Absolutely Terrified!!! - DPChallenge Forums

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

05/17/2005 10:40:19 AM · #1

Ok so I got a call yesterday and a friend of mine wants me to take pictures at her 18 yr old daughters wedding this friday night!!

OMG! is what is going thru my head!!! Now if you all will look and see the camera I have and you will all notice this is nothing extravagant for sure. It is a good camera and I love taking pictures with it don't get me wrong (DustDevil bought it for me :) he is so wonderful!) but it really is just mainly a point and shoot camera, which works well because that is about all I know how to do!LOL

So I am feeling very inadequate to say the least.... Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to deal with lighting, and I guess any other aspects that I'm not going to have much control with my camera?

If you want to send me your camera for the weekend for me to borrow I'll entertain those ideas as well :)!

strangeghost

Canon EOS-7D

05/17/2005 10:47:54 AM · #2

If you're going to be the only one taking pictures, I'd say you're right to worry. If there is a photog there who will be "working" the event, and she just wants you to do some shooting because she likes you and has liked whatever she's seen of your work, that's another thing entirely.

Make sure she's not betting the farm on you and your Coolpix!

soup

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

05/17/2005 10:48:59 AM · #3

have lots of CF cards - and fire away like chaingun.

i shot an entire wedding once - with a broken meter on the camera. turned out 5 rolls of high key photos ;}

Message edited by author 2005-05-17 10:49:47.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

05/17/2005 10:55:20 AM · #4

Just say no. If you don't have the equipment and don't have the confidence, than say No. People are so adverse to these two wee letters...it's okay to turn it down and save yourself the grief if you're not ready.

DannyM

Nikon D90

05/17/2005 11:46:45 AM · #5

Originally posted by GoldBerry:

Agreed. If you're not up to the task just say "I'm sorry. I'm not equipped to take wedding pictures properly."

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

05/17/2005 12:02:02 PM · #6

What strangeghost said; she may just want you to "contribute" your own vision as a friend. If so, go for it. If you're being asked to be photographer-of-record, turn her down gently. Say it's way too much responsibility and you're neither equipped nor trained properly for this.

Robt.

Olympus 17.5-45mm f/3.5-5.6

05/17/2005 12:11:29 PM · #7

Another thing about it is, this wedding is one of those "we have a new addition coming so we need to get married sooner than we thought" weddings. So its going to just be a very small wedding, family and a few friends is all.

kirsty_mcn

Olympus E-500 EVOLT

05/17/2005 12:11:42 PM · #8

ditto what bear said

KaDi

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

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

05/17/2005 12:15:24 PM · #9

Quippy answer:
Quoting from this web page: " The average cost can range from $1,200 to $1,600 and up for a (wedding) photographer, and $800 to $1,200 and up for a videographer. Remember: You always get what you pay for."
I suggest you have her buy you a 20D and provide the "prints" for "free"

Serious answer:
Take the advice above and politely decline. Agree to provide "casual" shots and even consider making a nice presentation as a wedding gift.

Because, even if she bought you the DSLR, you'd hardly have time to become comfortable with it to create the best photos....

(By the way, isn't shutter lag still an issue with your camera brand?)

Message edited by author 2005-05-17 12:16:33.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

05/17/2005 12:15:41 PM · #10

Originally posted by singsunshine:

No white dress, veil, bridesmaids, groom's party, tuxedos, catered reception, all that hoo ha? How many is "family and a few friends"? Has she seen snapshots of yours, the average stuff, and said "That's good enough for me!"?

If you're talking 15 people and a justice of the peace, for example, with a "reception" at the local pub after, them might be you could have some fun with this after all. It all depends on what she expects.

A formal wedding was what I had assumed, for no particular reason.

Robt.

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/17/2005 12:19:38 PM · #11

Well the wedding will be at our church but I don't think there will be more than 40 people total there.

Well I won't be able to talk to my friend again until tomorrow but the way she discussed it yesterday was that she wanted to buy a memory card for me to use that she can take to Walgreens and print out....of course if I do take the pictures I will do some post processing before giving them to her to print.

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

05/17/2005 12:19:55 PM · #12

don't freak out about it. since this isn't like a $25,000 wedding, i doubt if anyone is expecting you to perform a $3,000 service. they just want someone to get some decent photos of the event. tell them you don't know if you're up for it, but if all they need is for someone to point a camera in the right direction and get some pictures of people in focus, go for it. remember, whatever you decide, you'll have a support group here to help you through it.

you might want to go to a library or a book store and thumb through a book or two on wedding photography, or look through a bridal magazine to get some ideas.

you might be just what they need.

05/17/2005 12:22:46 PM · #13

Originally posted by skiprow:

they just want someone to get some decent photos of the event. tell them you don't know if you're up for it, but if all they need is for someone to point a camera in the right direction and get some pictures of people in focus, go for it. remember, whatever you decide, you'll have a support group here to help you through it.

you might want to go to a library or a book store and thumb through a book or two on wedding photography, or look through a bridal magazine to get some ideas.

you might be just what they need.

I think this is more of the approach they are taking..from what I can tell so far anyway.....

Bridal magazine............splendid idea!!!

Trust me I will be needing this support group thru this experience...

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

05/17/2005 12:24:13 PM · #14

I personally strongly believe whether it's a wedding that's been planned by the vestil virgin for a year or it's a shot gun wedding for people who just met - they all deserve great pictures and subsequently great memories.

I'm sure this young couple are going through enough as is, I think it would be amazing for them to have good quality photos to look back on during the hard times ahead. But I know dozens of women who've gone through this same scenario so I'm biased.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

05/17/2005 12:29:01 PM · #15

I don't know what kind of batteries your camera takes, but make sure you have several sets and a quick charger too.

Also, if at all possible, get someone to volunteer to help you. Bring a portable computer, and while you're shooting on one card, have someone taking the shots and uploading them to a laptop on the second. Have them look at the photos too, if you don't have time, and make sure there's nothing wrong.

This accomplishes several goals. It empties your memory cards as you need them. And the "assistant" can make sure something's not set wrong on your camera, they can verify you are getting decent in-focus shots or tell you somethings wrong so you can adjust.

If you absolutely can't do this, at least take a break at some point and review your shots on the LCD, zooming in to make sure you can really tell if somethings wrong.

Also, encourage them to ask someone else as well to take pictures as a backup.

While they may be casual about it, there's no repeating the day. You should take every precaution to make things go right.

Just my two cents. I did this a long time ago, while in college, for some college friends. But I didn't have digital to follow this plan! (It came out ok anyway, fortunately.)

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/17/2005 12:29:20 PM · #16

Originally posted by GoldBerry:

nice idea, but not everyone can afford that, nor do they always have the time and resources to track someone down who is as aptly qualified as you would have them be. so, maybe, just maybe, christina will be able to give them the exactly what they need. i bet she can.

05/17/2005 12:45:06 PM · #17

Originally posted by skiprow:

so, maybe, just maybe, christina will be able to give them the exactly what they need. i bet she can.

I wasn't implying they should have to spend thousands to have decent pictures. I was referring to the general attitude that a quicky wedding is less important than a gala wedding. When it's about the vows, not the bling.

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

05/17/2005 12:46:56 PM · #18

Originally posted by nshapiro:

Also, if at all possible, get someone to volunteer to help you. Bring a portable computer, and while you're shooting on one card, have someone taking the shots and uploading them to a laptop on the second. Have them look at the photos too, if you don't have time, and make sure there's nothing wrong.

Yea definetly bring someone to help you if possible, even just for moral support and to get you laughing if you get stressed. The computer thing is quite the undertaking, though.

Sunniee

Canon EOS-40D

05/17/2005 01:43:27 PM · #19

Wish I lived in your area so I could come and help you out... too bad there isnt a dpc member who lives in your area that would like to shoot just for some experience.... good luck, cant wait to see the photos!

sofapez

Canon EOS-10D

Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 DC for Canon

05/17/2005 02:34:08 PM · #20

Best of luck, I'm sure you'll do fine.

The mom & bride know you and your abilities with the camera. If its a small wedding and they don't have unreal expectations for the photos, then you have opportunity to strut your stuff.

Make sure you get the key shots, and go for it. Go through a few books and other peoples wedding albums for ideas on how to shoot and pose the "formal stuff". Make sure you have a good strong flash and shoot the be-gee outa it.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

05/17/2005 03:16:04 PM · #21

Thanks for the advics and comments so far...

Although I am far from being equipped or qualified to do a "job" I am going to put my heart into this because I do know this is a day to be remembered. If they have faith in what I can do and it is what they want then I will give it my best for sure....

alanfreed

Nikon D6

05/17/2005 04:31:34 PM · #22

Lots of folks are saying "Just Say No," but if the wedding is this Friday, what will the bride be left with? Undoubtedly they won't be able to find anything on this short notice.

From what you've described, it sounds like they just want someone to give it a shot, and do the best they can under the circumstances. I'm sure you'll fit the bill just fine! Just shoot plenty of shots, and make sure they understand ahead of time that you'll give it your best effort with what equipment and experience you have.

I think so long as you give it your all, and I'm sure you will, and they know what your experience level is ahead of time and are comfortable with that... go have fun and give it a whirl! I'm sure you'll do great! :)

OneSweetSin

Nikon D3000

05/17/2005 04:53:26 PM · #23

I did a wedding a few years ago at the last minute when the bride and groom were on a shoestring budget and were planning to do photos only with a disposable camera. I shot on my largest resolution and every time I got a few minutes I deleted the bad shots to make the most of my camera cards. I ended up with over 300 decent photos and I just put them all on a disc for the couple to print what they wanted.

I was in their house at Christmas and if I must say so...was the best wedding I ever photographed even though I didn't make a cent on it. They have 8 x 10s everywhere from the wedding and I ended up doing 3 more weddings just from that free last minute plead.

Just remember you are doing it as a friend and aren't making anything from it so don't worry about things...follow the old amatuer rule take 2 of everything...and then delete as you go unless you have the luxury of several cards.

Don't promise to have the photos though the next day...remember this is digital you can lighten brighten darken and enhance the photos to improve problem spots...just don't delete them from your cards til you have a cd made...I crashed in the middle of editing wedding photos and fortunately I still had the cards to save myself.

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

05/17/2005 05:01:44 PM · #24

I agree with Alan. Shoot a lot, make sure they know what you expect, and go for it!

For formal shots you might want to search for photo checklists on Google.

You don't need a spectacular camera to capture spectacular memories.