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tigerimages

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I just this minute had a phone call from a girl that I know asking her to do her mother's forthcoming wedding "cos they didn't want to pay for a professional photographer".

I said no, because I'm a wedding "virgin" and also I told her that it's one of those things that needs doing properly.

She said that someone's just gonna do it with a digicamera :eek:
 
I get this all the time :LOL:

People tend to assume that just because you have one of them big cameras where the lens comes off then you must be a pro and can do wedding photography :thinking: :LOL:
 
If someone asked me because they couldn't afford a pro, I'd prolly do it.

You just need the "client" to be absolutely crystal clear that they wont be to "pro" standard and dont blame me if you dont like em. Kind of thing !

Lets face it, you couldn't do any worse than a regular with a point and shoot !!

For that, I think they would be happy !
 
I did my Sisters wedding and was as nervous as hell !

Turned out OK, and I gave her a CD with all the shots on. Wouldn't do another one for a while though....
 
tigerimages said:
I just this minute had a phone call from a girl that I know asking her to do her mother's forthcoming wedding "cos they didn't want to pay for a professional photographer".

I said no, because I'm a wedding "virgin" and also I told her that it's one of those things that needs doing properly.

She said that someone's just gonna do it with a digicamera :eek:
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Nothing wrong with a friend asking, but if you are not comfortable then fair doos. I have seen quite a few posts on this forum where a person post " family/a friend blah blah has asked me if I can take pics at their wedding" and a lot of people get on their high horse for some reason.
 
tigerimages said:
I just this minute had a phone call from a girl that I know asking her to do her mother's forthcoming wedding "cos they didn't want to pay for a professional photographer".

I said no, because I'm a wedding "virgin" and also I told her that it's one of those things that needs doing properly.

She said that someone's just gonna do it with a digicamera :eek:
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I say go for it. If her alternative is "someone with a digicam" I don't think you can go too far wrong (having seen a lot of your pics)
Admit that weddings are a completely different kettle of fish to fast action football photography but I reckon you could do a job.
You'd have to lay off the candid eating shots though ;)
 
I wouldn't have a problem with candid shots but i'd find it difficult to organise the group shots, telling people where to stand etc.

I suppose an easy way to do it would be to borrow a friends wedding album ask the couple if they liked the pictures then copy the shots :shrug:

with 3 cameras :LOL: just in case
 
I've turned down loads of weddings - I just don't want the responsibility of capturing the big day, what if they don't like the shots?

What I normally do is politely decline then offer to do a series of candids - these normally go down very well.
 
wack61 said:
I wouldn't have a problem with candid shots but i'd find it difficult to organise the group shots, telling people where to stand etc.

I suppose an easy way to do it would be to borrow a friends wedding album ask the couple if they liked the pictures then copy the shots :shrug:

with 3 cameras :LOL: just in case
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No problem at all with candids but if you check out tigerimage's pics in the sports section you will see that he likes to get sneaky snaps of people stuffing there faces with food. :D
I watch the football team (Gloucester City) that he shoots at and believe me you have to be on your guard when eating a big greasy burger !
Good pics though.
 
I did a friends wedding getting on for two years ago and it was a really stressful day! There were two of us taking shots and we had a pretty good plan - we listed the shots that the couple wanted and recce'd the locations in advance to make sure we were ready - even down to where we'd shoot if it was raining. As it happened we got all of the ones they wanted and a whole load of candids too.

All in all, we didn't do a bad job and looking back on the experience I found it useful and I learnt an awful lot. The biggest problem for me was that I couldn't enjoy the day as a guest because I had my tog head on all day!

In the end though, it was gratifying that they liked the shots and that guests were ordering copies of shots. We did it for costs, but could have made a killing if we'd charged!!
 
One solution would be to organise a 'whipper in', someone to round people up and organise them into groups shots, leaving you to concentrate on the photos.
 
Hey, like others have said, you cant go wrong if all they have is a little digicam to take photos of their day on! I mean this is quite a big margin in one's life, so you think they would've sorted it out! If you fancy it then go right ahead, good experience for the ''virgin'' just to jump in at the deep end!!
 
When friends know you're a keen photographer, this kind of request is a bugger if you are being invited as a guest as well. I've found you either go without a camera and enjoy the day, or accept that the whole event is a job to be done, and leave your partner/kids, and go to do the needful...you won't get much socialising done. There is huge satsfaction to be had in turning out a good result, but I've come to accept that the roles of guest and photographer are mutually exclusive.

Tigerimages, is your friend's Mum happy to accept that you are not a pro and the results may not be pro standard? If she is, then you'll learn a lot of good stuff from the day, if you do the job. Just make sure there is no misunderstanding 'twixt mother and daughter, ("I'll book you a Photographer, Mum") with the high expectations that may follow!

Cheers

George

PS Hope that's not too presumptious for a first post here!
 
I has the same situation last year!

It was a normal registry office then a Hindu ceremony followed by the evening reception!!:runaway::runaway::runaway:

But I'm glad I done it know.

I would explain that you are not an experienced wedding tog, & just charge her enough to cover cost and maybe a little bit extra. Its good experience & you may even enjoy it??(y)

(Oh & grab the mother in law to get them together for the group shots!)

Spence
 
I was at my cousins wedding last weekend and her offical tog cancelled on her 3 days before the big day.

SO she got her mate from work to come along and be the tog with her point and shoot.

Luckie I was there and I grabbed a few good shots. I had read a good webpage

http://www.all-things-photography.com/wedding-photo-tips-for-amateurs.html

luckie I had done this a few weeks ago when i was bored at work and the calls were dead.

So I got my tog head on and got the group shots orginised and told people where to stand and to act normal.

When it came to the large family shot (my uncle is one of 7 so there was lost to photograph, esp with teh grand kids) I arranged them in height with small at front and tall at the back. and the happy couple in teh middle.

They turned out well I thought, and I gave them the photographs as a wedding present and I have a few orders for more.

:)

One thing I learned is don't be affraid to tell them what to do. and I don't mean that in a rude way, but if you have people in the background ask them kindly to move. everyone at a wedding is very understanding.

I have another wedding in July that I am going to as a guest but going to ask the offical tog if I can assist

:)

Mike
 
About 10 years ago I was invited to a friends daughters christening, my wife had broken her ankle quite badly a couple of weeks before and felt really rough on the day so I phoned and told him we wouldn't be able to make it, he went quiet on the phone then said OK.

A week or so later I saw another friend who asked why we weren't at the wedding, er what wedding, they'd only arranged to get married on the same day but hadn't told anyone, not even the brides parents who were livid.

I was the only one with a decent camera (minolta dynax 700si) and he knew i'd bring it but because of my wifes ankle we didn't go, why on earth he didn't tell me on the phone I have no idea,

As a result they have no decent wedding photos
 
I've just been asked to do a close friends wedding. I've warned them that I'm no pro and they said they didn't want that, they were after informal candids of the night rather than posed photos so we will see....

Panzer
 
This is a downside of digital photography. The emergence of countless self-professed experts, who'll snap up opportunities like this (that's not aimed at anyone here, but at your know-it-all with a pretend DSLR idiots who've been 'snapping' for all of 2 or 3 months).

I was as good as forced into doing a (former) girlfriend's graduation photos, and it went wrong. I tried to explain that I didn't have much experience of that kind of thing, but they couldn't see past the SLR, and insisted I do it. The frustration of that day sparked a rather colossal argument, which ended up with me and the camera moving out and the relationship flying apart. Still, me and good old Nikon proceeded to go off on some amazing adventures together with our newly-found totally commitment-free weekends, but that's another story...
 
A wedding I went to a year or two ago had a pro 'tog, but they asked me if I'd mind taking some photos as well. No harm really, as the pressure's off me. Next day I burnt all the images to a CD on my laptop and handed it over to them. 6 months later they still hadn't seen anything from the pro so just had an album printed with all of my pictures! I wasn't bothered really, didn't do it for any financial gain - just a favour. However, I'd not have agreed to do it if they weren't paying someone else!
 
My sis in law got wed a few years ago, they paid a professional tog £1200 to do their wedding, I turned up with my 10d and laptop, I took loads of pics, downloaded them and showed them at the reception went down extremely well, their are lots of so called "pro togs" covering weddings who hav'nt got a clue, it's just easy money for them with no scruples :thumbsdown:

To those who are genuine togs covering weddings, well done, but be warned their are lots of not so good togs trying to do you out of business, just becuase they see a quick buck :nono:
 
So has anyone actually done a wedding and showed up in jeans and t-shirt or casual wear? Even if I was to change my mind and say yes I'm not a dressy up kind of person so wouldn't feel comfortable doing it...
 
If I did a wedding (I never will) or an important function, I would dress smart/in a suit. If you're being employed in a professional manner, you should present yourself accordingly if the occasion dictates.
 
tigerimages said:
So has anyone actually done a wedding and showed up in jeans and t-shirt or casual wear? Even if I was to change my mind and say yes I'm not a dressy up kind of person so wouldn't feel comfortable doing it...
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Hmm...you do have to play the part, even if it goes against the grain. The guests will be a lot more cooperative if you look the part. It may be that only you, your pal and her Mum know that this is a "freebie" arrangement, and the last thing you need is the stress of guests expressing begrudged cooperation for the group shots, because "he's not a very professional photographer, is he?"

Wear a suit, have an assistant to round people up for the group shots, get a list (in advance) of all the happy couple and group shots the Bride and Groom want, and if nothing else, get those nailed. Do ask the couple to go through that list again thoroughly in advance to make sure auntie Elsie or cousin Bob haven't been missed out, and any informal shots you take thereafter are a bonus.

Also, don't take more than 45 mins to 1 hour doing the close family group shots immediately after the service...the crowd at the reception will get too drunk, too hungry, and narky when you reappear! The only thing thereafter is cutting the cake, which they may or may not want you to shoot.

And finally, you'll be jostling for position with dozens of guests with their own cameras for the couple's attention and best shooting angle for most of the day. Don't be scared to ask the entire crowd to hold back temporarily until you have got your shots, then let the rest get stuck in!

Best of luck with it, and enjoy the learning experience!

Cheers

George
 
Borats Baby said:
If someone asked me because they couldn't afford a pro, I'd prolly do it.

You just need the "client" to be absolutely crystal clear that they wont be to "pro" standard and dont blame me if you dont like em. Kind of thing !

Lets face it, you couldn't do any worse than a regular with a point and shoot !!

For that, I think they would be happy !
Click to expand...

Lol. I did exactly that before I got my dlsr. I wasn't particularly keen at first but as my mate pointed out it, if I messed up and gave them nothing useable then they weren't in any worse a position than they would have been anyway cos they couldn't afford a pro. It didn't make me feel more confident about doing it but it certainly took the pressure off as they weren't expecting pro quality pics.

So I took my little canon point and shoot, far to many spare batteries and made sure some of the pics were taken on fully auto so they would at least have something reasonable and once I got into it, I really enjoyed it. Whilst the pics maybe weren't great technically, they were happy enough with them to ask me to do their daughters christening later in the year as well (not sure about taking photos in a church but that's for another thread closer to the time :)).

If you want to avoid a lot of hassle with prints etc, try just printing proofs and getting a list of which ones the relatives want. I gave the couple an album as their wedding present, and put the relatives choices on a cd (think i charged £1 per disk to cover costs), then they could get them printed in boots or somewhere at whatever size they wanted.

tigerimages said:
So has anyone actually done a wedding and showed up in jeans and t-shirt or casual wear? Even if I was to change my mind and say yes I'm not a dressy up kind of person so wouldn't feel comfortable doing it...
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I just wore loose fitting trousers, a smartish top, and comfy shoes!! Got the trousers a size bigger than normal so I could move around easily and made sure the top didn't have any annoying buttons to get in the way. I also ended up picking a round neck rather then a v neck so I didn't have to worry about falling out of it :nono:

You really should go for it as you'll learn a lot and you can decide if weddings is something you want to get into (you can make decent money if your good).
 
I'm doing my first wedding next month, it's a favour for a friend of my brother. Altho when I say wedding, they are actually getting married in Vegas and having a pro take the photos out there. What they are having here is a blessing at a local church and then a reception. They weren't going to pay for a photographer and were going to rely on people with their cameras.

I made it perfectly clear that this would be my first wedding and that if they wanted guaranteed great images they should hire a pro, they understand the position I'm in, and I'm grateful that I'm getting a chance to shoot a "wedding" in a low pressure situation.

I will treat it as if they are paying me to do it, and hopefully give them images that they can be really happy with, but if I don't, they will be no worse off!

I met with them last week and they are only looking for a few formal shots and are more looking for candids from throughout the day. Although I'm nervous already, I'm really looking forward to it.
 
tigerimages said:
So has anyone actually done a wedding and showed up in jeans and t-shirt or casual wear? Even if I was to change my mind and say yes I'm not a dressy up kind of person so wouldn't feel comfortable doing it...
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See my thread about wedding tog attire ;)
 
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