The Nature, Wildlife and Pet Photography Forum - Fine Art Landscape Photography

Help would be appreciated

Posted By: ConnieM

Help would be appreciated - 07/03/08 04:39 PM

I've gotten myself into something that I really would prefer not doing....but I have no choice, and with that, I need to try and do the best job I possibly can. To explain, my nieces daughter is getting married in Oct...they have no money for a photographer....yes, I explained to them how important a professional photographer is to capture their memories but, they have no budget for one and asked me if I could do my best...yikes! I was going to try and politely back out, since I don't do people photography but then this past weekend the soon to be groom was in a car accident, in turn having xrays done to make sure all was well, they find out he has testicular cancer! He is only 20 years old. So, if they need my help I am more than willing to give it a shot...and from now until Oct I will be reading every wedding forum possible to get ideas....now to my big question.....the only gear I have is my canon 100-400...canon 70-300 and a canon 50mm lens..I have the canon 580exII flash..I need to purchase a wide angle lens (oh, the wedding is on a paddleboat) I know nothing about wide angle lenses or which would work better...I prefer not to get a prime but a telephoto so I can use it later as a walk around general lens. I've been looking at the canon 17-55 2.8 ....In your opinion would this lens work for wedding shots? Should I be looking at something different?????? Not sure how tight quarters will be on the paddleboat. They have the entire boat for 4 hours, three decks and they will be married on the top deck, I just hope its slightly overcast that day!
My heart goes out to these kids, the excitement of getting married and now the uncertainty of what is to come.

Connie
Posted By: Jim Garvie

Re: Help would be appreciated - 07/03/08 05:47 PM

Connie,
first of all, your "donation" to their wedding will be greatly appreciated. It's a lovely gift.

Secondly, you might want to consider renting the equipment you need just for this event rather than purchasing. There are several good rental companies and they have everything you could possibly need -- including. . .

An extra body: you may want to minimize the number of times you change lenses and this is the best way I know.

The 17-55 F2.8 IS is a great lens and it will do a lot for you. You might want to rent the 10-22 wide-angle zoom just for those total room shots. Also, if you plan to shoot available light for most of this, you might also consider renting the 70-200 F2.8 IS. It's a great wedding lens.

The 580 flash unit will be great for portraits or fill light. Especially for the reception.

I'd advise you read up on the basic approaches to wedding photography (traditional/formal and journalistic) and ask the bride & groom which style they prefer. Also, figure out which style you prefer. If everyone's in agreement, then your work should meet their expectations which is always nice.

Also, figure out how you'll deliver the images -- prints, a book, digital picture frame, album, etc. Again, managing expectations is the hardest part of wedding photography in my opinion. Which is why I am loath to do it .

So, in brief, if you want to purchase some equipment and this gives you a good excuse then fine but if you'd really rather not purchase, renting is a very good option. If you and the bride & groom are on the same page about what type of images you'll shoot and how you'll deliver them, then they won't be disappointed. And that's the most important thing. I have no doubt you'll do an outstanding job.

PS if in doubt, let me know where the wedding will be and I'll try to help out.

Jim
Posted By: RomanJohnston

Re: Help would be appreciated - 07/03/08 06:12 PM

Jim's advice is spot on. Rental instead of buying is the economical way to go. The faster glass will help quite a bit. I covered a few weddings and have another outdoor one next month. I used the 17-55 (nikon version...but should be about the same quality) and my Sigma 70-200 both excellent lenses for this kind of duty....I brought my 12-24 but didnt end up using it much.

Sorry to hear about the bad news, but happy to understand they inadvertently they found it.....and hopefully can get a handle on it because they found it in time. Mixed blessing I suppose. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.

As for setting expetations....I usually do weddings because I know them (AND they dont have much money) or....somone referred me and AGAIN...they dont have much money.

I just let them know....I am a landscape photographer....and while I do know my camera well....I dont do flash photography much and while I will do my best to get it all to the best of my ability....the fact it is out of my niche makes it prone to some shots maybe getting boogered up or not coming out as I would like.

Roman
Posted By: Jim Poor

Re: Help would be appreciated - 07/03/08 06:54 PM

I've never done a bit of wedding photography, but I read everything I can. One of the pieces of advice that sounded really good to me was to "stage" certain shots that may be hard to get during the ceremony.

You can do them before or after. There is also a lot of good wedding talk here : http://www.nikondigital.org/forums/photo/
in the Wedding and Event section.
Posted By: Peggy Sue

Re: Help would be appreciated - 07/03/08 07:10 PM

Sorry for the bad news. I am sure you will try your best. I agree with all that has been said. If you have a friend or someone else to work with, ask them to shoot at different angles than you. Or, get a bunch of disposable cameras and hand them out to some guests (not kids). You get the developing done at one place and that way you could cull what you want.

When I would do weddings, I would ask the couples if they wanted an album and how they pictured it would "read". Was it a story of the two of them or concentrating on all the guests? I would overshoot like crazy. You can always cull, but you cannot get back what you do not have. And have back up!

Great luck to you and Jim would be a great assistant!
Posted By: RomanJohnston

Re: Help would be appreciated - 07/03/08 08:50 PM

Oh...another tip is to go on line to Scott Kelby Training videos and subscribe for $19.00 @ Month as they have a lot of shooting as well as PP tutorials on there geared toward wedding photography.

Scott Kelby Training Here

Roman
Posted By: wallyspop

Re: Help would be appreciated - 07/03/08 10:38 PM

Connie, I just shot my nephews wedding in NY this past weekend. I have shot weddings before and I would be happy to talk you through some tips. Let me think about how I can respond or maybe if you email me I can give you my number and you can call or send me your number and I'll call you. There are a ton of things to think about. I'm assuming you do shoot with a Canon based on your lens thought above. I'll also see if I can post a few images from this wedding I just did.
Posted By: wallyspop

Re: Help would be appreciated - 07/03/08 10:45 PM

OK, these don't have final edits and they are not even cropped yet but here are some samples from shooting my nephews wedding this past weekend. By the way, the little guy is my awesome 4 yr old grandson.




Posted By: ConnieM

Re: Help would be appreciated and Thank You - 07/05/08 10:17 PM

Thank you for all your responses, I am determined to do the best I can. I guess I will purchase the Canon 17-55 as I need a wide angle lens anyway. I am relatively new to photography, just getting a Rebel XTI about a year and a half ago and the flash just recently so in the next month or so I will be doing crash courses in people photography. Now I could kick myself for not purchasing the new 40D but I wanted to hold out until next year to see what the 50D has to offer,I will check out rental prices but if its too cost prohibitive I'll just have to make due with the XTI.
My plans were to have a bunch of 4 x 6's printed out and just one framed 8 x 10 and give them the disk of the rest of the photos, naturally I will take out any bad ones beforehand.
Regarding photoshop....well...all I have is Paint Shop Pro 7 and am self taught on that. So I won't be doing tons of editing on the photos, just the normal levels, sharpening and such. I've already explained this to my niece and she understands.
Thank you all so much for the info, I really appreciate it
Connie
Posted By: ConnieM

Re: Help would be appreciated - 07/05/08 10:23 PM

Jim, Thank you so much for the offer to help....but unfortunately the wedding will be in Pittsburg Pa.
I will check into rental fees for the 70-200 and possibly the 40D and will be reading as much as possible. I have already been scouring the wedding forums and now have the utmost respect for wedding photographers!!! I will never again complain when a bird flys off just before I take a shot!
Connie
Posted By: ConnieM

Re: Help would be appreciated - 07/05/08 10:32 PM

Bob, If I can come even close to the photos you posted I will be happy. They are beautiful!!
If you don't mind I would love to give you a call and get some pointers. I've already started making notes but have tons of questions.
I took my daughter and grandkids out to the park two days ago and got some practice in. Found out I have a lot to learn about photographing people.
again, Thank you so much
Connie
Posted By: wallyspop

Re: Help would be appreciated - 07/06/08 02:44 AM

Connie, thanks for the compliments. I can post a few more when I get a chance. I just sent you a private message with my number. If you get a chance give me a ring tomorrow and I'll try to help. Talk to you soon.

By the way, you should see the private message on the screen right after you login on this forum.
© 2024 The Nature, Wildlife and Pet Photography Forum