How not to cover a wedding for friends

[River Dog]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...card-boozy-brawl-couple-claim-said-sorry.html

 

[Keith]

What sort of idiot 'budding professional photographer' carries a memory card around for a week in his wallet with someone's wedding shoot on it.

What a twat! 😱

 

[jsrockit]

Lost film, lost memory card, same difference. They should have hired a professional. I've had friends ask me to do their wedding in the past and I always tell them to get someone who's done it before.

 

[Keith]

Lost film, lost memory card, same difference. They should have hired a professional.

The couple agreed to let their friend Ben Fagan - a budding professional photographer - take the pictures to help boost his portfolio.

Yep ... this ^ was their big mistake! I wouldn't say they deserved this but the way they banged on about how important their wedding actually was to them you'd think they might have parted with the money and hired a seasoned pro.

 

[gavinlg]

So much lose right there - that's what the couple get for getting a 'friend' to cover their wedding (and probably not paying him) and that's what the photographer gets for not backing up his images IMMEDIATELY. Most wedding photographers will back up cards AT the wedding, and then make 2 secure additional backups when they get home - one at a remote location.

But then again, this kind of stuff is good in a way because it shows the general public that it really does pay to have a proper pro do your wedding.

 

[daveleo]

Stories like this give stupid people and drunks a bad reputation. 🙄

 

[Sparrow]

What sort of idiot 'budding professional photographer' carries a memory card around for a week in his wallet with someone's wedding shoot on it.

What a twat! 😱

... we can say twat on here?? .... I must remember that, I notice ****e is now verboten

PS Ah, however, the "mate" who did my wedding left the film in his trouser pocket ... and his wife washed them, cross process or what?. Needles to say Swmbo took it personally and has not spoken to her for almost thirty years now ...

 

[River Dog]

I was asked to cover my niece's wedding last year. It made for a very personal present and I actually got to enjoy the day, stressful though it was. I hired a decent L zoom and Speedlite, went to the rehearsal, consulted with them all the way and backed up the cards onsite, leaving copies with my partner. I even dumped them onto the iPad to review and as another backup.

They also had disposable cameras on the tables at the reception but didn't get one shot from them.

We also managed to rig up a "studio" in an ante-room for bounce flash portraits:

It was a risk. My lovely neice has known me with a camera all her life and although I had never done it before, we were relieved that we pulled it off. Phew!

 

[River Dog]

Lost film, lost memory card, same difference.

Copying a card is a lot easier than a film though, and essential best practise on an important shoot where digital shows its advantages.

 

[fireblade]

easily fixed...have another wedding 🙂

 

[Pherdinand]

1. considering it such a big important occasion and trusting your buddy who obviously did as much as he was payed for, stupid
2. having 60 ppl there and NOBODY else being able to make a few decent snaps of them, weird.
3. Being asked by your friend to cover his/her wedding and then completely forgetting about the photos for a whole week, absoluteny not professional.

 

[jsrockit]

I've been asked by a friend to bring cameras to her wedding tonight. She has already hired both a photographer and a videographer but made a specific point in asking me to bring cameras and make the shots I feel like making.

This is the right way to do it IMO. I did this for a friend and the two different styles (professional and personal) gave the couple a great variety for their wedding album.

 

[Pherdinand]

and 4. Going to press with the story after it went wrong, totally idiot. You make a fool of yourself and your friend, too.

 

[John Bragg]

Very sad for all concerned. A days irreplaceable memories lost and a friendship ruined. I have twice covered a wedding for friends and It was one of the most stressful things I have done. Thankfully both turned out great and my friendships were intact at the end of them. I did however shoot on two seperate cameras 6x6 and 6x4.5 and carried a 35mm backup and two flash units. My point being that a backup or three is a real good idea whether shooting film or digital. The other sad thing is that this young man has his reputation in tatters and now will most likely never get a paid commission for the rest of his days.