wedding shoot with military groom

[vievetrick]

Got volunteered, hoodwinked, offered money to shoot a wedding in October. I have done a few and not my favorite thing. Anyway, the groom is someone in the military. Not sure this will play that much into the wedding as I am meeting with them in a week or so but thought I would throw the question out here in advance. Suggestions, tips, or pictures would be appreciated if it will come into play.

[Bactman]

Vievetrick - I recently shot my first wedding in York, ME. Well, I didn't shoot the wedding, they had a kick ass photographer do the real work. My wife was a brides maid and I really didn't have anything else to do the entire weekend (other than partake in quaffing a few beverages).

Some random thoughts and ideas:

-While the entire day is in reality about the bride (makeup, gown fitting, et. al.) try to get some pictures of any groom's metals/ranks/bars/whatever on their own prior to adornment on the groom. Might make for an interesting perspective. I wish I had the opportunity to do this. The official photographer took several shots using a narrow depth of field to focus on the ranks/awards. I can forward the official photographer's site and their proof link leading to a slideshow of his photos for some ideas if interested.

-If in dress whites, make sure the groom is done bleeding after shaving prior to wearing anything white. Trust me on this one.

-If in dress whites, make sure the groom drinks water or something that will not stain the uniform. Didn't have an incident, but a big splotch of Guinness on white is quite obvious.

-Watch overexposure of the bride and groom when using flash. You may need to use bounce or a flash diffuser if you have a hot shoe mounted flash unit.

-The honor guard crossed swords preventing the bride/groom from leaving the ceremony. I've included one picture below:

Otherwise, have fun. There are other suggestions for shooting a wedding in general to also heed (batteries, spare cards, bodies and fast glass, questioning your sanity, et. al.) I'd also defer to anyone with more experience and better information as well.

[Peter Zack]

Pat. this thread Pentax Weddings - who's doin'em? and a few others are full of good tips.

Other than the obvious ones like extra batteries and cards here are a few things to do,

Create a small pocketbook of poses and shot ideas to refer to. It comes in handy to get those nice shot ideas you had in your head but forgot. Plus it makes it very easy to pose the couple. Show them the picture sample and they know basically how you want them set up. It makes the process more comfortable for them since they don't know what to do for a good shot. The more comfortable they are, the better the results will be.

Keep your kit as simple as possible. That being said, I carry backups of everything locked in the car I possibly can. But while shooting, I have a *istD with the Sigma 70-200f2.8 and the K10D with a DA16-45mm with and AF400T and AF540FGZ respectively. The FA50 f1.4 is in a waist bag with the extra cards and batteries. 2 lenses will do the entire show almost every time.

Plan for bad weather. hopefully you'll get a great day and be able to shoot some nice outdoor shots. Have a backup plan for bad weather and a couple of places to go already lined up.

Other than that, practice with your flashes. Get very comfortable shooting inside and out with them. Natural light shooting is great but not always possible. Be prepared and know the main shooting gear perfectly so that you never find yourself fighting with it to get the right exposure and it simply becomes a tool of your vision.

[alohadave]

Which service is the groom in? There are different Dress uniforms for each service and Officers have different uniforms than Enlisted.

When I got married, I wore my Navy Dress Blues. Not that different from a dark tux or suit.

[MrApollinax]

Originally Posted by Bactman

Just a thought about the shot above. Some churches/ministers/priests will not allow the unsheathing of weapons inside the church. just a FYI.

[navcom]

Originally Posted by vievetrick

Got volunteered, hoodwinked, offered money to shoot a wedding in October. I have done a few and not my favorite thing. Anyway, the groom is someone in the military. Not sure this will play that much into the wedding as I am meeting with them in a week or so but thought I would throw the question out here in advance. Suggestions, tips, or pictures would be appreciated if it will come into play.

From the photographer's perspective, it shouldn't be much different than a typical wedding. Most differences are based in military customs and courtesies, which are in most cases minor, and are as diverse as the military branches themselves.

My suggestion would be to ask the wedding party if there are any customs/courtesy/tradition items to be aware of as the photographer. They may be including a particular military tradition or rite you may want to be aware of ahead of time.

[MRRiley]

IF the groom is in dress whites, take a gray card with you and use it to meter the formals.

If you are shooting manual, meter the card for correct exposure and then the whites will take care of themselves. If shooting auto, meter it and adjust +1-1.5 EV and lock in the exposure.

Meter and include the card in at least one test shot for each lighting environment.

[vievetrick]

Thanks all for the info and look forward to more.

[lithos]

If he's in the military, that means he's gonna frag you if you screw up.

Have a nice day!

(You don't need a grey card to get correct exposure. Spot meter off any mid tone, and you're good to go. It's how I roll on a regular basis.)

[Mike Cash]

Originally Posted by alohadave

Which service is the groom in? There are different Dress uniforms for each service and Officers have different uniforms than Enlisted.

When I got married, I wore my Navy Dress Blues. Not that different from a dark tux or suit.

You wear suits with 13-button flies? That's positively masochistic.

[vievetrick]

Originally Posted by Mike Cash

You wear suits with 13-button flies? That's positively masochistic.

Found out no military uniform or ceremony. I did find out it will be a small ceremony outside in a gazebo and a JP. So short and sweet. I thank you all and will be reading all suggestions.

Peter: You have the same set up I intended on using. I will bring the 77 as well but you nailed the same kit I have. I do need to practice more with the flashes I have. I have the Sigma 500 and Pentax 540. I have no issues with the Sigma but stilll working on getting used to the 540. I will be searching around here for more tips. It is a 5:30pm event in late Oct. so if weather cooperates the lighting should be okay but fill flash will be needed I am sure.

Anyone giving a hands on crash course on using the 540? I know lots to read but I am a learn as you do kinda of guy.

[Peter Zack]

Pat, I don't have much trouble with the 540 but a diffuser would be a good addition*. That being said get something very light, the head locks on this flash sucks and can't handle much weight. I use a Gary Fong LS but I have the head Velcro'd in place a lot of the time. But as a fill flash, it works very well. The flash has a tendency to underexpose by a 1/2-1 stop so I find the flash does well for fill. Just practice with it at home a bit.

*Go to a craft store and get some of that 3-4mm thick, white soft foam. You can then cut the foam to fit the head and make a larger diffuser that is like the built in version but is very lightweight.

[Peter Zack]

Pat here's a DYI diffuser that does the job and is very light. I doesn't look homemade if you take some time to cut it out neatly and works well.

DIY Reflector-Diffuser

[Damn Brit]

Pat, don't forget to try and go there beforehand just to get the lie of the land. That way you can take some test shots for exposure etc.

[vievetrick]

l will definatly make a visit to see what's what in the next few weeks.