Preparation for wedding photography

[rocketman122]

Dont really know what a 'Chuppa' is but I do kow that if you have a wedding with 300'ish people it would be crowded. My friends wedding will be low key, but at the ceremony everyone will be standing. Luckily for me I already have an idea about getting up higher or I can sneak around the sides lower I just have to be careful not to twist an ankle or the likes. I know its going to be alot of fun and that is what it is all about. I am meeting my friend the bride a few days before the wedding and we will discuss ideas and places. She has given me an idea of the 'posed' shots she would like but there is nothing in concrete and we will play it by ear. It will be alot of fun. The reception is out the back of an old brewery so I am hoping its not too busy as there are some great places inside there that we can get some great shots. Here is a quick link shwoing the outside - https://littlecreatures.com.au/venues/1-fremantle-brewery

Chuppa is the alter for jewish ceremonies. 300 is nothing. usually its much more. it gets crazy! not sure how it is there, but US weddings are usually 100-250 max. were 300 on the low end. ive done many weddings with 500 people and a few that were way more. one that had 900 people.

low key is good. its what you need. to be able to focus and get the shots you need. it will give you space to move around as well.

for the alter, you have to be smack dab right in the middle Scott. the pic above allowed me to do it because we are 2 stills photographers. I can allow myself to be creative and get shots I wouldnt get if I was by myself. you have to stay put. get the folks walking in, walk a bit back catch some shots quickly then back. its all on you. also, those who get in your way with their phones, ask them kindly but assertively to move to the side. people will shove their cameras and phones without a care in the world whether they get in your way or not. although you can get great pics of them taking pics.

regarding what she has in mind, reminds me of a clinet who shows the hair stylist a picture of how they want their hair styled but just dont have the hair to pull it off. try to work with them. do the best you can. all I will say is, list, planning, talking, whatever, bottom line, many times all that gets thrown out the window. so really take the situation as it is. many brides change their minds so many times its not even funny.

looks very interesting that brewery. go before hand and ask permission to get in on the day to photograph. tell them youll give them some pics afterwards but with your credit on it. u might consider doing some enlargements (although im sure they have a few already) to place on some walls. what about the beach?

also sometimes you can stay in place and "follow" the subject and get nice succession shots like those I posted. I make believe like im going, walk away then snipe them with the 70-200. one eye in the VF and one always looking around. I wish I had a 3rd eye haha. when I shot the first, I was with the father and his baby and I came showed interest. I came and caressed the baby, then walked away. the father was proud and picked up the baby and I got the moment. I help them along, or I "set them up" so I can get my shots. I knew I would make it a silhouette and I didnt want any of the background showing through to spoil the moment. so overexposed the background lanscape out the window.

 

[rocketman122]

Hilarious! I did my comeback this year before the summer started. well beginning of 2013. so I was tagging along with my best friend till I got up to speed. and im looking through the photos I did throughout this time, and im so embarrassed. what garbage (for the level I used to be before my gear was stolen-watch your gear Scott). thank god there was other photogs there. tons of out of focus, horrible composition, just so slow to react. I still have some ways to go but I was out of the biz for a few years. so the thing I will say from looking through my photos to you. is shoot, change your angle a bit and shoot again. things I was certain looked great in the VF just looks horrible in the end. and also pay attention to your subjects. some nice ones I found. I have tons more..
you might want to get that special serum, and get some advil cause weddings give you a big headache at the end of the day. haha

BTw the first picture of the BG seperate with the fisheye is with 2 off camera flashes, though not gelled. so understand what im saying when it makes it look amazing. the place was dark as hell. thank god for off camera fill flash.

 

[rocketman122]

and if anyone gives you trouble, just tell them, hey **** *** I have enough on my mind, ok? HAHA

 

[Scott Murray]

You can see the rock ledge in this google map. Plus I am hoping I get a similar sunset but with not as many people.

 

[rocketman122]

DUDE! SOme killer images can be done there!! that and the brewery and youre good. do the brewery first, so you can take advantage of the sunset. get the 16-35/70-200 nice and warmed up! work fast and shoot like a madman.people will be in your frame so shoot as much as you can so you have pics to choose from for minimal PS work after. some beautiful silhouettes are in my mind! the veil, bouqet, man its going to be killer. get them to take their shoes off and have a walk on the beach, roll up his pants and get killer pics. tell them to bring a towel so they can wipe themselves a bit. but have them go into the water (just the edge) for some nice shots as well, then tell them to walk left or right (wherever the background will be more pleasing and less distracting) and shoot them walking on the edge of the water. have him get closer to water. shell be nervous about getting her dress wet. men dont give a crap.... then have him throw her in the water and get some "trash the dress" shots as well HAHAHA!

this is old stuff I did with my F5 and the film days. today, I try not to get close to the beach. ive been wimpified recently. after seeing big boss Gless doing his siberia attack on his D3s, im shaking in my pants. if you got a converter then use it on the 70-200 and get compressed images of the sunset.




Btw, this couple were tree huggers and didnt want to be bothered the day of the wedding. meaning, no couple shots, so they opted to do this instead. I did this 2 weeks before their wedding, and I still coaxed them to do BG shots together at the venue still HAHA. sometimes you have to push, even though the couples say no. there is a fine line. because like I said, they dont know and for them and the album to be "complete" BG couple shots are a must in their attire. it just makes it look so great. those pics and the beach pics were elite dude. and yes, im a star wars fan. I guess im a hypocrite because I recommended to another photog dont plaster your logo across the picture (its tacky and unprofessional) I guess im the master of tacky then HAHA. but I dont do it anymore as you noticed. a small logo in the corner will suffice.

 

[Scott Murray]

Just a question, I have found alot of wedding photographers cut off the bride and grooms head from the shoulders. This looks crap to me! Why would they do this?

 

[rocketman122]

Just a question, I have found alot of wedding photographers cut off the bride and grooms head from the shoulders. This looks crap to me! Why would they do this?

CRAP!? such harsh language. whats come over you HAHA

Dont understand regarding the composition...maybe you have an example? you mean they compose it tight?or you mean compose the whole shot without the heads?

 

[Scott Murray]

CRAP!? such harsh language. whats come over you HAHA

Dont understand regarding the composition...maybe you have an example? you mean they compose it tight?or you mean compose the whole shot without the heads?

Like these - Headless | Blog

 

[Marcel]

Just a question, I have found alot of wedding photographers cut off the bride and grooms head from the shoulders. This looks crap to me! Why would they do this?

Scott, I suspect there are cropped this way just to respect their clients anonymity. It maybe what they have on their websites, but I suspect the original shots show the persons' faces. If I was paid to shoot a wedding, I might not want to put the peoples faces on my website either, unless they already agreed to in writing...

 

[rocketman122]

Like these - Headless | Blog

HAHAHAHAHA...HOLY COW! THATS SO PATHETIC!! CRAP INDEED! what the hell are these idiots thinking?

and one last think...HOLY CRAP! what garbage!

when I asked "or you mean compose the whole shot without the heads?" I thought, no way..is this what he means? cant be. whos the jackass who thinks cutting off the heads is a bright idea...

 

[rocketman122]

I do love to do cropped holding hands only, or bride walking with the bouquet in one hand and the other walking while lifting her dress with the other. just half waist down shot. but theres something very aesthetic about it..or shoes only in BW, hands on peoples backs hugging, stuff like that, but JEE ZUS WTF is going on with photogs anymore. is the basics of composition not good enough that theyre trying to reinvent the circle? is there not enough angles to shoot that one needs to crop the heads? what idiots. they look like headless horsemans..

 

[Scott Murray]

Scott, I suspect there are cropped this way just to respect their clients anonymity. It maybe what they have on their websites, but I suspect the original shots show the persons' faces. If I was paid to shoot a wedding, I might not want to put the peoples faces on my website either, unless they already agreed to in writing...

Marcel I see albums with all the heads showing and then chopped off, seems weird to me.

 

[rocketman122]

Headless Wedding Portraits: The Boutonnieres — Nirvana Photography Studios

look at these pics. the first, if cropped a quarter from the bottom and a quarter from the top could be a fantastic image. emphasizing the warmth and togetherness. I like how the bride is by his side. that could be a fantastic image when composed tighter. from her shoulder (bust line of the dress) to the bottom of her bouquet would be perfect.

the 2nd also could be a fantastic image if it too had been composed tighter like the above. take the heads out because its neither here nor there. and WTF did they cut the hands being held? its the most romantic thing about it. dumb asses. they should have shot with his left hand in the front, blurred out and their hands together in the picture. giving it foreground (his hand) middle (their bodies) and background (their hands) it could have been a killer image.

the 3rd is stuff I do but the body language going out the left is crap. composition is S***. it bothers the eye. too much empty space on the right. trying to make it artsy with the exaggerated composition but its not working. I crop it tighter and usually do it BW. the flair is distracting and low contrast kills it. if she would have turned them a bit to the camera then she would have had side lighting, emphasizing the dept and textures of the fabric.

4th picture is also nice but her hand at the edge is annoying. I would have used your 85 and shot with her head leaning on his shoulder, shallow DOF with the arms only in focus. but the face should be in the pic. his head can be cut.

5th pic..garbage. needs a much tighter crop for me to see something interesting. too open. my eyes are everywhere and my mind is saying WTF are their heads?

Another thing I hate lately is these crappy instagram filter they use. the low contrast BW filters. just crap in every way. I think people look to add drama to their pictures but imo its because the picture was not good to begin with. trying to save an image that wasnt special from the beginning and compensating by adding crazy coloring to it to make it stand out and be unique. to me, BW is the hardest to shoot. its challenging to make your BW stand out.

 

[Scott Murray]

Headless wedding photographs allow us to draw more attention to the details of the wedding. A bride's bouquet is a detail she will want to remember and the boutonniere may be a detail the groom wants to remember as well. Not all men choose to wear boutonnieres for their weddings, but if they do, it may be nice capture a few shots of them.

So they do do it on purpose. I guess everyone has their style lol.

 

[rocketman122]

So they do do it on purpose. I guess everyone has their style lol.

ah, thats what they call that...hahaha

 

[Scott Murray]

Gotta love this app.

 

[rocketman122]

When you have some time, see this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RDi8osfg4uE

ive been doing this for a while now but just saw the vid and realize a lot of what they said, I do in weddings. I think Fstoppers give the most logical and most helpful tips. its not just paka paka. its really valuable info.

its a bit late for you im guessing because you didnt get salves from the various posts. if you plan on doing more, consider getting cheap yongnuo (560III) and some simple commlite G430 ($25 shipped)

I did many weddings this summer in outdoor locations. secluded places like in forests in no where land. theres no lighting there. well, enough for proper exposure. moddy lighting but horrible for exposure. if I didnt use the slave/light stand/flash combo, you wouldnt even notice where the place was because there were very few lights and the exposure was not enough to make a difference in the picture. so I add lights. it looks amazing.

I come with 2 light stands and I use 2 that I fire either bounced into the ceiling if I can and if not, then raise them as high as I can and aim towards the dance area. I usually try to find another place where I can use a multi grip to connect my flash somewhere and have a 3rd flash. it makes a huge difference. I dont shoot them TTL. Manual power. usually 1/32 power and it can run all night long on the dance floor. I also gel (rosco) one flash red and the other yellow for SOME of the pics. gives it a fantastic dance floor vid. it really looks stellar!

consider this for any upcoming events. its what sets photogs work from others. the lighting is what does it.

I also use a 3 flash setup for my formals. 2 flashing from an umbrella and one on a stand on the floor behind them for a bit of rim lighting. heres an example.
shot at iso2500 f4.5 1/125 70-200. I compossed higher cause I liked the flower band on top. the lighting was very bad. very dark and moody. its the difference between pros and amateurs.

 

[Mike D90]

When you have some time, see this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RDi8osfg4uE

ive been doing this for a while now but just saw the vid and realize a lot of what they said, I do in weddings. I think Fstoppers give the most logical and most helpful tips. its not just paka paka. its really valuable info.

its a bit late for you im guessing because you didnt get salves from the various posts. if you plan on doing more, consider getting cheap yongnuo (560III) and some simple commlite G430 ($25 shipped)

I did many weddings this summer in outdoor locations. secluded places like in forests in no where land. theres no lighting there. well, enough for proper exposure. moddy lighting but horrible for exposure. if I didnt use the slave/light stand/flash combo, you wouldnt even notice where the place was because there were very few lights and the exposure was not enough to make a difference in the picture. so I add lights. it looks amazing.

I come with 2 light stands and I use 2 that I fire either bounced into the ceiling if I can and if not, then raise them as high as I can and aim towards the dance area. I usually try to find another place where I can use a multi grip to connect my flash somewhere and have a 3rd flash. it makes a huge difference. I dont shoot them TTL. Manual power. usually 1/32 power and it can run all night long on the dance floor. I also gel (rosco) one flash red and the other yellow for SOME of the pics. gives it a fantastic dance floor vid. it really looks stellar!

consider this for any upcoming events. its what sets photogs work from others. the lighting is what does it.

I also use a 3 flash setup for my formals. 2 flashing from an umbrella and one on a stand on the floor behind them for a bit of rim lighting. heres an example.
shot at iso2500 f4.5 1/125 70-200. I compossed higher cause I liked the flower band on top. the lighting was very bad. very dark and moody. its the difference between pros and amateurs.


View attachment 72440

So that is what a professional wedding portrait looks like! Been waiting to see one.

 

[rocketman122]

So that is what a professional wedding portrait looks like! Been waiting to see one.

if its a compliment, thank you, if its sarcasm, ill take it as a compliment haha!

I dont know what other pros do. Im just giving an example of what formals are like when I shoot. under the circumstances and difficult lighting I think it came out stellar. if I had to shoot at iso 2500, then the lighting was quite bad. people are walking around on the sides and through the back every other shot. I had to clone people out with PS. not easy. we have to deal with what we got and do the best for the clients.

 

[Mike D90]

if its a compliment, thank you, if its sarcasm, ill take it as a compliment haha!

I dont know what other pros do. Im just giving an example of what formals are like when I shoot. under the circumstances and difficult lighting I think it came out stellar. if I had to shoot at iso 2500, then the lighting was quite bad. people are walking around on the sides and through the back every other shot. I had to clone people out with PS. not easy. we have to deal with what we got and do the best for the clients.

Well, I didn't mean it was a bad photograph, its a nice shot. I just meant that most people on here who have the label as "pro" never post any of their work.