Shooting a wedding in 8 days!! HELP!!

Robin Usagani · Dec 24, 2010

MohaimenK said:
for some reason when guys see a female name here, some of them seem to....well....kiss ass. Sorry to say but if I a guy asked this question, I'd get torn apart. sorry this just sounds more like a joke to me than anything.

You got it backward. Female = instant MWC which is not always the case.

ababysean · Dec 24, 2010

Schwettylens said:
$1 is a major money for me. I can get something from the $1 menu at McD!

No according to Remy!

RauschPhotography · Dec 24, 2010

harishankar said:
RauschPhotography said:

MohaimenK said:

for some reason when guys see a female name here, some of them seem to....well....kiss ass. Sorry to say but if I a guy asked this question, I'd get torn apart. sorry this just sounds more like a joke to me than anything.

Click to expand...

I don't kiss ass regardless of gender. If you're unprepared and expect a pat on the back and encouraging words... you've got another thing coming. If you're getting paid for a gig and you're not ready for it, you're going to hear a lot of backlash, and not just from us on the forum.

Click to expand...

Kissing ass is not the same thing as offering constructive advice. If the advice is to not to take so much money, then I cannot see the propriety in such advice because it clearly is no business of ours, regardless of the fact that the OP mentioned the fact. I rightly believe this forum is for photography advice, not an ethical discussion on how much money is acceptable as reward for services rendered. And we have no idea of what MAJOR MONEY is. It could be anything at all and a matter of perspective of the OP.

I understand what you're saying, and it's true--we don't understand how much money is being paid for this job, so we can't technically tell the OP to refuse money/receive less, etc. I'm truly not trying to be unsupportive to the OP, it's just I find their behavior unprofessional and irresponsible. I had already suggested renting lenses rather than using their kit lens-- quite honestly, it would help them out a lot more at this point. But the truth is, when you take a job, you know what it entails--there's no reason to be waiting up until the last 8 days to get your things together.

LuckySe7en · Dec 24, 2010

Look, speaking from experience. I paid my "photographer" MAJOR money to shoot my wedding. And this is what he did for a living. But he sucked. I found this out after the fact. Pictures werent anything special. I knew zero about photography at the time but my point here is. We'll never get that day back and we have horrible pictures. Don't do this to them if you really care about what you do.

KmH · Dec 24, 2010

lildlege1 said:
.....The whole point of this forum is to Help each other out and learn new things!!!! ......

I'm sorry, but it's not.

The whole point of the forum is to be an advertising platform the forum owners can use to sell advertising space for an income stream.

NikonNewbie · Dec 24, 2010

I didn't pay for my wedding photography...my parents did...and I have to say it was a very reputible company...and they were not great. I even saw their work before hand...and yet the 2 people that did our wedding weren't so great.
so...no matter how much you pay doesn't guarantee your going to get perfection.
This isn't advice...just a statement, I have no idea what your skill level is...but a wedding day is something major and I would personally hold a lifetime of guilt if I didn't deliver 100% what the bride and groom had in mind. That may be just me...so I will probably never ever do a wedding, even after all the classes I am about to take, I can't hold onto that kind of guilt.

Patrice · Dec 24, 2010

Next time you as photographer of limited experience are seeking advice or recommendations on this topic please strike the word wedding from your vocabulary.

I do not have a lot of experience yet in this field and I have been asked to photograph a social gathering in a (small, medium, large) venue. I have a low end consumer dSLR with a kit lens. I might consider buying a speedlight for this event since I might get modestly paid if the results are ok. Please help with any tips or advice.

nonamexx · Dec 24, 2010

RauschPhotography said:
I understand what you're saying, and it's true--we don't understand how much money is being paid for this job, so we can't technically tell the OP to refuse money/receive less, etc. I'm truly not trying to be unsupportive to the OP, it's just I find their behavior unprofessional and irresponsible. I had already suggested renting lenses rather than using their kit lens-- quite honestly, it would help them out a lot more at this point. But the truth is, when you take a job, you know what it entails--there's no reason to be waiting up until the last 8 days to get your things together.

I also don't want to comment on the professionalism aspect because I am not SURE that the OP is a professional.

It might be a friend who is offering to pay for the job knowing that the person is not an expert and they can get away with paying less money than to a full professional doing it as a job.

In fact, that's what originally occurred to me

All that is speculation, however, and I'm glad you saw the point of my post.

Tulsa · Dec 24, 2010

This is a joke... right? December fools day?

Kofman13 · Dec 24, 2010

Tulsa said:
This is a joke... right? December fools day?

I thought so too

reznap · Dec 24, 2010

Tulsa said:
This is a joke... right? December fools day?

Well, I would think that anyone who started a thread like this would have seen this type of response coming.

@ OP, good luck - your gear's lacking a few key items (fast zoom for one) so you might want to hit up a rental shop. I see three possible outcomes: One, the forum members are underestimating you and you end up doing well. Two, you get lucky (everyone wins, happy ending, yay). Three, you learn a hard lesson. I hope it's one of the two former for your sake and the couple's.

I like the suggestion to bring along a paid second shooter (you give them some of your share of the loot).