HELP
Brian Jones
pretty good at wildlife pics ive never actually taken weddings.
I have a canon eos elanII with the 28-70mm
What all do i need to take good pics inside??
and also any tips would be very helpful!
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BRIAN JONES
WEBMASTER
HORIZON COMPUTER SOLUTIONS
740-772-8736
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ace40
here address your equiptment questions. I'm only offering my
opinion and advise. Give this job a lot of thought before you
decide to photograph this wedding. There is a lot that can go
wrong at a wedding for a photographer without wedding
photography experience. Keep in mind that any shots that don't
turn out perfect can make a newlywed bride rather emotional and
upset. In her mind, this is the most important day of her
life. Talk with the bride and groom a lot so there are no
surprizes. I sound rather burned out about weddings, don't I.
Guess that's why I don't shoot them anymore. Just realize that
there's a lot more to shooting a wedding than just shooting a
wedding. Good luck
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
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MontePhoto
>Help me..Ive had someone ask me to take wedding pictures..even though im
>pretty good at wildlife pics ive never actually taken weddings.
>I have a canon eos elanII with the 28-70mm
>What all do i need to take good pics inside??
>and also any tips would be very helpful!
I have a paintbrush and I have painted my house before, and I am pretty good at
it. A friend wants me to paint a portrait of her family at a once in a
lifetime reunion....
My tip is: DON'T ACCEPT THIS JOB!!
Wildlife "pics" and weddings are exact opposites. I photograph weddings as a
professional and I also run a full time portrait studio. You should not even
THINK of doing this - especially if the Bride & Groom are friends. NO, NO, NO
!
Decline and let a professional do the job.
Do you have back up equipment of every single piece of gear? (Camera body,
lenses, flashes, etc.) Equipment can breakdown. Do you know how to light
interior photographs? The fact that you are even asking for tips, tells me you
should not consider this job. You have admitted it already - read your own
post - you don't know what you are doing. (not a put-down, you simply enjoy a
different type of photography).
Say no, and go to the wedding as a guest.
Monte
SPECTRUM
>My tip is: DON'T ACCEPT THIS JOB!!
<SNIP>
>Say no, and go to the wedding as a guest.
>Monte
Don't hold back now ! Let'em know exactly what you think !
And FWIW I agree. Like most, he doesn't have any idea what
he's asking for.
Regards,
John S. Douglas
Photographer, webmaster and P/T darkroom wizard !
WORLD FIELD PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOC.
Think BIG ! Really BIG !
zeitgeist
hope that the folks who are advising you to run for the
hills have the concept of a social pagent in mind, you know,
the half dozen brides'maids and all. However, the average
wedding is a dozen folks packed into the judge's chambers, a
wedding mill chapel, the parents livingroom.
Maybe the couple is a little more ambitious and there are
fifty to a hundred in a community center or an Elk's club,
the church's rec hall, or a gazebo and picnic area in a town
park. This bride might even have an official wedding dress.
We all "know' that a Future Wedding Photographer of America
must spend years and years carrying the bags of one of the
true practioners of the Art, (and not just some hack weekend
warrior.) And that only after graduating with honors from a
prestigous fine arts school.
Lets get real, it is not brain surgery, the average wedding
photographer started when someone asked them to shoot their
wedding and not because they realized one day while talking
to their guidance counselor that it was the best career path
besides grave digging, McDonalds or writing code.
Heck, my second roll of film was my first wedding and
despite suggestions from loved ones, I do not need therapy
for my Photo Trauma Syndrom, my images were not the cause of
their subsequent divorce.
So, what should you do when asked by your best friend, or
client.
First, don't try to assume responcibility to master an
entire new specialty. It is not possible, assess what you
are capable of doing, take it up a level.
The biggest problems in wedding photography is
misunderstandings with the couple. Everybody "knows' what
wedding pictures are all about, you know, pictures. I mean
we all know what a wedding dress is, what a wedding cake is.
You need to get the couple on the same page as you. They
need to know what you expect of them and both of you need to
know what you are capable of.
So do an engagement portrait. Take the couple out, have a
picnic, stage a typical outing, restage their first date.
The point of this is you will develope a working
relationship that will carry over to the wedding day. If
you will be doing traditional photos, work at a slow
deliberate pace without being obvious. After a roll, notice
that it's taken half an hour or so and mention that if you
have time at the wedding you will be able to work in such a
creative way. You can try out some poses, and both of you
can see the results and if you suck, well, the couple have
time to deal with their expectations and/or budget.
I mean, couples will have a rehearsal to figure out that
they will walk down the center aisle at an excruiatingly
slow pace. But never consider rehersing their photographer
and what that will entail. I notice a vast difference
between couples that I have worked with on an engagement
portrait and not. The wedding photos become something they
look forward to, rather than another distraction, another
chore to do. Sometimes it seems that the couples get a
photographer cause it's on the list of things to do in the
guide book.
The second thing I would want, especially if you were an
amatuer is to have the couple pose for the portraits before
the wedding. You can work with their full attention without
a lot of distractions, it is your time, not time taken away
from the reception and family.
Anyway, go get the wedding photo faq that Karen Simmons
keeps.
And I'll start posting about wedding stuff too.
SPECTRUM
wrote:
>There are weddings and there are social pagents. I would
>hope that the folks who are advising you to run for the
>hills have the concept of a social pagent in mind, you know,
>the half dozen brides'maids and all. However, the average
>wedding is a dozen folks packed into the judge's chambers, a
>wedding mill chapel, the parents livingroom.
>Maybe the couple is a little more ambitious and there are
>fifty to a hundred in a community center or an Elk's club,
>the church's rec hall, or a gazebo and picnic area in a town
>park. This bride might even have an official wedding dress.
Allen I think we are going to differ here. Of course this
might be a regional observation but I know of a lot of people who had
the "pageant" and then of course I know of a few people that simply
eloped, went to Vegas or some other "wedding town" and did the deed.
OTOH I know of but 3 weddings that actually took place in/on a
persons/families property . 3 out of several hundred.
>We all "know' that a Future Wedding Photographer of America
>must spend years and years carrying the bags of one of the
>true practioners of the Art, (and not just some hack weekend
>warrior.) And that only after graduating with honors from a
>prestigous fine arts school.
>
>Lets get real, it is not brain surgery,
Nor is it a past-time for camera club practitioners.
> the average wedding
>photographer started when someone asked them to shoot their
>wedding
Guess I'm not average after all as I was asked to be an
assistant for a studio. One of the photographers there was familiar
with my work and hired me on a day rate.
>So, what should you do when asked by your best friend, or
>client.
>
>First, don't try to assume responcibility to master an
>entire new specialty. It is not possible, assess what you
>are capable of doing, take it up a level.
>
>The biggest problems in wedding photography is
>misunderstandings with the couple. Everybody "knows' what
>wedding pictures are all about, you know, pictures. I mean
>we all know what a wedding dress is, what a wedding cake is.
Yes but these are subjects. Light is the art.
>You need to get the couple on the same page as you. They
>need to know what you expect of them and both of you need to
>know what you are capable of.
"A man's got to know his limits." Eastwood.
The rest of your advice is quite sound but IMO the "average"
hobbyist has no business trying to cover someones wedding. Not as the
only "official" photographer.
HOLLIS6475
>A friend wants me to paint a portrait of her family at a once in a
>lifetime reunion....
Monte,
There are sites for Body painting, I have a airles sprayer, that should cover
a body in a few moments.
H.
reply to Point...@AOL.COM (this address is closed for a while the spammer
have got it)
Skip
for many years, now. It was "The best way to lose a friend is to shoot
his wedding!" So far, I haven't lost any friends!
Skip
SPECTRUM wrote:
>
> On 05 Feb 2000 05:00:38 GMT, monte...@aol.com (MontePhoto) wrote:
>
> >My tip is: DON'T ACCEPT THIS JOB!!
>
> <SNIP>
>
> >Say no, and go to the wedding as a guest.
> >Monte
>
> Don't hold back now ! Let'em know exactly what you think !
>
> And FWIW I agree. Like most, he doesn't have any idea what
> he's asking for.
>
> Regards,
>
> John S. Douglas
> Photographer, webmaster and P/T darkroom wizard !
> WORLD FIELD PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOC.
> Think BIG ! Really BIG !
--
Shadowcatcher Imagery
http://members.tripod.com/~shadowcatcherimagery/index.htm
Graham Alcock
i.r. triggers. As the people walk through the i.r. beams they will take
their own pics.
Should be just up your street!
;}
fastshooter
It will be somewhere for the couple to go for a little nature.
C. J. Morgan
>Help me..Ive had someone ask me to take wedding pictures..even though im
>pretty good at wildlife pics ive never actually taken weddings.
>I have a canon eos elanII with the 28-70mm
>What all do i need to take good pics inside??
>and also any tips would be very helpful!
Get someone else to shoot the wedding. No disrespect, but you're out of
your league. Nevertheless, if you see yourself wanting to do more and
more of this, become the "unofficial wedding photographer." This will
afford you an opportunity to practice without the immediate pressure of
having to deliver, as it were. And then, once you've done this a bit,
you'll be better prepared to shoot under pressure with more confidence.
But don't kid yourself, couples have expectations from their "official
photographer," and it's not the kind of situation well advised to go in
to if you're currently thinking "help."
C.J.
--
C.J. Morgan
ch...@torfree.net
WReid17537
>>pretty good at wildlife pics ive never actually taken weddings.
>>I have a canon eos elanII with the 28-70mm
>>What all do i need to take good pics inside??
>>and also any tips would be very helpfu
I'm not familiar with the Canon line of dedicated flashes, but I would
recommend getting their most powerful one. My trusty old Vivitar 283 works
fine. Most large libraries carry photo books that can tell you what shots to
get; I think one is by Robert and Sheila Hurth. Try Fuji NPH film. Try to back
up every piece of equipment assuming something will break. You may find that
you're good at it, and actually enjoy it. I, and a couple of my camera club
buddies, have been doing it for years and making good money on the side. We can
do it a lot cheaper than the full-time studios. Good luck.