My First Wedding (Photographed helper)

[angeldevil212]

My brother in law get married in a couple weeks so he contract a professional photograph for this day but I want too make a couple shoot to get more experience now:
This is my equipment Nikon D80, Speed-light SB-600, 2 lens 18-50 dx & 50-200 Vr. I`m really new in this world my dad give me this equipment but I don`t know how to use. I'm photoshop guy but not photograph.
I study the d80 manual & get this video Trough the eyes of a pro but I still help

 

[miloblithe]

Do you have any specific questions?

One thing I'd do is plan on briefly talking to the pro early in the day. If you're lucky, the pro might be willing to give you advice through the day if you are one, nice, and two, don't get in their way at crucial moments. They're getting paid and weddings are fast and the stakes are high. Don't screw things up for them. That said, if you understand that, in my (limited) experience, most photographers are glad to share tips.

In the meantime, get books about wedding photography from your library, and look at wedding pictures, and try to understand what you'll need to do in terms of camera settings, timing, and interaction with your subjects.

And lastly, it probably mostly makes sense to stay out of the pro's way. Try to photograph things that the pro might miss, like guests, details, etc.

 

[ejb190]

One thing to keep in mind is that time is the biggest problem at a wedding. The 104 shots the bride wants of the wedding party at the church cuts into the arrival time at the reception where the guests are hungry and getting cranky. I would say time management is the biggest thing to work on with weddings after taking quality photos.

If you do a few searches, you can find wedding photo checklists on-line. Take a look at those for some ideas as well.

 

[EricNau]

From my experience of attending weddings, it seems the photographer's management skills are just as important as his/her photography skills.

You have to know the area, and have planned out where you'll be standing during the wedding for each shot, plus know where you'll be taking posed group photos after the wedding/during the reception. It looks pretty bad when you have the bride and groom waiting while you're trying to find the perfect spot. ...You want to be as organized as possible so you don't waste any time.


Those things said, that's for the hired pro to manage. As others have said, stay out of their way, and collaborate with him/her prior to the wedding (not while they're working, mind you) and they will most likely be helpful.

 

[CanadaRAM]

The pro might refuse to allow you to take shots that they have staged/posed. Almost certainly they will not allow you to take a camera into their studio if the wedding party is getting studio shots.

 

[Doylem]

Yeah... don't get in the way of the guy who's been hired to do the pix. It's a pressurised job (you can't re-stage a wedding just because the photographer screwed up ). He will have a long list of photos that have to be taken... so maybe you could concentrate on what he WON'T be doing: ie more informal shots of people enjoying the festivities, rather than the posed, 'staged' set-pieces. You know the kind of thing: drunken uncles, pretty bridesmaids, dads dancing, the best man snogging one of the brdesmaids... that kind of thing. Plenty of opportunity at the reception to get candid shots.

I've photographed a few weddings... but only ever on this casual, informal basis: shots that won't go into the formal wedding album, but which may bring back more memories, in the years to come, than the starchy posed pix.

And I'm not sure a time-pressed wedding photographer will have the opportunity to tutor you on the big day. So don't be tugging at his sleeve to ask what f-stop he's using.

 

[nc7r]

I've got the D80 and some **** too.

If I were you, if the day is fairly bright or you're using your flash, put the flash on TTL-Auto (buttons on the flash) then Go in to Menu, Settings, ISO and put it to 200 or 250.

Then when your camera's on and lens cap off, Turn your top dial to 'A' for aperture priority, then the camera will work out what shutter length is needed with the available light and F-Stop number.

Hold the button to the right of the shutter release (has +/- on I think) and then turn the thumb wheel to the right, seeing on the display your F number should go down to something like F2.8 or at least F4.

Take a couple of test photos and if they come out too dark then bump your ISO up to anything below 800 if needs be.

If you follow that you shouldn't go wrong really. If you've got any more questions feel free to post here or message me. Good luck!

 

[ftaok]

One thing to remember is to turn off the AF-Assist Lamp. I'm not sure if dSLRs have them, but I was scolded by a pro for having mine turned on. It was messing with her shots somehow.

ft

 

[angeldevil212]

Thanks

Thank`s guys you help me a lot, i just go to take a couple shoot, because a want to enjoy the party too.
but i want to test my skill a little,

 

[miloblithe]

Wait a minute. Does your sister know that your brother in law is getting married?

 

[GoCubsGo]

I've got the D80 and some **** too.

If I were you, if the day is fairly bright or you're using your flash, put the flash on TTL-Auto (buttons on the flash) then Go in to Menu, Settings, ISO and put it to 200 or 250.

Then when your camera's on and lens cap off, Turn your top dial to 'A' for aperture priority, then the camera will work out what shutter length is needed with the available light and F-Stop number.

Hold the button to the right of the shutter release (has +/- on I think) and then turn the thumb wheel to the right, seeing on the display your F number should go down to something like F2.8 or at least F4.

Take a couple of test photos and if they come out too dark then bump your ISO up to anything below 800 if needs be.

If you follow that you shouldn't go wrong really. If you've got any more questions feel free to post here or message me. Good luck!

I'm confused and considered PM'g you but maybe my confusion and your answers will help clear things up and maybe help the OP.
If I have my flash and say the max sync speed is 1/250th then using "A" and allowing the camera to adjust shutter accordingly, wouldn't using the flash sort of restrict me to a few shutter speed options?

To your next point, I was unaware that using the +/- button (which I always thought was exposure compensation) changed my displayed f-stop. For example, if I choose to shoot at f/4 and I set my camera on "A" then what do I choose as my base f/stop? Do I pick f/4 and then mess with +/-? Or does +/- actually change my f-stop from say f/4 to f/2.8 if my lens goes that low?

To the point of your ISO being changed to compensate for under-exposed images. So if use the +/- to open up to f/2.8, assuming I can, and I set my camera to "A" and I use my flash (sb-600) on auto-TTL then all I have to do is go up to ISO 400-800? Using a flash? This is where I got lost.

Just curious, do you have any sample photos that came from the d80 using a sb-600 and the setting you've shared?

To angeldevil212, I think if you just enjoy the wedding and take snapshots using your new camera you'd probably be less stressed. Leave the "testing of your skills" for perhaps more toned-down events like single person portraits. There is a ton to learn about wedding photography and I just don't know if you have enough time. Did the DVD help at all?

 

[Mike Teezie]

Be sensitive to what the photographer is doing, and you should be ok. I know some photogs who won't allow any pictures to be taken at weddings they shoot.

Whatever you do, do NOT use your flash while the pro is working.

At my wedding last weekend, some idiot was taking pictures with a disposable while I was shooting formals. After about the third time, I had to stop what I was doing and ask him to stop.

He probably thought I was a dick, but I don't care. They paid me a lot of money to shoot their wedding, not him.