One for the wedding togs

kar1

kar1

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karl
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I've done 4 weddings so far, friends and friends of friends and such.

When it comes to photos, how many on average are you taking, how many are you handing over? For instance, a full day. I generally take about 700. But was wondering, do you lot include every usable image, or is it just the key shots and the odd candid.

Thanks,
 
The weddings I've done. For example, start to finish, there has been all usable photos given. So instead of like 3-4 shots of the bride getting ready, if I took 30, and 25 of them we all fine, not duplicated, I've gave all 25.

I couId perhaps narrow it down to 50 shots through the full day, plus the formals.

By key shots if you split the day into sections,

Bride, groom, ceremony, breakfast speeches, cake and dance.

Then the "money shots" only from each part.

And then there is everything in between like the candids and guest candids.
 
I think you're getting hung up looking for a number. We don't shoot numbers, we shoot people for people.

Let's concentrate on the customer:
Do they want you to be giving them inferior shots?
Do they want you to keep back perfectly good stuff?
Do they want to have to choose between 4 almost identical images?

If that means you deliver 200 or 600, it's still the right answer (IMO).
 
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I only hand over shots that I'm happy with, sharpness and exposure and so on. I don't give shots that almost the same as the next. Can't see the point in that.

I just didn't know if you professionals take the kind of shots that uncle Bob could of taken, or if you just concentrate on the big ones.

I know every customer wants different things and has different expectations. But if the customer asks you to get some from the reception, do you take one or two good ones, or go round getting photos of ever guest there
 
kar1 said:
But if the customer asks you to get some from the reception, do you take one or two good ones, or go round getting photos of ever guest there
Click to expand...

Neither. And who on earth would want photos of every guest there - even if that was practical without doing compulsory table shots of the kind done on cruise ships?

But seeing as how you're after numbers, I just looked at a typical wedding of ours and from something like 2000 pictures between the two of us over eight hours, this particular couple got 325 made up as follows ...

Bride & maids prep 41
Groom prep 17
Arrivals at church 9
Ceremony including signing 41
Out of church through to arrival at reception 35
Reception arrival through drinks reception to sitdown 61 including 6 groups and 7 "formal" couple shots
Call to meal through to start of speeches 49
Speeches 37
First dance etc 16
with scene-setters, a few details and odds and sods making up the balance.

Funnily enough, that's the first time I've every analysed a wedding of ours like that ...
 
Its not numbers I'm after as such, just a rough idea if you go all out and take as many as you can and hand them over, or if you took select shots and concentrated solely b+g and there activities.

I just dont want to make myself look amerturish including photos of guests and such that uncle Bob could have taken. And also wasting any time taking/processing.

And thanks, that adds a little more insight
 
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A lot of this is about your style too, are you there to produce classic portraiture, a high fashion feel or a reportage approach. (Or a mix).

I would say that the candids we shoot of the guests are done to tell the story of the day, they're not 'just snaps uncle bob could have taken'.

Have a look at a few of the guys who blog huge sets, have a look at the 'great wedding photographer' threads, look through some of the links there and see the variation in style.

I'd also mention that if you're planning this as a commercial venture, and you want some success, start thinking about what you want to deliver rather than what the customer will ask for. You presumably want to be a photographer not a camera operator.

Although it's also OK if you want to be cheap and busy to shoot like uncle Bob.
 
Thanks Phil that's great.

Need to kind of work out what I want to do and stick to it. If they want me to do their shoots, then that's what they get?
It is something I'd like to push into more. But as you say, need to find my style as that's what will make me different.
 
Spot on Karl , find your own way that the best way to do it , there's not right and wrong in this game you just have to craft your own recipe and tinker with it till it produces what your looking for. FWIW though Sids breakdown sits well with what we do too and i would be looking at around 1500-2000 shots then giving over around 500 ( of my choosing , as it fits my style and what they have chosen when they saw my work )
 
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