HELP! I was invited to be a wedding photographer.

[kshapero]

I only shoot weddings for very close friends (and, nowadays, their children) if they really, really insist -- so I've only ever done about 7 in the last 35 years. Even then, the last 5 have been co-shot with Frances. My advice would be that if you want to do it, tell them to get someone else as well.

Cheers,

R.

Best advice, you will get here IMHO. Unless you are willing to commit to the "equipment needed or expected" then ask that they get someone who will. I once shot a wedding as the "backup" using a fast lens on a ZI B&W film only. They also had the Nikon D2 guy. he made the album for them. I made the framed 11" X 14" framed prints. All in all it worked out great. They got what they wanted and I got to shoot the way I wanted and I made some nice $$$.

 

[Al Kaplan]

Reading your post brought these song lyrics to mind:
"So lock up your daughter & lock up your wife Lock up your back door And run for your life The man is back in town So don't you mess around."

You should work as assistant or second shooter on at least half a dozen weddings before doing one on your own. You have two major concerns: getting all the expected pictures and creativity. Concentrate on the first one. They might look like boring pictures but when all is said and done people want to see sharp clear pictures of Aunt Emma and Uncle Jason. They want to see smiling faces.

First get the important "must have" shots, then go for the creative version. Right now the most creative thing you can possibly do is talk your way out of this one.

 

[daveywaugh]

Wedding photography, more than any other type IMO has a very broad definition of 'quality'. As an art director, there is a quite distinct quality line drawn in the sand for commercial shoots. When a photographer is hired for a 50K plus job, they generally have two assistants, MF digital, and at least 20K worth of lighting. Then there's make up etc and the list goes on. Of course there is also a photographer with years of experience, a wonderful ability to follow a brief and add his or her creative flair. Unless we are talking about the real big budget stuff though, there isn't the room for being too different, or taking too many risks. There is a formula of sorts. Not for weddings though.

Wedding photography can sometimes look like stock. Bland, emotionless, dull. Everything is in the eye of the beholder of course (or in this case the bride) but there is a much larger gamut of what makes a good photo. Increasingly more couples are quite conscious of this stock 'look' and will almost do anything to get something different. Being a good wedding photographer is more about who YOU are. Ask yourself the hard questions... "can I really handle this?" And most importantly "do I really want to do this?" If you answer yes to both then go for it. Be passionate and be prepared to work hard planning the day. I'd shoot some film too 🙂

I shot a wedding recently for a very successful professional couple who forwarded me links to the websites of 10 wedding photographers. They were all obviously extremely good photographers, and very successful. The instructions from the clients were "just don't do anything like those!" It's just the way it is. Stick to your guns, shoot YOUR way and obviously make sure that is the style your couple is after.

I know I will be flamed for this - just an opinion though 🙂 Life is too short.

 

[daveywaugh]

This was my first here. I was in exactly the same circumstance as yourself at the time. I made every mistake in the book including not taking enough film. Lighting was difficult but you know, it was still captured OK and the album was fine. I just kept plugging away and not allowing myself to get flustered. Now I have only done one since and it was much slicker, and more 'professional; but not sure if it was THAT much better. Just a thought.

 

[blazeicehockey]

Nothing wrong with going for it..as long as your friend knows that she will get your style, but may not get everything she wants (that a professional has more chance of doing)

my recommendations:

- draw up a tick list with her of 'must have' shots, and visit the place to check out potential locations for shots that suit your style. this way, there is more chance of satisying 'the client' on the day!
- take at least two cameras, with the compact in the car just in case
- take plenty of batteries,cards and film
- might be worth loading up the the praktica up with 800 porta for low light

yours..as an amatuer...blaze

 

[BillBingham2]

DO IT, DO IT, DO IT.

When I lived in NYC I did about 20 of these started out helping friends who wanted something but not traditional shots at their weddings and did a number for couples who could not afford “Traditional” photographers. Now, being at a point where money is tight I can understand what that really means. Money is tight all over and yes you might be taking a gig away from a pro, but just as well she could buy a bunch of disposable cameras and put them around the tables for everyone to us (a great idea for her to do).

I agree with the point of not using a camera you are not comfortable with. The GRD will serve you very will here. Keep in mind that if you use snap and flash you will have a flash that will properly expose the picture for the point of focus, not the entire range of the shot that is in-focus. The need for flash as a lot to do with where she is where everything is being held. Your R-D1 will work well to. Your 50/1.4 will give you some great tight stuff.

What I did was shoot my style for 98% of the event and a few other frames that most of the brides wanted. A shot of her, the entire wedding party, both sides families and that was it. Everything else lent itself very well to a PJ style of coverage, first dance, cutting and feeding the cake, toasts.

I do not know how you use your gear but take a few days before to practice with using flash on the GRD and perhaps the R-D1, barrow a flash try that too. Don’t go down the DSLR road, no need, your gear will work fine. Think about shooting RAW & JPEG but keep in mind the speed of righting to the card is much slower than just JPEG.

Is there a chance to screw things up, yes, but you have two different camera, bring the RF with a few rolls of film (Fast and normal) as a triple back up. Get extra batteries charge you will go though several there. Bring extra cards, more is better. Every time you take a card out LOCK IT and do not unlock it will you have three copies of the files on different disks, one a DVD and another removeable.

Scope out the space before hand, look at lighting during the same time of day. Test you stuff, print some pictures and show her what without flash looks like. Bring a friend or two so you can show shadows on faces and such. Meeting with her and her family (if she wants) to show your style and explain your approach to shooting. Setting expectations is critical with having a happy customer afterwards.

Do make a bit of money, not a lot but something to keep you in new gear.

There have been other threads like this, check the archives. They all turned out fine.

B2 (;->

 

[kuzano]

There have been other threads like this, check the archives. They all turned out fine.

B2 (;->

That, of course, would include the story about the recently gone digital wedding photographer who shot a whole wedding on one 8 gigabyte memory card. The card failed!

A couple of points I would make on this post...

Not alone and NOT for FREE!!!

It's absolutely OK to say no. If you do this, be sure to show up early and "knock down" at least one of the bottles of wine provided at the wedding (Oh yeah, college students, OK knock down a six pack) to soften the tension (yours).

Is the community you live in small, and does the inguiring lady have high standing in the community.

These, and others are important considerations. Presumably, those who marry do so for a lifetime (HAH!) and want to sit on twin rocking chairs on the front porch in their twilight years going through the album of the wedding day. ????

Will it make any difference to them at that time if they can say, "wow, these were free", or "Wow, these are wonderful and worth every penny MOM paid for them"?

In all seriousness, offer to be a backup photographer, and would be willing to provide some images of the "style" she seems to like. Tell her your concerns about the importance of the event and your limited qualifications. If future wedding photography is of interest to you, practice using invites and building your skills until that first "Hey, I'm the only photog here" wedding comes along. This isn't the one, unless the lady will clearly state that there will be no offense if the results are poor, by both hers and your standards.

 

[bmattock]

This is just pure downside. I throw it in only as a reference point, not trying to tell you what to do or not do. Just consider this as 'worst case' and go from there.

* The wedding photos are all most people have to remind them of a very special time in their lives. Fail to come through and you have left them with a very long-lasting, ugly, bitter, memory. Friendships sometimes do not weather such storms.

* The courts are filled with lawsuits against wedding photographers who did not deliver the goods, or who delivered less than the customer expected. Seriously:

http://news.google.com/archivesearch?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=wedding+photographer+sued&cf=all

* Cameras and flashes and memory cards and film can all fail. Backups are mandatory. Two of everything AT THE MINIMUM. If shooting digital, you MUST have a backup device ON SITE to make frequent backups of your shots. Having a card fail is not acceptable, period. If your card fails and you did not back it up on a wedding shoot, you are the stupidest person in the entire world and deserve to get your house sued out from under you, which is what is going to happen.

* It does not matter what your best friend, closest relative, etc, says to you when they're begging you to shoot their wedding about it being OK if it turns out badly. It won't be OK, and there WILL be hard feelings. Promise.

* Liability insurance is a must. Let some guest trip over your ladder or tripod and break a hip and find out. It does not matter that you're just doing it for funsies. The lawsuit will not be for funsies.

* Second shooter required. For a number of reasons, not least of which is for redundancy of the main photographer. Cars break down, people run out of gas, get the date wrong, get lost, etc. You cannot fail to do as you've agreed to do - there are no do-overs for wedding photography.

* You must have a shot list.

* You must have permission BEFOREHAND from the venue and/or minister. Some allow flash, some don't, some allow external strobe and lights, some don't, finding out on the day of the wedding is very bad.

* Go to the rehearsal.

* Stay for the reception.

* You are not there to eat, drink, socialize, or dance. Bring water and a sandwich and stay hungry or you will miss something.

Your day will be miserable, with little or no food or water, few breaks, constant battery / film changes, constant consultation with shot lists, keeping track of guests leaving early or arriving late whom the bride (who has turned into a harpy from hell at this point) wanted shots of together, in-laws who don't like each other and won't stand for group shots, formerly-married parents and grandparents of bride and groom who show up at the wrong time or start fights with the new husband/wife, etc. Guests who get in your way, get drunk and become obnoxious, demand to see your camera kit, comment how they could/would/have done it better, and lots of people with point-n-shoot digicams blocking your shots.

 

[MinorTones]

Please don't do it for free. You should charge something. It will be 8 hours or more worth of work for you. There are film expenses and driving expenses.

Also if you do it for free you are hurting other professionals that try to make a living in photography.

I would ask for at least $800 if you are only giving them a CD or something.

 

[bmattock]

Also if you do it for free you are hurting other professionals that try to make a living in photography.

Not necessarily. In many cases like this one, it's Uncle Joe doing it for free or the couple goes without a photographer at all. So it isn't taking food off of anyone's table.

However, one wedding I did, the couple plead extreme poverty. They lived in a mobile home in the country, we knew they didn't have much, so we really lowered the price and did it for next to nothing. Then we went to the reception, and they had flown in a band from outside the USA to play, at nearly 10,000 dollars for the evening. I felt like a right chump for falling for their pleas.

 

[sojournerphoto]

Last wedding I shot I used a 1Ds3 and a 5d, and my wife co shot. They are always hard work and the pressure to deliver is not insignificant. The best I shot was my brother's - done as a gift as they had no money.

The problem is that the clients expectations are not necessarily what they articulate. A very significant proportion of wedding photographers are now using beauty software and quite a lot of retouching as part of the package - I don't as it's not my style, but the expectations built by the media are very powerful and people readily forget what they said...

Mike

Edited to say - if you're good at it then it can be fun and pays well if you've the sense to ask for enough up front. Don't underestimate the time or costs of doing it well though.

 

[Roger Hicks]

* You are not there to eat, drink, socialize, or dance.

Yes I am and they know it. Well, not dance. I don't. As I say, they have to be REALLY good friends for me to agree to shoot a wedding, and it's on my terms, as a present, which costs me several hundred pounds in processing (I've not shot a digital wedding yet):

Ian: we were all poor students in our early 20s, and I'd been at school with him. Now divorced and remarried.

Victoria: Old friend, sometime housemate, in our early 30s. Years later she said, "You know, I've sometimes wondered why we didn't have an affair before I met [my husband]." She's still married to him, 25+ years later.

Linda: My girlfriend when I was 16 and she was 14/15. She was 40 when she married an extraordinarily nice guy after being widowed (I did not get on with her first husband) and asked me to shoot the wedding. Still married.

Neil: Finally married at 50. We've been friends since we were both 16-17. Still married.

Louise: Daughter of my oldest friend (since I was 16 and he was 15). Shot in my early 50s. Still married to Tony with a lovely daughter.

Tricks: use several cameras, in case one packs up (Ian, Pentax/Leica IIIa; Victoria, borrowed Pentax because I'd forgotten I was supposed to be the photographer (yes, it was that casual and we were that poor); Linda, Leica/Linhof, Frances shooting Leica as well; Neil, Leica, Frances shooting Nikon/Voigtländer as well as well; Louise, Leica, Frances shooting Leica/Voigtländer as well). Shoot LOTS of film (I shoot 20-30 rolls, backing up all important shots on 2 cameras) or use 2 digital cameras and small (max 2 GB) cards to guard against card failure. Switch to a compact during the reception when you've had a few drinks. Lock the serious kit away in the trunk!

Maybe I've been lucky. But equally, a lot of people are REALLY unlucky with their wedding photographers. I'd as soon trust a well-prepared and skilled amateur as any 'professional' charging under about $2000. The only really good wedding photographer I know starts at $3500 or so.

Yes, it's nerve-wracking. But most people can do it, for a given value of 'do it'.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Gumby]

* The wedding photos are all most people have to remind them of a very special time in their lives.

Personally speaking, I kept the wife and she is a much more vivid reminder of that "special time". The wedding pics are just gravy... to remind us that we were once young and foolish.

 

[JeffGreene]

As someone who shot weddings years ago, I would give it some serious thought. This is a one-time event with no do-overs to speak of. I would suggest that you consider assisting a pro, agree to to be the back-up and communicate very clearly to the couple what they can expect from you. We all have our stories, but in some states, your agreeing to do this can be construed as a verbal contract and as such could potentially open you litigation from an unhappy client. I'm not telling you not to do it, just give it serious consideration, and if you do decide to do it, check out books by Bill Hurter, Bambi Cantrell or go to www.wppionline.com . Good luck with your decision.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The last wedding that I did was for the exterminator for our house. Nice guy in his early 20s, getting married to his high-school sweetheart. He worked several jobs to save enough for a down payment for a townhouse. Too many kids in each family for the parents to help out with the wedding expenses, and most of the members of their church kicked in for the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception. I did the photographs as a wedding present. Two Nikon SLR's, two flashes, slave flash for fill light, and a Polaroid Land camera for set up proofs. Nina helped arrange everyone. 35/2, 50/1.4, and 105/2.5. That was 12+ years ago. They were very happy with the pictures. I probably spent $100 on film and processing for them.

If I had not done the wedding, they would have been getting snapshots from the attendees. I helped the attendees get some shots as well.

 

[dcsang]

From the perspective of someone who has been shooting weddings as his part time business venture for the past 8-9 years I would have to say that if you decide to shoot this wedding to consider the following:

1. Gear - You've got the two lenses that would likely be fine for you - but no flash - try to obtain a flash unless the entire wedding is done in ISO400 light (or the couple really likes ISO1600 grain)
2. Fees - charge something - but be sure you can deliver an equal value of work for that "something" that you're charging
3. Be Prepared - have back up equipment; if anything can go wrong it will go wrong so be prepared for that eventuality - even non-digital gear can fail/jam so be ready - you only get one shot at a moment in time - after that, it's gone for-ev-er.
4. Get Lots of Rest - it's a LONG day (if you're shooting a whole day event) so be prepared for it by getting lots of rest, have lots of water on hand to stay hydrated and be as limber as possible

Don't stress; you're not "devaluing the industry" even if you decide not to charge for this wedding - there are always more than enough weddings to go around.
You may want to see about ensuring your friends understand that you're not a "professional" currently but if you do decide to become a pro in the future then you may want to look at obtaining all the trappings that go with that (i.e. do you have a contract that they can sign? a registered business? can they pay you a cheque in the name of your business should they want to pay you or you ask for payment?).

I would also suggest looking at Bambi Cantrell's book on wedding photography and, even though it's "old school", Steven Stint's book as well.

There's a TON of wedding photographers out there - all with price ranges from "they're giving it away for next to nothing !!" to "I can't believe someone would pay $10,000 for a wedding photographer" - look at them, their style, develop your own, and find a way to differentiate yourself from them should you decide to go into this further.

It's not as bad as some folks say it is and it can be a lot more work than others say it is 🙂

I'm sure you'll do just fine no matter what you decide to do 🙂

Cheers,
Dave

 

[bmattock]

Its very simple to find the good photographers. Just get a good services in ______.com. By the way, have you heard of ______.com? It really simplifies finding affordable wedding photographers. I used it to find them for my wedding. Essentially, after I described what I needed on this site, I received several competitive bids from local photographers. I liked the fact that I didn't have to call around and negotiate with each, and that photographers actually came to me.

Wow, context-sensitive spam. Would some mod kindly nuke this moron?

 

[mfunnell]

Wow, context-sensitive spam.

You sort of have to admire the technology though (while hating the result) - "Intelligent Artificiality". Do you think I could trademark that?

...Mike

 

[palker]

oh la la

oh la la

This is just pure downside. I throw it in only as a reference point, not trying to tell you what to do or not do. Just consider this as 'worst case' and go from there.

* The wedding photos are all most people have to remind them of a very special time in their lives. Fail to come through and you have left them with a very long-lasting, ugly, bitter, memory. Friendships sometimes do not weather such storms.

* The courts are filled with lawsuits against wedding photographers who did not deliver the goods, or who delivered less than the customer expected. Seriously:

http://news.google.com/archivesearch?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=wedding+photographer+sued&cf=all

* Cameras and flashes and memory cards and film can all fail. Backups are mandatory. Two of everything AT THE MINIMUM. If shooting digital, you MUST have a backup device ON SITE to make frequent backups of your shots. Having a card fail is not acceptable, period. If your card fails and you did not back it up on a wedding shoot, you are the stupidest person in the entire world and deserve to get your house sued out from under you, which is what is going to happen.

* It does not matter what your best friend, closest relative, etc, says to you when they're begging you to shoot their wedding about it being OK if it turns out badly. It won't be OK, and there WILL be hard feelings. Promise.

* Liability insurance is a must. Let some guest trip over your ladder or tripod and break a hip and find out. It does not matter that you're just doing it for funsies. The lawsuit will not be for funsies.

* Second shooter required. For a number of reasons, not least of which is for redundancy of the main photographer. Cars break down, people run out of gas, get the date wrong, get lost, etc. You cannot fail to do as you've agreed to do - there are no do-overs for wedding photography.

* You must have a shot list.

* You must have permission BEFOREHAND from the venue and/or minister. Some allow flash, some don't, some allow external strobe and lights, some don't, finding out on the day of the wedding is very bad.

* Go to the rehearsal.

* Stay for the reception.

* You are not there to eat, drink, socialize, or dance. Bring water and a sandwich and stay hungry or you will miss something.

Your day will be miserable, with little or no food or water, few breaks, constant battery / film changes, constant consultation with shot lists, keeping track of guests leaving early or arriving late whom the bride (who has turned into a harpy from hell at this point) wanted shots of together, in-laws who don't like each other and won't stand for group shots, formerly-married parents and grandparents of bride and groom who show up at the wrong time or start fights with the new husband/wife, etc. Guests who get in your way, get drunk and become obnoxious, demand to see your camera kit, comment how they could/would/have done it better, and lots of people with point-n-shoot digicams blocking your shots.

- life in america is such fun - i wonder why you guys stay there 🙂 ?

 

[kermaier]

If you're not practiced in using a flash on the R-D1 then I would not suggest you get one and try to learn it in a hurry. You'll end up missing shots while you try to remember how to work the new setup, and whatever you do manage to capture won't be in your current style. There's nothing quite like using unfamiliar equipment under pressure to defeat even a seasoned pro.

Maybe you could go to a public location/event under similar lighting conditions to those you expect at the wedding, take a bunch of pictures using your existing gear, and show them to the couple. (Professional wedding photographers show prospective clients samples of their previous work when interviewing for the job and agreeing on the scope of work.) If the sort of "look" you bring back works for them, then follow all the personal preparedness advice the pros have given here, and have fun.

Note that I'm not a professional. I often bring a camera to friends' and family's events, both to amuse myself and to try to give the hosts a few decent pix if I can. I've shot a couple of events for friends, but only as a backup/alternative style to the hired pro. They knew up front that I shoot mostly B&W, hand-held without flash, and therefore the results were likely to be more "reportage" than "fashion" in style. (I used to go with a Canon F-1 loaded with Tri-X or XP2, but now I use an R-D1.) A few times, pictures I took with a P&S (Yashica T4 Super, Olympus Stylus Epic, Canon SD550) made it into the wedding album among the candid shots.

BTW, at my own wedding, I hired a pro (which turned out fine for the formal pictures, but only so-so for the candid/reception photos, in my opinion) -- even though I have a few friends who are quite capable amateurs. I also put disposable cameras loaded with XP2 on the guests' tables, but that only yielded a few shots worth keeping (maybe the Champagne was too good 😉 ).

One last bit of advice: No matter what you decide to do about flash and lenses, if you're going to shoot a set of formal, posed pictures you should bring a tripod and cable release. That will give you the sharpness expected from formal pictures (and those will be the ones, if any, that the couple will want to enlarge beyond 5"x7") and will help eliminate inadvertent errors and inconsistencies in framing, leveling, etc.

Good luck,
Ari

EDIT -- Oh, and one last thing: Know the schedule/program in advance. You should always know what's going to happen next, and make sure you get there first and get into position before people crowd in and the action starts.