Shooting a wedding in August. A little worried.

[tirediron]

...Insurance as far as...?

Please tell me you're joking! If you are seriously asking that question, are you even licensed to transact business in your region?

 

[jeterisagirl]

Every guy that walks out of best buy with his new D3100 and kit lens is a wedding photographer.

Awesome! Im a newb and just walked out a couple weeks ago. It was a 3200 but still, nice to know Im ready for weddings.

On a serious note, I think the advice of 2nd shooting with a pro is a fantastic idea. I hadnt even thought of it and will definitely do that down the road. Not even ready to second shoot yet :lmao:

 

[KmH]

Per the insurance question, liability, E&O (Errors and Omissions), and Indemnity insurance would be minimum. By being paid to shoot, it's quite likely your homeowners insurance would not cover any damage to your or rented gear. Check with your insurance agent. If not covered by homeowners insurance, look into an Inland Marine policy for your gear.

Some venues will require you provide them with a COI (Certificate of Insurance) that includes them as co-insured.

 

[Rwsphotos]

...Insurance as far as...?

Please tell me you're joking! If you are seriously asking that question, are you even licensed to transact business in your region?

All depends on what the laws are in their sate and city they all vary some require business license some don't and some have certain requirements on insurance. I would recommend liability as a minimum required or not although it would be best to look at what their city requires and what other photographers in their area have.. Personally I'd be happier if all the states had the same requirements would be much easier to answer that question.

 

[12sndsgood]

Insurance is to cover your ass plain and simple.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Where to even start.... I got ask by a friend to shoot his neighbor/friend's wedding in August, so I have a while to plan (thank god). However I do need some pointers. I have done some research on here so far and know that I am going to need 2-3 lenses to cover the event adequately, need to make a list of shots I need to get before/during/after the ceremony, I know I need to meet with the bride and groom prior to the big day. I also read somewhere a contract is a very good idea.

Since I only have a D80 body, I was thinking I might rent a D300S. My buddy has one and I've played around with it, awesome body but I don't think he is going to be willing to let me borrow his. I also plan on renting the Nikon 17-55mm F/2.8 lens and a SB-910 with diffuser. I have a Tamron 70-200 F/2.8 right now and figure those two lenses will cover me pretty well, or do you recommend something else?

I plan to meet with the couple at the very least once before the big day that way I can chat with them, work out pricing, contract, see where I am going to be shooting etc. I also might see if I can go out and be an assistant to a professional wedding photographer.

Lastly, what how should I base my pricing? Obviously I am going to need to cover the gear I rent, so automatically that's about $200-$250. Maybe $500-$600?

Any input is appreciated!

Interesting. Price it like he's betting the farm on your skills and final product

 

[Marcelle]

I have to concur with the previous opinions, I did wedding reportages for 20 years and it is no game, no way to say hold it, we do it again
you take the right pic at the right moment or it is game over.
Depending on the location you need some serious equipment and flash and KNOW how to use it
I don't know how many amateur pics I processed with the faces and nice white dress totaly burned by a bad flash setup...
By considerations for your friends, decline, wedding is supposed to happen only once in a lifetime...so they deserve great memories
and if you decide to do it anyway PLEASE go to a real photographer about printing !! (he might correct and compensate a bit under and over exposures and so on)

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

This is just one of those situations where what might be confusing for you (wondering why all these people are telling you not to do it) is clear as day to must of us. You're just not ready. Simple as that. This same situation has happened too many times to count, in the real world and on this forum. In fact, something similar probably happens about once every 2 months here on TPF. Sometimes we see the ruined wedding pictures after the fact when a new member hasn't the slightest clue. Other times we get your situation where you've accepted an offer to shoot a friends wedding, but really should not have.

How many wedding have you shot in that 4 year time?

anyway, I'm not going to get on your case as much as others will because i'm shooting my first wedding in 10 days. I have known about it for about 5 months, and wasn't able to find a second shooting position in that amount of time. I would personally hit up your library, read as many wedding books as you can. Most of them go thru the day and you can start to get the planning laid out in your head, i'd suggest you try to use your buddies camera for the day if its the same one you will rent for the wedding. I see bad things if you rent gear you have never used before and use the wedding day to become familiar with it. If need be, go rent it for a day a few weeks before the wedding so you know the in's and outs of the gear.

I shot some of my cousins, I didn't shoot the ceremony as I more wanted to watch, and then the photographer let me tag along as they did the shots after the ceremony as well. I definitely plan on getting everything laid out on what I am going to do the day of well before the wedding. Hoping to have it all laid out when I meet with the couple so I can go over it with them.

Definitely plan on playing with my buddy's camera more and playing with the settings.

So you second shot one wedding (kind of but not really). And the camera you plan to shoot the ceremony with you plan to play around with a bit to gain experience. I'd feel very comfortable as the bridge and groom about your level of command of your equipment, sleeping easy at night knowing you've played around with the settings in your buddies camera. Wow.

also, have you thought about insurance???

Insurance as far as...?

Insurance as far as covering your ass because you obviously don't know what the hell your doing. Indicative by the fact that you don't even know why you'd need insurance. Again, wow.

Thanks for all the input/suggestions. Obviously weddings are very important days for people and they want to remember the day and want it captured extremely well. However, it reminds me of "entry level jobs" In order to shoot a wedding everybody here wants you to have experience, yet how do you gain experience without going out and shooting a wedding?

Your logic is severely flawed. Weddings are not an entry level job. You don't shoot a wedding to get experience. You practice by shooting less important events. Eventually, you second shoot a wedding behind a seasoned, experienced photographer. And eventually, after you've been a second shooter multiple times, you might work your way into the wedding market.

Man, you really need to take a step back from all of this and stop thinking you you you, and start thinking about the bride and groom's memories. That's the most important thing. You need more experience and knowledge before you shoot a wedding, simple as that. That is, unless you don't care if you do a poor job or half-assed job-- but then that's really more of a comment on your integrity. And make no mistake, it does become an issue of integrity, to take on something you're not 100% prepared for and to jeopardize someone's memories in the process. Think about it.

 

[manaheim]

I think everyone should simmer down just a little. OP hasn't even said all that much and you're all getting pretty seriously wound up as if he/she is being massively defiant and crazy... vs. just seriously uninformed.

We see this a lot. To the point we could probably put together a brochure with the things the would-be wedding photographer should be looking into, trying not to do, and how they should probably be considering doing it not at all... and I think our approach to this should be pretty much brochure-like by this point as well. That is to say... informative, clear, concise, firm but calm and with some nice glossy pictures.

Frankly, I tend to think most people would rail against the kind of abuse that gets stacked on these people and go out defiantly and shoot the wedding with no idea and no appropriate gear just to show us all up.

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

I think everyone should simmer down just a little. OP hasn't even responded in a bit and you're all getting pretty seriously wound up.

We see this a lot. To the point we could probably put together a brochure with the things the would-be wedding photographer should be looking into, trying not to do, and how they should probably be considering doing it not at all... and I think our approach to this should be pretty much brochure-like by this point as well. That is to say... informative, clear, concise, firm but calm and with some nice glossy pictures.

Frankly, I tend to think most people would rail against the kind of abuse that gets stacked on these people and go out defiantly and shoot the wedding with no idea and no appropriate gear just to show us all up.

A brochure would be a good idea.

He did respond yesterday, so that's pretty recent. At which time he revealed more things that he doesn't have a clue about. So yeah, he might go out and shoot the wedding in defiance, but not before being told straight up that he shouldn't. He asked TPF for advice, and that's the advice that I'd give him or anyone else on or off this forum.

So if/when he does screw up the wedding to some degree, he'll wish he would've listened.

 

[Tony S]

To conduct business in the State of Washington you need a business license from the Washington Department of Revenue.


Start here for information ... ORA | Small Business Assistance


The Wa. State Department of Revenue business site.... Doing business


Governor Gregoire wants your share of the money.

 

[animotionphoto]

I think if you're an adult you should do whatever the hell it is you want to. I haven't seen many pointers as you asked for. Instead, you mostly got criticized and basically talked out of it. If I had listened to every Joe Shmo who told me I couldn't do it, or didn't have enough experience, I wouldn't have opened my business 13 years ago.


Not every wedding is fancy. Most people getting married can't even afford a photographer. I think if your friends know your experience level, they'd be fine with you taking the photos. I say jump in with both feet, but make sure you have the right and enough equipment with backups. Doesn't matter whether your a fisherman, basket weaver, or pole dancer; you need the right equipment.

 

[PNWSGM]

I think if you're an adult you should do whatever the hell it is you want to. I haven't seen many pointers as you asked for. Instead, you mostly got criticized and basically talked out of it. If I had listened to every Joe Shmo who told me I couldn't do it, or didn't have enough experience, I wouldn't have opened my business 13 years ago.


Not every wedding is fancy. Most people getting married can't even afford a photographer. I think if your friends know your experience level, they'd be fine with you taking the photos. I say jump in with both feet, but make sure you have the right and enough equipment with backups. Doesn't matter whether your a fisherman, basket weaver, or pole dancer; you need the right equipment.

They were considering buying like 20 disposable cameras and handing them out for people to take pictures. Haha.

Thanks for your words!

 

[spicyTuna]

Post some pics when your done with the wedding.