a landscape photographer, not a wedding photographer. I just so happened to start using it for weddings because my landscape style bled over into weddings. Others may find that they just don't shoot in the environments etc. that I do... But if you often see those types of skies / green trees / water, ...I'd strongly consider getting one. Get a 77mm one and step everything up to it, BTW. It's super annoying to buy a 72mm or 67mm polarzier now, only to have it be "useless" later when you upgrade your lenses...

=Matt=

Snaphaan · February 27, 2012

I just did the wedding this Saturday. Thanks again for all the advice although I must admit that some of it just got lost between all that was happening. Nevertheless I think I came through alright.

You can read the whole drama and check out some images here.

Thanks again everyone!!

Greetings, ramblings and questions

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