Advise/Help needed for first type of phot shoot.

Nubbs · Jun 16, 2011

I have never really done this type of photo shoot before as i mainly do street photography and photojournalist type stuff. But I have been asked by a couple people to make some photos of them.

The first is this weekend. I have a buddy that is popping the question and wants me to capture the moment. Yea no pressure there. He is going to be doing the deed on a pier in Annapolis, Maryland probably around 6pm. All I am envisioning is a crowded pier with bad light. I have asked him to try to remember to do it on the East side of the pier so I can have the sun at my back. I will be shooting with a 70-200 f4.

Does anybody have any tips I could use to not **** this up?

The 2nd shoot is sister in laws in their wedding dresses on a farm. Oh and even though I told them that I need to shoot real early in the morning or real late in the afternoon the only time they are available is like 10am. I will not have the 70-200 for this shoot. will probably be shooting 24-105 f4. Same question applies to this shoot also. Anything I need to know or be on the look out for?

Thank you in advance for your help.

D-B-J · Jun 16, 2011

Aperture priority, with the widest you have (f4, but something closer to 2.8 would be ideal), and shoot a TON of photo's. In nikon's we have a continuous high setting so you can shoot at the full fps of your camera. So just shoot a ton, try a ton of different compositions, and the lighting will be ever changing so don't try and use manual.

Goodluck!

Regards,
Jake

gsgary · Jun 16, 2011

I would be shooting with the sun behind them and using flash, if the sun is behind you it's in their eyes so they will be squinting, not good

helenjune · Jun 16, 2011

Hello Nubbs,

The first is this weekend. I have a buddy that is popping the question and wants me to capture the moment. Yea no pressure there. He is going to be doing the deed on a pier in Annapolis, Maryland probably around 6pm. All I am envisioning is a crowded pier with bad light. I have asked him to try to remember to do it on the East side of the pier so I can have the sun at my back. I will be shooting with a 70-200 f4.

If there's any chance for you to go to the pier before the shoot, try going there at around 6pm so that you can get a preview of what the light will look like in that spot at that time. You could bring a friend along, or just ask nice looking strangers, and experiment with different exposures and ISO settings. Also, try not to label the lighting and surroundings as a "bad" situation, but look at it as more of a "challenge" that will help you improve your skills. If there's a large crowd, they could add to the atmosphere and you could use their shapes to help frame the shot in unusual/interesting ways.

As D-B-J says, if you can get your hands on a lens with higher apertures (1.8, 2.8) that would help a lot.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself or act like you're a professional at this. If you haven't done so, tell your friend that you haven't done this type of shooting before and that you're more of an amateur when it comes to shooting in these conditions. As I see it, if he were definitely expecting and wanting HIGH quality photographs, he would make the effort to seek out a professional photographer that is equipped and 99.9% guaranteed to capture the moment. Not that you shouldn't try to deliver the best results that you possibly can, but maybe understanding his expectations will help take off some of the pressure/stress that you're feeling, which will help you have a clearer mind for the shoot. Same advice goes for any photoshoot that is new to you and you are quite unsure of.

The 2nd shoot is sister in laws in their wedding dresses on a farm. Oh and even though I told them that I need to shoot real early in the morning or real late in the afternoon the only time they are available is like 10am. I will not have the 70-200 for this shoot. will probably be shooting 24-105 f4. Same question applies to this shoot also. Anything I need to know or be on the look out for?

If the sun is too high at 10am, try shooting near shaded areas (near trees, houses, barns) If you can get one or a couple of people to help you, you could also try to filter the light through some diffusers - you just have to make sure that you're diffusing all the light that's hitting them within the frame.

Exposure Bracketing might also be an option - you can take multiple exposures of the exact same scene (one for shadows, midtones and highlights) and then blend them together in photoshop. If you still have your camera manual, you can probably read up on how to set for exposure bracketing in your camera - just make sure you have enough memory/cards to last you for the shoot.

Nubbs · Jun 16, 2011

Helen, and everybody thank you for your advise.

Both parties know that this type of shoot is not my forte, especially the girls. Capturing the actually proposal isn't far off of what I shoot on the street. It is in essence capturing a moment. I have explained to Both parties that this isn't what I normally shoot I even told the girls that they would be better off finding somebody else to shoot them. They are not the ones that are putting pressure on me to make good frames. I tend to hold myself to a higher level and put pressure on myself. Neither are being charged for this, I actually don't charge anybody for anything yet.

My wife and I are going to head to the pier a little before the couple and I was planning on shooting her for practice. I agree with the challenge. The only way we get better is to challenge ourselves. With that said if I can eliminate one this time I wouldn't mind it

I have a 50mm 1.8 and a 100 2.8 that I will try to shoot the ladies with. I dont use photo shop but will look into trying what you suggested with bracketing. The girls husbands are also going to be there so they can hold some light modifiers for me.

I am shooting with a 7D and will have about 16 gigs of cards with me.

Thank you again for the advise

KBM1016 · Jun 17, 2011

I may have to make my way down to Annapolis to check out this moment

No, but seriously, that place can get crowded. Maybe try to bring 1 or 2 extra people to stand in the way of the crowd moving in front of you. Does the potential new bride know you are going to be there as like a group outing?

GOOD LUCK! Post some shots when they are all done!

Nubbs · Jun 17, 2011

There will be 3 couples there. so I might have a potential of 3 blockers. The bride to be thinks its just a day out with some friends. Since I take my camera everywhere with me as it is she will not think anything of me walking around with it. We have even gone as far as saying that I am going to leave for dinner early because I want to get to the pier and shoot shots.

Nubbs · Jun 20, 2011

Ok so the shoot went ok. It wasnt as crowded as i had planed for it to be. We also happened to have a hotel room that was looking over the pier. This made it easy to get an idea of the setting. Below is some of the pics that I have had a chance to process. I am not super happy with them but he and his girl love them. I already told him under no circumstance am i going to shoot he wedding.

1.

2.

3.

Thank you everybody for the advise. It helped a lot.

Next week I have the ladies to shoot followed by a motorcycle. Long day of shooting coming up.

KBM1016 · Jun 20, 2011

Nubbs said:
I already told him under no circumstance am i going to shoot he wedding.

Good job though, you made them happy and that's all that matters!