Taking up knitting, me whinning about wedding disaster:(

[Peter Zack]

Pat I really feel for you on this. I know I was one of those that tried to offer some thoughts and advice on my own experiences in this area. I hope none of it led you astray.
I certainly couldn't argue with anything Wheatfield offered. It's a tougher gig than most realize and the "knowing the gear thing" and knowing your limits, is the most important.

As he said, I will often shoot all manual when things get tough. Auto controls are fine in good light but manual is the only way to shoot when the conditions get bad. I've had the same issues with the program dial being moved by accident during a fast paced shoot. I always check the settings for that reason. Duct tape might just have to become part of the kit. The gear gets pretty rough handling when things are moving quickly and I've lost 3, yup three, K10D eye cups this season. I guess they get rubbed off the camera when it's hanging over my shoulder.

I had one wedding where I was setting up for the bride and groom to walk up the aisle. I was kneeling and taking a few test shots. Granny decided to stand up right beside me and move my way to change seats. In an effort to not knock her over, I dropped my K10D, grip and Sigma 70-200 f2.8 (actually my elbow was hit and down it went on a hard floor). So the lens jammed and couldn't focus. So out came the Tamron 28-75 XRDi. Well, unknown to me, at some point the lens had developed a delaminated pair of elements. Like a dope, I had not checked it beforehand as it was my backup (never again). Fortunately after struggling with trying to get a few focused shots, I switched to the FA50 f1.4 and Sigma 105mm. By the end of that service I think I'd lost 10 Kg just in sweating. I shudder to think what would have happened if the final backup lenses had given me problems.

Let's hope that you can save enough shots that will make them happy. I don;t know if you are providing a print set but if not, I would suggest you print a couple to make sure they look as good on the screen as they do on printed paper. If they turn out as you expect, then give them to the couple as a bonus.

Then check out this site for your new hobby:

Knitting Forums: Message Boards where knitters gather and gab

[MRRiley]

Pat... Perhaps you could consider photographing macrame... LOL

Photographing Arts, Crafts & Collectibles: Steve Meltzer

Wheatfields... Great advice! I did read it word for word... So what is the prize?

[Clicker]

Originally Posted by vievetrick

I took about two hours to go through shots last night. I still have a few more hours to go. Anyway, it really is not as bad as I thought. The important shots look decent and the rest are not bad either. I guess I had just set myself up for the worst ( I usually do ) and now after looking all does not seem to be lost. I do not have any great shot or ones that I think WOW but my confidence is slightly restored.

That's great news that your editing 'thoughts' have seen the light

But as you've already found out prior to this shoot, what WOWs you may not WOW them and vice-versa ...just try and keep a happy face through-out the album viewing.

**HAPPY HAPPY** just think of all those Canon and Nikon stickers someone is getting for their birthday

[vievetrick]

Peter trust me it was not you it was me. LOLOL You gave great advise and I look forward to getting more from you.

MrR - I read it all to I want a prize, maybe this Learn To Knit Hats

Clicker

[graphicgr8s]

Pat, we all have screwups. I've got 2 that really kill me. (There were couple of others but these were important people to me)
The first one was about 24 years ago. Shot a friends wedding as a gift. I was using a K1000 with just the standard 50mm abd a Vivitar 2900 "Potato Masher" flash. Got about 25 rolls of film back and every one that I used a flash on half the frame was black. Camera had lost sync. Repair guy told me there was nothing I could have done to prevent it or predict it.

Second one was just 4 years ago. Same equipment. Checked it all out the night before. Ceremony was in a dark hall something like what you described with a JP. I got there early so that I could get a look at the room and work out my shots Shot about 5 rolls during the ceremony. Then we went to a park to do the group shot. Tripod, fill flash, the works. I wanted the best shots I could get. They are good friends of ours. All the work and photos were our gift to them. Got back to the reception and looked down at the camera. Shutter speed was set at 1/1000 the whole time. I forgot to reset it after I checked out the camera the night before. Oh, did I mention that the Vivitar used a special cord? That I left at home? Had to use my backup flash that was on camera. I was counting on the handle mount so I could use it off camera. None of the ceremony stuff came out but I still got a bunch for the album and a really good shot after I reset the shutter for a 16 x 20. All in all they liked it, especially since they got over 3 grand worth of shooting as a gift.
We all make mistakes. Those that say that they haven't are either fools or liars. Or they never actually press the button.

[Unlocker]

Posted our one and only experience of shooting a wedding here, definately worth a read!

[séamuis]

I think Ill stick to street photography and shooting for myself.

[Lowell Goudge]

You should not give up,

I have only done one wedding, and this was 20+ years ago, also for a friend. The shots turned out, I guess after your experience I was lucky, but this was done with MF, and on a sunny day. Night shots in the reception hall also turned out well when using both flash and natural light

The reason I didn't do more is that I don't have the patience to deal with the family of the bride (especially).

What is interesting, is that I took all of mine with manual focus. WHat a great thing a fast 50mm and a diagonal split image were especially for lowlight focusing.

I also took everything in manual mode, not auto mode. This has always been the way I shoot, because I find the programmers never think the way I do. This is especially true with flash photography, where I always shoot manual mode. I simply don't trust auto ISO, auto exposure, both of which try to take shots without a flash even when it is attached.

You should not give up, but perhaps try shooting "in the background" to see how your equipment performs. This is critical, and one thing that probably got missed is the ability to try the shots at a rehersal the day before.

p.s. next time don't forget that the bride should have her boquet in all the shots (I did, OPPS)