A
astrostu
Guest
<Prologue> This is a semi-long back-story to this question. You can skip to the end where it says Questions if you really don't want to read the back-story.</Prologue>
Back-Story
A friend of mine from college is planning her wedding for next September and she just assumed I knew I was invited (as did I). Actually, looking back at the conversation, she stated, "you're coming to my wedding, dammit ... i will be a bridezilla on your ass if you don't."
I asked her if she had a photographer partly out of curiosity and partly to see if she said that she did for everything including the reception, since I thought photographing her reception would be an easy present. She said, "actually...yeah, want the job if the first falls through?"
I've never actually done official wedding formals, nor do I have the proper lighting nor a backup body, so I told her, "I don't have the equipment to please you," meant in a completely innocent way. I clarified with, "I don't have the right photography equipment to do a good job with formals. I could do reception, candids, if you want."
She replied with, "but [my friend] doesn't have the right equipment for it
so she was going to just to candids ... but, she's a friend from childhood...and not exactly reliable these days."
This conversation was about 2 months ago, and she asked me last night for a website and a few samples (since I don't actually have photos of people on my website) because she's making "a book" codifying the wedding stuff. The current situation, as she explained last night, is now that she wants both me and her friend to basically take all the photos, doing formals, reception, etc., where (assuming I'm there) I'll definitely do it, and if her friend actually is reliable and shows, that there'll be two sets.
I know what you reg'lars of this forum are thinking: "Stu, you need to tell her to hire a professional." "If you've never done a wedding, you risk damaging a friendship if the photos suck." "She shouldn't put you in this position and you shouldn't feel obligated to say 'yes.'" That about cover it?
And I explained this to her. I told her that all because I have "good equipment" doesn't mean that I have the expertise to pull off a wedding. But she doesn't seem to care. She has said in no uncertain terms that they will not be hiring a professional photographer. She has also stated that she wants photos that tell what happened during the day, not the formal stuff. She also said, after I sent her some samples, that she would've thought they were done by a pro.
So at this point I've tacitly agreed, and I've also stated that I would make them sign a contract (standard model release, explaining no liability for quality, etc.) even though I'd do the photos for free (as a present). I'm at the point where I figure that "a few lucky good photos are better than none" and that it'll give me practice and some portfolio shots.
Questions
So at this point, I have three questions:
(1) Besides the obvious "you never should have agreed to do formals," are there any tidbits of advice out there, common pitfalls, etc.? Yes, I've read practically every wedding-related question asked on this forum, so I'm looking for anything that's normally not mentioned.
(2) Have any of you folks ever NOT been the exclusive pro photographer at the wedding? I realize that it's a standard clause that you have exclusivity, but I thought I'd ask. If so, how did you deal with it? Did you trade off on poses, photos, etc.? Or did you do it some other way?
(3) Is there any additional MUST-HAVE equipment for doing a decent job? I have my camera body and lenses as described in my signature, a tripod, and a 430EX flash. By the wedding, I should also have a 24-70mm f/2.8L lens. I'm thinking I should also probably have its bigger brother so I can have 2 flashes, with the option of being off-camera. Anything else (other than giant umbrellas and a spare body)?
Back-Story
A friend of mine from college is planning her wedding for next September and she just assumed I knew I was invited (as did I). Actually, looking back at the conversation, she stated, "you're coming to my wedding, dammit ... i will be a bridezilla on your ass if you don't."
I asked her if she had a photographer partly out of curiosity and partly to see if she said that she did for everything including the reception, since I thought photographing her reception would be an easy present. She said, "actually...yeah, want the job if the first falls through?"
I've never actually done official wedding formals, nor do I have the proper lighting nor a backup body, so I told her, "I don't have the equipment to please you," meant in a completely innocent way. I clarified with, "I don't have the right photography equipment to do a good job with formals. I could do reception, candids, if you want."
She replied with, "but [my friend] doesn't have the right equipment for it
so she was going to just to candids ... but, she's a friend from childhood...and not exactly reliable these days."
This conversation was about 2 months ago, and she asked me last night for a website and a few samples (since I don't actually have photos of people on my website) because she's making "a book" codifying the wedding stuff. The current situation, as she explained last night, is now that she wants both me and her friend to basically take all the photos, doing formals, reception, etc., where (assuming I'm there) I'll definitely do it, and if her friend actually is reliable and shows, that there'll be two sets.
I know what you reg'lars of this forum are thinking: "Stu, you need to tell her to hire a professional." "If you've never done a wedding, you risk damaging a friendship if the photos suck." "She shouldn't put you in this position and you shouldn't feel obligated to say 'yes.'" That about cover it?
And I explained this to her. I told her that all because I have "good equipment" doesn't mean that I have the expertise to pull off a wedding. But she doesn't seem to care. She has said in no uncertain terms that they will not be hiring a professional photographer. She has also stated that she wants photos that tell what happened during the day, not the formal stuff. She also said, after I sent her some samples, that she would've thought they were done by a pro.
So at this point I've tacitly agreed, and I've also stated that I would make them sign a contract (standard model release, explaining no liability for quality, etc.) even though I'd do the photos for free (as a present). I'm at the point where I figure that "a few lucky good photos are better than none" and that it'll give me practice and some portfolio shots.
Questions
So at this point, I have three questions:
(1) Besides the obvious "you never should have agreed to do formals," are there any tidbits of advice out there, common pitfalls, etc.? Yes, I've read practically every wedding-related question asked on this forum, so I'm looking for anything that's normally not mentioned.
(2) Have any of you folks ever NOT been the exclusive pro photographer at the wedding? I realize that it's a standard clause that you have exclusivity, but I thought I'd ask. If so, how did you deal with it? Did you trade off on poses, photos, etc.? Or did you do it some other way?
(3) Is there any additional MUST-HAVE equipment for doing a decent job? I have my camera body and lenses as described in my signature, a tripod, and a 430EX flash. By the wedding, I should also have a 24-70mm f/2.8L lens. I'm thinking I should also probably have its bigger brother so I can have 2 flashes, with the option of being off-camera. Anything else (other than giant umbrellas and a spare body)?
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