So in our group of friends I seem to be the "photographer". Because of this I have been asked to take the pictures of our friends wedding (gulp) I usually do tons of outdoor shots but rarely indoor shots. It will be and evening wedding so it will be dark out side and it is backdropped with all windows so I'll be standing offside so I'm not in every picture haha. It has a fairly tall peaked roof so I'm not sure how bouncing flash is going to work. Any hints or ideas you guys can give me? I got suckered into this because we just got back from Hawaii and got some great shots they loved (even though I took almost 2000 pictures I think only 5 or so are truly good shots) Thanks
Pictures at a friends wedding
- Thread starter Gumbys69
- Start date
I recently started to use this white card that slides out of my flash (don't know what it's called). Basically this little card slides out so that the light can bounce off of it when the flash is pointed straight up. It works pretty well when you don't have a ceiling to bounce the light off of.
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(even though I took almost 2000 pictures I think only 5 or so are truly good shots)
A friend of mine asked me to come work for him once...I declined, which is what you might consider doing if your not sure of how to do this...
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Just-Clayton
Senior Member
the last wedding I did was at night. The reception was in a pavilion with with some lighting. I didn't want to use full on flash all the time. So, I used hi ISO to pull it off. Luckily this is what the bride was looking for.
Most people when starting off to shoot weddings have assisted others. You learn allot from watching and asking. If you explain you're experiance level and the concerns you have. Well they can only blame themselves for having you do the shoot. Not saying you'll bomb. But when put under pressure, you soon forget the most simplest and obvious do's and dont's. I consider myself very knowledgeable about poses, lighting both flash and strobe, and the settings needed to do just about any shot. But i've never shot a wedding and probably would'nt unless i've assisted someone else to get an idea as to how things are done. Good luck to you. I hope it all goes well.
Just-Clayton
Senior Member
If all you have are the lenses you got the camera with, I wouldn't do it. You will not be able to get low light shots and have to use the flash all the time. That would get most people annoyed, if not blinded. When I shot my last wedding I was always changing the settings due to the sun going down and it was mostly overcast and no where to bounce my flash. So, the flash was head on and bright!!
I have to agree, that this could be a bad time to try something so hard for the first time. I wouldn't want my good friends upset at me if things didn't work out as well as I hoped. I'd just take their asking you as a great compliment and bow out, explaining that this is out of your field right now.
I wish you great luck with whatever you decide to do!
I wish you great luck with whatever you decide to do!
Did the sister in laws wedding recently as they couldn't afford a photographer (my missis volunteered me as our wedding gift!). I used my 35mm f1.8 mainly with flash for fill in.
Luckily the photos didn't come out bad, took over 400 to be sure I didn't miss anything (my first and last wedding) and about a week editing, printing framing, adding to an album never mind 7 hours at the wedding with the camera up and down, they were happy.
BUT, the most stressful thing was being the only photographer there and the onus I then had for not messing up the memories of their big day....
Think about it carefully as if anything goes wrong it could put a strain on your friendship.
My advice don't do it, since I did it I have had 3 request to do weddings all of which I have turned down.
Some of the photos:
Wayne & Sue Wedding 16-08-2013 - a set on Flickr
Luckily the photos didn't come out bad, took over 400 to be sure I didn't miss anything (my first and last wedding) and about a week editing, printing framing, adding to an album never mind 7 hours at the wedding with the camera up and down, they were happy.
BUT, the most stressful thing was being the only photographer there and the onus I then had for not messing up the memories of their big day....
Think about it carefully as if anything goes wrong it could put a strain on your friendship.
My advice don't do it, since I did it I have had 3 request to do weddings all of which I have turned down.
Some of the photos:
Wayne & Sue Wedding 16-08-2013 - a set on Flickr
I already committed to it so it looks like I'm going, I have a good selection of lenses and a couple of different flashes. I'm heading over there a few hours early to try some different options. Oh and "pedroj" of the 2000 pics I took when I say I think only 5 were good in my eyes, all the shots were clear and some beautiful shots but truly stand out shots there were 5 or so. A friend who is a professional photographer takes thousands of pics and only selects a few which are "good". Ill let you guys know how it turns out
Good luck on the shoot, Gumby. Hope it turns out well for both you AND the wedding couple.
All the advice you were given here is good advice, but since you're committed to doing it (and I'm guessing you're doing it for free), then you really should explain to them that what they'll get is what they'll get. Holiday shots are not wedding shots, so expectations should not be over the top here. I wish you good luck.
All the advice you were given here is good advice, but since you're committed to doing it (and I'm guessing you're doing it for free), then you really should explain to them that what they'll get is what they'll get. Holiday shots are not wedding shots, so expectations should not be over the top here. I wish you good luck.
Apart from the very good advice already the only thing i would add is have you some one to take with you,they can find the people for the next shot while you busy doing one,over half the work at a wedding is not taking the picture its the sorting things out.
Take plenty of shots dont over complcate it with lenses and equipment you may find your mind is swimming any way so simplify in any way you can,ask the couple the question what are the most important shots you want,then have a list of 6-10 shots (on paper) that would make or break the day for them,get these right and every other good one they will consider a bonus.
mike
Take plenty of shots dont over complcate it with lenses and equipment you may find your mind is swimming any way so simplify in any way you can,ask the couple the question what are the most important shots you want,then have a list of 6-10 shots (on paper) that would make or break the day for them,get these right and every other good one they will consider a bonus.
mike
As I said above of the 2000 shots, only 5 of them are ones I would consider true "magazine quality" they were all good shots, but you know when take a shot and it just feels right, that's what I mean by 5 good ones. I'm a pretty harsh critic on myself. As for the wedding, it was last night. The pics turned out great, as one of my photography instructors once said "you need to go out and make some pictures, not just take some pictures" last night I "made" some pictures. Thanks for all the advice everyone!
wud
Senior Member
I've done 3 small weddings. The first was a good friends wedding and I asked if I could photograph it but also said it was my first, so not to expect to much. Of course no money were involved.
I made some mistakes and learned a lot. Not sure if they noticed it, as they didn't know what I was going for.
Second went better, and third pretty good. But it's a LOT of work and actually a bit stressful.
I know a very talented photographer, he said he will make a wedding workshop at spring, I really wanna go. This would help so much, getting a better feel of how to be sure to get all the right shots.
I don't know what your friends are expecting, but have a chat with them.
And last but defiantly not least - have you done people photography? If not, make sure to do a lot so you know this a little. Get some friends to come for couple shots, both outside and inside.
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I made some mistakes and learned a lot. Not sure if they noticed it, as they didn't know what I was going for.
Second went better, and third pretty good. But it's a LOT of work and actually a bit stressful.
I know a very talented photographer, he said he will make a wedding workshop at spring, I really wanna go. This would help so much, getting a better feel of how to be sure to get all the right shots.
I don't know what your friends are expecting, but have a chat with them.
And last but defiantly not least - have you done people photography? If not, make sure to do a lot so you know this a little. Get some friends to come for couple shots, both outside and inside.
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