Request for Assistance – Wedding Photography

[ShutterVan]

Upfront: I’m a hobbyist and only interested in enjoying photography as a hobbyist. I have more hobbies than I have time to perfect. Photography, I do it only for fun; however, I do enjoy helping people.

Problem: I have a request from a dear friend who can’t afford a pricy photographer for her wedding. While they think I’m talented – they are only seeing few of many pictures I’ve taken. Not to mention they are not seeing all of the technical issues a professional photographer adjusts for in real time and photo editing. I will have a heart-to-heart to ensure they know ahead of time. I don’t want to screw this up as you can’t replace priceless memories. I’d appreciate inputs.

Recommendations or Advice:

 

[Braineack]

say no, enjoy the party, eat cake and get drunk.


btw, looks like we had the same snorkel guide in Jamaica! (looking at your flickr)

Merman by Braineack, on Flickr

 

[stk]

I would say no.

Personally I think I could've done a decent job, but I would never take the risk unless I was 100% sure I could deliver. Probably a boring and defensive attitude, but then again, I've never screwed up a wedding.

 

[480sparky]

Offer to help pay for a pro in lieu of a wedding gift of a toaster or coffee maker.

 

[ShutterVan]

Offer to help pay for a pro in lieu of a wedding gift of a toaster or coffee maker.

I really like that idea, it's great. Somehow I don't think I'm going to get off that easy.

 

[ShutterVan]

I would say no.

Personally I think I could've done a decent job, but I would never take the risk unless I was 100% sure I could deliver. Probably a boring and defensive attitude, but then again, I've never screwed up a wedding.

Hence the reason for the heart-to-heart. I think I could probably do a decent job too. As far as risk, I believe that it's their risk to accept. And the saying holds true..."no good deed goes unpunished," help one, help all. I'll enjoy taking pictures but want them to know the risk. I also the idea of everyone using the phone and sending them the pictures; however, I feel that method interferes with the sanctity of the ceremony.

 

[zulu42]

Been there, done that

flickr is blocked here, so I can't check out your work.

Only you can decide whether to go for it or not. I did, and here's the thread:
So, I'm going to shoot a wedding

In my case, they would not hire a photographer, end of story. So, it was either me doing my best, or they would only have collective cell phone snaps from the attendees. I went for it.

It was not fun

The results were fine for them. Better than cell phone pics, but any legit pro would have blown my pics out of the water.
Stress, big time. I didn't even list all my struggles in that thread lol.


All that being said, I delivered some decent photos to my friends. Made them a nice album, and that was my wedding gift. They were happy with the images. Also, I learned more in that hectic day of shooting than I did for the rest of the year.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[480sparky]

Offer to help pay for a pro in lieu of a wedding gift of a toaster or coffee maker.

I really like that idea, it's great. Somehow I don't think I'm going to get off that easy.

Then gang up on them. Tell them 6 or 8 or 10 of their friends/family are going to pool their gift money and pay for a pro. You'll have the happy couple outnumbered. Besides, who are they to tell YOU what gift you're going to give them?

 

[tirediron]

If it's you or nothing, than there's not a lot to be lost by taking it on and doing your best. As others have mentioned, the best gift you could give them is talking them into hiring a professional, but some people can't or worn't - fair enough. At the end of the day, no one's going to die if a wedding isn't photographed "properly", but it's likely that some will regret it.

Assuming you do take it on, having looked at your Flickr page, I see lots of decent images of plants, and other static subjects. What I don't see are any images taken in extreme low light or using strobed light. This is what separates the men from the boys; the ability to work with the light you have and/or add to it. You will need at an absolute MINIMUM one good speedlight with a GN of at least 150, more is better; a way to get that light off of the camera, and fast lenses covering the ultra-wide (~14mm) to medium tele (~200mm) range. 2.8 at least, and faster is better. You need to know the layout of the wedding & reception venues cold,

 

[ShutterVan]

Been there, done that

flickr is blocked here, so I can't check out your work.

Only you can decide whether to go for it or not. I did, and here's the thread:
So, I'm going to shoot a wedding

In my case, they would not hire a photographer, end of story. So, it was either me doing my best, or they would only have collective cell phone snaps from the attendees. I went for it.

It was not fun

The results were fine for them. Better than cell phone pics, but any legit pro would have blown my pics out of the water.
Stress, big time. I didn't even list all my struggles in that thread lol.


All that being said, I delivered some decent photos to my friends. Made them a nice album, and that was my wedding gift. They were happy with the images. Also, I learned more in that hectic day of shooting than I did for the rest of the year.

Good luck with your decision.

If the circumstances were the same except the experience you gained; would you do it again?

 

[ShutterVan]

If it's you or nothing, than there's not a lot to be lost by taking it on and doing your best. As others have mentioned, the best gift you could give them is talking them into hiring a professional, but some people can't or worn't - fair enough. At the end of the day, no one's going to die if a wedding isn't photographed "properly", but it's likely that some will regret it.

Assuming you do take it on, having looked at your Flickr page, I see lots of decent images of plants, and other static subjects. What I don't see are any images taken in extreme low light or using strobed light. This is what separates the men from the boys; the ability to work with the light you have and/or add to it. You will need at an absolute MINIMUM one good speedlight with a GN of at least 150, more is better; a way to get that light off of the camera, and fast lenses covering the ultra-wide (~14mm) to medium tele (~200mm) range. 2.8 at least, and faster is better. You need to know the layout of the wedding & reception venues cold,

<<Tirediron>> Your answer is exceptional, spot on and I appreciate it very much. You've probably been doing this for awhile now. You're correct on subjects - I like static photos; harder to mess those up. Low light is a huge challenge for me as well. I enjoy pulling the "points-to-ponder" out so that during our heart-to-heart I can make them aware as well. Again, thank you so much for your answer - it helps!

 

[pjaye]

Offer to help pay for a pro in lieu of a wedding gift of a toaster or coffee maker.

I really like that idea, it's great. Somehow I don't think I'm going to get off that easy.

No is a complete sentence. Just say no. I've said yes, twice. Both times really regretted it. It's an incredible amount of work, both shooting and editing, and a lot of stress. Just say no. If they really want pictures, they will find a way to afford it.

Now, I just say no.

 

[Dave442]

Your offering them a very expensive wedding gift. When is the wedding?
How does what they are planning to spend on photography compare to the rest of the details (dress, venue, catering, flowers, etc).

I have been to a number of weddings where the bride and groom are on a tight budget and hire a photographer to cover just the church ceremony, usually including a few family group shots in the church at the end of the ceremony.

Of course you can go ahead and do it, if nothing else it will make it easier to say no next time.

 

[zulu42]

Been there, done that

flickr is blocked here, so I can't check out your work.

Only you can decide whether to go for it or not. I did, and here's the thread:
So, I'm going to shoot a wedding

In my case, they would not hire a photographer, end of story. So, it was either me doing my best, or they would only have collective cell phone snaps from the attendees. I went for it.

It was not fun

The results were fine for them. Better than cell phone pics, but any legit pro would have blown my pics out of the water.
Stress, big time. I didn't even list all my struggles in that thread lol.


All that being said, I delivered some decent photos to my friends. Made them a nice album, and that was my wedding gift. They were happy with the images. Also, I learned more in that hectic day of shooting than I did for the rest of the year.

Good luck with your decision.

If the circumstances were the same except the experience you gained; would you do it again?

Under identical circumstances, yes. I'd do it again. I couldn't say no to somebody close to me if there were absolutely no other option.
I made it very clear. I would do my best, probably get a few shots, but promised them zero.
Discuss the potential pitfalls. You could goof one setting and all the photos could be trash. Could it possibly affect your friendship?

At the wedding I shot, the couple wanted a specific shot. light paint a heart with sparklers, then pose inside the heart for a kiss and pop a flash. I completely failed on that shot.
Another nightmare that nearly ruined all my shots:
I never change my capture settings on my camera. It's always raw+normal quality jpeg. When I imported the files from that wedding, I had no raw files! Only basic jpegs! Somehow the capture setting changed. It was terrible and I lost a lot of shots that were underexposed that could have been saved with raw files. The keepers were of barely printable quality and should have looked so much better!

There's so much that can go wrong. So much unpredictable. And such an important moment and no do-overs!

 

[ceemac]

Who was it that said "no good deed shall go unpunished "?

 

[ac12]

Been there, kinda.
My nephew and his fiance asked me a couple days before the wedding if I could shoot part of the wedding, as the pro was scheduled to leave at a certain time during the reception. It was me, or cell phone cameras.
My flash was left at home, so all I had was the dinky pop-up flash. Oh well.
I was not happy with the results, but they were.

Tips:

• Get and use an assistant. This is VERY important.
  
• Make a list of ALL the shots to shoot. You will NEVER remember them.
  • They need to be clear on what shots they want.
    
  • They need to provide someone to tell you who is who, for that list of photos. And that person NEEDS to be the one to round up the people for the shots (usually the formals), not you.
  • The couple needs to make sure that the people in the formal know they need to stay for the pictures. There have been instances where one of the uncles/aunts left the church and headed for the reception, before the family formals were shot.
• If you have not shot formals, LEARN and PRACTICE.
  • Posing people can be very difficult for some of us, like me.
• PLAN the shoot. Shot by shot. What to take, were to be, where people will be, etc, etc.
  • Write this stuff down, you won't remember it all.
  • Your assistant needs to keep track of the shots.
• Go to the rehearsal and really think about where people are and where you need to be for what shots.
  • If they don't have a wedding planner, you need to step in and help.
  • For me the timing of the couples walking down the church was important, so that they don't stack up, and you can get clear shots of the individual couples.
• Go to the venue of the wedding and church to see what you have to deal with and how.
  
• Do a full "dry run" shoot of EVERYTHING (wedding and reception) with them and a few friends, so you can practice where you need to be to get what shots. And to get a feel for what the timing will be like.
  • Practice the cake cutting and feeding; where you need to be, how they hold the knife and look at you, etc. I found that always difficult for me.
• Depending on the church, you may be restricted to where you can be, how much you can move around during the ceremony, and if you can use a flash. Find out what these restrictions are, in advance, and plan how to deal with them.
• If you have not used a flash, PRACTICE and PRACTICE some more. It is not as easy as some think it is.
  • Understand the limitations of the flash; recycle time, max number of quick consecutive shots, range, coverage angle, when you need to use flash exposure compensation, etc.
    
  • I told my future niece, I can only take ONE shot of her tossing the bouquet; toss, mid air, or catch. I discussed the issues, primarily that my flash could not recycle fast enough to get more than the one shot. She made her choice, the toss, and it worked.
  • But the garter toss was a bust. My nephew tossed before I was ready, and I barely got the catch.
  • Get a flash bracket to raise the flash. Cuz cleaning up 'red eye' after the fact, is a real PiA.

• Since YOU are shooting the wedding for them, you cannot let other guests shove you aside. You need to be the camera in the correct location/angle to get the shot.

Gud Luk