Weddings.

Larky said:
And guess what, the mother and father despise each other so much I'm not allowed to get them within 50 feet of each other! Apparently last time they did she started a fist fight then started throwing cutlery. I cannot wait now. 😀
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Sounds like fun...

My suggestions:

1) Fully charged/new batteries. And spare new batteries. And another spare battery or two in the car. I will never forget the moment my fully-battery-driven camera died as the knife went into the cake; I was quite thankful of the M3 at that moment.

2) Mind your metering. White dress, black suit... an incident meter would be best but otherwise make sure you know how your meter is thinking.

3) Especially if you're limiting the amount of flash, speed is king. I invested in my Nokton 35/1.2 mainly for weddings. It can be surprisingly dark in some venues, and handholding 1/8 is fine until they're walking down the aisle at you at a great pace due to nerves...

Good luck - it's a blast!

Cheers
Jamie
 
When you have all the technical bits sorted out I would advise you to be prepared to deal with Uncle Bob and Aunt Judy who will get in your way as they snap their own shots/video.

Also you are making a great sacrifice as it is practically impossible to enjoy the event as a friend/family member and focus on creating great photos at the same time. I believe you have to pretend you are shooting the wedding as an outsider to deliver the best results.

If the B&G and their immediate family are laid back about the photos, then this takes pressure away, and you can enjoy the event as if you are a guest. Otherwise (and I am not doubting your photographic competence in any way), you will be working every minute you're there.
 
Kevin said:
So you have some units already that fire 100% but you ordered v4 which haven't arrived yet? I am kind of confused.

How big are they? Do you have a pic of a transmitter mounted to an RF??
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Ah, I need more than one transmitter + receivers. Because of the 100% firing ratio, I am confident enough to order another set of Cactus triggers. Since the new one (v4) is available, I order those. Hasn't arrived yet.

The transmitter is not big, but I bet it's not designed for "stealth" either.

No pics since I don't use flash with RF cameras.
 
I found a 6 month old great condition SB-600 for £160, still in warranty etc. I managed to get some money together for a flash unit as I need it for stuff beyond the wedding (see thread about to go up, the nasty sounding one). Looking forward to playing with it.
 
Larky said:
I found a 6 month old great condition SB-600 for £160, still in warranty etc. I managed to get some money together for a flash unit as I need it for stuff beyond the wedding (see thread about to go up, the nasty sounding one). Looking forward to playing with it.
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That will work, now all you need is a bounce diffuser and a backup flash (in case this one suddenly dies during the reception).

Do you think this flash will safely work on your compact digital as well?
 
Well, I purchased the flash. In the end I got a near mint one for £172 including shipping, it arrives in a day or two. This weekend will be my first play with it, need to get some batteries.

I have that pang of guilt in me now though, for spending a shed load of money on something that isn't food or bills. 🙁
 
The flash arrived, mint condition. Have batteries loaded, now need to get some time to practice fill flash. Feels so wrong to not shoot available light though.
 
if you could borrow a fast 35mm it might greatly reduce your need for the flash and you'll get nicer shots to boot. If you need flash there's no substitute, but I probably don't use it in more than 5% of shots at a wedding, maybe 10-15% in the winter, but fast lenses are key. Best of luck with it.
 
I'm hunting for a fast 35 to borrow, but I think the fastest I'll have is the 1.8 50mm. As I'm not allowed to shoot in the church it seems the flash will be for the after party. I have a diffuser and will probably just bounce the hell out of the light to soften it. Then I'll Photoshop them pretty. 🙂

This weekend we have a festival in Norwich, some crazy stuff going on, so it'll give me a chance to test the unit out. I'm not a lover of flash as I feel it just pisses people off, but needs must...
 
Well, the festival sucked and the people were all ugly and nervous so I left them alone. This means I have no real chance to learn the flash other than shooting random stuff. It's seems much more complex than I'm used to, the meter is always telling me everything will be underexposed. I'm hunting for tips but finding nothing that works, I'll keep playing.

Looking into trading my 28-100 and 70-300 for a 1.8 35mm Nikkor G. I don't like shooting tele so it doesn't bother me.

Nervous now, start a casual job tomorrow, hae a major important interview on Thursday, then another on Friday, then have to shoot a wedding. :s
 
Nervous yet? You should be but if you follow the advice given already, meaning KISS, you should be fine. Except for one thing I learned on my last paid wedding gig.

Take an assistant with you!

I shot the last one alone, meaning I had no one to carry gear, let alone anyone to help with setting up the shots. It was a terrible experience that I survived. Barely. Even using the flash on automatic worked out but just getting the shot was difficult because I had no assistance with the gear or the people.

Just keep it simple, relax, do a few trial runs even in an empty church and it should work out fine. If you have someone to help.

Good luck,
 
Really, keep it simple. If the bride and groom are relaxed the pressures off. Most of the money shots are for parents anyway. You will work every minute of the day - it's really hard work shooting these well, but it's fun too. If I'm the only picture taker I tend to shoot digital. Flash off carmera where possible, but make sure you get the exposure right. Ocamera only if absolutely necessary. I don't know what dslr you've got, but using a canon 5D or 1Ds3 you can shoot at 3200iso easily for wedding album size prints. Shoot raw if you happy processing - it gives you margins.

Just be happy with your kit and work on exposure. There's alsorts w\aiting to confuse the meter. I've seen pro work that I'd have discarded, but it was all he's shot.


Good luck and enjoy.

Mike
 
Yes, I'm getting nervous. The wedding is in a couple of days, and between now and then I have about 30 spare minutes. Crazy madness. This flash should be easier than this surely? I've read the manual twice and it still doesn't do what it's supposed to. Everything seems overexposed, or underexposed, depending upon the current mood of the flash unit. 😉
 
So it looks as if it will be raining (possibly heavily) on the big day, as if my nerves weren't wobbly enough. 🙂 How much of a difference will rain create, apart from everyone being soggy and miserable and compensating by drinking more wine?
 
Don't be downhearted, some of the best shots I've seen of weddings have been taken in the rain by quick thinking and imaginative photographers. I always imagine its a scenario you wouldn't wish for on the day but looking back, at the photos, find it was a day full of 'make do and mend' spirit, funny expressions and laughter...lots of it.

Without wishing to offer stereotypes and cliches it may be worth taking some wellies, umbrellas and the like along...simply to get some fun shots to relax them a bit whilst you scout about and think what might actually make a really good & original shot.

I'd don't shoot weddings but I do photograph alot of people from individuals to large groups and its ALL about them, keeping them happy, relaxed and wanting to work with you so never let them see the fear in your eyes when it all gets 'a bit iffy' and keep an eye open for an unplanned photo op - they often end up producing something cool.

P.S. I hadn't realised (duh) that you'd actually wanted the 35mm 1.8 for this wedding as much as simply wanting it as a new bit of kit, I'd have happily lent it to you - still will if you can get down to Suffolk if you're up in Norfolk.
 
Larky said:
So it looks as if it will be raining (possibly heavily) on the big day, as if my nerves weren't wobbly enough. 🙂 How much of a difference will rain create, apart from everyone being soggy and miserable and compensating by drinking more wine?
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If it really POURS down with rain, then try to capture some of that in your pictures - umbrellas, the rain splattered car that takes the bride and groom away, the church in the rain - the Happy Couple (especially the bride) will never forget that it poured on her wedding day, so you might as well try to capture it and deal with it creatively.

By the way, here in Denmark, rain on a wedding day is taken as a GOOD SIGN for a long, happy marriage...


...But then, this a very rainy country
...With a very high divorce rate...
 
Too late to pick up that Nikonos? ;-)

Rain is considered good luck here as well, except for the photographer. ;-)

Am posting this, figuring you are already done by now, and relaxing with a couple of fingers of whisky.

Am sure you instincts will kick in and you will be fine.

Good instincts trump kit -- you probably know that about now.

Regards, John
 
Yeah, too late for the new lens. Ah well, the 50 will have to do. Taking the Contax G1 with 45 too as I want to shoot some film.
 
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