It's my turn for the "First Wedding Shoot" thread!

[tekriter]

Strange but true story - a friend of a friend of a friend is getting married tomorrow afternoon, a low-budget affair, and the couple decided they couldn't afford a photographer. When the other women in her office found that out, they decided to hire one for her. Problem was, the wedding at that time was ten days away. Needless to say, every moderately priced photog they could think of was already booked.

So, the friend of a friend knows me from shooting pics of her baton and dance team and figures that I might be able to do it. Now I've been toying with the idea of spending a year as a second shooter for weddings to see if I can do it or not. I do shoot class reunions, grad parties and so on, but never a wedding.

I think I have the equipment covered, a D300, 18-50 2.8 Sigma, 85 1.8 Nikkor, 50 1.8 Nikkor, 80-200 2.8 D Nikkor, two SB-800s and two Gary Fong lightspheres.

What I don't have is a lot of RAW processing experience. I shoot sports, dance, baton, etc in JPEG and for the most part I don't need much in the way of post-processing. Maybe some levels.

I do have Photoshop, and Elements, and Capture NX that came with my D300. Of course I will be burning a vault copy or three prior to any post-work.

I'm almost tempted to shoot JPEGS because of my RAW inexperience.

Words of encouragement will be much appreciated!

[r3g]

I've never shot a wedding and I'm sure there are people here who have more experience in the matter than I do but I'll throw in my 2 cents anyway.

Gear wise your covered.

SHOOT RAW NOT JPEG! You dont have to be an uber ps wizard to get good results. It can simply just be a matter of correcting exposure, white balance, etc. Maybe a b&w conversion here and there. Really basic stuff that I'm sure you already know how to do. You don't wana over process the shots, nice clean editing is what your after.

Seeing as your used to shooting parties/social events it should be too much of a change because what is a wedding if not a huge party? Only difference is instead of paying attention to everyone you'll be putting 99% of your focus on the bridge and groom (mostly the bridge from what I've heard from other wedding photographers).

During the actual ceremony you'll prolly want to use your 80-200mm on a monopod so you can keep your distance depending on the available light you shouldnt need a flash. Instead shoot at f/2.8 and bump your ISO a little. A tripod/monopod will also do you justice as it will allow you to slow your shutter a bit and not have to worry about motion blurr.

During the reception your 18-50mm + SB800 w/ Lightsphere will be a great combo for getting nicely lit group shots.



Makes sense to me, but then again I've never shot a wedding before :rolleyes:

[jcon]

The 18-50 is ok for weddings but obviously wouldnt be the first choice.

For the formals(posed pictures before ceremony) you will want to set up your 2 SB-800s off camera and use them wirelessly, which you trigger with your D300.

You wont be able to use your flash during the ceremony, so dont be afraid to bump the ISO, your D300 can handle it. This way you will be ablt to still handhold the 80-200 and it wont be blurry.

One thing I would suggest you pick up if you dont have it already is a flash bracket. Id get the Nikon SC-29(TTL remote cord) to use with the flash bracket too.

It sounds like you have some experience for this type of setting, so dont stress too much and just use your experience. Dont be afraid to use your creative juices either, youll end up with some very good images!

EDIT** Forgot to mention, take the D50 mounted with the 85mm for quick snap shots so you dont have to keep changing lenses, its always handy to have an extra body and lens wrapped around your shoulder!

[tekriter]

...unfortunately my D50 is in Chicago with my wife at a convention. She has the Sigma 18-200 but I didn't figure on using that lens anyway.

I just came back from shooting the rehearsal and DANG that church is tiny!! From the back wall to the altar is maybe 60 feet. The seats form a semicircle around the altar - "church in the round" as it were.

As far as lenses go, the 18-50 may be all I need. The only shots I might do with the 80-200 would be the ring exchange. Two SB-800's would be too much, believe it or not. No place to put the stands, anyway.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Never shot a wedding either but I believe things will move unbelievably fast. Don't plan on changing lenses mid ceremony to get a ring exchange.

[jcon]

As far as lenses go, the 18-50 may be all I need. The only shots I might do with the 80-200 would be the ring exchange. Two SB-800's would be too much, believe it or not. No place to put the stands, anyway.

Youre making a HUGE mistake if you dont take your SB-800s with. There is always room for the light stands, last wedding I shot I had to set them on the bench seats(pews?). You will not get decent formals if you dont use your lights, I speak from experience. If its because you dont want to take it all with you, why would that matter? Thats the nature of the beast!

You will also NEED the 80-200 for close up photos during the ceremony. You dont want to be moving around and becomming a distraction, so youll want to pick one place where you wont be noticed too much and stay there and shoot.

In the end you have to make the choices, nobody can make you do anything, but my advice is from personal experience during all the weddings I have shot. Good luck.

[tekriter]

Youre making a HUGE mistake if you dont take your SB-800s with. There is always room for the light stands, last wedding I shot I had to set them on the bench seats(pews?). You will not get decent formals if you dont use your lights, I speak from experience. If its because you dont want to take it all with you, why would that matter? Thats the nature of the beast!

You will also NEED the 80-200 for close up photos during the ceremony. You dont want to be moving around and becomming a distraction, so youll want to pick one place where you wont be noticed too much and stay there and shoot.

In the end you have to make the choices, nobody can make you do anything, but my advice is from personal experience during all the weddings I have shot. Good luck.


Oh, I'm definitely taking my SB's and using them! I should have mentioned that they have decided to take all the group shots outside. The church has a really nice park-like area beside it, and the bride really wants to do them there. I'll be using the SB's as fill flash there.

As for the 80-200, I think there's about a five-minute period where I'll need it. In looking over the rehearsal shots, I think I overestimated the distance from the back wall to the altar. I had estimated sixty feet; now I think it's more like forty feet.

[tim11]

You have 2 cameras and enough gears to burn down a wedding. Of course you can do it; it's just the confidence.
Just think of the poses you want the subjects to do and try not to appear nervous and TRY to appear always in command. Many subjects are camera shy and look to the photog for guidance on how to pose, where/how to stand;etc. And if you seem to be at a loss they will only get more nervous. (I remember my first wedding too....)
Do some home works on what you plan to do and when it happens just let your instinct takes over; it will be over before you even realise it.

[tim11]

.... things will move unbelievably fast. Don't plan on changing lenses mid ceremony to get a ring exchange.

Good point here. I just notice you only have 1 camera for the day. If there is only one lens I can use I'd use 18-50.

[tekriter]

Good point here. I just notice you only have 1 camera for the day. If there is only one lens I can use I'd use 18-50.

I'll have the 80-200 on standby (!).

[KevinMelody.net]

[...]The only shots I might do with the 80-200 would be the ring exchange. [...]

Don't forget you can get the couple and the minister to stage these again afterwards so that you get the shot you want. It only takes 5 minutes but makes certain you have the images that look good.

[jcon]

Its almost impossible to do any posed photographs after the ceremony. Especially with the bride and groom, they are either thanking the guests for coming, or they are on the bus/limo heading to the reception.

[tekriter]

Many thanks to all who responded, the wedding went off (mostly) without a hitch. There were a few, however:

Bridesmaid's dresses still had store sensor tags on them...
Boutineers (spelling??) for the groomsmen were left at someone's house...
One of the groomsmen had obviously been punched in the right eye since the rehearsal the night before...

Nothing unusual, in other words.

The ceremony, from first entrance to bride and groom exit was eleven minutes. Not much time to move around, but I did manage to swap my 18-50 for the 80-200 for the all-important ring exchanges and kiss-the-bride. Only used one SB-800 but my Gary Fong lightsphere really did the trick.

The only thing I think I messed up was in not being forceful enough in my insistence that the couple wait a few seconds for me to position myself for the walk back up the aisle when it was over. That, coupled with the groomsmen and bridesmaids not waiting for a signal to come up the aisle meant that the exit shots were rushed. No sooner did the bride and groom pass by me - the best man and maid of honor were only maybe two paces behind them. I got the shot, but the flash wasn't fully recycled so the RAW image is a little dim. The other couples were much better spaced.

Getting the group shots outside was impossible because of rain, so we did them up at the altar which I preferred anyway. The evening before, I gave a checklist to the bride of common shots everybody always wants; the only problem was that as soon as the ceremony was over two-thirds of them went out to smoke, and a couple of them left for the reception hall. We got them back with a couple of cell phone calls but it was a delay. One other nuisance was a guest who decided to act as stage director - she kept having people move around, and I had to politely ask her to let me set the shots the way the bride wanted them. She backed off but I got the stinkeye from her.

The reception was absolutely uneventful, I managed to get all the usual shots and technically they're good but I need to work with a real wedding shooter for at least a couple of weddings to get more practice.

The couple couldn't have been nicer - both the bride and the groom were surprisingly relaxed even before the ceremony.

[jcon]

the only problem was that as soon as the ceremony was over two-thirds of them went out to smoke, and a couple of them left for the reception hall. We got them back with a couple of cell phone calls but it was a delay.

Hmm, that sounds strangely familiar....



Its almost impossible to do any posed photographs after the ceremony. Especially with the bride and groom, they are either thanking the guests for coming, or they are on the bus/limo heading to the reception.

Over all it sounds like it went very well for you. If you feel comfortable, post some images, I would love to see how you made out!

Oh and I dont remember ever photographing a wedding where something unforeseen didnt happen but I have never heard of the dress still having the store security tags on them!:eek:

[K1W1]

Oh and I dont remember ever photographing a wedding where something unforeseen didnt happen but I have never heard of the dress still having the store security tags on them!:eek:

Maybe the intention is to return them after the event. :D

[mugsisme]

Maybe the intention is to return them after the event. :D

I don't see how it could have been a problem unless they had the sensors in the church ... :D:D

Congrats on the wedding shoot. Each time you do something, it is an experience. Even if something didn't go well, it is a LEARNING experience, as long as you learn from it.

Post some pictures!