Yes I noticed we haven't heard from him. I hope he didn't get attacked by the bride.
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Videographer turning photographer for wedding..
- Thread starter salacious
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That was one of my guesses but I'm hoping it went well and all the moments have been successfully captured!
This is one of those situations where one hopes for the best but fears for a…..different outcome. The fact that we haven't heard back from him is……interesting. For all of that, I truly hope that it went well, for everybody's sake.
Google bad wedding photos. Theres some great ones! As long as the OP did better than these, he should be fine!
Google bad wedding photos. Theres some great ones! As long as the OP did better than these, he should be fine!
Hm, yes.
But this is an area where you really are supposed to, and expected to, get it right. And they have a right to expect you to get it right - it is a very big day for them after all.
Moreover, it is not as though you can ask them to re-run - or replay - certain key moments just because your flash wasn't lined up properly.
This is an area where basic composition skills, - learning to see what works and what doesn't - where the light falls, and how, what your backdrop is - is of huge importance. And, unfortunately, a lot of people think they are naturals when - in fact - they are actually pretty visually illiterate.
Thanks for your replies, the wedding is tomorrow, I cannot refuse at this stage
I like to think I have good composition skills, I have my nikon d3200 which I will take as my second body with a 35mm slapped on.
I usually take all my photos without flash, how essential is flash?
You are completely screwed...
A good friend of mine is of Scottish descent and when her brother got married he decided to wear the family tartan. The newlyweds intended to present the families with framed photos of the clans gathered around the seated couple. However, when the enlargements came back from the lab it was immediately apparent that the groom had 'gone regimental'. This friend enlisted me to to do some touch up work in hopes of camouflaging said regiment - she of course found it highly amusing that no one no bothered to say anything at the time the photos were taken which meant that every single group photo in existence featured this extra family member.
Thankfully all of this pre-dates the digital/social media revolution. God save the OP if he/she encountered kilts over the weekend...
Thankfully all of this pre-dates the digital/social media revolution. God save the OP if he/she encountered kilts over the weekend...
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Very good story, and a salutary and cautionary tale to those who contemplate 'going regimental' in such circumstances. Yes, I can well imagine the dilemma - manners, and decorum, battling the desire (thwarted) to possibly remedy matters.
But, yes, in the meantime, we await the return (and report) of the OP……...
well... what an experience 
I took over 3,000 pictures (nerves, inexperience, wanting to make sure I didnt miss anything)
it was tiring, having left at 5:40am to travel to my destination for an 8:30am arrival, I began taking pictures at 9am, I didnt stop until 12am that night!
I believe I have captured alot of memories and great pictures and am actually pleased with myself, especially since I had not used the 5dmk2 before, using it with the flash and lens was extremely heavy (GH4 user) but I managed to keep iso at 3200 max and have gotten nice results.
I have shown some pics to newlyweds and they love them, I have 3 weeks to finish the photos and present a dvd and usb to them, I will upload the best ones to my flickr account and post them, they arent like the constructed posed ones you will see from professional photographers because my objective was to capture everything natural, the only thing constructed was the group shots after the ceremony and the cutting cake, the rest all natural.
I survived and nearly suffered a heart attack on the day due to nerves but as always I got over it and continued.
Im happy and even got another guy who wants to see the finished photos who may want to hire me after I quoted him a price for video and photos..
and I didnt reply straight away because I work 2 jobs and have 2 children (one with autism) so my time is limited including the filmmaking.
but thanks all anyway, your words spurred me on and made me more determined to prove I could do this and I feel I have done a great job considering...
I took over 3,000 pictures (nerves, inexperience, wanting to make sure I didnt miss anything)it was tiring, having left at 5:40am to travel to my destination for an 8:30am arrival, I began taking pictures at 9am, I didnt stop until 12am that night!
I believe I have captured alot of memories and great pictures and am actually pleased with myself, especially since I had not used the 5dmk2 before, using it with the flash and lens was extremely heavy (GH4 user) but I managed to keep iso at 3200 max and have gotten nice results.
I have shown some pics to newlyweds and they love them, I have 3 weeks to finish the photos and present a dvd and usb to them, I will upload the best ones to my flickr account and post them, they arent like the constructed posed ones you will see from professional photographers because my objective was to capture everything natural, the only thing constructed was the group shots after the ceremony and the cutting cake, the rest all natural.
I survived and nearly suffered a heart attack on the day due to nerves but as always I got over it and continued.
Im happy and even got another guy who wants to see the finished photos who may want to hire me after I quoted him a price for video and photos..
and I didnt reply straight away because I work 2 jobs and have 2 children (one with autism) so my time is limited including the filmmaking.
but thanks all anyway, your words spurred me on and made me more determined to prove I could do this and I feel I have done a great job considering...
Glad you survived! More importantly glad the couple are happy with what they have seen. Happy editing.well... what an experience
it was tiring, having left at 5:40am to travel to my destination for an 8:30am arrival, I began taking pictures at 9am, I didnt stop until 12am that night!
I believe I have captured alot of memories and great pictures and am actually pleased with myself, especially since I had not used the 5dmk2 before, using it with the flash and lens was extremely heavy (GH4 user) but I managed to keep iso at 3200 max and have gotten nice results.
I have shown some pics to newlyweds and they love them, I have 3 weeks to finish the photos and present a dvd and usb to them, I will upload the best ones to my flickr account and post them, they arent like the constructed posed ones you will see from professional photographers because my objective was to capture everything natural, the only thing constructed was the group shots after the ceremony and the cutting cake, the rest all natural.
I survived and nearly suffered a heart attack on the day due to nerves but as always I got over it and continued.
Im happy and even got another guy who wants to see the finished photos who may want to hire me after I quoted him a price for video and photos..
and I didnt reply straight away because I work 2 jobs and have 2 children (one with autism) so my time is limited including the filmmaking.
but thanks all anyway, your words spurred me on and made me more determined to prove I could do this and I feel I have done a great job considering...
as a professional photographer and videographer. I wouldn't touch a wedding without two cameras and a two high end lenses. Most of the wedding ive covered as a videographer ive always noticed the photographer were in pairs and had two cameras. Never nothing less than a mark 3 and L lenses. So for me. I wouldn't touch it unless I had those in my arsenal. Weddings are definitely not something to experiment on.
as a professional photographer and videographer. I wouldn't touch a wedding without two cameras and a two high end lenses. Most of the wedding ive covered as a videographer ive always noticed the photographer were in pairs and had two cameras. Never nothing less than a mark 3 and L lenses. So for me. I wouldn't touch it unless I had those in my arsenal. Weddings are definitely not something to experiment on.
Pretty much my thoughts as well.
To @salacious, I'm very glad for you that it went well, although I'll confess that I had my doubts.
I did miss out on the groomsman getting ready but they werent bothered and I was the only person so not alot I could do, running back and forth was out of the question.
two photographers + 1 videographer is probably a more ideal package and is something I will look into should I get hired to do another wedding.
for the money though weddings are an easy money maker and the work isnt that hard, its just long.
two photographers + 1 videographer is probably a more ideal package and is something I will look into should I get hired to do another wedding.
for the money though weddings are an easy money maker and the work isnt that hard, its just long.
This. My wife's a photographer and has done weddings. Don't do this without a backup photographer. A slightly inexperienced backup photographer is usually fine, but if you're both inexperienced...maybe find a backup shooter that at least slightly knows what they're doing. Or get two.
Also, video editing and photo editing can be pretty different. Got Lightroom?
There's also quite a bit of procedure to a wedding. Are you meeting up beforehand for a family photo shoot? Do you have a location in mind? Are you prepared to handle squabbling family members, in-laws who want to take over all the planning, etc? Do you have lighting equipment, if indoors and necessary? Do they want to have some sort of bride reveal? You have to be somewhat involved with all the planning as a photographer.
And, are you prepared to review thousands of photos and edit perhaps several hundred?
Photographers get paid several hundred dollars an hour at the shoot because for every hour of shooting there's going to be 3-4 hours of editing.
EDIT: Didn't see the update. Glad it went well
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I'm guessing that very hard working professional wedding photographers may disagree.
Well, they might agree on the long part. I think people (non-wedding-photographers) see the "Woah, I can get $200/hr taking photos?" and never imagine the fact that they're going to be doing 20+ hours of selection and editing through a couple thousand photos.
Weddings are easy money? Ha!
No offence, but I'm guessing you didn't do as good a job as you think you did.
No offence, but I'm guessing you didn't do as good a job as you think you did.
I am anxious to see some of his images...
3000+ images is more than double what an average wedding photographer takes
3000+ images is more than double what an average wedding photographer takes
Says who?
Wouldn't it be better to "overshoot" it, go home with 3K images, make 3/4 of them vanish then deliver the winners? As opposed to "undershooting" it?
And why even bother to compare a literal first-timer to an "average wedding photographer"?
i've shot a wedding before (with the iPhone 4 when it was first released) but it was more of an emergency as my friend couldn't find any videographers available for a price they could afford, so I offered to step in and use my cell phone and well, even an iPhone 4 720p HD is better than nothing. I actually did a pretty decent job with it, they were happy with it.
Says who?
Wouldn't it be better to "overshoot" it, go home with 3K images, make 3/4 of them vanish then deliver the winners? As opposed to "undershooting" it?
And why even bother to compare a literal first-timer to an "average wedding photographer"?
Not really.
Spray and prey is not a good attitude to have.
It stops you scouting the scene and ensuring that you are taking the right pictures. Digital spoils us.
I am just like everyone else and keen to see some samples of the shots!
Agreed. I'm not condoning it. But, what's your metric? What number of shots equates to "spraying & praying"? The OP shot for 15 hours. (Ouch!) 3,000 shots. It averages out to 200 images an hour. Sorry, I don't personally think that qualifies as spray and pray. But again, who sets that standard? The fellow that suggested that the OP took 2x too many shots? Don't forget: we are discussing a first-timer here.
You're talking about taking the "right pictures"? Great tactic! Because even ONE frame of the "wrong picture" is still a dud! My point was: there are worse strategies than overshooting. I look at weddings like we're trying to come home with a series of micro-stories. Stories told in single frames. Like a ring going on a finger. So, assuming composition & lighting are all good, the next factor is timing. You can wait for that one "perfect" moment and fire a single shot, knowing that you nailed it — or you can "spray" a dozen shots. I go somewhere in between. Maybe 3 frames? Otherwise, what happens if I only take the one then later discover that a lovely set of half-blinking eyes, on my bride, ruins the shot completely? One of my key moments just died and there's nothing I can do about it. If I've got 3, I'm rejecting 2 and telling that story in one frame and moving on.
We're getting too caught up in this quality vs. quantity thing, as if they're mutually exclusive. They're not. You can have one or the other, or neither, or both. What's wrong with coming home with "too many" of the "right pictures"? I'm perfectly alright with that flavor of overshooting. If you're an experienced wedding photographer and you're truly spraying and praying, you're a hack. But the very first time out of the gate… it's to be expected. Who here, shot their first wedding and took the "ideal" number of shots? And what kind of gauge would that be anyway? With weddings, there are a hell of a lot more pitfalls than merely overshooting.
Besides, our OP was happy. The bride and groom are happy. What else matters really?
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