Shooting First Wedding!!!?

Question

I will be doing my first wedding shoot on Saturday. I am COMPLETELY an amatuer photographer, and the bride and groom (and family) understand that. I made no promises of perfection, lol. What i'm looking for are some suggestions for posing the members of the bridal party and their family. Does anyone know of a website I can look at? Also -- i'll take any tips I can get!! I'm so excited, but i'm nervous too! I think I have a good eye when it comes to photography, but when it comes to the technical side of it all -- i'm pretty clueless. I'm not ashamed to admit that, which is why the family is aware of it. But anyway -- thanks for your help!!!

Antoni -- here's my equipment. I don't have too much (mainly because I don't have the $$ right now), and I know it's probably not the "proper equipment" for wedding photography...but...

Camera - Canon Digital Rebel Xti

Lenses I Have - Canon EF 35-80mm F/4-5.6 and Tamron 80-210mm F/4.5-5.6

Lens - just what is built into the camera. I know I need to purchase an additional one.

Like I said, I know it's probably not ideal equipment -- but it's all I have right now.

Answer 1

If you are clueless about the technical side, I won't suggest learning manual exposure between now and Saturday. If you are comfortable using the program mode, then stick to that for the most part. Is the wedding indoors or out? If inside, you will have a problem with the built in flash not having enough coverage and producing red eye. If outdoors in daylight, that problem is reduced.

Visit a few websites and pay attention to the posing. Don't try to get fancy, just do good basic stuff. The B&G are always together, in the center or sometimes higher than the group. Turn their bodies at an angle to the camera. Your subjects should always have a front and back shoulder, not a left and right. Do closeups and full length. Three-quarter type shots are harder to get right, you have to be careful not to "amputate" fingers and elbows in them. On the full length shots, compose carefully, don't cut people off at the feet. Also remember to leave a little room for cropping to 8x10, which is a common size of print. Turn bodies at an angle, always. The girls tend to want to hold the bouquet too high, hold them at waist level. Don't let the guys line up with their hands in front of their crotch like they're protecting the family jewels. (My pet peeve!) They can put the forward hand in their pocket, or let the arm hang with just a slight bend at the elbow, but make them do the same thing for the posed formals. If you have time, you can do some of the cheesy fun shots. Pay attention to detail during the formal shots, they are the shots the parents and grandparents want. Group people close together, odds look better than evens, if you have steps or different levels, use that in your composition. Did I mention to angle people's bodies?

If it is overcast, that is perfect for portrait shots. Bright sun is problematic at mid-day due to shadows and harsh light. Use your flash and have them face away from the glare to reduce squinting. Open shade is great if you have some, if it's also a nice background will help a lot. Watch the scenery behind the subjects. Sometimes you can move a few steps one way or another and eliminate a distraction in the background. If in open shade, try some with flash and some withour. If you know how, minus compensate your flash to -1 in open shade. Leave on auto in full sun, and check to make sure you are not overexposing. In fact, set your camera to a bit of minus exposure comp. It is much easier to lift shadows in underexposed images than to fix overexposed ones, and blown highlights cannot be recovered.

You may need a tripod for the ceremony if it is inside a dark church. Flash may not be allowed during the ceremony, If we had more info, we could give more direct and helpful answers.

Have someone in charge of rounding up the people for the formals if the B&G want them. Start with the biggest group and work down to the B&G alone. Do the ones with kids and grandparents first. Take charge here. There will probably be other guests with cameras. You must get your shots first. Ask others to wait until you get the shot, otherwise people will be looking all over the place instead of at your lens. Be nice, but firm. There are all sorts of list all over the internet for possible groupings. Just remember that usually folks (guests and the wedding party themselves) are waiting to start the reception. So don't rush, but do move things along in a timely fashion. Then ASK if there is some special request from the B&G that you didn't do. Be sure to get a few of the bride alone, closeup and full length, and the B&G together. Get some closeup shots of the details, the rings placed on top of the bouquet is a nice one. The flowers, candles, table settings, memory tables etc etc.

You didn't say if these people are friends of yours or what, but that is usually how amateurs get roped into their first wedding. If your skill is at least passable and their expectations are modest, then you will probably be all right. Shooting weddings really isn't brain surgery, but it does take knowledge and experience to produce nice images with the wow factor. You will probably be able to produce decent snapshots, and they will more than likely be pleased enough with the effort. Just remember, you aren't there as a guest. You are working and will miss out on the social part, at least as a participant.

Take more memory than you think you'll need. Extra batteries. Take some sort of camera as a backup, even if it's a P&S digicam or your old film camera. Eat before you start and stay hydrated. Wear comfortable shoes. (VERY important!)

Keep smiling and snapping. Check your exposure now and then. Smile and snap some more. Maybe you will find the experience exhilirating, and hopefully you will capture the B&G's day in fine fashion, or at least well exposed and sharply. Best of luck to you, hope everything goes well.

EDIT:

I forgot to mention the problems of dappled sunlight/shade. or uneven shade. Stay out of it! Make sure all the people in the group are evenly lit, don't have a group where some are in the sun and others in shade. Avoid dappled shade, shoot in the full sun if necessary. I have mostly sent you outdoors for the formals. With your limited equipment, I believe you will get the best results outside. If the ceremony is inside, then you will want to get the B&G in a formal at the altar, inadequate flash lighting or no. But if possible try to get the bulk outside. Good luck!

Answer 2

Do not try and do it to prove a point. All you'll do is prove yourself wrong, not good for you or anyone else. If you friend insists and really is not going to hire a professional then it's ok to do it. Just make it clear you've not done a wedding before and it's more than just pointing and pressing buttons and that you therefore cannot guarantee the quality of the results but will do your best. Seeing as you're not a professional and they know it. Just use your regular lens. Take a flash with you. A flash diffuser would be nice to soften the flash alittle. Best to take a canon flash that will work auto-magically with your camera. (You don't want to be fighting with equipment you can't use. Churches are often dark, as are town halls and similar buildings, the 18-55 is not ideal for such situations and your camera isn't ideal for high ISOs so that may be a problem. Ask before hand if you can use flash. And I don't mean ask your firend I mean ask the actual venue people. Talk to your friend about what exactly she wants. If possible ask to see sample images. Look carefully at those samples and try and make a plan how to achieve similar photographs. Your own creativity is good, but start by getting atleast a few simple standard shots before you go crazy with experimenting. Also watch your white balance and exposure, especially indoors while using flash. You'll may have a hard time with different colored lights, for instance churches sometimes churches have a sort of red/orange candlelight colored atmosphere, compared to that your flash looks almost blue. You can ofcourse fire the flash strong enough to just eliminate all other light, but allowing some of the redlight to stay will make the picture more interesting (just remember a blue bride and groom with redlights behind them is not a good thing) Also make contingency plans. So multiple batteries (multiple cameras of the same model would also be good but it's alittle pricey) , multiple memory cards, put new batteries in your flash before the wedding and have some spares on you (I've been to a wedding where the photographer forgot this and had to go into town to look for batteries). And don't forget to make it absolutely clear that much as you'll do your best, you cannot make any guarantee's and think they should probably get a pro or atleast a second photographer. When the day finally comes, try to do the job and have fun doing it. Oh and wear comfy shoes, from what I hear you, might be walking around alot.

Answer 3

From weddings I have done and pics people appreciate:
1. Get a picture of the bride and groom's ringed hands clasped in front of the bouquet.
2. At a reception, get a photo of everyone at each table - that way there is at least one photo of everyone who was there.
3. Bride and groom turned 1/4 towards each other.
4. Bridal party or families all turned 1/4 towards the bride and groom, not straight on to the camera.
5. One outdoor wedding, I managed to be in a tree facing the bride and groom instead of the clergyman during the ceremony- got incredible shots.
6. Background needs to be as uncluttered as possible for posed shots.

Answer 4

Just to add to all the others. You may want to look into renting a better lens for your camera (if you can afford it and if you can find one to rent). Make sure you know what its capable of, rent it at some time in advance to play with it. The bride and groom may even pay for the rental. (your equipment may be fine, just a thought)

Try to get at least 3 shots of everything that might matter. With film this would be more difficult but with digital its alot easier. If your camera messes up you have 2 more chances to get it right.

Check out the location days ahead of time to scout out any good locations.

Dont be afraid to use your flash to get those must have shots. Like the ring exchange and the kiss. Your the photographer and they will thank you for getting the shot, even if its a little annoying at that very moment.

Dress appropriately, you need to look nice but you will want to be able to move without rubbing so much fabric together that all your shots have everyone glancing at you sideways. You will need to be able to move freely. Choose your outfit with that in mind. Also most the weddings I have been to have the heaters on (or at least it seams like it to me).

Answer 5

If you are totally knew to photography then put your camera on program and let it do all the work. Don't even try to mess around with doing it manual.
Next thing is to go to a bookstore or camera store and buy a wedding book. It will have a list of photos you "MUST" shoot and give you ideas of how to pose people. If you have to copy it out of the book when you take it with you.

Answer 6

make sure to get a lot of good ones of the bride and groom, them kissing, looking at each other, groom kissing brides forhead... Also for wedding party, action shots are good, its cool to get pictures of the wedding party when they are all laughing about something, also I have seen cute pictures of the bridal party all jumping up in the air and the photo is taken while they are in the air, or I have seen the whole wedding party walking in a line with all of thier arms linked together and they are all looking at each other, those are cute.. GOOD LUCK! I am engaged and looking for a photographer so I know all about the kinds of pictures I want to have my photographer take!

Answer 7

For poses, pick up a book Bill Hurter on Wedding Photography. Plenty of suggestions and samples in there.

Answer 8

It sounds like you're getting great help already, but I would like to make a couple of small suggestions. First, if the ceremony is being performed by clergy talk with them before the ceremony. Sometimes there are restrictions they place on photographers. Second, you might consider wearing trousers to make it easier to kneel or climb should that become necessary.

Answer 9

http://www.aljacobs.com/NEW%20WEDDING.pdf

If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Antoni is right: you do seem to have a good attitude, and that will go far.

Good luck!

*edit*
Based on your lens selection, I'd really consider the purchase of a Canon EF50mm f/1.8 prime lens. This lens doesn't zoom, but it will deliver great image quality and it will work far better indoors with no flash-- or it will increase the effective range of your flash. The best part is that this lens is under $100.

Answer 10

because you have a good to great attitude i will answer you and offer you to email me if you like.......

finally someone who says they have the eye but admit theres more to it.........personally i dont believe in the eye but schooling and training in composition.......

ok what gear you using? flash? tripod? - use both if you can, lens/lenses? etc

if you want a shot list i can email you one, to little time for me to teach you hand readings and off camera flash, so best advice make each image three times and learn how to bracket exposure

hope you get some good info from others

good lucky!!

EDIT: ok gear sounds ok, use the short lens inside and the longer one outside (generally),,,,use appeture priority and use the smallest one you have like say F4.5 - generally people shots look best with short depth of field - and it will help for the low light inside


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