Oh, help - wedding photog request.

[Colin Southern]

A wedding is for some people the most important day of their lives. Everything has to go right, and be perfect. They know that, and you know that. The stress must pile up before you even wake up on the day. Things can and do go wrong, as Colin said you have to be ready and prepared for the unexpected.

I think you'll find that most wedding togs will probably tell you that "nothing EVER goes right" - so thinking on your feet and adapting to the chaos is pretty much the normal mode of operation. Pretty much everything always goes over time - and the one area you can guarantee that they'll recoup some of that time is from time allocated to wedding photos. You get to deal with harsh light - equipment malfunctions - bad weather - un-cooperative guests who just want to go get sloshed (or are already sloshed) - and the list goes on.

For a little light reading on the topic, point you browser to the work of wedding tog survivor Al Jacobs ... very entertaining stuff

http://www.aljacobs.com/the_wedding_guide/

[carregwen]

Be sure to call in

Any idea when?

Well, at first I thought "He's going to take her for a ride in his Learjet". But now I realize that you will need to take her to your local shrink to get her de-stressed after the wedding shoot!

[Donald]

Only Donald does that.

Only after I've finished with the sheep and the tractors !! (ref: see previous threads)

[Klickit]

Be sure to call in

Any idea when?

'Kay. No idea when. We are still trying to get away from commitments which keep popping up out of the woodwork. Meant to get down there 18months+ ago, but another grandchild appeared. Had to stay to get to know her. But, yeah, I'll pm you once we are safely over the ditch.

[Klickit]

And further.
I have decided on the basis of you guys scary and very helpful comments that this shoot is not gonna be done by me. There is too much at stake for all concerned. I'm not even sure that the groom has asked the bride if she is OK with his aunt doing the job! So he'll get a nice, but definite, refusal tonight by email. I'll include Colin's excellent idea on raising pro's funds, so that gives me another out. #bows to Colin# The groom is pretty good at getting his own way - just keeps asking until he wears yer down - but my mind is made up. I think you people have saved what could have turned out to be a bad situation. Will still take Nik with me, but only as an undercover agent.
Hat off to all.

P.S. I have just re-read the whole thread from start to finish and it really made me laugh out loud! Last night I was too tense to laugh at anything much. I love the humour here. Mwah, mwah!!

[carregwen]

And further.
I have decided on the basis of you guys scary and very helpful comments that this shoot is not gonna be done by me. There is too much at stake for all concerned. I'm not even sure that the groom has asked the bride if she is OK with his aunt doing the job! So he'll get a nice, but definite, refusal tonight by email. I'll include Colin's excellent idea on raising pro's funds, so that gives me another out. #bows to Colin# The groom is pretty good at getting his own way - just keeps asking until he wears yer down - but my mind is made up. I think you people have saved what could have turned out to be a bad situation. Will still take Nik with me, but only as an undercover agent.
Hat off to all.

P.S. I have just re-read the whole thread from start to finish and it really made me laugh out loud! Last night I was too tense to laugh at anything much. I love the humour here. Mwah, mwah!!

Kit

I think you have made a very sensible decision here, and it's brave of you to change your mind and say 'no' you will not do it.

[Colin Southern]

Just for a bit of fun, point your browser here and have a read of the recommended shot list (about 1/2 way down). As you read this, keep in mind that most of what's there is based on ACTUAL EVENTS!

[Klickit]

Just for a bit of fun, point your browser here and have a read of the recommended shot list (about 1/2 way down). As you read this, keep in mind that most of what's there is based on ACTUAL EVENTS!

I read his entire site earlier today, when I was still swithering about whether or not to say no, and that cliched it for me. Horror of horrors! There's NO WAY I'd be able to pull all that off.
#shakes head in amazement that I even considered it#

Rob: are these #'s# better than smilies?

#needs wicked smilie#

[carregwen]

Rob: are these #'s# better than smilies?

#needs wicked smilie#

Why - is your keyboard stuck now? (insert 'no smilie' smilie) That's very Zen isn't it - a 'no smilie' smile. Like the sound of one hand clapping.

[Geoff F]

But do take your camera to the wedding, Kit, and become a second camera. You will learn a lot and may capture some of the 'sideline' scenes which the pro will miss; especially as the pressure won't be on you.

[Colin Southern]

But do take your camera to the wedding, Kit, and become a second camera. You will learn a lot and may capture some of the 'sideline' scenes which the pro will miss; especially as the pressure won't be on you.

Just be sure to check with the Pro first

[Dave Humphries]

I need some advice here, please. A nephew has asked it I can do his up coming wedding shoot at the end of September (early spring for us).

I feel out of my depth....#needs sinking smilie#

Hi Kit,

We're well past September now, can I be nosey and ask what happened?

Thanks,

[Klickit]

Hi Kit,

We're well past September now, can I be nosey and ask what happened?

Thanks,

Dave, I emailed the guy in question and said that my gear and abilities were under-par for such an important occasion. He accepted my reasons and had an aquaintance, supposed to be pro, do the job.

I saw her at the wedding and she certainly was no pro! Hired lenses, which is not necessarily a bad thing, BUT... the girl didn't know what to do with them. She had a whacking great Canon zoom lens which made mine look like toys and then proceeded to stand about 18" from the B & G during the ring exchange to get close shots! She really was intrusive and often, throughout the ceremony and reception afterwards, stood far too close to nall she was shooting. Bad, bad photographer!! #shakes admonitory finger#

I have seen 1 shot she sent them to put on the front of their Thankyou cards and the brides dress is one solid blaze of white. In reality, it was a beautiful ivory cream. I did better with my pathetic D80.

The b & g have yet to get the pix from the photog. I don't know what the usual lag time is, but I think 7 weeks may be stretching it a bit. I'm still glad I ndidn't do the job, as it would have pressed my stress buttons no end.

[Colin Southern]

Scary stuff Kit!

I think that "lambs to the slaughter" - oops - I mean "prospective wedding photographers" fail to appreciate a number of key things ...

1. That's it's NOT like amateur photography where you can shoot 100 and then beam with pride at how good ONE of them came out - you have to be able to nail it time and time and time again, but ...

2. It's very difficult to do that in constantly changing environments under extreme time pressures whilst - at the same time - being in control of that portion of the whole show.

One has to understand how to quickly get the best out of any situation - they need to understand the technicalities of digital photography in general as well as their equipment specifically (and have a lot of it - along with backup equipment) - not to mention be an expert at composing (and composure!).

Not for me thanks I have a collegue who has shot several dozen weddings now - he loves it (probably in the way many matadores love a bull fight!), but even after several seasons we're still working on many aspects of his shooting. In fact - if you're interested - have a look at what he does ... (I'm sure he won't mind the free plug) (plus he'll wonder why there was a big spike in the stats!). www.nelsonweddingphotography.co.nz

[arith]

I think you'll find that most wedding togs will probably tell you that "nothing EVER goes right" - so thinking on your feet and adapting to the chaos is pretty much the normal mode of operation. Pretty much everything always goes over time - and the one area you can guarantee that they'll recoup some of that time is from time allocated to wedding photos. You get to deal with harsh light - equipment malfunctions - bad weather - un-cooperative guests who just want to go get sloshed (or are already sloshed) - and the list goes on.

For a little light reading on the topic, point you browser to the work of wedding tog survivor Al Jacobs ... very entertaining stuff

http://www.aljacobs.com/the_wedding_guide/

Very entertaining read; looks like a full time job.

[rpcrowe]

If you do shoot a wedding, please try to ensure that you know your equipment like the proverbial back of your hand...

That you are familiar with and experienced in getting the best out of flash photography because most often the available light is not enough. Having the correct equipment (you cannot do a wedding using onboard flash) is one aspect and knowing how to get flash results that don't look like a deer in the headlights of a car is quite another thing...

I strongly suggest that you have back-up equipment ready for an instant replacement...

I also strongly suggect that you use a written check-off list of shots you will need to obtain...

[Donald]

I saw her at the wedding and she certainly was no pro! ....... She had a whacking great Canon zoom lens which made mine look like toys and then proceeded to stand about 18" from the B & G during the ring exchange to get close shots! She really was intrusive .....I have seen 1 shot she sent them to put on the front of their Thankyou cards and the brides dress is one solid blaze of white. In reality, it was a beautiful ivory cream......The b & g have yet to get the pix from the photog...... I think 7 weeks may be stretching it a bit.

Oh dear!

With all respect to your nephew (and I do not know what he paid), but ..... you gets whats you pays for.

As we're discussing with Sarah on another thread at the moment, it's not the place to start learning about photography.

[Katy Noelle]

Sooooo, Kit, did you get some nice photos with your D80, perchance?

I got married 16 and a half years ago - back in the age of film cameras. We got some lovely photos. Our photographer was well seasoned and fairly creative. it's just that he spilled coffee on our negatives....

Happily, a friend of ours, who was an artist but fairly proficient with a camera, took 8 rolls of gorgeous photos and handed the rolls to us when we got back from our honeymoon. It was SUCH a gift!!!

[Klickit]

Sooooo, Kit, did you get some nice photos with your D80, perchance?

I did get a few that I quite liked. Have sent them to the b & g, so at least they have some idea of the wedding day. I don't know about others here, but I could only ever remember about 2 nano-seconds about our wedding. Nerves, nerves, nerves.

I got married 16 and a half years ago - back in the age of film cameras. We got some lovely photos. Our photographer was well seasoned and fairly creative. it's just that he spilled coffee on our negatives....

Happily, a friend of ours, who was an artist but fairly proficient with a camera, took 8 rolls of gorgeous photos and handed the rolls to us when we got back from our honeymoon. It was SUCH a gift!!!

I guess you could count yourselves lucky, eh, that you had an unofficial back-up like that. Just shows another unforseen accident type situation that could arise post shoot: "Oops!! Sorry, but I just hit the 'Delete these images and by-pass the recyclebin and a-l-l your wedding pix went to digital heaven!' "