Shooting a Wedding

EcoLeica said:
I agree with DNG...Leica Ms are great for weddings, it just involves a slightly different style of shooting. Check out Riccis http://www.riccisvalladares.com

He shoots weddings professionally with a Leica MP and M7 and mostly in Black and white!
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Yes, Riccis has carved out a very nice niche for himself and I love his photography. I used to shoot weddings with a pair of M6TTL's a few years back, but gave them up when I made the transition to digital. I miss shooting with my M's, but I can't imagine shooting color negative film in a dark church again. As for the digital M's, they bring even more limitations to the table than the film M's did, and I would guess that's why there aren't any (?) professional wedding photographers using them, Riccis included.
 
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I was the backup shooter for a friend's wedding in december 2010. And even though I was the backup, it was stressful nevertheless.

I used 2 cameras at a time, one manual and one auto. in the AM, i used the Fuji GA645 and M2+Canon f1.4, in the PM I used the YashicaMat 124G and the Contax with 28mm+Flash. I missed a lot of shots while changing film... 😉 Kids and In-Doors shots are hard to shoot. I had to use 800 - 1600 ISO film and Hyperfocal distance. Altogether, I shot about 16 rolls of film. I used a incident Light Meter.

You can view the wedding photos here, the main photographer had 2 DSLRs hooked to a cross-strap.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=252133&id=703791450&l=2d55cb7f1b

raytoei
 
OP, it sounds like you've made a good decision. I agreed to photograph a friend's wedding and had an experience similar to le vrai rdu. It turned me off photography for months!

Conversely, I was a groomsman in another friend's wedding and brought along my M. I made some really nice candids (the head table isn't a vantage point the wedding photographer usually enjoys). The bride and groom loved having both the digital pictures made by the event photographer and my traditional b&w candids as a bonus. It meant the pressure was off me to perform and deliver and I kept creative control over what, when and how I was photographing.

Also, OP, consider the time and cost of scanning and re-touching the negatives, or wet printing if you go that route.
 
To me the greatest fact about not being the main photographer is that you can skip the DSLR and use all your time just for your two film bodies... Avoid changing lenses... You can even use B&W on both cameras and have a fast 35 and a fast short tele, and be ready always... You'll need real fast film, like TMZ...

Good luck!

Cheers,

Juan
 
EcoLeica said:
I agree with DNG...Leica Ms are great for weddings, it just involves a slightly different style of shooting. Check out Riccis http://www.riccisvalladares.com

He shoots weddings professionally with a Leica MP and M7 and mostly in Black and white!
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kevin m said:
Yes, Riccis has carved out a very nice niche for himself and I love his photography. I used to shoot weddings with a pair of M6TTL's a few years back, but gave them up when I made the transition to digital. I miss shooting with my M's, but I can't imagine shooting color negative film in a dark church again. As for the digital M's, they bring even more limitations to the table than the film M's did, and I would guess that's why there aren't any (?) professional wedding photographers using them, Riccis included.
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Not many left, but, he is an exceptional wedding photographer.
 
Smart move, I'm glad you went this route 🙂.

And you can still give them a set of your shots as a wedding gift. Maybe buy them a digital photo frame, and load it with your shots. (That's what I did once, and my friends loved it).

With the pressure to get the "standard" shots off of you (and on to the pro), you're free to shoot the wedding your way, in your own style. You'll be able to provide a different perspective of the event. Keep it simple, and just do what you do best.

Regards,

Warren

Mephiloco said:
Alright. Here's what I've done.

I talked my cousin into getting a real wedding photographer, I explained to her that I've never done a wedding, and it's not my 'style' and that I dont feel comfortable being as intrusive as a wedding photographer needs to be to get the shots she's going to want.

She understood, and I told her that this will be better overall, because she'll get the traditional wedding photos that everyone wants, and I'm going to the wedding anyways with my camera, so whatever I shoot that turns out well is a bonus

Edit: Thanks to everyone for the advice. I wasn't really worried about laying out money for a 7d or 5d; It's bigger than I like for still photography, but it'd pay for itself pretty quickly on video alone.
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well I think you should have done it unless its really something you are not interested in. You would have learnt a lot. Sounds like you weren't interested so maybe it's best you've opted out. But then again it was an opportunity which won't crop up very often it at all.
 
Haven't you used (and enjoyed) any AF SLR fast tele lens? The only lens I would bring for sure is my Nikon 85 1.8: wide open its bokeh is wonderful, and it's not too big, and very sharp... Focusing with RFs in low light IS A PAIN! Focusing and shooting with the 85 1.8 wide open in AF with TMZ and Portra800 IS A PLEASURE! In such event you need your time to interact with people, make them comfortable and happy, and compose, and if you use it for metering and focusing, you'll miss the whole thing...

Cheers,

Juan
 
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chris00nj said:
I did one wedding for a relative. It came out fine, but it is stressful. I really had to step up my flash knowledge a lot.
  1. I would use the digital for most shots. I don't think you need to get a new body.
  2. If the ceremony is small and you can get close enough, you may not need the zoom. You won't use the zoom at the reception.
  3. As DNG suggested, get a E-TTL flash. Learn to use it well and learn things like "dragging the shutter." You will use a flash on almost everything. It will get dark during the reception and I don't care if you have a Noticlux, there isn't enough light.
  4. The venue looks to have a ceiling that is low enough to bounce the flash off, so you got that going for you.
  5. Just use ISO-400 film. You don't want to change film and forget to change ISO.
  6. Portra 400 is a great wedding film. Black & white digital stinks.
  7. Besides the DSLR, I would just bring two bodies. Keeping track of 3 will be challenging. I would got with the Bessa R and M5. A hot shoe is nice for flash and you should be able to use the Canon flash in some sort of auto mode. You won't use a iiic with the 21/4.
  8. You will have some downtime when everyone is eating to taking a wide angle of a the entire room. You can change a lens then. You will still need a flash.
  9. Talk to the bride and groom to make sure you know what formal shots she wants. It is usually, bride & parents, bride and immediate family, bride and extended family, bride and bridal party, but also may be bride and favorite aunt. Do the same for the groom's family. Those shots happen before the wedding. After the wedding, then you have photos of everyone together.
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I shot my first wedding (a cousin's) in October '09, and I think the advice above (and elsewhere in this thread) is excellent. A number of things I learned about the experience:

1) Important to go over w/ the b & g beforehand what shots THEY would like
2) "Bride getting ready" and "Groom getting ready" give you some opportunities to be creative. Check out some of the websites for ideas (including of our own Riccis)
3) Fast lenses aren't really that necessary. You're going to need to shoot a lot at f.4 or f.5.6 to make ensure that subjects are in focus.
4) I completely agree w/ the recommendation to use Portra 400NC. Fantastic film. Fuji Proj800Z is also excellent if you can find it (it's been discontinued)
5) I shot the wedding mainly using two lenses: a Rokkor-M 40/2 (on a Bessa R3A, using AE), and an MD Rokkor 85/2 (on a Minolta X700). I only used wider lenses for group shots (obligatory family groups after the ceremony). The two camera/two lens kit worked fine.
6) The recommendations regarding the use of flash are on target. Fortunately, the X700 has really easy to use ttl flash capability.
7) For group shots, make sure men button their jackets, everyone stands up straight, no "fig leaf" poses (i.e., arms should be at sides); this was the one area where I was disappointed in the results I got.
8) drink plenty of water; you can easily get dehydrated.
9) keep your main shooting kit simple (i.e., two cameras, a couple of lenses), but make sure you've got a back-up easily available in case a camera dies.
10) replace all batteries in cameras the night before the wedding.
11) yeah, it's stressful, but it can also be a lot of fun! 🙂

Good luck, and enjoy!
 
Just saw your post re: persuading your cousin to hire a pro. That's not a bad option, particularly since it can free you to do more creative shots of the b&g which, as Warren T says, would make an excellent gift. It also relieves you from having to nail all the usual obligatory shots. I still think that shooting wide open w/ a fast lens is asking for trouble unless you are very fast and accurate in your focusing. But that's just me....
 
Somehow, get some experience before someone depends upon you. Wedding photography has some challenges best experienced when your tail isn't on the line. Do it... after some practice as a backup photographer.
 
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