ART Friend wants me to shoot their wedding in September...

[VD]

I've never shot a wedding. They're poor and I told 'em I'd do it for drinks/hotel room.

I'm guessing I'm gonna need to invest in a bit of lighting. What's the absolute minimum you guys would head into this with?



And yes, I've already explained to them that I've never covered a wedding - it's not a huge deal.

I've got:

40D
50mm 1.4
85 1.8
17-50 2.8

I plan on picking up a 430EX II (I'm poor too)

 

[ov3n]

Drinks, hotel room....and one bridesmaid of your choosing.

 

[VD]

Drinks, hotel room....and one bridesmaid of your choosing.

 

[VD]

I'd absolutely love to learn working with someone else - but all the people around here looking for second shooters won't even talk to you without wedding experience

and most of them aren't that great to begin with.

 

[Ty Webb]

You should probably not shoot your friends wedding because you're going to ruin it.

 

[IntheWorks]

You should probably not shoot your friends wedding because you're going to ruin it.

I think as long as you're upfront with them, and they know what to expect you should be ok... but generally I try to avoid shooting close friends weddings.

 

[Idyfohu]

You should probably not shoot your friends wedding because you're going to ruin it.

 

[VD]

You should probably not shoot your friends wedding because you're going to ruin it.

Well it's that or no one photographs it.

I like my odds in that comparison.

 

[Marix]

Do it, *IF* they wouldn't hire someone else if you DON'T do it.

You'll probably want the tamron with the flash bounced off the ceiling... that's the simplest setup. 50 or 85 also cool depending the venue and your shooting style.

Learn about flash exposure (aperture, ISO dependent) and how to balance ambient (aperture, ISO and shutter). Take a lot of batteries.

Don't try anything fancy (wireless flash etc) if you don't know what you're doing. Bounced flash will give useable results. To take it up another step, get some flash gels so you can match the flash output to the ambient (i.e turn your flash into a lightbulb or fluorescent tube). Makes thing look so much better.

 

[VD]

Do it, *IF* they wouldn't hire someone else if you DON'T do it.

You'll probably want the tamron with the flash bounced off the ceiling... that's the simplest setup. 50 or 85 also cool depending the venue and your shooting style.

Learn about flash exposure (aperture, ISO dependent) and how to balance ambient (aperture, ISO and shutter). Take a lot of batteries.

I've literally never used a flash/lighting system.

I should pick that up and start playing with it asap.

That's one thing that's kinda nice about shooting concerts - you can't use flash

 

[Marix]

Added some more info to my post ^^

 

[VD]

Added some more info to my post ^^

Thank you!

 

[MB300E87]

would a bounce flash card be any good if the ceilings are super tall?

 

[Marix]

would a bounce flash card be any good if the ceilings are super tall?

huh?

The little pull-out card is for directing a bit of flash directly forwards to give catchlights in the subjects eyes.

It has nothing to do with ceiling height.

But fwiw, you can bounce off ceilings that are pretty damn high.. just up the ISO a bit to get more power from your flash

 

[MB300E87]

huh?

The little pull-out card is for directing a bit of flash directly forwards to give catchlights in the subjects eyes.

It has nothing to do with ceiling height.

But fwiw, you can bounce off ceilings that are pretty damn high.. just up the ISO a bit to get more power from your flash

oh ok. i saw a guy at this event my company threw with a white card shoved into his flash. he had his 580 angled at 45 degrees and was shooting like that the whole time. dark room, tall ceilings, club atmosphere. i haven't seen a wedding photo do it before but i just guessed the guy had limited gear. strange.

 

[Gvidon]

Please don't. If he is a friend, he should want you to be there to enjoy his wedding not running around like a maniac trying to pretend like you know what you are doing. I am sure they will find a decent photog on craiglist for few hundred bucks for those few important hours.

 

[Wobistdu]

Don't

 

[Marix]

Why does everyone say not to? This guy isn't a total camera noob.. he just hasn't shot a wedding. I'm not suggesting that you can just walk right into it, but he already had knowhow from shooting concerts. Plus, his friends have no money and wouldn't hire a pro anyway.

If VD cares about his friends, then *his* pics will be better than some $300 craigslist photographer that the couple could afford. The motivation to do well is much higher than some joker from craigslist, and more time and effort will be taken to deliver quality results.

 

[FlashhslaF]

Why does everyone say not to? This guy isn't a total camera noob.. he just hasn't shot a wedding. I'm not suggesting that you can just walk right into it, but he already had knowhow from shooting concerts. Plus, his friends have no money and wouldn't hire a pro anyway.

If VD cares about his friends, then *his* pics will be better than some $300 craigslist photographer that the couple could afford. The motivation to do well is much higher than some joker from craigslist, and more time and effort will be taken to deliver quality results.

I agree, there is little to no pressure on VD. I'd say go balls out and do this with all your heart. I wouldn't hold anything back, since they expect little to nothing from you, you can set yourself up to give them something they never expected.

 

[Idyfohu]

I agree, there is little to no pressure on VD. I'd say go balls out and do this with all your heart. I wouldn't hold anything back, since they expect little to nothing from you, you can set yourself up to give them something they never expected.

True dat.

As long as they're not expecting anything and as long as you don't want to be an integral part (being on the end of a camera instead of in the wedding) then I don't think there's absolutely anything wrong with it.

 

[Girth]

avoid it if you can. specially if you've never done one.

 

[VD]

Why does everyone say not to? This guy isn't a total camera noob.. he just hasn't shot a wedding. I'm not suggesting that you can just walk right into it, but he already had knowhow from shooting concerts. Plus, his friends have no money and wouldn't hire a pro anyway.

If VD cares about his friends, then *his* pics will be better than some $300 craigslist photographer that the couple could afford. The motivation to do well is much higher than some joker from craigslist, and more time and effort will be taken to deliver quality results.

BL+1

Thank you for that, really.

Everyone starts somewhere. It's not like I'm being paid nor do they expect much of anything.

I'll even post my failure here for everyone.

 

[VD]

I agree, there is little to no pressure on VD. I'd say go balls out and do this with all your heart. I wouldn't hold anything back, since they expect little to nothing from you, you can set yourself up to give them something they never expected.

My nigga

 

[Girth]

BL+1

Thank you for that, really.

Everyone starts somewhere. It's not like I'm being paid nor do they expect much of anything.

I'll even post my failure here for everyone.

starting somewhere is one thing, doing it for someone you know/are related to is totally different.

My sister in law got married last weekend. they had a photographer for the normal ceremony and reception, but she asked me to shoot the morning indian ceremony since she was already out so much out of pocket for the photographer already. I agreed... and I got pestered the whole time by my famiry (and his) to take this/that picture. Haven't even looked at the pics, but I'm wishing I hadn't done them.

 

[VD]

starting somewhere is one thing, doing it for someone you know/are related to is totally different.

My sister in law got married last weekend. they had a photographer for the normal ceremony and reception, but she asked me to shoot the morning indian ceremony since she was already out so much out of pocket for the photographer already. I agreed... and I got pestered the whole time by my famiry (and his) to take this/that picture. Haven't even looked at the pics, but I'm wishing I hadn't done them.

I get that and it makes sense.

I just feel like I can handle giving it a shot. I've shot under much tougher pressure than a friend's opinion.

He had originally asked me to be an usher. Which, after renting a tux/hotel room/etc is going to cost $250-300 or so. He then changed his mind and asked if I'd photograph it instead - and fuck ushers. That shit sucks

So the money I would've spent on room + tux I'm gonna pick up a flash and take a shot.