Panic Stations (help and advice please)

Derek.Laurence

Derek.Laurence

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Name
Derek
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(Feel free to put this into another thread... I was really unsure if it was equipment; people and portraits or generic??)

Hi everyone
So.... my Girlfriends best friend gets married on Friday.
The photographer she had (who from what I gather was just a friend shooting the wedding) fell and broke their elbow last week. She was obviously in a tiz, completely stuck for options and asked if I would do the wedding photos.
I've never shot a wedding before and actually purposely didn't intend to anytime in the future but given the circumstances agrees to help her out.
I'm semi at ease with it because the remit is
- she'd actually rather not have a photographer there if she could get away with it (family obviously think otherwise)
- they only want candid shots throughout the day (I've convinced them to have a half hour posed session)
- I've had the couple out previously for a half hour session which they were at ease with
- hence there's essentially no pressure
- and no money will change hands and so this is my "wedding gift" to them.

So.... at short notice I'm doing my first wedding

I'm bricking it. Because as much as all I've said above I have an expectation of myself!

I've spent the last few days reading up on does and donts; timings for the day and all that I can read...

But I obviously have a few questions.

My kit will be
Canon 5d mk 2 with grip
Canon 5d mk 1 with grip (I'm sure there's a scratch on the sensor (so Alamy has told me in the past when I've submitted pics; but I can't see it on images and so happy couple will be none the wiser)
70-200 2.8 is
24-70 2.8

Plus I'll take my old 75-300 4-5.6 & 28-80 3.5-5.6 as backup.

Yn 600ex rt2 as main flash plus a yn568 ex2 as a back up

So....
All the articles I've read have said
"Make sure and take enough batteries"
How many should I expect to burn through for the flashes (I don't have rechargeable a so it'll be off the shelf )

I have 3 each for the 5d mk 1 and 2.... should I get more or leave 1 on charge in the hotel room??

Make sure and have enough memory cards....
Unfortunately I won't have enough for each part of the day but have 2*32gB for the 5dmk2 and 3*4gB and a 16gB for the mk1

I intend to use the mk 1 as little as poss incase there is a major sensor scratch. I'll check it tomorrow when I've got a bit more time


So.... what am I missing?

Do I need to make any purchases before Friday?

Any generic pieces of advice?

Thanks in advance for your replies

Derek
 
Get all the batteries fully charged before you go, as soon as a battery is exhausted get it on charge. Buy some extra memory cards. As soon as the day is over get the shots downloaded and backed up ASAP.
 
I think 3 batteries for each camera is fine.
I would make sure you have 2 changes of batteries for the flashes, but I personally wouldn't use the flash till the evening anyway, so if that was the case, I would probably only get through one set of batteries.

If you are ok with the weight, have the 24-70 on the 5D2 (a great wedding combo, you can probably shoot 70-80% of the wedding with this) and have the 70-200 on the 5D1 ready to shoot, but I'd switch the lenses over if you want the 70-200 for specific shots (eg a shot of the couple at the altar from the other end of the aisle).
I would probably keep the 5D2 and 24-70 on a sling strap all day and put the 5D1 in my bag unless absolutely necessary. The back up lenses and flash, I'd just leave in the car.

Do you have a 50mm prime? If not it might be worth getting hold of the 50mm f1.8 STM to use in the evening when the light has gone and you don't want to use flash.

Otherwise it looks like you're covered gear-wise. Just spend some time this week watching wedding/portrait tutorials.

Make sure you double/triple check your gear before you leave and download all the images to a hard drive as soon as possible when you finish.

Good luck.
 
Thanks AB tog. Just what I was looking for. Great reply.

How many cards would you say Andrew? Cos that's 6 I've got, albeit the smaller ones only hold 100 images each. But the two big ones are 1000+ each

And not really an option paddysnapper.
 
There is always the risk of card failure. Buy 4 more big ones and you are covered. I have around 15 memory cards in my shooting kit, but I do take along spare everything.
 
I'd have thought capacity for 2000+ images would be enough, unless you're gunning the whole time from dawn till dusk. Mind you, can't hurt to get another couple. Memory cards can fail though, so probably not a bad idea to have at least a spare 16GB card on you if not more. As @Andrew Smith suggests, have the capacity you think you'll need, then have the same again as backup.

If you have a laptop, you can always dump the first lot of images onto it during the gap between bride/groom prep and the church or between church and reception.

Remember, the more you shoot, the more you have to edit. I prefer not to run and gun with rapid fire shots, especially at events because the noise is very distracting.
 
Derek.Laurence said:
Canon 5d mk 1 with grip (I'm sure there's a scratch on the sensor (so Alamy has told me in the past when I've submitted pics; but I can't see it on images and so happy couple will be none the wiser)
...
I intend to use the mk 1 as little as poss incase there is a major sensor scratch. I'll check it tomorrow when I've got a bit more time
Click to expand...
Do you know how to check this? Same way you check whether the sensor is clean.

The reason I mention this is since if you haven't previously checked for the scratch, it implies you're not in the habit of checking that your sensors are clean... Probably a good idea to do so before the wedding.
 
And if it is a scratch, that's some amazing detective work by Alamy.

Much more likely to be a normal bit of grud or a hair, or a bad smear from a botched sensor cleaning job. A really clumsy cleaning might also have scratched the filter over the sensor, but it's not easily done.

So check the sensor, clean as necessary. As a last resort, avoid high f/numbers and you probably won't see anything.
 
Thanks everyone. Great advice
 
HoppyUK said:
...
So check the sensor, clean as necessary. As a last resort, avoid high f/numbers and you probably won't see anything.
Click to expand...

I nearly said this earlier. I could have the dirtiest sensor in the world and my wedding clients would never know because I almost never shoot beyond F8* and mostly between 1.4 and 5.6

* the exception would be to balance a sky with flash rather than for DoF, I never need that much DoF
 
ABTog said:
I think 3 batteries for each camera is fine.
I would make sure you have 2 changes of batteries for the flashes, but I personally wouldn't use the flash till the evening anyway, so if that was the case, I would probably only get through one set of batteries.
Click to expand...

Flash can be great to kill the shade from Hats, balance lighting/sunlight/shade for close ups. If needed turn the camera upside down (if the flash is attached) so the flash is lower to shoot up and into the hat.
I have one of the Godox 960 battery packs for my canon 580ex - works great.

Has your girlfriend got a white lace top. Put it next to a black shirt and practice the settings to keep the detail in the lace (hint two extremes here at weddings - dark suits, white dress with fine detail, possibly bright sun, can play havoc with auto exposures).

Shoot with the 5D mk2, use the 24-70 and 70-200 only on these, put the other lens on the spare body, just in case, but you wont need that. A small bag then is all you need for walkign around with.
70-200 for in church is great for out the way during the ceremony, walking down the isle etc, otherwise I'd suggest most will be with the 24-70.

Two big sd cards will do you fine and swap half way through or use the smaller ones and swap them, but if decent brand then won't fail.

Research the location and any particular shots the bride wants. If needed make a list with times against things to do/shoot.

And enjoy the shooting. The worse bit is the editing afterwards...
 
I recently was put in the same situation with a "don't worry we don't expect the photos to be professional standard" - I still felt a huge sense of responsibility though. To be honest the best thing I did was to check out venue on my own a couple of weeks before. This mean I could test where I wanted to do the posed shots, look at the light inside and notice annoying things like fire extinguisher visible from this angle during the civil ceremony so to aim to be in a different position etc. It meant I was worrying less about composition on the day as I'd already got some planned shots.

Best of luck!
 
Thanks bluep. I visited the other day. Didn't take the camera along as I felt this would be stupid/ rude but got a feel for the place.
 
Bluep said:
I recently was put in the same situation with a "don't worry we don't expect the photos to be professional standard" - I still felt a huge sense of responsibility though. To be honest the best thing I did was to check out venue on my own a couple of weeks before. This mean I could test where I wanted to do the posed shots, look at the light inside and notice annoying things like fire extinguisher visible from this angle during the civil ceremony so to aim to be in a different position etc. It meant I was worrying less about composition on the day as I'd already got some planned shots.

Best of luck!
Click to expand...

Though nothing like the pressure of a wedding I shot an old friend of SWMBO Ruby Wedding party.

I was careful to scope the venue and set conditions to manage their expectations. Broadly speaking there were minimal set groups/arrival greetings as agreed so it, for want of a better description, was candid journalistic/reportage style.

I delivered something of the order of 70 image files in both email friendly size and print size. They got an album printed and because of some missed shots they included approx 5 images from other guests. The quality of those 'inclusions' was way below my standard/quality so felt (though completely unwarranted on my part) slightly putout that anyone looking at the album might think why would the tog have included such poor images. I got over it ;)

IMO provided that B&G understand in writing what you will do based on their expectations etc you will do ok~ fingers crossed!

PS FWIW I used my 5D3 and a 24-105mm with flash as needed.
 
To be honest, it's the last time I'd agree to do it! In the end I learnt a lot and got some photos I was really proud of. They too had other guests take photos but I was the "photographer" and I'm glad my shots stood out in quality. Mistake I made - taking a lens I really loved shooting with (when I had all the time in the world for composition) and realising it was very slow to focus...wish I'd had my other main canon lens which I don't like so much but was a lot faster.

Fun thing I did in the evening was send my 12 year old daughter round with my iPhone and get each guest to take a selfie with snapchat, choosing which weird filter they liked best. Going to stick all of these together into a A3/A2 montage postage for the couple as a present as they are a bit wacky. Everyone was a bit drunker by that stage and even the old relatives were in for it. Produced some very very funny pictures.
 
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Oh and to cap it all off, I got chatting to one of their relatives who turned out to be a professional photographer who said she'd said no when they asked as she didn't want the stress!!!
 
Thanks for all the advice guys.
I'd already scoped the venue
I'd already given b&g a very detailed description of what to expect and pitfalls of using me (not a company, no second tog, etc etc)
I've ordered 2 new cards
I've arranged to borrow a 50mm lens

What could possibly go wrong! [emoji15]

Thanks again guys; I'll let you know how I got on

Derek
 
Oh and also, be assertive! I was a bit shy but one thing that was really important to my couple was walking down this country path and tying the bouquet to a bench commemorating the grooms mother. I was very polite but firm in asking guests not to follow for a minute or two so I could get the photos they had specifically asked for. Guests are very happy to help but don't always think!
 
^^^ Exactly, you need to let the other guests know that you are the "lead" photographer and are there to do a job, hence you will need to get your shots first and then perhaps give them a minute after you've taken yours to get a few shots of their own (before moving to next set up).
Ps good luck and hope it goes well for you.
 
I wish I'd had a lens that did better quick focus short depth of field as the surroundings weren't always the prettiest and blurring them away would have been a good approach...
 
Ask your partner to help with organising people - getting hold of the right groups at the right time and arranging them on your instruction. It's a major part of making the job go smoothly and will relieve a lot of stress.
 
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