Candle light wedding

[chriscorbin]

I was asked by a client to shoot a wedding less than a month away, i gave her the contracts and info sheets, which she filled out, and asked her if there was anything else i needed to know, and just last night she emailed me letting me know that it was a candlelight only wedding

so the question is:

1.have any of you guys ever shot a candlelight wedding, and FYI this is not my first wedding so no, "make sure you bring lots of batteries" responses ok?

2.i feel i have been shafted, i believe that is the sort of info your photographer needs?

 

[taylorwilsdon]

This is definitely something you should have known off the bat. If you're making enough for it to be worthwhile, I would rent (or perhaps purchase) very low light lenses like the 50 1.4 and 85 1.4. If you're not afraid to manually focus, a 50mm 1.2 would give you a little more headroom, but its hard to focus in the dark like that. Since they're looking for the ambiance of a candle lit wedding, a big hunkin' flash is probably not the way to go. Meter off faces, not the candles, or you'll get a whole lot of darkness.

Its a shame you've got the D200, because the high ISO capabilities of the D300 or D700 would really help out. Perhaps you could rent one as well.

 

[obeygiant]

I have one of these this december. I'm planning on using my 85mm 1.2 and my 35mm 1.6 lenses and use a monopod. Of course you could just bump the ISO to 1000 or higher. The resulting grain can be left for character or be corrected somewhat in post production.

This shot is lit entirely with candlelight near the end of the reception.

 

[compuwar]

I was asked by a client to shoot a wedding less than a month away, i gave her the contracts and info sheets, which she filled out, and asked her if there was anything else i needed to know, and just last night she emailed me letting me know that it was a candlelight only wedding

so the question is:

1.have any of you guys ever shot a candlelight wedding, and FYI this is not my first wedding so no, "make sure you bring lots of batteries" responses ok?

2.i feel i have been shafted, i believe that is the sort of info your photographer needs?

Rent a D3, and add it to your checklist during the contract negotiation. Rent early enough to get familiar with the camera in low light as well as the angle of view difference. If you feel totally slighted, add a clause in your contract about last minute fees for changes in material information.

It's business, sometimes your margins are great, sometimes they suck- but it's a word-of-mouth business, make the client happy, chalk it up to experience, adjust your information sheet and keep on going.

If you can't rent a D3, then you should be looking to see what loss you'll take on one of your other bodies, and availability on purchasing a D3 or D700. Personally, I'd go with the D3 for the full viewfinder and backup CF card slot as well as the heavier-duty shutter.


(It looks like Calumet has leasing options on both bodies.)

 

[Digital Skunk]

If you can't rent a D3, then you should be looking to see what loss you'll take on one of your other bodies, and availability on purchasing a D3 or D700. Personally, I'd go with the D3 for the full viewfinder and backup CF card slot as well as the heavier-duty shutter.


(It looks like Calumet has leasing options on both bodies.)

Yes, if you have been shooting weddings before, and hope to do more of it grab a D3 or D700. The extra two stops over the D300 will benefit you more than the saved costs. I agree with Compuwar in getting the D3 if you can. But if money is that tight and the limitations on the D700 aren't a big compromise get it.

Having a candlelight wedding to shoot is just one of the many things that will happen when working with any client. The corporate clients I work with throw me curve balls too, but you just gotta adapt.

And yes, if need be charge them for it.

And yes, your contracts and paper work will change constantly throughout your career.

 

[chriscorbin]

Thanks for the input thus-far, but i called around to some rental shops, and there is just no way i can afford what they charge. This is a budget client, and a friend of a friend, which is the only reason i agreed to shoot it for so little, renting would cost $50 more that what i am charging her

 

[thomahawk]

yay i learned a new thing about low lighting shooting!
i'll go find some candles and start practicing in case this ever happens in the future!

thanks guys and good luck with your wedding shoot!

 

[Digital Skunk]

...renting would cost $50 more that what i am charging her

Then I wouldn't worry about it too much. Not that you shouldn't care AT ALL, just that it shouldn't be a big thing on your mind when you are performing your tasks. Do the best you can with what you do have and get creative.

Use this wedding as a practice in adaptations, and changing your technique with the job you were given.

 

[seanhoytphoto]

I've been using the D3 since it came out and consistently get great results at 3200 at weddings- don't use flashes much anymore unless for minor fill. Combine that with the 24-70 2.8 and it's perfect. Even if you come out with a loss, maybe consider it a marketing expense. You can show future brides how well you can handle low-light situations.

I wouldn't recommend using the wedding as a creative assignment using substandard equipment. When you get the blurry, grainy and color-shifted photos back, you'll have little latitude to correct them and I'd imagine it would be very uncomfortable to tell the bride that you screwed up her wedding photos. It's a reality that photography is just about the only tangible thing you can take away from a wedding. Everything else wilts away, is eaten or drank.

 

[Digital Skunk]

I wouldn't recommend using the wedding as a creative assignment using substandard equipment.

The D200 isn't substandard, and when used correctly can pull off ISO 1600 images with very little chroma noise.

I get what you mean with the D3.

 

[Nikonut]

Thanks for the input thus-far, but i called around to some rental shops, and there is just no way i can afford what they charge. This is a budget client, and a friend of a friend, which is the only reason i agreed to shoot it for so little, renting would cost $50 more that what i am charging her

Wow, With all do respect to the client and yourself cant you request a rehearsal...dry run ? is there time ?

 

[localghost]

Better gear is never the only option.

In your case, i'd use the fact that your client is a friend of a friend to your advantage:

talk to the one that decorates your 'set', convince him to put loads of candles. it will look even better for everyone and they are cheap, enough of them can give you pretty decent light. get some big ones in the same style to put them where you need it, you could even try to built a reflector for one of them that doesn't get noticed as such (think aluminum foil, figure out something small and pretty).

Tell them that their pictures will be black and white, because it looks better (it will). Find a cheap noise reduction software. Practice!

Don’t try to make your pictures look much brighter than they are. Practice some more.