First Wedding | Tips? How should I be prepared?

[MLeeK]

With the high ISO capabilities of modern cameras, F4 is often going to be good enough. Although, you may find that 24mm just isn't wide enough in situations where you can't back up (indoors).

First off, I think that "I AM DOING THIS FOR FREE (just to get that out of the way, because it is my first wedding)!" is a bad idea.

If you were getting paid (or if you want to be perceived as professional) you will want to rent/borrow some form of back up equipment. This is someone's special day, are you willing to risk the photos, knowing that if the camera/lens/flash stops working (for any reason), you would be out of luck?
That is a big part of 'being prepared'.

Also, this may not matter, as you're doing this for free, but you should have a contract in place. At the very least, it should outline the expectations for you and for them...so that there are no surprises and/or hurt feelings afterward.

As for 'being prepared'...this is always what wracks my nerves before a wedding. Did I pack everything I'll need? The camera gear is the easy part. What about extra clothes, in case something happens to the clothes you're wearing. What about medication for something that might come up...headache, nausea, diarrhea etc? I always bring a small cooler with water and something with sugar (juice or pop). A tripod can often come in handy. A step ladder is a very useful thing to have.
Be prepared for any likely weather...jacket, umbrella in case of rain...maybe and extra shirt if it's so hot that you sweat though your first one.

My last wedding was a 4 hour drive away and I was there for two nights. I went over everything, trying to think of what I might need. I was 3/4 of the way there when I realized I forgot to bring any sort of jacket (forecast called for rain). I had to stop and buy one.

This is the difference between being a professional and just being a guy with a camera. A professional is prepared to get the job done.
But as you're doing this for free...I'm not sure your and their expectations will be...

Scary. Of all the weddings I've shot so far... clothes... was one thing that never even occurred to me. Great advice, Mike. (all of it- not just the clothes) Thank you.

BTW, I personally bring a cooler with two medium size bottles of gatorade and no less than three high-protein snack bars. Like 20g+. Weddings are a lot of work and moving around and you have to be on your game, and being undernourished and dehydrated is a no-win situation.

You know, I don't carry extra clothing or a change of clothes as a part of my kit either. Although after reading Mike's response I think I should have been doing it! I guess I've been damn lucky!

 

[MLeeK]

Where are you at in OH? Anywhere near one of us who you could borrow gear from?
I am about an hour from the OH border. A couple hours and change out of Cleveland. I know there are several in the CLE area...

I'm in Toledo, OH, about 2 hrs from Cleveland... great idea though.



And to answer Mike's question about expectations, they know they are not paying a pro and not getting a pro, they will be happy to have photos of decent quality.

I'm getting to know my 7D pretty well now and I'm getting pretty comfortable in knowing aperture/ISO/shutter speed and how that all correlates and affects the other so its not like I'll be spraying and praying on full auto...

I know that they "know" what they are getting and you can say it 7 ways till tuesday at this point. BUT! It won't matter after the fact if they are disappointed. Put it in writing in a contract saying what you are promising them and what they are understanding. You can NEVER have too much CYA but you can have too little.

 

[macpro88]

What if your camera stopped working?, What if your lens is broken? What if your flash is dead?

I haz le' iPhone...


No, but, I have friends with Canon bodies, I'll ask one of them to borrow one for the day.

 

[manaheim]

BTW, I also wanted to mention... on the "well lit" thing... most people who are not photographers don't understand how much light a camera needs to expose a shot properly. People think "lots of incandescant lights"=well lit, and it's really not. Obviously, if you have a good camera high ISO is an option... a speedlight will help enormously... and a faster lens will also help a great deal if you go that route, but well lit is generally a lie.

Also one tip on the speedlight... you're going to want to bounce it, but high ceilings in some of these places can play hell with that trick. If you combine a higher ISO with the bounce it will save your butt. I've found most situations 400-800 is fine, though I've had to go to 1200 in some extreme cases.

Also be sure to bring lots of batteries... I STRONGLY encourage you to spring for the lithiums. The alkalines just will NOT hold up. You will need at least 3-4 sets for an average wedding. Buy a ton and return what you don't use. You DO NOT want to run out. Also be mindful the lithiums run hot, so don't go popping the flash too fast or you'll melt it. (you can melt the flash itself just off it firing, but the batteries make it more so)

Also recommend you learn to drag the shutter... practice before hand. Think 1/20th second exposure, F3.5/4, flash on. This allows the background light to fill in a bit. Vary this based upon how much ambient light is in the room. Do this in a genuinely bright room and it's a disaster. Very bad idea. Very dark room it works wonders as long as there is not too much motion.

Also a good idea to look into an external battery pack. I live and die by mine. Rent one if you can. They're kinda too expensive to buy for ONE wedding.

Also make sure to bring extra memory cards. In a typical wedding/reception I shoot about 1200-1600 images.

Think ahead on shots you want to try to take. Be open to the bride/groom's suggestions. Research the site ahead- even visit it if you can.

There's more, but that's a good start.

 

[macpro88]

Thanks manaheim very much, so more valid points and suggestions.

Thank you all who have been helpful thus far! I truly appreciate it!

 

[MLeeK]

I've had no luck with Lithium's in general, but I LOVE eneloops and they can be ordered on-line for a really amazing price compared to purchasing the lithium in a store locally!

 

[manaheim]

I've had no luck with Lithium's in general, but I LOVE eneloops and they can be ordered on-line for a really amazing price compared to purchasing the lithium in a store locally!

What has been your problem with lithiums?

Eneloops are rechargable, right?

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Eneloops are the bomb diggity for pocketwizards and flashes

 

[Big Mike]

And to answer Mike's question about expectations, they know they are not paying a pro and not getting a pro, they will be happy to have photos of decent quality.

I'm getting to know my 7D pretty well now and I'm getting pretty comfortable in knowing aperture/ISO/shutter speed and how that all correlates and affects the other so its not like I'll be spraying and praying on full auto...

We all have to start somewhere, and many wedding photographers have a similar story as their first. So just do your best. Under-promise and over-deliver.

Yes, certainly make sure you are comfortable with your camera and how to get good exposures. But that is usually the least of your problems. It's all the excitement and confusion of a wedding that makes this job hard, but fun. Th best thing you could, to prepare for this wedding, would be to tag along/assist another wedding photographer on a job. That way, you can really get a feel for how it goes. Although, no two weddings are exactly alike, and a good wedding photographer is prepared and thus ready for any situation that comes up.

 

[gsgary]

Care to elaborate? I was told it won't be dark, but who knows.

Wedding is also low key, not a lot of money being put into, just thought I'd throw that out there.

That lens will not be fast enough it may look bright to you eyes but lenses dont see as well as use

 

[Big Mike]

Also be sure to bring lots of batteries... I STRONGLY encourage you to spring for the lithiums. The alkalines just will NOT hold up. You will need at least 3-4 sets for an average wedding. Buy a ton and return what you don't use. You DO NOT want to run out. Also be mindful the lithiums run hot, so don't go popping the flash too fast or you'll melt it. (you can melt the flash itself just off it firing, but the batteries make it more so)

I wouldn't recommend lithiums as they are not rechargeable (bad for the environment).
Just get a few good sets of NiMH batteries. I've been using the newest version of NiMH from Energizer. They hold their charge like Eneloops but have a higher capacity.

 

[macpro88]

We all have to start somewhere, and many wedding photographers have a similar story as their first. So just do your best. Under-promise and over-deliver.

Yes, certainly make sure you are comfortable with your camera and how to get good exposures. But that is usually the least of your problems. It's all the excitement and confusion of a wedding that makes this job hard, but fun. Th best thing you could, to prepare for this wedding, would be to tag along/assist another wedding photographer on a job. That way, you can really get a feel for how it goes. Although, no two weddings are exactly alike, and a good wedding photographer is prepared and thus ready for any situation that comes up.

Exactly, why I'm trying not to put too much money into this so I don't end up having to charge them too much. I know my skill limitations and I am humbly aware I'm going into this not knowing a damn thing, which is why I am asking, and that I will make known to them that I will do my best but don't expect pro quality. You get what you pay for. And I will do my absolute best to over-deliver. Seriously will give it all I've got to get great shots.

I will prepare for this the best I can. And I do have a few contacts to do weddings. I'll see about tagging along sometime just to get a feel for it.

Thanks again Mike!

 

[MLeeK]

Also be sure to bring lots of batteries... I STRONGLY encourage you to spring for the lithiums. The alkalines just will NOT hold up. You will need at least 3-4 sets for an average wedding. Buy a ton and return what you don't use. You DO NOT want to run out. Also be mindful the lithiums run hot, so don't go popping the flash too fast or you'll melt it. (you can melt the flash itself just off it firing, but the batteries make it more so)

I wouldn't recommend lithiums as they are not rechargeable (bad for the environment).
Just get a few good sets of NiMH batteries. I've been using the newest version of NiMH from Energizer. They hold their charge like Eneloops but have a higher capacity.

Mike-How is the recovery time with them? Are they as good as the ULD Eneloops for that?

 

[manaheim]

Also be sure to bring lots of batteries... I STRONGLY encourage you to spring for the lithiums. The alkalines just will NOT hold up. You will need at least 3-4 sets for an average wedding. Buy a ton and return what you don't use. You DO NOT want to run out. Also be mindful the lithiums run hot, so don't go popping the flash too fast or you'll melt it. (you can melt the flash itself just off it firing, but the batteries make it more so)

I wouldn't recommend lithiums as they are not rechargeable (bad for the environment).
Just get a few good sets of NiMH batteries. I've been using the newest version of NiMH from Energizer. They hold their charge like Eneloops but have a higher capacity.

Mike-How is the recovery time with them? Are they as good as the ULD Eneloops for that?

This is why I like the lithiums... the recovery rate is insanely fast. Though these days I only use them as backup as I have the external battery pack and I get about 1000 flashes out of that.

 

[jwbryson1]

I'm an amateur and I've never shot a wedding, probably never will, but it seems to me that if this was MY first wedding, I'd want to see the place and get very familiar with it WELL BEFORE the wedding date. I'd stop by with a friend, look around, bring my gear and take some photos of said friend in different lighting conditions. It makes no sense to me to rely on what you are being told about the place by others as to lighting, etc. Are the people telling you there is "good lighting" professional photographers themselves? How would a lay person have the first clue about "sufficient" lighting for wedding photos?

What about a bag of rocks to weigh down a tripod and to support a soft box in case of wind?

Just my $0.02. Hope it helps...