OT: Wedding Shot - Got It!

[chmeyer]

I also found out that shooting a wedding is HARD WORK! Man! We were there at 12:30 - ceremony started at 2:00. We left at 4:00. I was soaked in sweat - my eyes burned the whole time. Very hot up there on the altar, and I was moving around as well. Next time I bring a terrycloth towel or something....snip...Hope to get it all scanned and on a DVD-ROM before the end of the week, then the bride and bride's mom can pick out what they want and I'll get prints made and put them in the album, etc.

Weddings are hard work. All the more reason to charge appropriately for that service if you ever decide to do it on the side to help feed your rangefinder habit.
And you can also see that scanning, editing, color correcting, bride selections etc. take even more of your valuable time.
The Wedding Photojournalists Association website is a great resource for anyone in the U.S. looking to do this sort of work. It lists others in your region, example photos and their prices so one can make an informed decision about what to charge.
Well done, Bill

www.wpja.org

 

[bmattock]

Wayne: A *KNIFE FIGHT*??? Holy cow!

I remember years ago reading about infamous female wrestler "Mount Fuji" who got into a massive brawl at her wedding that spilled out into the street and ended up with a full-scale riot. Now THAT would have been some photos!

Paul - Bride on fire! Yikes! Glad no one got hurt!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Russ]

Congratulations, Bill

Well done. I just used a 1.7 rangefinder for a wedding snap, due to no flash allowed during the "official" ceremony. This one is a grab shot, during the reception. I'll scan the rangefinder snap, and submit it.

Russ

 

[bmattock]

Russ,

Impressive!

Bill

 

[Russ]

Russ,

Impressive!

Bill

Bill

Thanks. Here's another one. I've been so busy lately, that this is the first time I've logged into the group in awhile. Sharona's been keeping me busy with wedding shoots. The f1.7 rangefinder lenses and Neopan 1600 sure come in handy, when you aren't able to go with flash. She's got me booked for two more weddings, just shot two in the last three weeks. 🙄 It's good money, but I wouldn't want to do it full time. Did you enjoy your wedding shoot?

Russ

 

[bmattock]

I did enjoy the shoot, but it was very hard work and it isn't done yet - I'm still spending my evenings processing the scanned negs and getting rid of dust, scratches, adjusting color, etc. Fortunately, I'll be done soon. I think if I were going to contemplate this as an 'extra money' type thing, I'd go digital for the faster workflow.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Russ]

I did enjoy the shoot, but it was very hard work and it isn't done yet - I'm still spending my evenings processing the scanned negs and getting rid of dust, scratches, adjusting color, etc. Fortunately, I'll be done soon. I think if I were going to contemplate this as an 'extra money' type thing, I'd go digital for the faster workflow.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Bill

Why all the post wedding processing? You can make it very easy, fast and good, by just burning color neg (NPH) and chromogenic (Neopan 400CN-Ilford XP-2). A decent lab will give you nice proof prints to choose from and select. In that way, there is very little post shooting work. You don't have time for that. You have to move on to the next gig. 😉 My digital buddies are envious of my lack of post shooting work. They are tyed down to their PC's for hours after a wedding shoot, and it's usually unbillabe time. :bang: The NPH and Neopan CN & XP-2, give wonderful results for wedding shooting.

Russ

 

[bmattock]

Bill

Why all the post wedding processing? You can make it very easy, fast and good, by just burning color neg (NPH) and chromogenic (Neopan 400CN-Ilford XP-2). A decent lab will give you nice proof prints to choose from and select. In that way, there is very little post shooting work. You don't have time for that. You have to move on to the next gig. 😉 My digital buddies are envious of my lack of post shooting work. They are tyed down to their PC's for hours after a wedding shoot, and it's usually unbillabe time. :bang: The NPH and Neopan CN & XP-2, give wonderful results for wedding shooting.

Russ

Because I did this for free and I haven't got that kind of money. I used Kodak Portra NC 160 & 400, had it processed at Walgreens, and scanned the negs myself. I am color-blind, so post-processing is painful and difficult for me. Because this was a learning experience for me, I did not insist to the bride that it be shot in B&W, I did what she wanted me to do. In any case, I have a day job and am planning on keeping it. I doubt that I'll be doing wedding work as a professional. I can see I don't pack the gear to know that Fuji is better than Kodak, I did the best I could.

Bill

 

[chmeyer]

Why all the post wedding processing......snip......My digital buddies are envious of my lack of post shooting work. They are tyed down to their PC's for hours after a wedding shoot, and it's usually unbillabe time.

Russ makes a good point. The down side to shooting weddings with film or digital cameras is processing images. Finding a way to minimize the effort post wedding is the key.
One basic digital package I've started to offer is online galleries for clients to browse as a hidden gallery on the company website. No money is spent on print proofs and it's almost immediate for both the photographer and client.
I'll do a rough edit and tone on the keepers. I can run a batch function in Photoshop to size the photos for web use and also give them a name and number structure that facilitates ordering. From there, I load the keepers into a program that creates an album to browse.
This can be done without having to set up viewings with busy clients. Many people appreciate this economic option.
The price of the package still reflects the digital processing service which I also charge for editorial jobs at about $150 per hour.
Chris

 

[bmattock]

Both of you make excellent points. And my point remains my answer to Russ' question about 'why so long to process?' COLOR-BLIND. Am I being unclear?

 

[Russ]

Both of you make excellent points. And my point remains my answer to Russ' question about 'why so long to process?' COLOR-BLIND. Am I being unclear?

Bill

I wasn't bagging on, or dissing your approach. And I wasn't aware that you are colorblind. So long as the client and you are happy, is all that matters. You did a good job, and that's what matter's. 😀

Russ

 

[bmattock]

Sorry guys. I've got a toothache you would not believe and my boss jumped on me too. Bad day. Sorry for snapping. As to the color vision - it's just hard for me to do what some take for granted - I can't 'see' what you see so it is hard to make level adjustments in PS if the colors are not close already. Which they weren't, hence my two weeks of ever night after work steaming over it, as well as my statement that if I were going to do this for a living, I'd choose digital, where the colors are closer to correct out of the box, so to speak. At least for me in these circumstances. I have made the recent decision (reluctantly) that I'm going to leave the color photography behind for the most part and concentrate on B&W, since that's my native mode anyway.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Doug]

That just makes a lot of sense, Bill; I'd concentrate on B&W if I were in your shoes, I think. And that's a rich world in itself, with plenty of challenges. I wouldn't think of it as giving anything up... And of course there's B&W from digital.

 

[bmattock]

That just makes a lot of sense, Bill; I'd concentrate on B&W if I were in your shoes, I think. And that's a rich world in itself, with plenty of challenges. I wouldn't think of it as giving anything up... And of course there's B&W from digital.

Well, I am not really complaining, I'm just hurting from a tooth that cracked in half and has been paining me for a week or so. I'm getting old. I apologize to all and sundry about my attitude.

And I know that I have certain advantages, being color-blind. I tend to 'think' in B&W, and it comes easier to me than maybe to others. I am not fooled by camoflage, I had a fun time in the Marines. I see at night really well, and I notice movement, light, shadow, and texture before I notice color.

But honestly - I thought I could 'do' color photography. And I can, if the film scans more or less true - if it is 'off' then I'm at a loss as to how to fix it with levels and other tools inside PS. It is being hammered home to me that no, I can't really do color.

I *like* color, and I can *see* color - I just can't always identify which one it is.

Weird, huh?

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Russ]

I have made the recent decision (reluctantly) that I'm going to leave the color photography behind for the most part and concentrate on B&W, since that's my native mode anyway.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Bill

I just shot a wedding, where the young couple requested B/W only. It was great. I did however burn one roll of color. They wanted the archivalness of film, and the young bride just loves B/W photos much more. They loved the results. I wish I got more klike them.

Russ