New to the business end, questions

[JenG]

Recently friends have asked me to be their photographer for things but not things I have any practice with.

one asked me to shoot her daughters sweet 16.
another asked me to shoot her very small wedding.


Any tips or advice or leads into what and how I can work on these things?

 

[EckoZero]

Recently friends have asked me to be their photographer for things but not things I have any practice with.

one asked me to shoot her daughters sweet 16.
another asked me to shoot her very small wedding.


Any tips or advice or leads into what and how I can work on these things?

Don't turn down the experience but also don't let yourself be the only photographer at your friends wedding.
If she books a local professional and lets you take shots too then you can build experience, give her the shots that come out OK but it allows you to enjoy yourself and to not disappear off the face of the earth afterwards if there aren't any top quality shots.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

h
how hard is it to shoot parties and events like that?
what would I need?
also, how would I price it?
I know what to charge for portraits for as far as events go, I am not sure at all.

If you have to ask any of these questions, then you have absolutely no business putting yourself out there for 'business'.

 

[JenG]

oh that was helpful. thanks for your support dude. i guess you are an expert?

 

[JenG]

Ecko, Thanks for your help.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

oh that was helpful. thanks for your support dude. i guess you are an expert?

ITS A WEDDING!!! Its a one shot opportunity. You can't ask all the guests to come back tomorrow for a 'reshoot' of the ceremony. You can't ask all the party guests to come back next weekend so her daughter can turn 16 again. If you are accepting payment for services, don't you think you should know what you are doing first?

Do your friends a favor, refer them to someone who knows what they are doing, and ask to tag-along for the experience.

 

[sanderso]

h
how hard is it to shoot parties and events like that?
what would I need?
also, how would I price it?
I know what to charge for portraits for as far as events go, I am not sure at all.

If you have to ask any of these questions, then you have absolutely no business putting yourself out there for 'business'.

I suspect that what TheModernMutt is saying (can't speak for him) is that you'll save yourself a lot of time, frustration and money if you're NOT learning these important concepts "on the job"....namely, not learning "on your nickel". I'm not a professional photographer, but work in the business world. Generally, businesses don't do well when they're busy learning their craft instead of providing services to their customers. It's very rare to find customers willing to pay for a service while the business is still learning how to perform the service.

My $0.02.

 

[JenG]

MM, you are quite rude and I don't get people who are in forums acting as if they know it all, if you knew it all you would not be HERE. some advice: approach people you don't know with some tact.

I was trying to get a sense of what it takes to do it. My friends are WELL AWARE that I am new at this and approached me because they like my work.
EVERYONE who shoots weddings etc has had a FIRST WEDDING. I would never do something if I thought it would turn out mediocre.

 

[GrantH]

He may have been rude (not IMO) but he's right. Refer them to someone that can photograph the wedding perfectly and ask if you can be the back up/second shooter to practice and you will give any photos they like in a digital medium for them to have printed for themselves.

 

[SrBiscuit]

i dont think MM was acting as if he knows it all, and tbh he makes valid points. there are tons of posts like these...people who get a dslr and want to jump right into shooting big events, and for money, no less. (NOT saying this is you)
are you new to just the business end of this?...or new to photography in general?

you asking "how hard is it to shoot events like this?" is rather disconcerting.

can you give us a bit of background on your shooting history? you have a d3000, which is a fairly new model...what have you had in the past?

what glass do you have? it can be frustrating to rely on kit lenses sometimes, as they dont offer the reach coupled with the speed that's needed for some event photography.
will you have a backup body?

what's the setting of each of these events?
inside? outside? day? night? ambient light?
have you visited the venues yet?
what distance will you be from the action?

do you have any speedlites at all?

if you give us a bit of background on yourself as a photog, and what equipment you have available, i think we will be better suited to answer your questions and help you produce nice images for these events.
if you go in unprepared, it could lead to utter failure and mass disappointment.

and for the record, yes, every wedding photog DOES have their first wedding...but it's usually as a SECOND shooter.

 

[JenG]

Grant, it is interesting but I find many photographers to be know it alls. seriously. I don't get that!

I was looking into being an apprentice to photogs in my area who are more experienced, any ideas how I could best find those?

Thanks all
advice taken

Jen

 

[Village Idiot]

oh that was helpful. thanks for your support dude. i guess you are an expert?

He's right. I'd never shoot an event that I had to come onto an internet forum and ask random stranger for help with how to do my job. I'd never book a gig that I knew I couldn't do 100% of the way or if I did own or couldn't rent the gear needed to provide my services so as to meet or exceed my clients' expectations.

I never show up to a paid gig second guessing myself or not having a backup plan.

 

[SrBiscuit]

Grant, it is interesting but I find many photographers to be know it alls. seriously. I don't get that!

I was looking into being an apprentice to photogs in my area who are more experienced, any ideas how I could best find those?

Thanks all
advice taken

Jen

what youre running into are likely not "know it alls", but people who care about the craft who can see that some people just arent ready to take on work like that.
if you were a surgeon, and made your living doing so...if i got on a forum and said "hey everyone, i just bought some scalpels and i wanna try doing a heart transplant. how much should i charge, and what will i need?" would you seriously hold my hand, and tell me that i'll do great?

granted, that's a ridiculous analogy...lol


and for your other question...

yellow pages.
google.

 

[JenG]

Srbiscuit,

I did mention my experience, and I have thought about everything you mentioned and have done research and have taken classes as well.

I did not just get a DSLR and I am not trying to jump right into anything. I have some experience but not with party events. I had a feeling I was going to get this type of feedback, and it is pretty disconcerting. People come here to get advice and to learn, isn't that how we all become professional? by educating ourselves, by asking questions?

I don't have an issue asking for advice about what I don't know.

jen

 

[PhotoWrangler]

I was trying to get a sense of what it takes to do it. My friends are WELL AWARE that I am new at this and approached me because they like my work.
EVERYONE who shoots weddings etc has had a FIRST WEDDING. I would never do something if I thought it would turn out mediocre.

I don't know it all, but I know more than you. And I know that if you have to ask any of the above questions, you are no where near ready to shoot any of these events, nor accept payment for it. And if you aren't excepting payment for it, then why are you asking about pricing?

You'll need a camera that handles noise better than a D3000. You'll also need a few fast lenses such as a 50mm 1.8, a mid range 2.8 zoom, and a 70-200 2.8. You'll probably also need a few flashes and lightstands or brackets to hold them with. You'll need a backup camera body, just in case your's craps out in the middle of the ceremony, and likewise you'll need extra backup flashes in case something happens to your primaries. Backup batteries, backup memory cards, backup everything else.

After you have all your equipment, you'll need a contract between you and the wedding couple. Yeah they're friends, but friends have sued friends before because they thought they would get photographs of their special day at a 'deal', and then they didn't. Speaking of getting sued, how bout that million dollar liability policy for when the mother of the bride gets pissed because instead of getting the the brides expression at the vows, you got an underexposed shot of the light fixture behind her, or you drop your camera in the parkinglot and fry the memory card that was still in it - and did I mention that you can't 'redo' that moment again?

You know what I did when I shot my first wedding. I sat on a bench at the back of the church, next to the photographer, and watched the entire time. Didn't touch a camera the entire time. Couldn't tell you a single word the preacher said, but I could tell you every single movement the photographer made, and which pieces of equipment he used.