Wedding photography advice seeked

[inTempus]

Óæå ìíîãèõ ïðîñèëà ïîêàçàòü, à ìíå äàëè êàêóþ-òî ññûëêó, ÿ å¸ äàæå îòêðûòü íå ìîãóÍîâèíêè ìèðîâîãî ýðîòè÷åñêîãî êèíî

Yeah, what he said.

I sense a language barrier.

 

[Bluepoole]

Thank you for all the replies so far...

Let me put the circumstances in a better light...the couple knows this is my first wedding and they're OK with it. They can't afford the average price (or even below average price) of wedding photographers here in South Africa. So the price I'm charging them is really a bargain. They still prefer somebody with professional equipment to take photos, than to leave it to family and friends with consumer cameras or cell phones.

There are a lot of people here who really don't want to (or can't) spend money on photographers, and I offer them a solution for a low price. If I can do a few weddings like this, my work & experience will improve, and then I will get more work in through references.

Some people have mentioned contracts. Believe it or not, here in South Africa, 99% of the time we don't have contracts when it comes to wedding photography. And if a couple is unhappy with the results after the job has been done, they rarely sue. It is just a matter of, the photographer will not be recommended and the couple will be very sour.

I decided to start wedding photography when I saw the results of two of my best friends' weddings (they got married a month apart), in both instances the photographer was considered professional with years of experience, and their portfolios looked promising. But the end results were bad, I couldn't believe it was done by "professional" people.

I knew I could do better. Although I'm new to weddings, I have previous experience in photography, I'm a keen aviation photographer and some of my work has appeared in international magazines. So I know something about photography. I know an airplane and a bride are two different things, but everybody has to start somewhere

I have done a lot of practising beforehand, even had two sessions with two couples (friends of mine) at typical wedding venues, practised both indoor and outdoor shots, experimented with different settings, fill flash, etc, and the results came out pretty good.

I've also visited the location last week, so I know what to expect in terms of opportunities. Will finalise my list of shots tomorrow evening. And of course make sure my Canons are loaded and ready to shoot!

Any more suggestions/advice still welcome!

 

[thenikonguy]

you dont just need you to make a shot list.. you need a shot list from the B&G.. so you know who they want photos with.. trust me.. you dont want to stand there and say "ok, so who are we doing photos with" if you have a list, it will go much smoother, and much faster

 

[camz]

I think the most unforgiving part for a photographer obviously is the ceremony because you become a photojournalist where there can be almost no direction from you, event will go on without your say so in my opinion it is the most critical as far as your skill is concern. When scouting the location, know where the positions of the wedding entourage will be from start to finish. Lay it out in black and white if you must and correlate it with the itinerary for the day. Besides the Bride and Groom, know the positions the groomsmen, made of honor, flower girl, ring bearer, best man etc. so that you can position yourself better beforehand to get your shots, if there is a rehearsal it's probably best if you attend. This will come in handy for your shot list

Scout the place(For Ceremony, Bride/Groom Shoot, and Reception) at the exact times of the wedding schedule to check for light and perform some test shots, this will probably dictate whether your equipment is sufficient. Dont know how big this party is but the reception hall from my experience becomes the pain so I spend alot of time performing test shots for lighting there.

Besides the ceremony, I think the next critical part is the Bride and Groom couple and solo shots and entourage shots. Brainstorm their poses while your scouting the location. Always be on your toes and treat this as if they were paying you the big bucks . Good luck..when you've got it planned makes it easier to have the end results in mind.

Also, review your shots during downtime(maybe the reception) and see if you've got everything. Make sure you zoom during previews and reshoot if you must.