What am missing?

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#13

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414
Name
Richard
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Yes
well i have been asked to do a few weddings mainly family and my mams best m8, but all the kit i have is in my sig

what other equipment do i need to give it a good go?

also some familly portraits have been requested

also the important thing is what price am i looking at to get the stuff??
 
sorry thread title should read "What am I missing?"

anyone have any input?
 
With respect, if you need to ask that are you sure you have the experience and skill to do weddings and portraits.
Weddings are special occasions that can not be repeated if you get it wrong on the day.
 
Galaxy66 said:
With respect, if you need to ask that are you sure you have the experience and skill to do weddings and portraits.
Weddings are special occasions that can not be repeated if you get it wrong on the day.
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Oh they can....at huge huge cost! :p
 
Galaxy66 said:
With respect, if you need to ask that are you sure you have the experience and skill to do weddings and portraits.
Weddings are special occasions that can not be repeated if you get it wrong on the day.
Click to expand...

As long as the people are aware of his experience and skill then I don't see a problem. There are many couples happy to get a friend/family member to do their wedding photos.
 
Galaxy66 said:
With respect, if you need to ask that are you sure you have the experience and skill to do weddings and portraits.
Weddings are special occasions that can not be repeated if you get it wrong on the day.
Click to expand...

i have no exp, i have told me mams best m8 this she doesnt care she wants me to do it saves her a bit of cash for other things as i only asked for £250, the other wedding is my sisters and i have told her the same thing, they both see it as good practice for me which i agree with, even though i have told them im poo there not having any of it

as for the portraits its my mams m8 again, and again she wants me to do

a nifty fifty is something i have been looking at, will deffo get 1 soon, as for a second body think thats a no go tbh but flash is what i need to learn about and mybe some faster glass
 
#13 said:
i have no exp, i have told me mams best m8 this she doesnt care she wants me to do it saves her a bit of cash for other things as i only asked for £250, the other wedding is my sisters and i have told her the same thing, they both see it as good practice for me which i agree with, even though i have told them im poo there not having any of it

as for the portraits its my mams m8 again, and again she wants me to do

a nifty fifty is something i have been looking at, will deffo get 1 soon, as for a second body think thats a no go tbh but flash is what i need to learn about and mybe some faster glass
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That's fair enough then fabs is right, take all the advice given here and I am sure they will be happy with the results:thumbs:
 
If you are being paid then you must have backup kit. Even if it is a second hand 300d it will get you out trouble.

What people say they will be satisfied with and what they expect are very often two very different things when it comes to photography :) You are about to find out why pro's don't do weddings for £250 :)

John
 
"What am I missing"

Richard, I understand that expectations are below the level that a fully fledged wedding tog would be expected to provide but are you really sure that you're ready for this?

This is in no way meaning to criticise your abilty or intentions but I refer you back to your first thread in July this year where you were asking if "f/5.6 let in more light than f/12"

Good luck if you go ahead with it but in answer to your question...experience

Bob
 
Canon Bob said:
"What am I missing"

Richard, I understand that expectations are below the level that a fully fledged wedding tog would be expected to provide but are you really sure that you're ready for this?

This is in no way meaning to criticise your abilty or intentions but I refer you back to your first thread in July this year where you were asking if "f/5.6 let in more light than f/12"

Good luck if you go ahead with it but in answer to your question...experience

Bob
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since me joining this site i have enrolled on a degree course, and one of my modules is photography (which will be one of my main focus next year) this has helped me understand aperture, by no means am i saying i know fully what i am doing as im the first to say i dont!!!

i see this as a favour from them to me and from me to them, they understand my complete lack of exp in this and they accept it fully, i have stressed to them numerous times that i dont really have a clue, but they insist i do it, i think its me taking the photos or they will collect the Point and shoot snaps that get tagged on facebook tbh hasnt this got to be better than that?

thanks for your comment and any advice you can offer me will be swallwed right up!
 
fabs said:
As long as the people are aware of his experience and skill then I don't see a problem. There are many couples happy to get a friend/family member to do their wedding photos.
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this is true :D

and what i did this year for a mate....

and then his dad 5 weeks later...

they would have had friends with p+s and thats it.

if people know what they are gettingthen thats up to them...


i did have a FF camera and a 30d backup two flashes 50mm 24-105 70-200

and another tog with much the same so i did feel not to bad

but as people say two of everything if you can....


md:wave:
 
#13 said:
since me joining this site i have enrolled on a degree course, and one of my modules is photography (which will be one of my main focus next year) this has helped me understand aperture, by no means am i saying i know fully what i am doing as im the first to say i dont!!!

i see this as a favour from them to me and from me to them, they understand my complete lack of exp in this and they accept it fully, i have stressed to them numerous times that i dont really have a clue, but they insist i do it, i think its me taking the photos or they will collect the Point and shoot snaps that get tagged on facebook tbh hasnt this got to be better than that?

thanks for your comment and any advice you can offer me will be swallwed right up!
Click to expand...

Richard....I hope my post didn't come across as being negative as it certainly wasn't meant to be. Your course will help enormously and provide a wealth of knowledge but it can't provide experience....only time can do that. I would suggest that you gatecrash a wedding and observe the tog for the day to see what goes on. I'm sure some of the pro's on here would agree that the technical side is probably no more the 50% of what you need to know to carry out a good shoot....there are no end of talented folk around here who would likely fall apart trying to do a wedding.
As before, good luck (and I mean it) but you should be doing some serious homework and research quickly.

Bob
 
Canon Bob said:
Richard....I hope my post didn't come across as being negative as it certainly wasn't meant to be. Your course will help enormously and provide a wealth of knowledge but it can't provide experience....only time can do that. I would suggest that you gatecrash a wedding and observe the tog for the day to see what goes on. I'm sure some of the pro's on here would agree that the technical side is probably no more the 50% of what you need to know to carry out a good shoot....there are no end of talented folk around here who would likely fall apart trying to do a wedding.
As before, good luck (and I mean it) but you should be doing some serious homework and research quickly.

Bob
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negative...no...honest...yes and thats what i need to hear, so i thank you.

I wont be taking any wedding shoot i attempt lightly i made this thread knowing i have a long time before the wedding dates roll around, so what i need to aquire i can attept to pretty sharpish and get the practical exp i will need to try and do a good job.

getting to tag along with a seasoned wedding tog would be awesome something to think about and hopefeully put into practice a few times before the weddings
 
Gear wise, backup body and faster glass (you could hire these if necessary).

I would seriously reconsider getting paid anything though. It will add an extra element of pressure on you and the client will expect a certain level of performance for their money.

Why not offer the photography as a wedding gift instead?
 
pxl8 said:
Gear wise, backup body and faster glass (you could hire these if necessary).

I would seriously reconsider getting paid anything though. It will add an extra element of pressure on you and the client will expect a certain level of performance for their money.

Why not offer the photography as a wedding gift instead?
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charging because i will need to buy the flash, they know im no pro tog and they really dont exspect much, they no i will try my best and understand that i will need a little payment to help me do the best i can
 
I understand but sadly if things go wrong then it could well be very different. Friends and family can quickly fall out over money and things can quickly snowball as more people offer an opinion...

"Hmm, these shots aren't very good. How much did you pay for these? Really, I only paid £100 more and got an album and all these wonderful shots, you should ask for your money back." and so on.

If you're getting paid then you have a contract, even if it is a verbal one, and would be liable if you don't complete your side of it. That in itself is a catch22 because to really protect yourself you need to have a proper written contract so the expectations are well defined, but as soon as you do that you'll increase their perception of you as providing a professional service.

See where I'm going with this? Take the payment out of the equation then the potential for all of this goes away.

edit to add: Public Liability insurance is something else you'll need to look at if you're getting paid.
 
pxl8 said:
I understand but sadly if things go wrong then it could well be very different. Friends and family can quickly fall out over money and things can quickly snowball as more people offer an opinion...

"Hmm, these shots aren't very good. How much did you pay for these? Really, I only paid £100 more and got an album and all these wonderful shots, you should ask for your money back." and so on.

If you're getting paid then you have a contract, even if it is a verbal one, and would be liable if you don't complete your side of it. That in itself is a catch22 because to really protect yourself you need to have a proper written contract so the expectations are well defined, but as soon as you do that you'll increase their perception of you as providing a professional service.

See where I'm going with this? Take the payment out of the equation then the potential for all of this goes away.

edit to add: Public Liability insurance is something else you'll need to look at if you're getting paid.
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i think is is a little over my head and deffinatly over there heads, the B&G would be happy with p&s photos that they could tag on facebook, they see me with my camera and have asked me to take photos they have offerd me payment to help with what i need (flash) to help me do as good as i can, i no for a fact they wont be dissapointed with what i will produce, not because im over my station but because they wont know what to exspect and will be happy with anything i wont get complacent knowing this, it will drive me to learn and try and produce the best shots i can for them and this they know and fully understand
 
I do understand what you're saying, these things are always done with the best will and intentions. It's only when they go wrong and/or someone isn't happy that it can (not saying it will) go sour.

Seriously, do you really believe that the bride is happy to pay you the price of a flash gun and has zero expectation for anything at all? You could turn up not get a single decent shot and she'd be quite happy?

I know I'm being all doom and gloom but I hope it does give you pause. Talk things over with the bride and write down a list of expectations and performance level you can provide and be realistic about it. You say they don't have any expectations but I suspect they probably do and it's far better to get that sorted beforehand rather than find out when it's too late :thumbs:
 
Some good advice here. I'll just add that shooting a wedding has got at least as much to do with people management and crowd control as it has with photography. At the reception, alcohol doesn't help here! It really is a pig of a job :eek:

But you've taken it all in and still seem well up for it. As suggested, do get yourself to a wedding or two to see what it's actually like, but I guess you've said your piece, and you've got to start somewhere. I hope you're also thick-skinned ;)

Good luck,

Richard.
 
I would echo a;; the warnings.

You've agreed a price - have you agreed what they are going to get for that? What pics they want?

Are they only after the various group poses or are they looking for other things? candids?

Where is the location of the wedding? Will you be allowed to use flash there? Will there be any light? Have you practised in the location to see if you can get a decent shot - Its no good trying to sort out settings that work when you are there for 'real'.

Are they expecting loads of prints? How far will your £250 go here?
 
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