Wedding

Joined: 06 Nov 2006 Posts: 89 Location: Plain City, Ohio

July 7 Ihad my first wedding. It was done for a neighbor of my sister-in-law. I told them I never did anything like this and couldnt promise them anything. With that being said.

WOW. Controlling the pictures is harder than I thought. Didn't help that this wedding was busy in the first place. Outside, heat. BEER everywhere (before the wedding) Lol.

One thing that I really found that I struggled with was the post processing. I toke over 800 pictures. I attempted to go through all of them. I'm a truck driver and most of the time the edits were done on my downtime. Keep the pictures, deleting the right ones. etc... WOW.

Just wanted to share. Lol

Joined: 21 Aug 2006 Posts: 175 Location: Midwest

Wow, sounds busy and exciting at the same time. Hope you got some keepers. Congrats and thanks for sharing your experience.

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:24 pm

I shot what is probably my last wedding every a couple of weeks ago. Thank god. I've done two as the official photographer and a handful just as that annoying guy with a fancy DSLR.

Doing it casually is fun; doing it as the official photographer is stress that I don't care to indulge in.

Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 11:21 pm

But damm the money is good!

Mike, for weddings I don't get too fancy with the post processing. I create 3 folders, junk, any that need horizons straightened and OK. I straighten and move to OK then run a batch process of auto levels and smart sharpen. I also have an action for black and white conversion and sepia conversion too.

Getting it right out of the camera really is the key to cutting down the PP.

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 12:30 am

You're a brave soul if you're considering doing more weddings. There's just nothing more stressful in photography than shooting something that you can't reshoot if you screw up.

Here are some things I've learned both from working as an assistant and later shooting some weddings on my own.

1) Always take an assistant. Even if they know nothing you have someone to run after the Father of the Bride or anyone else you need for a shot.

2) Have a plan for what you will shoot and when. I always start where the women are getting ready.. then move to the men. Do the formals that can be done with the couple separated and save the joint family and wedding party formals for after the service.

3) Always check with the clergy to see what's allowed. Anything you can't get during the service you can reenact right after. I always shot the family formals first so I could let those people leave and just keep the wedding party for full-party formals and anything that needed re-enacted.

4) At the reception, talk to the dj/band/whoever and coordinate when the cake will be cut, the garter/bouquet thrown, etc.

5) If it's getting late or you anticipate the couple being smashed before they're ready to leave for real... fake them leaving the reception before things get out of hand.

And the most important thing to remember when shooting a wedding...

get half the money when they reserve the date and DO NOT release ANY proofs until they've paid you in full.

Then sell them a bunch of enlargements they can argue over when they divorce.

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 12:25 pm

Bobbi makes some good points.

Make a written list of the shots you want to take. (ie: rings, formals, bouquet toss, etc). It's amazing how quickly the day goes by and chaotic they can be. It's easy to forget some important shots, especially if they aren't of main events. Always show up with a game plan.

I have it written in my contract that any remaining balance is due the day of the wedding. I don't take my camera out until I get paid. I make sure they understand this when they sign the contract. A gentle reminder a couple weeks before the wedding doesn't hurt.

They are definitely the most stressful photography I've done before. You often only get one chance and one chance only. I've done two weddings this year with a third coming next weekend. I'm enjoying it much more than I had expected. I look forward to getting more opportunities next year.

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:27 pm

Bobbi you're so cynical!! :)

Great advice though. I would definitely stress the importance of an assistant. Someone who is not friends with half the people there and who will want to get smashed before the night is through. There are loads of aspiring photographers who would jump at the chance to assist so an ad on Craigslist might help find a few hopefuls. You can pay them $10 an hour and it'll make there day lol. Remember there getting valuable experience and a chance to build there portfolio so don't feel cheap.

Joined: 06 Nov 2006 Posts: 89 Location: Plain City, Ohio

Great advice.

Thought of some.
I had my list.
I had my asst. (15 year daughter with a GREAT eye). She saved me a few times.

Fee was experience. No Charge as I told them I had never did something like this and couldnt promise them a single picture.

I did get a $200.00 thank you check.

Syco: thats what I did after stressing over all the pics. Decided that I was going to touch up a few "important" ones and let the others go. They all turned out OK. Some needed a closer eye though. Things that I need to remember before I click. Fun though, very fun.

Joined: 27 Oct 2004 Posts: 452 Location: Gloucester, UK

My niece is planning to get married in Rhodes and is on a fairly tight budget. Crazy as it seems it actually will be cheaper for her to marry abroad with smaller numbers to manage, than having a wedding in the UK with all the costs associated with trying to keep everybody happy.
There have already been mumblings about photographs. So far I have managed to achieve a very effective level of selective deafness :-)
The thought of trying to get decent shots in the sort of lighting I'd experience in mid summer isn't too appealing.