Reluctant Wedding Photographer - HELP!

Wow. This is exactly the thread that I needed to read. I'd been looking for ways to get more experience in the wedding photog. venue and I've had 2 gigs land at my feet in the last few weeks. Both are simmilar in the "You or nothing" attitude but hope to pull off some decent work. Yesterday I shot invitation photos for them and did pretty well, I think.

I've already put a hold on that book Backalley mentioned and I'll be reading up on that online manual.

Great thread!

I don't mean to Hijack, but here's the shot:
 
joeyjoe said:
Wow. This is exactly the thread that I needed to read. I'd been looking for ways to get more experience in the wedding photog. venue and I've had 2 gigs land at my feet in the last few weeks. Both are simmilar in the "You or nothing" attitude but hope to pull off some decent work. Yesterday I shot invitation photos for them and did pretty well, I think.

I've already put a hold on that book Backalley mentioned and I'll be reading up on that online manual.

Great thread!

I don't mean to Hijack, but here's the shot:
Click to expand...

Thanks very much - nice shot, too! Let me know how yours turns out, maybe we can compare notes!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
Bill, you are a better man than I... I prefer to shoot things that don't move or complain :) Perhaps this link might help you out: http://www.nyip.com/tips/topic_weddings0604.php. There's also a link to Monte Zucker's website on that page, he has a guide to posing for bridal portraints. If I find anything else I'll send you a link. Good luck to you in this!
 
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LOL! That's great, thanks! I will go through it very carefully. Interesting, especially since I have a hard time reading Monte Zucker normally. I have tried to read his articles, but they seem so ego-centric that I have to put them down. All about how clever and great he is. And perhaps he is, I have no basis for comparison. But that writing style - woof! Still what you sent me looks very informative - I'll go through it carefully and thanks!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
Hi Bill,

I do shoot weddings professionally in a documentary style. Don't buy lights or special posing stools or anything like that. For the portraits at the house use natural light if you can and keep it very simple. Don't plan on using flash much (or perhaps at all) during the ceremony. Use fast film and existing light. You do want to have two bodies with you and by walking through the church, etc. you'll get a sense of what lenses should be on them. Consider documenting the whole day, from the bride and groom getting ready to the ceremony and then the reception. You may find that the reception is the only place you'll use flash (if its indoors). Tell me more about the various settings you'll be in and I can advise better.

Consider this. An acquaintance of mine, Jeff Ascough, is one of the most highly respected wedding photographers in the world. The BBC just filmed him for a special television program. What does he carry for equipment? Three Leicas and fast lenses. Most of his best work is done with a 50mm lens. He did recently just break down and buy a 1D MKII but it's only for the flash work at the reception. The manual Leicas still do most of the work.
See http://www.jeffascough.com

The best thing you can do for these folks is to simply pay attention to whats going on during the day and document it as best you can. Forget about a standard list of wedding shots, the best wedding photographers in the world don't work that way. Ask the bride what pictures she really hopes to see and try to make those. Otherwise just keep your eyes open and pay attention to the people and their emotions. Make the pictures that describe *this* specific wedding.

The couple is very lucky to get this done for free. Just have fun with it.

Sean
 
Oh...and...The bride's idea about using disposable cameras is a good one even with you taking the gig. She should buy about ten of them and pass them out to guests who want to work as assistant photographers during the day. Then she collects the cameras and processes the film to see what she's got. It's an inexpensive experiment and as long as the others don't get in your way, there's almost no down side. Sometimes a very good picture is made by an amateur with a disposable camera.

Sean
 
Sean,

Thanks for the terrific advice! I love that link, also! I think you have posted it before - but in any case, I know I've seen it before.

I don't want to get into a situation of trying to run before I walk, you know? I realize that some of the standard wedding photos are hackneyed and old hat, but sometimes, that's just what people want, eh? Especially in a bible-thumpin' town like Wilson, NC. There are lots of churches here - seventy-eleven flavors of Baptist - but no bars. Know what I mean? We're talking traditional.

However, that does not mean that I should not 'relax and have fun' as you say - and I will most certainly take that advice to heart! I want this to be a good experience for both the wedding guests/family and my wife and I.

I love avant-garde, don't get me wrong. I just got my latest issue of Shots magazine - I dig this stuff. But I also have to make sure we're all together on what I'm planning to do, ya know?

I will work on the lights/etc portrait stuff. I did find an old circa 1941 pocket book on Portraiture Simplified by A.L. Schafer and it shows lots of classic 40's poses and how he did them - lighting diagrams and etc. Since I have a little time to experiment on my wife, thought I'd give it a try anyway. If all else fails, available light works.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
Hi Bill,

Natural light is the best and most interesting light source a photographer could want. I shoot architecture professionally and have to use all kinds of quartz lights and umbrellas, etc. for interiors of buildings. But much of the best wedding photography in the world is being done by natural light. I've never posted Jeff's site here before.

You can ask the couple what they want but even in the bible belt, many people want pictures of what's really happening rather than pictures that are set up for the photographer. Ask the couple how they feel about this. There will be a list of formal pictures you should get from the bride. Let her tell you which people she wants photographed and then ask her to find you someone to act as the portrait coordinator: a family member who knows who these people are, can round them up, etc. Formal portraits should be a small portion of the day.

I suggest working from the kind of pictures you know how to make rather than trying to give yourself a crash course in commercial wedding photography. Documentary approaches to weddings aren't avante garde, they're now the norm for many couples. You'll likely do better work simply photographing the things you're seeing that day than you will working from a checklist of standard wedding pictures.

Sean
 
Every famous pro photographer had a first time. Some watched others for a while, some used the "sink or swim" method. You are preparing yourself for success, now all you have to do is actually show up, and DO what you've prepared for. You'll learn a lot, and you'll do fine.
 
BTW, Bill if it's helpful here's a rough set of pictures I'm prepping for my web site that will show you one way that I work through a wedding. There were also about ten formal pictures done but those aren't on-line. Please excuse the color, these were just quick previews to show some photographer friends and they don't have color profiles set.

http://www.still-photo.net/northeastern/tradwebfinalssequenced/index.htm

Sean
 
I did my first 'real' wedding shoot last summer, having been the second photog for a few friends previously. Again, it was a you-or-nobody situation, which is the only reason I took it on.

My tuppence, for what it's worth:

I don't go with the need to keep to one film speed; I found it useful to have 100 for the outdoor shots and 400 for indoors/slower lens. I'd not recommend using delta 3200 - though I often like it, I just didn't find it worked too well with the high contrast that so often appears in weddings (white dress, black suit). I'd (personally) stick to B&W; people often associate it with 'arty', 'better' photography and will forgive faults that they feel would ruin a print from colour neg.

And talking of that dress, mind your metering! I was fooled into underexposing a coupleof times; it's probably worth bracketing the critical shots.

Finally, take *lots* of shots; then the law of averages gives you a good chance of hitting the jackpot a couple of times!

The very best of luck; it's one hell of a job you're taking on, but an exhilarating and worthy one.

Jamie
 
Good luck, Bill... It seems to me you've covered a lot of ground by being honest with these people.

One thing: were you thinking about medium format for the "posed" shots? I think it's a nice idea.

I'd stick to the guns you've contemplated already, the Canon SLR and the Bessa. Only I'd use the Canon for semi-official shots and the Bessa to catch candids.

There's a wedding photographer in Chicago who especializes in a particular, documentary kind of shot. His website is www.reallifeweddings.com. Check him out! And, of course, good luck! :)
 
g0tr00t said:
I know its geared toward digital.....but the same principles apply to film.

http://www.rangefindermag.com/index2.tml

natural light and a photo journalist style seem to be working quite well....
Click to expand...

Yep, I have a subscription to that magazine (another of the bennies of being an active member of RFF - someone posted something about it and I subscribed for free and actually started getting it)! I had forgotten about the issue, now I'll go back and read it - thanks for jogging my memory!

As you know, my memory is not always what it should be!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
jamiewakeham said:
I did my first 'real' wedding shoot last summer, having been the second photog for a few friends previously. Again, it was a you-or-nobody situation, which is the only reason I took it on.

My tuppence, for what it's worth:

I don't go with the need to keep to one film speed; I found it useful to have 100 for the outdoor shots and 400 for indoors/slower lens. I'd not recommend using delta 3200 - though I often like it, I just didn't find it worked too well with the high contrast that so often appears in weddings (white dress, black suit). I'd (personally) stick to B&W; people often associate it with 'arty', 'better' photography and will forgive faults that they feel would ruin a print from colour neg.

And talking of that dress, mind your metering! I was fooled into underexposing a coupleof times; it's probably worth bracketing the critical shots.

Finally, take *lots* of shots; then the law of averages gives you a good chance of hitting the jackpot a couple of times!

The very best of luck; it's one hell of a job you're taking on, but an exhilarating and worthy one.

Jamie
Click to expand...

Jamie,

Great advice! The dress, I would never have thought of that - and I've done macro flower shots where I had the exact same problem - white flower, metered as middle tone grey, ruined the exposure! Bracket critical shots - check - and also notice the dress/tux's - brilliant whites and ultra blacks - quite a range there!

I can see using both advice on the film speed - maybe shoot 100 outside and 400 or 800 inside, but make sure 100 film is all out of cameras before moving inside? Something like that.

THANKS!

Bill
 
SolaresLarrave said:
Good luck, Bill... It seems to me you've covered a lot of ground by being honest with these people.

One thing: were you thinking about medium format for the "posed" shots? I think it's a nice idea.

I'd stick to the guns you've contemplated already, the Canon SLR and the Bessa. Only I'd use the Canon for semi-official shots and the Bessa to catch candids.

There's a wedding photographer in Chicago who especializes in a particular, documentary kind of shot. His website is www.reallifeweddings.com. Check him out! And, of course, good luck! :)
Click to expand...

Well, the Canons I have are reliable - I've had the FTbN gone through and CLA'd, and the T60 is a weekly user - both reliable and I trust them. But I will take them out and run through everything again, of course. Check exposure is what I think it is. I'd take my Bessaflex TM, but I do like the TTL open-aperture metering on the Canons for this particular situation - where I may have to move quickly. May stash the Bessaflex TM in the trunk with spare M42 lenses/film for 'just in case' runs to the car.

I agree - I think the Bessa for candids would be good - also for inside-the-church shots *IF* I am not allowed to take flash shots during the ceremony (likely, I'm being told).

I'll check out the URL you mentioned, thanks!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
Bill, You'll do great. You are a People-Person, judging by your VFW shots. Will there be a "Wedding Director" or "Drill Sargeant" for this wedding, someone to keep everything moving at the rehearsal, ceremony and reception? I've done ~20 weddings for friends, most back in college days for friends short of cash. The ones with a "director" went the smoothest, so I learned to find out who that person was and sync up with her.

Also made it clear to parents and friends to grab me to get a shot of "101yr old Great-Aunt Betty who flew in to see her little favorite get Married". Took once of "I paid you all that money and you didn't get a shot of my 90-yr old Great-Aunt. Yeah, $60 to cover 10 rolls of Kodachrome while I was in college from an MD to cheap to pay for a Professional Photographer for his Oldest Daughter. After that I decided to pay for film and processing as the wedding gift. Only had one Bride who was unhappy with the photo's. On a humorous note, she left her husband a month later and ran off with one of her Bridesmaids...
 
Bill,
I've been searching my files to no avail looking for a link to a photog similar to the style that SolaresLarrave recommended. He shoots internationally and has acquired a good reputation for his available light style, mostly B&W and shot with Leica. What struck me as most important about his work (aside from his splendid style) was the preparation he put into the shoot; nothing formidable, but just good solid research. He learns all he can about the schedule, who will be where and when. He checks light readings beforehand at the same time as the schedule for the ceremony and of course meets with the interested parties to determine the shots they want/must have. I also believe he takes a certain pro-active role in seeing that he gets the shots he needs, as opposed to only standing aside and hoping the opportunities arise. Of course, that would be a fine line to finesse without crossing. At any rate, good luck with this shoot. I really believe you will handle it with flying colors!
 
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