Help w/ Shooting a Wedding For My Brother-in-Law

JeremytheIndian · 05-22-2012, 02:25 PM

Thank again guys. I well try and be assertive

I'm not sure they are going to be able to throw any money at me. I did mention a slight investment so I could get either a very wide or upgraded mid zoom but haven't got a response.

I think my K5 should be able to handle the occasion. I may try and get a battery grip before the event but I wanted that any way.

Definitely gonna check out flash diffusers and light bouncers. Any particular brand or model you recommend? I've heard or Stofen(?) But that's it.

dmfw · 05-22-2012, 02:46 PM

Battery life is critical. Either a battery grip, and additional batt, or maybe the AA adapter, if it works on the k- 5.

On $$$, I would send the couple links to local PRO. web pages so they can see what they are NOT paying.

It is hard to be "assertive" when the bride is your wife's sister. Tell them that if you shoot the event you can NOT be in the wedding.

bossa · 05-22-2012, 03:07 PM

Originally posted by JeremytheIndian

Thanks for that tip, but I already said I'd do it and they don't have the funds to pay someone else too. I'm the best chance they have at getting some type of quality photos of their wedding.

My wife's brother = my brother-in-law

Also I have been talking to his fiance about what she wants as that is what's more important, but I mention my bro-in-law because it was easier to explain (or I thought it would be)

Hehe, thanks for clearing up my confusion. I thought he might have been a Mormon for a moment.

Bestzoom · 05-23-2012, 06:25 AM

A fast zoom (Tamron or Sigma) will help with indoor shots with flash. You will need a faster lens for low light shots or thin DOF.

Try not to get new equipment just before the shoot unless you are very familiar with the rented or purchased equipment. New equipment especially flash may take time to get used to. You will not get a lot of chances to practise on the day especially with the once in a lifetime moment!
My suggestion is to take time and put your gear through rigorous testing with difficult lightning and metering situations and various distances(black and white dresses of B&G in dim light), and see how you can maximise your gear and determine what's lacking in your kit before you make your purchase

Enjoy the day!
It is a lot of fun and don't get stressed by the occasion...

MDegri · 05-23-2012, 06:31 AM

Run away!

I shot a wedding for a friend the other week using my K-5 and a GX-10 as backup. I felt a bit pressured into doing it as he was a friend and he was on a budget so I did it for free. I have shot a wedding as a second shooter before but never as the primary photographer. I made this very clear to the couple. I suspect most people see you have a DSLR and take nice photos so you can take wedding photos.

In total I spent more than three days working on the wedding. I made lists of potential photos and met with the bride and groom well in advance to discuss the exact plan of the day. I was at the rehearsals scouting and taking photos and making notes on lenses and iso and planning shots. I was on my feet from 11am to 11pm on the wedding day including dashing from location to location to be there before the bride arrives. It really is stressful trying to be in the right place at the right time to catch the key moments. Weddings are like express trains there is no stopping them to re do photos once they are started.

The hardest part of a wedding is organising people. I did arrange with the couple that the best man would also have a list of the people for the formal photos and his job would be to assist me in rounding people up. The best man was somewhat unreliable. So my advice is to take charge.
Another problem I faced was the multitude of other photographers for the formal shots. It was very difficult to get the groups to look JUST AT ME!. Once again being assertive and also discussing this with the bride and groom is probably sensible. Also try to manage expectations.

Also be aware that the wedding might not always follow the agreed plan. So be ready for unexpected events that you have to photograph.

I shot in RAW so took me pretty much a day to edit all the photos.

I'm glad I did it, it was an experience & I was happy with my work especially considering the challenges.
I didn't feel part of the wedding as a guest, I was supposed to be a guest and photographer. You cant be both and I was literally working the whole time.

Hope some of this helps!
Mal

agatchell · 05-23-2012, 10:28 AM

I also shot RAW. I took about 1,800 shots, which took me about 6 weeks to process (fitting in whenever I could find time).
Re: equipment, preparation is key. I got 2 16GB SDHC cards beforehand and had plenty of space on them. I have a battery grip and I use Lithium batteries, so I didn't need to stop to change batteries. I also brought an extra set of rechargeables for my Sigma 5300 flash, but didn't use it enough to need to change the batteries. Your mileage may vary, but, if you've only got one camera, you're going to want to limit the amount of time your camera is not ready.
Having a wrangler is definitely a good idea. You will drive yourself nuts if you have to round up everyone for each shot.
Definitely shoot with equipment that you know. The wedding and reception I shot were in the same location in the middle of a sunny summer day, but there were 6 different lighting scenarios in the chape alone. On top of that, we paused to do shoot the various combinations of family and married couple together in a space that was very different (dark foreground, very bright background); shot the bride and groom under bright sunlight; shot the wedding party under deep shade; shot the cake cutting in a well-lighted yellowish room, then shot the reception in a big conference room with lots of very bright windows. You may not run into the as many different challenges, but don't bet on not. You may be better at handling different lighting than I am. But it helps to know your camera and how to handle different lighting going in. So, even if you end up stuck with what you have, you're far better off know what you have and knowing it well than having better stuff you don't know.
Remember that you're not just there for the couple. The bride and groom may want avant garde shots, but the parents will be disappointed if you don't get the standard shots.
I agree that it's very important to be assertive, but equally important to not be too intrusive. After all, the day is about them, not you. Do make sure you get enough food and water. Nobody likes having their day ruined by a photographer who passed out from dehydration>

opfor · 05-23-2012, 12:10 PM

To copy what has been said before, go to all the locations possible before the day. Try to go about the same time of day. Hopefully the weather will co-operate and you can get an idea of outside lighting. It will also give you a chance to plan out areas for any group shots.
If you are not sure of posing people, get with the bride and groom (and hopefully an assistant if you can find one) and do a few informal practices. This will give the bride an idea of what is possible and what is going to make her pics look better. And as others have said, be firm about your part but don't try to run stuff that isn't anything to do with the photos if you can help it. Check with the person performing the service and check that they don't have any rules/requirements that will screw you if you don't know about them before the big day.
Batteries/cards/batteries/cards/batteries/cards and a good assistant.
A lot of people will be stressing around you, try not to let it spread to you.

**MSL** · 05-23-2012, 12:16 PM

Originally posted by agatchell

Nobody likes having their day ruined by a photographer who passed out from dehydration>

To paraphrase: Take the photograph, don't be the photograph!

agatchell · 05-24-2012, 06:25 AM

I just remembered one more thing: a macro lens is good to have at a wedding. Macros are useful for taking pictures of the rings together and various other details.

**MSL** · 05-24-2012, 06:26 AM

Originally posted by agatchell

I just remembered one more thing: a macro lens is good to have at a wedding. Macros are useful for taking pictures of the rings together and various other details.

I'm guessing that a close focus lens (often labeled as macro) that can do 1:4 or better would be sufficient (just so you don't panic and think you need to get something that does closer to 1:1)

JeremytheIndian · 05-24-2012, 06:59 AM

Originally posted by agatchell

I just remembered one more thing: a macro lens is good to have at a wedding. Macros are useful for taking pictures of the rings together and various other details.

My only Macro is a cheap Sigma 28-300 but I guess it'll do for that kind of work. I thanks for the heads up.

altopiet · 05-24-2012, 07:50 AM - **1 Like**

1.

Originally posted by opfor

be firm about your part

2.

Originally posted by opfor

A lot of people will be stressing around you, try not to let it spread to you

Ok, you are a sherrif's deputy, so 1 and 2 should not be a problem!

Your main problem is not your BIL, but your wife. Make sure she'll be on your side if the results are not what your BIL expected. If you have her 100% informed of what might happen in the worst-case scenario, and she'll back you up, you'll be fine. If you think you've stressed the day you got married, think again, this might be worse

agatchell · 05-24-2012, 02:51 PM

OK. One last thing - it's a good idea to plot out your movements during the ceremony in advance. I hadn't been to a wedding in a very long time and the rehearsal was not thorough, so I was in exactly the wrong position when the father lifted the bride's veil. Think in advance about where you want to be for the different parts of the service and how you're going to move around without drawing attention to yourself. Also, plan on getting the best shots of people walking up the aisle on the way in, not on the way out. No matter what happens, most people walk much faster on the way out than on the way in and, if the lighting is typical of churches, it'll be very difficult to get clear shots of the bridal party as they walk out of the church. And, like in every other photography situation, pay attention to backgrounds - ill-placed neon exit signs can require a lot of post-processing to fix a very important picture.

Medium FormatPro · 05-25-2012, 01:23 PM

Something that helps in any type of on location type of assignment is prep work. Noting the financials, perhaps it is more of how much time do you have to try to prep.

In addition to photographing someone in a white dress; or any other white outfit, etc... I would make an effort to take as many pics of the actual subjects as possible. And even if one does not have experience in properly processing raw files; this would be a good time to experiment with them. Try a fair share of raw files and also bracketing under jpeg files. Also a good time to try out the new flash unit.

And here is where it gets interesting. I've seen fairly good flash units of what appear to be the same make and model - produce entirely different results. So if you are using more than one flash unit; you'll need to make notes of that. Also be sure to try varities of lighting; outdoors, indoors, partial shade, full flash, differing flash settings, etc...

And when eventually printing off a few of those test shots - if you happen to notice a hue or color that is not quite right, make a note of that as well. It might be correctable under camera and/or printer settings.

**MSL** · 05-25-2012, 01:37 PM

Originally posted by Medium FormatPro

In addition to photographing someone in a white dress; or any other white outfit, etc... I would make an effort to take as many pics of the actual subjects as possible.

Others have said it all over the forums in various forms: There are good shots and bad shots, but the worst shots are the ones you didn't take.

05-23-2012, 10:28 AM	#21
agatchell Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Massachusetts Photos: Gallery Posts: 29	Wedding photography I also shot RAW. I took about 1,800 shots, which took me about 6 weeks to process (fitting in whenever I could find time). Re: equipment, preparation is key. I got 2 16GB SDHC cards beforehand and had plenty of space on them. I have a battery grip and I use Lithium batteries, so I didn't need to stop to change batteries. I also brought an extra set of rechargeables for my Sigma 5300 flash, but didn't use it enough to need to change the batteries. Your mileage may vary, but, if you've only got one camera, you're going to want to limit the amount of time your camera is not ready. Having a wrangler is definitely a good idea. You will drive yourself nuts if you have to round up everyone for each shot. Definitely shoot with equipment that you know. The wedding and reception I shot were in the same location in the middle of a sunny summer day, but there were 6 different lighting scenarios in the chape alone. On top of that, we paused to do shoot the various combinations of family and married couple together in a space that was very different (dark foreground, very bright background); shot the bride and groom under bright sunlight; shot the wedding party under deep shade; shot the cake cutting in a well-lighted yellowish room, then shot the reception in a big conference room with lots of very bright windows. You may not run into the as many different challenges, but don't bet on not. You may be better at handling different lighting than I am. But it helps to know your camera and how to handle different lighting going in. So, even if you end up stuck with what you have, you're far better off know what you have and knowing it well than having better stuff you don't know. Remember that you're not just there for the couple. The bride and groom may want avant garde shots, but the parents will be disappointed if you don't get the standard shots. I agree that it's very important to be assertive, but equally important to not be too intrusive. After all, the day is about them, not you. Do make sure you get enough food and water. Nobody likes having their day ruined by a photographer who passed out from dehydration>

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05-22-2012, 02:25 PM	#16
JeremytheIndian Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Central North Carolina Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 121 Original Poster	Thank again guys. I well try and be assertive I'm not sure they are going to be able to throw any money at me. I did mention a slight investment so I could get either a very wide or upgraded mid zoom but haven't got a response. I think my K5 should be able to handle the occasion. I may try and get a battery grip before the event but I wanted that any way. Definitely gonna check out flash diffusers and light bouncers. Any particular brand or model you recommend? I've heard or Stofen(?) But that's it.

05-22-2012, 02:46 PM	#17
dmfw Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Dallas, Tx Photos: Albums Posts: 159	Battery life is critical. Either a battery grip, and additional batt, or maybe the AA adapter, if it works on the k- 5. On $$$, I would send the couple links to local PRO. web pages so they can see what they are NOT paying. It is hard to be "assertive" when the bride is your wife's sister. Tell them that if you shoot the event you can NOT be in the wedding.

05-22-2012, 03:07 PM	#18
bossa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,546	Originally posted by JeremytheIndian Thanks for that tip, but I already said I'd do it and they don't have the funds to pay someone else too. I'm the best chance they have at getting some type of quality photos of their wedding. My wife's brother = my brother-in-law Also I have been talking to his fiance about what she wants as that is what's more important, but I mention my bro-in-law because it was easier to explain (or I thought it would be) Hehe, thanks for clearing up my confusion. I thought he might have been a Mormon for a moment.

05-23-2012, 06:25 AM	#19
Bestzoom Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Sydney Photos: Albums Posts: 232	A fast zoom (Tamron or Sigma) will help with indoor shots with flash. You will need a faster lens for low light shots or thin DOF. Try not to get new equipment just before the shoot unless you are very familiar with the rented or purchased equipment. New equipment especially flash may take time to get used to. You will not get a lot of chances to practise on the day especially with the once in a lifetime moment! My suggestion is to take time and put your gear through rigorous testing with difficult lightning and metering situations and various distances(black and white dresses of B&G in dim light), and see how you can maximise your gear and determine what's lacking in your kit before you make your purchase Enjoy the day! It is a lot of fun and don't get stressed by the occasion...

05-23-2012, 06:31 AM	#20
MDegri New Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 19	Run away! I shot a wedding for a friend the other week using my K-5 and a GX-10 as backup. I felt a bit pressured into doing it as he was a friend and he was on a budget so I did it for free. I have shot a wedding as a second shooter before but never as the primary photographer. I made this very clear to the couple. I suspect most people see you have a DSLR and take nice photos so you can take wedding photos. In total I spent more than three days working on the wedding. I made lists of potential photos and met with the bride and groom well in advance to discuss the exact plan of the day. I was at the rehearsals scouting and taking photos and making notes on lenses and iso and planning shots. I was on my feet from 11am to 11pm on the wedding day including dashing from location to location to be there before the bride arrives. It really is stressful trying to be in the right place at the right time to catch the key moments. Weddings are like express trains there is no stopping them to re do photos once they are started. The hardest part of a wedding is organising people. I did arrange with the couple that the best man would also have a list of the people for the formal photos and his job would be to assist me in rounding people up. The best man was somewhat unreliable. So my advice is to take charge. Another problem I faced was the multitude of other photographers for the formal shots. It was very difficult to get the groups to look JUST AT ME!. Once again being assertive and also discussing this with the bride and groom is probably sensible. Also try to manage expectations. Also be aware that the wedding might not always follow the agreed plan. So be ready for unexpected events that you have to photograph. I shot in RAW so took me pretty much a day to edit all the photos. I'm glad I did it, it was an experience & I was happy with my work especially considering the challenges. I didn't feel part of the wedding as a guest, I was supposed to be a guest and photographer. You cant be both and I was literally working the whole time. Hope some of this helps! Mal

05-23-2012, 12:10 PM	#22
opfor Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Photos: Albums Posts: 276	To copy what has been said before, go to all the locations possible before the day. Try to go about the same time of day. Hopefully the weather will co-operate and you can get an idea of outside lighting. It will also give you a chance to plan out areas for any group shots. If you are not sure of posing people, get with the bride and groom (and hopefully an assistant if you can find one) and do a few informal practices. This will give the bride an idea of what is possible and what is going to make her pics look better. And as others have said, be firm about your part but don't try to run stuff that isn't anything to do with the photos if you can help it. Check with the person performing the service and check that they don't have any rules/requirements that will screw you if you don't know about them before the big day. Batteries/cards/batteries/cards/batteries/cards and a good assistant. A lot of people will be stressing around you, try not to let it spread to you.

05-23-2012, 12:16 PM	#23
MSL Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Greater Toronto Area Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,751	Originally posted by agatchell Nobody likes having their day ruined by a photographer who passed out from dehydration> To paraphrase: Take the photograph, don't be the photograph!

05-24-2012, 06:25 AM	#24
agatchell Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Massachusetts Photos: Gallery Posts: 29	I just remembered one more thing: a macro lens is good to have at a wedding. Macros are useful for taking pictures of the rings together and various other details.

05-24-2012, 06:26 AM	#25
MSL Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Greater Toronto Area Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,751	Originally posted by agatchell I just remembered one more thing: a macro lens is good to have at a wedding. Macros are useful for taking pictures of the rings together and various other details. I'm guessing that a close focus lens (often labeled as macro) that can do 1:4 or better would be sufficient (just so you don't panic and think you need to get something that does closer to 1:1)

05-24-2012, 06:59 AM	#26
JeremytheIndian Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Central North Carolina Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 121 Original Poster	Originally posted by agatchell I just remembered one more thing: a macro lens is good to have at a wedding. Macros are useful for taking pictures of the rings together and various other details. My only Macro is a cheap Sigma 28-300 but I guess it'll do for that kind of work. I thanks for the heads up.

05-24-2012, 07:50 AM - 1 Like	#27
altopiet Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: The Gem of the Karoo, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,307	1. Originally posted by opfor be firm about your part 2. Originally posted by opfor A lot of people will be stressing around you, try not to let it spread to you Ok, you are a sherrif's deputy, so 1 and 2 should not be a problem! Your main problem is not your BIL, but your wife. Make sure she'll be on your side if the results are not what your BIL expected. If you have her 100% informed of what might happen in the worst-case scenario, and she'll back you up, you'll be fine. If you think you've stressed the day you got married, think again, this might be worse

05-24-2012, 02:51 PM	#28
agatchell Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Massachusetts Photos: Gallery Posts: 29	OK. One last thing - it's a good idea to plot out your movements during the ceremony in advance. I hadn't been to a wedding in a very long time and the rehearsal was not thorough, so I was in exactly the wrong position when the father lifted the bride's veil. Think in advance about where you want to be for the different parts of the service and how you're going to move around without drawing attention to yourself. Also, plan on getting the best shots of people walking up the aisle on the way in, not on the way out. No matter what happens, most people walk much faster on the way out than on the way in and, if the lighting is typical of churches, it'll be very difficult to get clear shots of the bridal party as they walk out of the church. And, like in every other photography situation, pay attention to backgrounds - ill-placed neon exit signs can require a lot of post-processing to fix a very important picture.

05-25-2012, 01:23 PM	#29
Medium FormatPro Banned Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Charleston & Pittsburgh Photos: Albums Posts: 1,668	Something that helps in any type of on location type of assignment is prep work. Noting the financials, perhaps it is more of how much time do you have to try to prep. In addition to photographing someone in a white dress; or any other white outfit, etc... I would make an effort to take as many pics of the actual subjects as possible. And even if one does not have experience in properly processing raw files; this would be a good time to experiment with them. Try a fair share of raw files and also bracketing under jpeg files. Also a good time to try out the new flash unit. And here is where it gets interesting. I've seen fairly good flash units of what appear to be the same make and model - produce entirely different results. So if you are using more than one flash unit; you'll need to make notes of that. Also be sure to try varities of lighting; outdoors, indoors, partial shade, full flash, differing flash settings, etc... And when eventually printing off a few of those test shots - if you happen to notice a hue or color that is not quite right, make a note of that as well. It might be correctable under camera and/or printer settings.

05-25-2012, 01:37 PM	#30
MSL Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Greater Toronto Area Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,751	Originally posted by Medium FormatPro In addition to photographing someone in a white dress; or any other white outfit, etc... I would make an effort to take as many pics of the actual subjects as possible. Others have said it all over the forums in various forms: There are good shots and bad shots, but the worst shots are the ones you didn't take.