Terrified of potential first wedding shoot

[JerryPH]

I'll disagree. If one practices and makes marginal errors, that's fine. But if it was YOUR wedding pics you had to look at for as long as you live, marginal errors are not acceptable becuase they can be avoided... EASILY. Just because someone's expectations are lower, doesn't mean they do not deserve the best that they... deserve.

I am not saying Nate can or cannot do a good job. Certainly he has time to strengthen weak areas and his heart is in the right place... but if he is scared or unsure, it really would be best if someone that was comfortable and knew what they were doing... held the reins.

I'm not bashing, and I am sure Nate knows this.

 

[dEARlEADER]

but Jerry... if the couple isn't prepared to spend real money on a photographer what is their alternative??

at least Nate has a continuing interest in photography and with 700 posts knows a bit of whats going on.... the couple could end buying some lame-o craigslist photographer with a D40 who doesn't even try to better their skills through forums and the like...

sometimes I buy crap.... and when I do I am not surprised to end up with crap... and sometimes my crap purchase ends up giving me more than I expected...

I never buy crap and then stamp my feet when whatever I buy ends up being crap...

I've even seen a few weddings where the couple had no photographer and just put a disposable on each table and asked everyone to fill em up.

Quality is relative to the purchasers expectations.... everything is disclosed in this situation and the purchasers doesn't have much in the way of alternative as paying for a competent professional is not on their list of priorities.

You can't have everything for free, in this case the couple does not DESERVE anything more than they pay for. If this was my wedding, and my priority was not spend good money on a photographer I would not have high expectations.

 

[NateS]

Okay, my wife talked to her again. Her expectations are REALLY low. Not that she trust my abilities, she just said that as long as she gets some photos of her and her groom then she will be happy. The way she talks, if they all look like snapshots, she doesn't really care as long as she has "the moment".

That said, if I do this, I still plan to research and practice and do the absolute best I can.


I'll be doing this for free (for experience), so I fail to see how she could sue me...even if I give her 0 pictures. She honestly even said, that if something happens and my pictures don't turn out, there will probably be other's there with cameras so she won't be a total loss. Granted, I won't let that happen and will have a backup camera and lens, just in case. I feel a little better knowing how "laid back" she is about it so I'll probably take the opportunity to learn some stuff by doing the wedding. Practice, practice, practice between now and June though. My wife is going to get sick of being my model after the next 6 months.

 

[NateS]

but Jerry... if the couple isn't prepared to spend real money on a photographer what is their alternative??

at least Nate has a continuing interest in photography and with 700 posts knows a bit of whats going on.... the couple could end buying some lame-o craigslist photographer with a D40 who doesn't even try to better their skills through forums and the like...

sometimes I buy crap.... and when I do I am not surprised to end up with crap... and sometimes my crap purchase ends up giving me more than I expected...

I never buy crap and then stamp my feet when whatever I buy ends up being crap...

I've even seen a few weddings where the couple had no photographer and just put a disposable on each table and asked everyone to fill em up.

Quality is relative to the purchasers expectations.... everything is disclosed in this situation and the purchasers doesn't have much in the way of alternative as paying for a competent professional is not on their list of priorities.

You can't have everything for free, in this case the couple does not DESERVE anything more than they pay for. If this was my wedding, and my priority was not spend good money on a photographer I would not have high expectations.

Exactly my thoughts. I at least have a know how for basic composition, lighting, exposure, etc.... so I know enough to actually get "decent" prints. If I play around and practice, I can give them better than decent prints.


The alternative to me is....(and I roughly quote the future bride)

"Well, there's this fat guy at work that supposedly does wedding photography on the side....I could probably see how much he costs."

While, this guy from work may be good, he could be your average Joe with a D40 like above and it's a risk they'd be taking. At least with me they'll get halfway decent photos pretty much guaranteed.

 

[abraxas]

Exactly my thoughts. I at least have a know how for basic composition, lighting, exposure, etc.... so I know enough to actually get "decent" prints. If I play around and practice, I can give them better than decent prints.


The alternative to me is....(and I roughly quote the future bride)

"Well, there's this fat guy at work that supposedly does wedding photography on the side....I could probably see how much he costs."

While, this guy from work may be good, he could be your average Joe with a D40 like above and it's a risk they'd be taking. At least with me they'll get halfway decent photos pretty much guaranteed.

:thumbup:

Alka Selter is good for the jitters. I still get them whenever I give a talk to a group. It's just like Dearleader said though.

 

[NateS]

Thanks abraxas. I just looked at the location tonight and that is probably my biggest fear....outdoors. Indoors, I would KNOW what the lighting will be like, but outdoors it's anybody's guess for that day. Plus starting at 6:30 with pictures afterwards makes me fear running out of light before getting done with the photos. I'm sure it will be okay though, and my fear is slowly (extremely slowly) turning into excitement for this opportunity.

 

[JerryPH]

but Jerry... if the couple isn't prepared to spend real money on a photographer what is their alternative??

Is this REALLY the case? In about 95% of all the cases based on what I see, hear and read with my own eyes, I would have to say no. If you go to places like the Knott or other wedding sites where brides post, you will read dozens if not hundreds of posts about how terrible their budget photographers were and if they had known, they would have done what was needed to raise the money to afford a better or different photographer.

Now it may or may not be the same in this case, no one here can tell except the person who is not on here to say for sure. I'm giving Nate the support and benefit of the doubt, as is obvious by my posts. You all know I can be freaking brutal about airing my feelings concerning an inexperienced photographer shooting weddings. I took the time to find out how to shoot a wedding and then shot 4 as a 2nd photographer. It is not easy to do WELL.

There are people who at their own personal wedding could not care less if no one showed up with a camera and a pro was not needed nor wanted. People like me. Rather surprising to hear, isn't it? At my wedding, there were no cameras, none asked for and none wanted (none refused either, just to be clear)

However, people like me are rarer than elves that spin gold from straw, and hindsight is always 20-20. It never seems important before, because there are so many other things to put the money on... until they really think about it later and regret it to no end.

Nate has time and as he said, someone with low expectations. That and a desire to learn, so basically it is in his hands. It is my hope and wish that he turns out pics that stun the bride to tears of joy.

Nate, if you hit a wall or trip on something... give me a PM. I'll pull you out.

 

[NateS]

Is this REALLY the case? In about 95% of all the cases based on what I see, hear and read with my own eyes, I would have to say no. If you go to places like the Knott or other wedding sites where brides post, you will read dozens if not hundreds of posts about how terrible their budget photographers were and if they had known, they would have done what was needed to raise the money to afford a better or different photographer.

Now it may or may not be the same in this case, no one here can tell except the person who is not on here to say for sure. I'm giving Nate the support and benefit of the doubt, as is obvious by my posts.

There are people who at their own personal wedding could not care less if no one showed up with a camera and a pro was not needed nor wanted. People like me. Rather surprising to hear, isn't it? At my wedding, there were no cameras, none asked for and none wanted.

However, people like me are rarer than elves that spin gold from straw, and hindsight is always 20-20. It never seems important before, because there are so many other things to put the money on... until they really think about it later and regret it to no end.

Nate has time and as he said, someone with low expectations. That and a desire to learn, so basically it is in his hands. It is my hope and wish that he turns out pics that stun the bride to tears of joy.

Honestly, I"m almost positive that it is the case. She is a student and has a part time job, he has a decent job at best. They are paying for this completely on their own and taking out a loan so they really can't afford 1000 dollars plus for a true pro photographer.

She has said multiple times that she doesn't care as long as she gets pictures. Whether this is true or not is only for her to know. Hopefully I can practice up and make it not an issue by producing the "tears of joy" pictures because that is my true hopes too.

 

[abraxas]

Nate;

I always figure it's none of my business what my clients can or can't afford. Second guessing yourself takes your mind off the work. No sense in getting all predatory and snoopy-gossipy. When I accept a job, it's about my expectations. I expect to do the best job I can, and I do.

Think positive, learn, practice and visualize what wonderful photos you'll take. Give it your best shot and don't worry about nothing.

Close the thread and don't look back.

 

[Village Idiot]

As was discussed in another cheap wedding photography thread on another board (and which may not be the case here), but does anyone notice that couples are willing to spend thousands on catering, cake, reception, dresses, etc... but they like to cheap out on the photography.

I mean, all that food goes down the ****ter in the end, but the photos are forever.

 

[Lyncca]

As was discussed in another cheap wedding photography thread on another board (and which may not be the case here), but does anyone notice that couples are willing to spend thousands on catering, cake, reception, dresses, etc... but they like to cheap out on the photography.

I mean, all that food goes down the ****ter in the end, but the photos are forever.

I think that is because during all the months up to the wedding, the wedding becomes less and less about the two people getting married and more about everyone else and impressing them or thinking you have to do what is "proper".

Photography is for the two people involved, the cake, DJ, food, etc. if for everyone else.

As for me, I wasn't willing to pay for any of it. I bartered like a fool for flowers, cake, etc. and my uncle is a wedding photographer, so they were free too.

 

[dEARlEADER]

As was discussed in another cheap wedding photography thread on another board (and which may not be the case here), but does anyone notice that couples are willing to spend thousands on catering, cake, reception, dresses, etc... but they like to cheap out on the photography.

I mean, all that food goes down the ****ter in the end, but the photos are forever.

Non artistic people have no idea what makes a good image. Within a reasonable margin, they will fail to observe distractions, skin tone, white balance, and compositional errors.

However, most people know about food. They certainly know if they cheap out on food and go with "Gus - The guy with the food in his truck" that most of their 200 guests will go home with the s**ts.

 

[bigtwinky]

I was invited to a friend’s wedding over the summer. The wedding was on a Sunday. They don’t have much money, got married at their home and we were about 40 people in all. They are a great couple, but just didn’t have the means (or maybe even want to) have a big wedding. I can totally understand, I had 35 people at my own.

All this is pre-photography. I’m new to the hobby, but taking courses and practicing where I can.

I bought my camera on a Thursday, the wedding was on Saturday. I knew that they didn’t have a photographer, so simply going on my intuition and a few days of reading and playing with my camera, I ended up being their wedding photographer. For which they were truly grateful.

They didn’t have the funds for a pro or knew anyone who was half decent (and invited to the wedding). So I put my camera in various pre-programmed settings and snapped away.

I have learned so much over the last 3 months. I look back at the photos and would of done many things differently. From composition problems, lighting problems and actually shooting the wedding in RAW instead of JPEG (haha).

What I did though was shoot A LOT of pictures. Over 1400. Out of those 1400, I can honestly say that 20 of them came out pretty damn nice. Another 20-40 were half decent. So all in all, they went from having no photos to having 20 album worthy ones and 30 that were good to show.

I would never of accepted to be paid for this, nor would I of even volunteered my “skills” (which at the time were more like – I have a camera – and not actual skills).

So make sure you take plenty of pictures. I’m sure you’ll do a great job!

 

[Synnove]

I've done a few weddings but I never got paid for them - the bride and groom were friends of mine and on a tight budget. They even had people bring food to the wedding instead of having it catered. I think I did okay but nowhere near the professional level. I still wouldn't be able to charge anyone for what I do but I would suggest 6 months of practice should leave you ready.

 

[craig]

So why would anyone pay $3,000 a day to have their wedding photographed?

Love & Bass