My First wedding - wish me luck - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

07/02/2005 08:30:12 AM · #1

I finally get to take some wedding pictures! I have been trying to get this opportunity for 3 months now, and I got the OK when i got home from work last night...wedding is today at 2:30.

The 'photographer of record' is a friend of the bride, and is doing it because she wants to get into the biz (as do I). The bride bought her the film to shoot it...I am very curious what I am going to be 'competing' against. I fear an old film p&s! Maybe a 70s vintage Pentax with a 50mm lens? Hey, this is Beaver county...we are more advanced than Hazzard County KY, but only by a few months. LOL Of the 10 or so wedding photogs in the area, only 2 are digital. That says something right there, doesn't it?

The bride is excited to have a second photog (i get to take pics of the groom's prep, NOT the bride's, so i am second shooter-at this point). I have this fear (hope?) that when I assemble my rig with the Metz 54 flash and Lightsphere, and being digital, I may get moved up a bit in 'class'. My ego would like the recognisiton, but this is my FIRST wedding...so my nerves do not want such an opportunity!

With luck i'll have some images worthy of posting later. As i read on another website, the patron saint of wedding photographer is a guy named St Murphy-Lawes.

smilebig4me1x

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

07/02/2005 08:40:16 AM · #2

dont forget extra batteries and memory cards. u are a great photographer, just go have fun with the shots and all will come out great.it helps to know that theres someone else taking photos too so relax. No worries!

wishing you tons of luck~~Cher~~

edit to add:p.s. hazzard county ky isnt so bad...i hear they have electricty but they are light years ahead of harlan county ky. i heard thru the grape vine that someone just discovered the wheel. ill believe it when i see it(LOL) :p

Message edited by author 2005-07-02 08:43:52.

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

07/02/2005 08:46:54 AM · #3

Congrats, Chris. Can I come? :D That sucks that you're not the 'main photog' or whatever. If you're ever the main guy, give me a hollar, I'd love to either be the second shooter, or even hold your bag and watch.

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

07/02/2005 08:55:54 AM · #4

have a ball, chris. shoot like mad, be creative, be sharp, have fun! don't worry about 'showing up' the other shooter. simply take advantage of having access to a wedding shoot, and get as many portfolio shots as you can. as i've been told by others, prospective brides don't want to see your collection of bugs, flowers, and candids of children--they want to see pictures of other brides.

good luck, happy shooting, and have fun!

skip

07/02/2005 07:57:57 PM · #5

How'd it go, Chris? Got some nice pics? Did you shoot RAW or JPG?

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

07/03/2005 10:08:33 AM · #6

Todaty started out with a dead router and no access to DPC! Could it be any worse?

Ok...I got to shoot it all - wedding, shots at the local college and the reception. I have just this AM got the pics on the computer, and had a look at a dozen of them - I will post some in the wee hours unless i get drunk (this IS a holiday weekend you know!)

I took:
117 pics at the church (95% raw)
81 at the college (100% jpg)
89 at the reception (100% jpg)

Things that will KILL me in PP - the church has a LARGE purple window behind the alter...EVERYTHING has a purple cast to it. The other photog shot film - i wish her luck with fixing this.

Learned so far: The modes you use do make a HUGE difference..now to figure which ones work for me! Camera can be in P, A, T or M. I prefer P or A...we'll see. The Flash can be in TTL or Auto. you can have it direct or bounced, bounced with the Lightsphere on it. You can of course use no flash...and add in exposure compensation on the camera or flash or both (with flash on Auto and camera on manual). I have many blown shots...but hey, i'm learning, right?

My 18-50 lens is great. I certainly see the need for a 70-200 f4 or 2.8 if you are the back of the church - this one was small and i had freedom of movement so this works.

The other photog was very very nice. She lacks the confidence to really make some money at this. $300-400 is what she charged, and that includes 13 rolls of film/precessing and a proof album. 7 hours of coverage. Her equipment: elan and back up of a rebel 2000. Looks like consumer lenses - slow and average. She only used the built in camera flash...she has a flash and a bracket but sees no real benefit to them.

I shot it all with one battery in the camera and one set of AAs in the flash. All were getting weak toward the end. I brought all my crap, but used beltpacks to carry stuff -HIGHLY recomended way to do it. I did not take my LS into the reception - mistake. 1.7Gb of flash is barely enough. I knew i needed another gb, and will get that next i guess.

Pics later unless the beer wins the fight.

Canon EOS-60D

07/03/2005 10:16:28 AM · #7

smilebig4me1x

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

07/03/2005 10:51:59 AM · #8

i cant wait to see the photos..im on the edge of my seat. dont make me wait too long(i might fall off) i hope the beer doesnt winn too fast.

letenele

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/03/2005 10:56:05 AM · #9

Originally posted by laurielblack:

You can see my first wedding here if you're interested.

Wow, the pictures are stunning. The black and whites are definatelly keepers, they give a timeless aura to the whole event. Great job!

07/03/2005 10:57:21 AM · #10

You can only set your flash to TTL? You cannot select a fill flash mode where it fills the subject and properly exposes that with the background? I'm curious if you got a lot of really dark backgrounds that way.

07/03/2005 11:00:39 AM · #11

[quote=laurielblack] You can see my first wedding here if you're interested.

OK, mine are no where near that good. I will have to parctice 100 more times or try something else.

Can I blame the camera?

07/03/2005 11:04:09 AM · #12

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

Can I blame the camera?

If you can't set it to fill flash, yeah sure. Seems like, especially if you used matrix metering, it would blow out the person and the background would be underexposed. Get a d70 while you still can ;)

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

07/03/2005 11:05:35 AM · #13

Originally posted by deapee:

I belive fill just kiks in autimatically - the manual i in german traslated to sorta english. the germans just assume we dumb americans know everything. there is a button on the side of the flash that is not mentioned anywhere in the manual! For the outdoor college shots i used the on-camera flash...it blew the ring shot totally out. about 2 or 3 stops overexposed...i had a lot of technical failures...some are me, some are the equipment, or perhaps my use of it. I concentrated more on getting shots (and a quick look at the histogram) than trying to get the best camera mode for the best shot - if that makes sense - i's switch to a different mode when i got a bad shot...perhaps not a bright idea.

I don't understand how i can spend a day at the park (outdoors and all) and get 99% perfect shots (technically perfect anyway) and then go and shoot this wedding thing and in the same outdoor world get 50% crap.

Will be drinking LOTS of beer later. thankgod i was not the primary on this one!

Canon EOS-60D

07/03/2005 11:06:52 AM · #14

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

Wow, thanks y'all...I didnt' mean to hijack your thread...I wanted someone to commiserate with me on the whole first wedding thing!

I am SURE you have some wonderful photos!!! I just pointed and clicked and did a whole lot of praying...and after my flash died, really stepped up the praying part!! I shot RAW the entire time. I was in with the bride during the whole getting-ready thing while the principal photog worked on some of the formals with the groom and his attendants/family, and then was on the grounds during the ceremony. I only used my Tamron 28-75, because crabappl3 was using two cameras with various lenses to get the majority of the shots. I was not really happy with what I got at first, because there were a lot of things I missed when my flash bit the dust, but overall, looking back, I'm more pleased now. Thanks again! :o)

crabappl3

07/03/2005 01:04:23 PM · #15

Originally posted by laurielblack:

Wow, thanks y'all...I didnt' mean to hijack your thread...I wanted someone to commiserate with me on the whole first wedding thing!

Laurie did a great job and I am very pleased with her shots... speaking of which, I need to probably get a CD of them, as well as my card back :-)

Laurie is also assisting in 2 more weddings with me this year, so look forward to more fine offerings from her! :-)

BTW, here are some early workups of mine from that same wedding: Sommers Wedding

-danny

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

07/03/2005 01:18:11 PM · #16

Originally posted by crabappl3:

I have it all ready...just gotta find a time that's convenient for you.

I absolutely LOVE the boardroom pic of the groom and his "posse!" I think that's such a unique and fresh approach to the standard poses! I think they will really love the pictures you took. The formals are really gorgeous too...before the sun disappeared, you really had some wonderful light to work with!!! Very flattering, soft, and beautifully colored! Wow. :)

LindaLee

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

07/03/2005 01:20:31 PM · #17

Originally posted by laurielblack:

You can see my first wedding here if you're interested.

WOW! I am seriously impressed with those shots! What a fantastic job. Looks like you've got the eye for weddings.

Linda

gloda

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/03/2005 03:14:24 PM · #18

When I read the title of this thread, I thought someone from DPC was going to get married - and I was quite irritated by the word 'first'.
Good luck deapee, and have a lot of fun.

NathanWert

Canon EOS-90D

Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM

07/03/2005 04:11:14 PM · #19

Originally posted by crabappl3:

BTW, here are some early workups of mine from that same wedding: Sommers Wedding

-danny

I really liked the one with the "Game Plan" THought that was just hilarious. The other pictures were great too, but that one made me laugh.

petrakka

07/03/2005 04:48:10 PM · #20

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

LOL Of the 10 or so wedding photogs in the area, only 2 are digital. That says something right there, doesn't it?

I have this fear (hope?) that when I assemble my rig with the Metz 54 flash and Lightsphere, and being digital, I may get moved up a bit in 'class'. My ego would like the recognisiton, but this is my FIRST wedding...so my nerves do not want such an opportunity!

i dont think equipment will bump you up in class, that's gonna take satisfied clients. many wedding photogs still shoot film because they simply prefer it, or they like the quality better etc, not because they dont have the option of shooting digital.

anyways hope it went well and you had a good time and got some good shots.

Alecia

Canon EOS-10D

07/03/2005 04:56:14 PM · #21

i dont want to further hijack chris' thread (i cant wait to see the pictures), but i have to say how aweome laurie and crabby's photos are. :)

and beyond that--i have to specifically mention crabby's 0244...i mean just a stunning family portrait! the light is one of the things i love the most, so in my anality, i might be tempted to cut a bit off the empty left to enhance the impact of that--but i doubt anyone else would notice such a minor thing in such a gorgeous photo. :)

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

07/03/2005 05:03:15 PM · #22

Good luck :)

I shot my first wedding today and I had a good time. It was a very small wedding with just 6 people and the preacher. There were no guests and no reception. I sorta did it as a favor for a friend. There were no photos allowed during the ceremony, so I just shot some before and after. I also had no access to the church prior to the wedding, so I wasn't sure what I would be in for when I arrived. It went well though. It's definitely something I wouldn't want to do often, but the experience was beautiful. I hope yours goes well :)

colyla

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM II

07/03/2005 05:21:20 PM · #23

Originally posted by laurielblack:

I can't wait to see the pictures! I'm sure I will have some questions for you, because I shot my first wedding last weekend and it was terrifying, nerve-wracking, and a lot of fun at the same time. I was pleased with the outcome, even though my flash died and I ran out of memory (had to borrow from the principal photog...thanks crabappl3). I don't think I would want to do it as a living, but being 2nd shooter is fun and educational, and not a bad way to pass the time. ;)

Laurie, You did an awesome job!! I did my co-worker's son's wedding but not as the main. Thank goodness!!! I had just got my camera, didn't know a thing the pictures came out horrible...I had a good time and it was a learning experience and I think she was glad I wasn't the main one either lol! I love what you did with these!

You can see my first wedding here if you're interested.

Gauti

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

07/03/2005 05:28:33 PM · #24

Originally posted by gloda:

When I read the title of this thread, I thought someone from DPC was going to get married - and I was quite irritated by the word 'first'.

Same here :)