Tutorial Shooting your first Wedding ???

Just spotted this thread and just wanting to give a little thanks in advance :)
Really am glad I spotted this.

I've got my first shoot on November 13th for one of my longest friends.
The advise here is perfect to me, although I must admit, I wont be able to see the wedding venue until the night before as this will be down in Cambridge. ALthough I have had it confirmed for me that the wedding Co-ordinator at the venue is happy to show me around on the night before hand.

Right now i've created a list of ideal types of shots to take, possibly the safe ones and if I can add anything fun and creative then they will be added on as we go, but safe being the priority I think.
 
Scorg said:
Just spotted this thread and just wanting to give a little thanks in advance :)
Really am glad I spotted this.

I've got my first shoot on November 13th for one of my longest friends.
The advise here is perfect to me, although I must admit, I wont be able to see the wedding venue until the night before as this will be down in Cambridge. ALthough I have had it confirmed for me that the wedding Co-ordinator at the venue is happy to show me around on the night before hand.

Right now i've created a list of ideal types of shots to take, possibly the safe ones and if I can add anything fun and creative then they will be added on as we go, but safe being the priority I think.
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Good stuff - and don't forget to break it all down into mini-shoots and changes lenses ISO accordingly - AND - have fun :)

DD
 
Thanks a lot for your advice mate, really detailed!

Especially the part about 'their homework' genius!
 
Smoot said:
Thanks a lot for your advice mate, really detailed!

Especially the part about 'their homework' genius!
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Genius eh - it just seemed really obvious to me and was the first thing I asked of the first Bride to be :shrug:

A bit like it's obvious where to find your potential B&Gs (though I appreciate many cannot do it :shake:) But that's a different story ;)

DD
 
I'm going to do my sisters wedding in May next year. I suppose I'm lucky that it's my sister as we can have plenty of practise, but still very nerve wrecking though as she's very very picky.

I will have a good read on this as I will need all the info and tips I can get.
 
hi guys, thanks for the tips! - ive read similar but daunting reviews of your first wedding and it has really panicked me! somebody approached me from my website saying will you do my wedding for £200 and i agreed! but is it worth it if i dont have liability insurance or if i have to tell HMRC!? im really stuck with this because it will be a long day for me without much reward other than experience! but this is a field im wanting to get into and I have to start somewhere!!

help!
 
photodrew said:
hi guys, thanks for the tips! - ive read similar but daunting reviews of your first wedding and it has really panicked me! somebody approached me from my website saying will you do my wedding for £200 and i agreed! but is it worth it if i dont have liability insurance or if i have to tell HMRC!? im really stuck with this because it will be a long day for me without much reward other than experience! but this is a field im wanting to get into and I have to start somewhere!!

help!
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That's a lot of risk and work for 200 pounds. Have you thought through the presentation of pictures etc and I presume you are charging extra for that.
Mike
 
Wow what a great posting Dave - THANK YOU.

I'm new to the fourm and new to my camera, although I have been snap happy for years yes you purists will hate me, but I like taking pictures.

I have been asked to be the 'un-official' photographer at my brothers wedding in July, which I am looking forward to, but hoping I do them proud. They have a very tight budget and no money for a pro so they have got me FREE. I have told them that they should also choose a un-official photographer from the brides side aswell, we will most probably be more happy to photograph people we know, hopefully between the two of us we can work out a system and get some good pics.



Your post has lots of great tips and I will be out buying new cards for my camera at the weekend in preparation, I'm also going to send them a check list of what pics they definately do want, together with which people they want photographed together.

Great post, I'm notscared, HONEST, I'm not scared!

Ellie
 
Tanfield21 said:
Wow what a great posting Dave - THANK YOU.

I'm new to the fourm and new to my camera, although I have been snap happy for years yes you purists will hate me, but I like taking pictures.

I have been asked to be the 'un-official' photographer at my brothers wedding in July, which I am looking forward to, but hoping I do them proud. They have a very tight budget and no money for a pro so they have got me FREE. I have told them that they should also choose a un-official photographer from the brides side aswell, we will most probably be more happy to photograph people we know, hopefully between the two of us we can work out a system and get some good pics.



Your post has lots of great tips and I will be out buying new cards for my camera at the weekend in preparation, I'm also going to send them a check list of what pics they definately do want, together with which people they want photographed together.

Great post, I'm notscared, HONEST, I'm not scared!

Ellie
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Good on you Ellie - have fun - Weddings are really only a series of short shoots requiring different skills rather than one big all day HUGE scary one

If the B&G have no budget for a £1k £2k plus Pro - then anything you can produce will be a bonus as a keen 'camera' user is better than no camera user :)

DD
 
DiddyDave said:
Good on you Ellie - have fun - Weddings are really only a series of short shoots requiring different skills rather than one big all day HUGE scary one

If the B&G have no budget for a £1k £2k plus Pro - then anything you can produce will be a bonus as a keen 'camera' user is better than no camera user :)

DD
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Thank You, I will let you be my first Judge! and post some pics for you to laugh at or give advice!

Hopefully we will all enjoy the day and get some good pics to look back on, I had a pro at my wedding and the pics were not good, out of the 35 I asked for definately to be taken, only 11 were! Was very sad that my bridesmaid who had travelled from Australia, as I promised her when she was six (I was her babysittter)! was not in any of them, how he managed to do that I will never know! I can laugh about it now, but I remember crying for about two weeks at the time!

I also had 25 shots of the back of peoples heads!

Should have known it would not be good when he turned up at my house 55 minutes late!

That said the main pics were good and I think out of 300 we could use and order about 70 of them. He also missed me walking down the aisle for the video as he had the camera pointing at the wrong door !

I think he was having an off day and I was just unlucky!

Still had a fab day and we all laughed when everyone came round to see the preview album. At least I did not bore them all to death!

Ellie
 
really good avice, nice to read something that stays on point and is really helpfull,
cheers
 
DD Great opening post, good sound advice. I have shot only three weddings thus far and have learnt more each time, i think!

I would only like to add one point on logistics, and that is when posing the guests I recommend the largest group shot first, that way you dont struggle so much getting them all together after they have all been stood around for ages while you work through the list, especially the younger ones.
 
stephen ley said:
DD Great opening post, good sound advice. I have shot only three weddings thus far and have learnt more each time, i think!

I would only like to add one point on logistics, and that is when posing the guests I recommend the largest group shot first, that way you dont struggle so much getting them all together after they have all been stood around for ages while you work through the list, especially the younger ones.
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Yep - largest first absolutely (y)

Also, if there's a church, do the biggest groups there - getting the remoter friends/family away from the bar later can be a real problem :LOL:

DD
 
This thread was just what I'm looking for !

A work friend has sort of volunteered me to tog at her friends wedding next May ....:eek: I don't do people togging....but said I'd give it a shot as the couple in question are seriously skint...no reception , no cars,no cake , no album ,no big dress....really informal....& I'm still panicking...why the hell did I agree :bang:

If theres anyone shooting a low key informal type do around the sheffield area who wouldn't mind me coming along to see how to do it properley...gimme a shout....please (y)

ps...I have no intention of becoming a wedding tog...theres loads of excellent top class togs out there & in here....I'll stick to animals & motorbikes (y)
 
Ha ha, Australian? No, not me, but I could do with being there right now enjoying the sun lol
 
Great advice DD.

Kenny and I shot our first wedding recently with me taking the role of second shooter.

As the wedding was within the family we were also guests and soon discovered that it's very difficult to be a guest and a photographer at a wedding - after all we were in work mode. We couldn't be 'guests' until all the photography was done and by then we were too tired to enjoy the rest of the reception.

But, we enjoyed doing the photography and got great photographs so we'd do it all again... in fact we are in November. We're off to Cornwall to photograph a friend's wedding and we've been told there's a campervan involved. :D
 
Great post OP, I know I'm late to the party here but just wanted to say thanks as I have some time to read through the threads on the forum.

I definitely agree with the part about spending a fortune on equipment... ;)
 
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